lights every man | SCRIP-BITS

John 1:9. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

And then it was Saturday, a day of rest. All the confusion of getting from there to here and settling down in Sweet Tobago has finally gotten to me. (smile) Would you believe I was up around 7, had coffee on the porch, gave some thanks and praise for all my many blessings, then went back to bed? That had the duchess worried about me because that’s not my style.

And would you believe that I got up again around 9, had coffee again, and I can go back to bed again? But no! I am going to stand up strong and write the Bit before going back to bed, it is already late, can’t allow it to be much later. And with all that jawing, (smile) since it’s Saturday, let’s turn to the quotes we received from our friend Anselm this week, as he sincerely aspires us for a better tomorrow.

And this first one is very interesting and applicable to our lives as true believers in Jesus Christ: ‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.’ Yeh friends, when we achieve success in whatever walk of life, that is not our final pinnacle, we don’t just stop there and rest on that plateau, but we keep on learning and attempt to have more success, for resting on our laurels just gives the enemy a brighter spot in our lives.

As true believers, we need to keep growing in Christ until the day He takes us home. And we all know that what we term failure is not the end, but just the beginning of getting up and starting again. Remember there are no words in Jesus’ vocabulary like ‘failure’ and ‘giving up!’ And He imbues us, through His Holy Spirit with the courage to carry on. So we are not lacking in any way!

Then there’s this: ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’ And that’s the living truth my people! When we as good and righteous men do nothing to rectify a wrong situation, then the evil people win! Oh, we often say that it’s not our business and we’re not going to get involved, but what yuh think happens when we don’t eh? The bad guys win! No decision is a decision!

That brings us to this interesting quote: ‘Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.’ And isn’t that the awesome truth! Just look at the amount of nonsense that fools are talking over social media nowadays eh! It’s appalling, like we have no life unless we’re totally involved in it. But all power be to them yes, I beg to refrain from it! I talk enough foolishness without spreading it on all the forms of social media that we have nowadays. (smile) Oh, how our society would be greatly improved if some of us would just shut up!

And the next quote says: ‘LOVE isn’t something you find. LOVE is something that finds you.’ And I guess there’s some truth to that, because ofttimes when we go searching for LOVE we don’t find it, but it’s at the most unexpected and unsuspecting times that LOVE falls right in out laps! I’m sure many of us have fallen in LOVE when we least expected it, with people we’ve least expected to fall in LOVE with! (smile) But that’s the nature of LOVE; God’s greatest attribute! It can hit you at any time, in any place, with anyone! Glory to God!

And the last quote says: ‘It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.’ And that my friends is the God-awesome truth! When our world and circumstances are the darkest, that’s when we have to focus most intently and intensely on the light that’s there in our souls, but hidden from us just then. The name of that light that’s always there is Jesus! Yes friends, as John says: ‘That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.’

Yes my brethren, even if you profess not to believe in Jesus, His light has been branded, burnished into your soul on the day you came to be. There’s a li’l pocket in each of us which can only be filled by God, and in there is that true light that shines at the end of the tunnel, we just have to seek it with all our hearts, souls, bodies and minds, it doesn’t just show up, and even if it should, we still have to receive it and accept it, that’s a condition of having the light shine in our lives.

And now listen to these fateful words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on the subject of the Light. ‘Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light…’ (John 12:35-36)

There you have it friends, Jesus declaring that He was the Light of the world! And we all know that Jesus does not, cannot lie, so that must be gospel truth! And His wise advice to the people of His time, to walk in the light, has also been given to us in these turbulent and very strife filled times. However, just like the people of Jesus’ day refused to accept His advice, in like manner, a whole lot of us nowadays are also refusing to accept that heavenly wisdom.

Chuh! How foolish that is my people, because Jesus is the ONLY ONE who can shine true light on our dark times. But I guess until we really reach the end of our rope, we don’t consider it important to turn to Jesus for help. But that’s so unwise my brethren, because the Father made us, Jesus saved us, and the Holy Spirit dwells in us to show us the way to the true Light. You can’t get away from those facts my brethren, so please let’s make up our minds to seek the true light which will brighten our world for ever and ever nuh! That’s wisdom at its brightest! Much LOVE!

…God is light…in him is no darkness at all… (1 John 1:5)

P.S. Yes, it is late and long, and probably a tad ditzy too, (smile) but I know that with the wisdom of Jesus indwelling you, you can pick sense from nonsense! (smile) Much LOVE!

