John 8:12. I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Come on friends, it’s Saturday, let’s get some lazy time going! And some of us unhappily reply: ‘Lazy time? I don’t want any more lazy time! That’s all I’ve had for the past week…in fact for the past few months. So you know what you can do with your lazy time!’
Yes my people, there’s a lot of dissatisfaction and anger in our souls right now because of the pandemic and many other problems in our world, but being sour and miserable won’t solve them or make them easier to bear. The only thing that will soften them is a good attitude in conjunction with knowing Jesus as Lord and Saviour and putting all your trust in Him! So let’s concentrate on doing that nuh, rather than letting resentment breed and take bitter root in our souls.
Anyway, since it’s Saturday, let’s take a gander at the quotes our friend Anselm sent us this past week. Here’s the first one: ‘Once you realize you deserve a bright future, letting go of your dark past is the best choice you will ever make.’ Now that’s basically what we were just saying; regardless of the circumstances we have to look on the bright side. We can’t let unfortunate circumstances stymie our growth by keeping us in negativity and that dreaded darkness of the soul that the enemy wants us to wallow and sink in.
And how do we find the light? By sincerely seeking it; by moving through our darkness like a tired swimmer heading for a distant shore. They know that the shore is a way off, but they don’t intend to fall victim to the deep, dark water in which they are currently flailing around. So they keep on fighting….until they reach the shore and safety. The good thing though, re those who are actively seeking light, is that they don’t have to go very far to find it. It’s right at our fingertips in the person of Jesus Christ! He proclaimed it thus: ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’ (John 8:12)
It’s a plain and simple, yet profound statement. If you follow Jesus, the light in your life will replace the darkness that’s naturally found there if you hold on the world’s values. Now here is an interesting commentary on the subject from the biblestudytools.com website. “I am the light of the world,”is rooted in Jesus’ relationship with His Father. John Piper states, “Jesus speaks from God and for God and as God.” Apart from Jesus, we live in darkness. We have limited capacity to understand who we are or what we see in the world. And Aimee Joseph writes, “The beauty of our humanity is still evident, but ugliness abounds.”
Hear John Piper again: “The light of Christ is the brightness of God shining on the retina of the human soul.”Life can be wonderful on earth, but not fully complete without Jesus. We are all created to crave the Creator, our Father, and only through a relationship with our Savior Jesus can the dark parts of our hearts brighten. And Aimee Joseph adds: “When I admit I am not enough, I’m freed to run and cling to the God who is.” The Light of the world paid for our freedom on the cross.’
And that’s the indisputable truth my brethren! I didn’t intend to spend so much time on that quote, but that’s where I was led, and I think it was worth it. Hope you do too. And the second quote segues nicely from the first. ‘We have to be honest about what we want and take risks rather than lie to ourselves and make excuses to stay in our comfort zone.’ Oh friends, is that ever so true. We all want to be special people and do special things, but too many of us don’t want to step out of our comfort zone to be and do what we really want. However, unless we take some risks and venture into the unknown, we will never rise to the level we desire.
Wishing and talking and envying don’t get it done. Only sincere action and genuine desire do. So let’s stop wishing and hoping and get a move on nuh. And again, the best way to do that is in the company of Jesus. If we tell Him the desires of our hearts, He will willingly and LOVINGLY guide us through life to them.
One problem though. The desires of our hearts must fall within Jesus’ will for our lives, for when we surrender our lives to Him, then what He wants becomes uppermost, and our will becomes subjected to His. But the good news there is that He only wants the best for us, and though He may lead us in a direction we didn’t expect, be assured that it will be a good direction, or rather the best direction.
And I can personally testify to that. I never intended or expected to be doing what I’m now doing, and when the Lord suggested it, I laughed, because I figured I didn’t know enough scripture to write about it. But He persisted, and over the years I can vouch for His amazing faithfulness, because I could not be writing this blog for fourteen years now without His awesome help.
Now here’s the next quote, which also segues nicely with the other two. ‘Let the improvement of yourself keep you so busy that you have no time to criticize others.’ Now that’s the gospel truth. And do we ever need to stop the annoying and often unfair and untrue criticism that is so prevalent in our world today, especially on the social media platform. It’s so sad that anybody, fool or wise, can get on social media and sling criticism at others and have it take off around the world in seconds.
But friends, when we are wrapped up in ourselves with Jesus, busy doing His work, we don’t have time for unjust and unfair criticism. And remember what He said: If you criticize, others are going to criticize you too, and just as unmercifully. (Matt. 7:1-2) Let’s not forget that, because we all like to criticize, but very few of us can take criticism.
And the last quote is another wonderful one. ‘Never lose hope. Storms make people stronger and never last forever.’ And what shall we say to that eh? The first point is that while we are alive, there is ALWAYS hope. And when you’re walking with Jesus, that hope is everlasting, for there’s no giving up in His vocabulary. And He is our living hope! Hear the apostle Peter tell it in his writing to the scattered believers of his day. ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again in to a lively (living) hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.’ (1 Pet. 1:3)
Yes my fellow saints, we have a living hope because Jesus rose from the dead and is alive and well! That means we who believe in Him will also see a resurrection morn! All praise and glory to the Father! One more point on our last quote; storms never last forever, but they don’t always make people stronger. Ofttimes they weaken people and make them hopeless, but when you’re walking with Jesus, when He is your guide and pilot through the storms of life, that’s when they strengthen you!
Oh my people, I do hope that what we’ve said has proven that we desperately need Jesus in our lives to fully live this earthly life, the abundant life that He came to give us, and then gain eternity with Him in heaven. Nothing less will suffice! For only He can fill the empty space in our souls! Much LOVE!
…if Jesus is not first in your life…then you’re lost…now and forever…
SCRIP-BITS 