True Fellowship with God

 1 John 1:6

 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

I call myself a Christian because I asked Jesus to forgive me for my sins and come into my heart. Believers were first called Christians in Antioch. They were given the name because they were followers of Jesus Christ. A man who claimed to be God, a man who gave His life on the cross, shed His blood that the world may be saved. Through Christ, I now have fellowship with God. Christ bridged the gap, and I now can enter into the presence of a holy God through Christ who reconciled me back to my Creator. John says that if you have this kind of fellowship with God, then the way we live our life matters. Living a life of sin, and knowingly doing things that are contrary to what is right, is to walk in darkness. The Bible says that we once lived in darkness, but we are now the light of Jesus, and we need to walk in His light. Continuing to say that we have fellowship with God, and know Christ to be our savior, but refusing to walk in light is to deceive ourselves, and we are living a lie. The word religion has become the catchphrase for anyone who chooses to rest their salvation by keeping rules and rituals. It is true that a religion without a relationship or fellowship with Christ is empty. Yet, if one professes to have a relationship with God, then he or she will be a religious person, and, by God’s help and grace, walk in the light of God’s word. The devil has set spiritual traps along this path we walk. That is why we must walk in the light of God’s word and seek to do what is good and right. Love mercy, do justly, and stay humble before God and others. This is done when we walk a path that is full of light.

Let Us Draw Near to God

 

Heb. 10:22

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

It is not possible to draw near to God when sin is in the heart. There is a gap that separates us from having fellowship with God. As sinners, we live in darkness and God is light. There is no fellowship for those who live in darkness with the light. To have fellowship is to have communion, and a person who dwells in darkness is living a life of sin, and sin is enmity against God. It is not subject to God and is not able to draw near to Him. But Jesus bridged the gap, taking our sins and nailing them to the cross with His blood provided a way for us to draw near. Before we can draw near to God, we must confess our sins. If we humble ourselves before God, He is faithful to take our sins and cast them in the sea of forgiveness, not to be remembered against us anymore. God will hear the prayers of a sinner that repents of their sins and has a heart that is broken, and is sorry for their sinful ways. It is only with a clean heart and pure motives that we can begin to draw near to God. It is God’s will that we live in the light. As we walk in His light, we start to draw near to His desires for our lives. Let us put aside the sin that easily besets us and pray with a pure heart to live in the light of God’s presence.

Walk Not in Darkness

 1 John 1:8
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

From the fall of Adam and Eve, man is born with the sin nature. The Adamic nature is passed on to every person born into this world. We can deny this truth, but it does not change the reality that we are all sinners in need of forgiveness. Some teach that man is hereditary good. We must cultivate this goodness in us and overcome the evil that we face each day. Don’t believe this lie, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.  John writes to set the foundation for why man needs a Savior.  As sinners, we confess our sins, and Jesus, who shed His blood for the remission of sin, cleanses our heart from sin. We no longer walk in darkness, we walk in the light, we walk with God without sin. As long as we continue to walk with God, the blood of Jesus will continue to cover us from all sin. A Christian no longer lives in sin because he is walking in God’s light, and the path that God provides is without sin. No darkness at all. We still live in a fallen world, and Satan works, tempting us to fulfill the desire of the flesh. We still have human desires, and God has a plan for those desires to be fulfilled. As we walk in the light, His will is accomplished in our lives. The promise of God is that He will not leave us or forsake us. If we fall into the temptation of Satan, His word says to confess our sin, and He is faithful to restore us to the light. It is not God’s desire that we walk in darkness, we can live each day in the light of God. We don’t have to sin and walk in darkness. God does not have fellowship with darkness. That is why John says, “My little children… sin not.” Eternal security is provided to all believers as long as they remain in the light. Keep walking in the light.

Prosper and Success

 Gen 39:23
The keeper of the prison looked not at anything that was under his hand; because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper.

