Do we walk in darkness, or light?

TODAY’S SPECIAL: 1 John 1-2; Psalm 36

TO CHEW ON: “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:6,7


Our reading talks about two ways to live: “Walk in darkness” and “walk in light.” These are metaphors. What do they mean?

The Zondervan Study Bible notes define both (emphases added):

To “walk in darkness” denotes a life characterized by wickedness and ignorance and an unwillingness to be open toward God and his revelation in Christ—lest one’s sinful behaviour be exposed.”

John actually quotes Jesus Himself on what walking in darkness is about:

“‘For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed’” - John 3:19.

Here’s the old secrecy over disobedience cropping up again that began way back in the Genesis garden (Genesis 3:8-10).

To “walk in light” denotes a life characterized by truth and holiness and a willingness to be open to God and his revelation, resulting in fellowship with one another and with God.”

How do we, in our everyday lives, walk in light?

A start, I believe is to be open with God—to let Him search us through the Bible and in prayer and keep no secrets from Him. We can express our doubts, fears, issues, and questions to Him. When He shows us attitudes to change and exposes the times we’ve sinned, we acknowledge, confess, repent, make restitution (or whatever is required). We let Him shine light into the farthest, darkest recesses of our hearts to show us to ourselves so we can renounce all darkness and live in light. (I’m thinking this may take years as, in my experience, God deals with us in layers to get to core of our onion hearts.)

A wonderful side benefit of living in light is how it smooths our relationships with fellow-Christians: “… we have fellowship with one another…”


PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to walk in light by being completely open and honest with You. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 36

The Bible Project VIDEO: 1-3 John (Read Scripture Series)



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Exposed

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 7-8; Psalm 106

TO CHEW ON: "Then Jesus spoke to them again saying, 'I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.'" John 8:12

The scribes and Pharisess who brought the adulterous woman to Jesus figure largely in many incidents in the gospels. My Thompson Chain Bible (NKJV) gives a simple description of them:

"Scribes: Writers or secretaries who copied the Scriptures.


Pharisees: A party among the Jews of Jesus' time that laid great stress upon the observance of rites and ceremonies. They made a pretense of superior piety and separated themselves from the common people. They were believers in the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the body and the existence of angels and spirits" (p. 1939).

Most people of that day held the scribes and Pharisees in awe because of their showy saintliness. But not Jesus. And not the Gospel writers. Matthew, for example shows the Pharisees and scribes as:

• Not righteousness enough to get into the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:20).

• Murderous (Matthew 12:14).

• Insincere when they pretended to be on the verge of following Jesus if He would give them just one more sign (Matthew 12:38).

• Hypocritical when they tried to entrap others over transgressing the fine points of the law (like hand-washing) while they themselves transgressed the big points (like failing to honor parents) (Matthew 15:1-9).

• Conniving as they attempted to trap Jesus into saying or doing something they considered wrong (Matthew 19:3).

Today's story from John 8 shows them in just such a scheming mode. And though there was no question that the woman they hauled before Jesus was a sinner, He was masterful in staying out of their trap. When they insisted that she be stoned:

"He raised Himself up and said, 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.' Then He bent down and went on writing on the ground with His finger" - John 8:7-8.

Surprise of surprises, instead of picking up stones and getting to work they began, one by one, to leave. Why? Obviously each one was convicted of his own sin.

Some say that the source of their sin-conviction was what Jesus was writing on the ground — that he was listing their sins right in front of their eyes. But I believe it was His simple presence. For, Jesus' declaration of being the light of the world (John 8:12) follows the narrative as if it's the lesson or point of the story. Their slinking away showed that in the light of Him, each one became painfully aware of his own sin and knew he could not be the one to start the stoning.