John 1:9. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

It’s Saturday morning friends, please add one day to your lives! Oh what a joy it is to be blessed by the Almighty with another day of new mercies and blessings, prepared especially for today! We now need to joyfully receive them with praise and thanksgiving and make them an integral part of our lives.

Now yesterday we celebrated Remembrance Day, remembering our fallen heroes with much pomp and fanfare that we reserve for these occasions, while saying all the right words. However, the sad irony is that the heroes who are still alive are suffering serious lack and want.

The governments are only paying lip service to the veterans, for they still struggle financially, emotionally, and medically. The hoops these poor and mostly older veterans have to jump through to get their rightful claims are ridiculous and shameful, especially when you consistently honour their dead comrades.

It certainly gives the impression that the dead are more important than the living. Unfortunately, I can’t do anything to help the situation, except point it out, hoping that others in more powerful positions will notice and do something, sooner rather than later to help these suffering men and women who fought victoriously for our freedom.

They should never have to beg and beseech us for anything, since to a large extent they are responsible for the peace that enables us to enjoy our current lavish lifestyle.

Anyway, since it’s Saturday and I have said my piece, (smile) let’s move on to a couple of interesting quotes from our friend Anselm, who always aspires to inspire us to greater heights. The first one tells us to ‘Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.’

And that’s good advice! The mistakes of yesterday ought to guide us today, while we sow plenty seeds of hope for tomorrow. But we must also have inquiring minds if we are to succeed in harvesting those seeds of hope in the future.

Now the second quote says: ‘Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.’ And that is gospel truth friends! Without hope, in fact plenty hope, in these dark and dreary times, we will certainly be overwhelmed by the evil and darkness that surrounds us.

Only hope, which eventually morphs into faith, gives us the ability to put on rose coloured glasses which light up the darkness and helps us to deal with adversity in a calmer and more reasonable manner. And how do we come by those elements of hope and faith that dispel darkness?

Easily my people; simply by surrendering, believing, and putting our faith in the safe, secure, powerful and magnanimous hands of the LIGHT OF THE WORLD, Jesus Christ!

The Good Book tells us that ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended (apprehended) it not.’ (John 1:1-5)

Oh friends, those are some of the most important and enlightening verses of the scriptures; tying everything together; from the Word being with God from the very beginning, and being God. Thus God spoke the world into existence. From Him also came life, which was a light for us, His most worthy creation. And that light shines in the darkness of our lives, which the darkness cannot overcome.

And the scholars comment: ‘1:4-5 Life…light: See also 8:12; 9:5; 11:25; 14:6. In John’s writings, life represents salvation and deliverance through Christ, and light denotes Jesus’ revelation of God which calls men to accountability.’

Everything just keeps running through Christ, my brethren! John the Baptist was even sent specially from God ‘to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.’ (John 1:7)

And our Bit tells us: ‘That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.’ Yes my fellow believers, the true Light in our lives is none other than our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Glory to God!

The unfortunate thing though is that ‘He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.’ (John 1:10)

And the scholars offer these explanations. ‘1:9. Lighteth every man means God’s revelation is universally available. It does not signify universal salvation (cf. v.12; 3:18, 36).’ ‘1:10. Knew: The world did not acknowledge or recognize Him (v.2) as the true Light.’

Much to the world’s detriment I’d say. But thankfully we Christians have embraced Jesus as the true Light, unlike the hypocritical Pharisees, who sneered at Him in unbelief when He declared to them: ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record (witness) of thyself; thy record (witness) is not true (valid).’ (John 8:12-13)

Now who would the Pharisees believe eh? John the Baptist came telling of Christ; they didn’t believe him. Then Christ came and told them, yet they refused to believe because He was His own witness, tooting His own horn, so to speak.

And we’ll end with one more comment of Jesus on the subject. When He was about to heal a blind man, He declared: ‘As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ (John 9:5)

Oh friends, those words have serious ramifications in our lives today, because Jesus was only the light of the world when He was here, but after He left, we, His believers and followers then became the light of the world, as He says in Matt.5:14. ‘Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.’

We are expected to be light, like the old lighthouses which guided ships away from shoals etc. It’s our job to now guide men away from the darkness and evil of Lucifer to the bright light of salvation and eternal life that Jesus provides. Let’s take that job seriously please, and go out and do it diligently, for that’s the only way Christ’s LOVE Revolution will succeed. Much LOVE!

…light will only overcome darkness…if it’s shone in the darkness…

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Today’s Scrip-Bit 12 November 2016 John 1:9.

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