To prosper or have good success is a subjective word in our language and culture. We would say that a person who has obtained a good paying job, saved money for his/her retirement and was able to provide for their family has had prosperity and success for life. One would not think that ending up in prison for something they did not do would be prosperous. Joseph was such a man. He was mistreated by his brothers, falsely accused, and thrown into prison for what appeared to be for a very long time. Yet, the Bible says that the Lord made him prosper. 
This is where the world view and the Christian view are viewed from different perspectives. Joseph lived a life of surrender to his God. He no doubt had his time of discouragements, and questioned his circumstances, but his life was not his own, it belonged to God. Even in the dark times of our lives, we can trust God that all things will work together toward a prosperous and successful journey. Knowing that we are in the will of God on our pilgrim journey, we can be confident that He is in control and will use our circumstances for the good. 
In the case of Joseph’s journey, God turned evil into good, and Joseph’s attitude and spirit demonstrated the fruit of righteousness and holiness. He did not become bitter or resentful, he trusted God to make him prosper and have the success that was planned for his life. 
It is good to have goals and aspirations, but all is for nothing and of no success if we are not following the will of God for our lives.

Walk in Light & Darkness

 1 John 1:6,7
If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not tell the truth: But if we walk in the light…
Do born again believers still sin? This is one of the divides between Calvinist and Wesleyan teachings. Books have been written for centuries on this topic. Greater minds than myself on both sides of this topic have exhausted its depth. The scripture given to us in this passage does appear that it is possible for a Christian to sin. The real question is, are Christians able to live a life without sinning? Calvintist will say that because we are born with the nature of sin, we will always sin in thought, word, or deed because we are human and not perfect. Wesleyan teaches that the work of entire sanctification, will change the natural bent to sin to a bent to live holy. That as long as we walk in the light, keep our eyes on Jesus, that we can avoid walking in darkness. The secret is to stay in the light. When we allow the temptations of the devil to deviate us from walking in the light, we find ourselves walking in darkness. It is not God’s will that we walk in darkness. It is possible to stray from the truth, but God does not give up on us. He said if we acknowledge that we have sinned, and strayed from the light, He is faithful, He is merciful, He is a God that forgives when we come to Him in broken and contrite spirit. If we willfully remain to walk in darkness, and continue in our sin, we have broken fellowship with the Father, and we are living a lie. Making mistakes due to our humanity is not sin. We still need to ask God for grace and even forgiveness when such actions are brought to our attention by the Holy Spirit. That is walking in the light.

The Children of Light

 1 Thess. 5:5,6
Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
We are either children of light or darkness. Being a child of darkness implies that we have yet to walk in the light. It is not God’s will that we live in darkness. He desires that all obtain salvation through Christ, who is the light. Those who live in darkness cannot see the thief that comes in the night. Like the drunk who drinks at night, their minds are lucid and cannot think straight. The children of light are sober, watchful, and mindful of the deceptions of Satan. Stay in the light, live in the day so you may be able to detect the enemy of your soul. Put on the armor and pick up the sword of the word to stand against the evil works of today. He has promised that if we stay in the light we will live with Him forever who died for us. Don’t give in to the devil! Jesus is able to keep us until the day of His return if we remain children of light. 

The True Light

 John 1:9
That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
Not everyone will believe that Jesus is the true light from God. Many will turn away from this light and continue to live in darkness, and by their choice, remain blinded to their sin. Jesus came down from heaven and He pierced the darkness of this world to show us the way to salvation. Salvation is for all, and not a selected few. Every man is given the opportunity to walk in the light or to refuse the light. Only God knows the hearts of all men, and is faithful to reveal Himself in His way. We were not predestined at birth to live in darkness. Jesus came to the world and His light will reflect in the lives of those who walk in the light. To those who choose to receive the light, He provides the power to live in a world that has rejected the light and continues to live in their sin. We are not to hide our light under a bushel, but to let our light shine that others may see Christ in us. We are to be a witness of the true light, and let our lives testify of the grace of God.

Bad Company

 Luke 15:2
And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
It is important to guard our influence. The religious people in Jesus day thought this was necessary in order to maintain their reputation. They valued their reputation over seeking the lost. Paul admonishes believers not to be a stumbling block to others by the things they do and say. But on the other hand, he says “​​I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” It is prudent that we be careful with the kind of people we hang around with and guard against being influenced by evil. Guilty by association is often attributed to those who hang around bad company, but Jesus sees people who are lost and need to be found. He casted away any inhibition of being identified with sinners and meets people where they are to share His love and forgiveness. Christian who are the light of the world, a world that is darkened by sin are to live in the world, but are not to be a part of it. Let the light of Christ shine to those who are lost and so they can find a way out of darkness.

Light Came

 Gen. 1:3

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 

This light was either the light of God’s presence, or could have been the sun. It appears that the light that ruled the day (sun?) was created on day 4, but possibly the sun was already created to bring light to the world that was full of darkness on day one. 

 

Day 1- Light (possibly the sun)

Day 2- Sky/clouds

Day 3- Earth/grass

Day 4- Moon

Day 5- Sea creatures/birds

Day 6- Land animals/Male, Garden of Eden, Female. 

Day 7- God rested- Sabbath

Jesus came to be the light that would shine into a world that was spiritually darken with sin. He is the true light that lights every man to see the salvation of God.

Light of Life

 Dec. 4th, 2021
John 8:12
Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
A light shining in darkness will dispel fear of the unknown. The light may not always reveal what is hiding behind the shadows, but if one stays close to the light, the light will shine a pathway to its destination. We live in a world that is full of darkness, Satan has blinded the eyes of many and has deceived them from seeing the true light. He has deceived others to think, that which is good is evil, and that which is evil is good. Following Jesus, is to follow His teachings and life. Jesus never condoned sin (The life of darkness) but he came to shine the light of God on sin so that others may see their sinfulness and start to walk toward the light of God’s love. It is not good enough to just stop committing sin, to have real life is to have Christ be the light within you. He is the Light of Life, follow the light.

 Psalm 107: 1-2
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy.

“God is good all the time” we often say. But we know that bad things often happen to those who love Him. Then why does a good God allow bad things to happen to those who love and serve Him. There have been many books written on this topic and often the topic of many discussions. I don’t claim to have the answer that would satisfy everyone. We know that Job experienced a lot of bad things, and He was a man of integrity and one that put His trust in God. We do know that many are born abnormal or come down with some illness that  either takes their life or cripples them for life.  Accidents, war, murders, rapes, house burning down, natural disasters, the list can go on. We live in a sin cursed world, and Satan has been given dominion to test God’s creation. Jesus came to overcome evil and the works of darkness. God is good! He gave us a way of escape, a way to overcome evil in this world and the sin that dwells in the hearts of men. God is good all the time! His love and mercy reaches down to all who will reach out to Him. He is a good God, and I trust that whatever happens it will turn out for good to them that keep trusting Him and loving Him.

He is Our Lamp

2 Sam 22:29 For thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness.

Darkness is the absence of light. When the lights go off we become disoriented. Confusion often follows, and we begin to question God. David, a man after God’s heart faced dark times and even though he knew what was right and knew the precept of God’s law, he became lost in his own selfish pursuits. But David also found his way back when He allowed the light of God to show him his heart and to guide him out of the darkness of despair. He recognized that in order to escape the darkness, He must always avail himself to the lamps God provided along the way. Darkness brings fear of the unknown, followed by anxiety and stress. We all face times when darkness swallows us up. We don’t always know which way to turn, but we can trust God to be our lamp, to show us the way out of our darkness. Everyone goes through the valley of the shadow of darkness, but like David, we can trust God to be our lamp that will provide the light to see us through.

Living in World of Tribulation

John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

There is no doubt about it. Being a Christian does not exempt you from bad things not happening. Many doubt God’s love and care when bad things happen. “If He is a God of love, why did He let this happen?” The journey we walk is filled with events that will cause us to search our heart and test our faith. In a world that is filled with darkness, will we let our light shine, or will we let the darkness shut our light out? Jesus said, when you face hard times and life situations become hard to bare, He says, “cheer up, I have this under control”. It is human to take our eyes off the Master of the sea and look around at the billowing waves. But Jesus has promise not to leave us or forsake us. The Comforter has come to cheer us up and help us to withstand the darkness, and let our light shine. This world is full of darkness and tribulation. May the light of Christ in you pierce the darkness of this world.