Like the self-righteous Pharisees we too find it easy to categorize sin and stand in judgment over those whose sin is, in our eyes, worse than our own. Until, that is, we come into the presence of Jesus, the light, and see our own soiled selves.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, please keep me from being pharisaical and judgmental. Help me to view myself realistically and to treat fellow travelers with the same grace that I need. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 106

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

When life turns out the lights

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 40-44;  Psalm 43

TO CHEW ON:
“Oh, send out Your light and Your truth!
Let them lead me
Let them bring me to Your holy hill
And to Your tabernacle.” Psalm 43:3

Have you ever tried to walk a footpath—even one you know well—in the dark? Without the benefit of light how easy it is to stumble on subtle unevenesses, to miss obstacles, to run into things, or “see” things that aren’t even there!

Such walking in darkness is bad enough in the physical, but we can also experience it spiritually. That’s what the psalmist seems to be going through in today’s reading.

His distress has several sources. In the verses preceding our focus verse he speaks of an “ungodly nation” and an “unjust man” who trouble him. In Psalm 42 (which commenters believe was originally joined to Psalm 43 as one psalm—note the common refrain in Psalm 42:5,11; 43:5) he speaks of cynics who mock him in his grief (Psalm 42:3) and a personal sense of depression and loss of hope (Psalm 42:5,6; 43:5).

And so he prays for light—a light that will lead him back to God and His house (“Your Tabernacle”), where he dreams of joining others in worship (Psalm 42:4).

It’s easy to identify with the psalmist in his cry for light. Life throws many surprises at us too. Loved ones get sick, or we get a bad diagnosis. Natural disasters wreak havoc with our surroundings and our lives. Money problems are the wreckage of marketplace storms. We often find ourselves asking why, what next, where to from here? We may feel left in the dark, as if God has abandoned us.

At these times, let’s pray, with the psalmist, to get back to Him:

“Oh, send out Your light and Your truth!
Let them lead me”

For He is the source of light (“… God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” - 1 John 1:5). With our hand in His, we can walk any dark path.

PRAYER:
Dear Father, uncertainty is so much a part of the human condition—of my condition. Help me not to stew about what I can’t see ahead, but to seek You, to join other believers in Your house, and in faith to enter into praise and worship no matter what my circumstances. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 43

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Darkness

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 John 1:1-2:2

TO CHEW ON: "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth." 1 John 1:6

I live on a part of the planet in which, during this season, darkness is increasing daily. I'm talking about life in the northern hemisphere and physical darkness which, from June 21st to December 21st (this year), progressively takes over more of each day. Thus I am no stranger to darkness and can say without hesitation, I prefer light.

The Bible is full of talk about light and dark. Metaphorically light equals life with God and everything good. Today let's look briefly at what the Bible says about the dark.

First a definition: [Darkness - scotia - is gloom, evil, sin, obscurity, night, ignorance, moral depravity. The NT especially uses the word in a metaphorical sense of ignorance of divine truth, man's sinful nature, total absence of light and a lack of spiritual perception. Light equals happiness. Scotia as spiritual darkness basically equals everything earthly or demonic that is at enmity with God" - "Word Wealth" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1467.]

A brief stroll through the Bible illustrates some of the things darkness signifies.

• Losing one's way: "...they shall walk like blind men..." - Zephaniah 1:17; "In the darkness they shall be driven on and fall in them" - Jeremiah 23:12; "They are blind leaders of the blind...both will fall into a ditch" - Matthew 15:14; "But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him" John 11:10.

• Imprisonment: "Say to the prisoner, 'Go forth, to those who are in darkness, 'Show yourself' - Isaiah 49:9.

• Death: "...Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death..." - Psalm 107:10

• Natural human preference: "...men loved darkness rather than light" - John 3:19.

• Consequences: - "Therefore you shall have night without vision. And you shall have darkness without divination" - Micah 3:6; "There will be no light" - Zechariah 14:6; "If your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness" - Matthew 6:23.

• Competition: "And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it]" - John 1:5 AMP (See also Psalm 139: 11-12.)

• Choice: "...cast off the works of darkness" and "put on the armour of light" - Romans 13:12; "Walk as children of light" - Ephesians 5:8.

• Opposite (of all God stands for): "...God is light and in Him is no darkness at all" - 1 John 1:5

And it is here John brings us to a point of confrontation when he says, "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth" 1 John 1:6.

Let's examine our lives today for such darkness. Then let's bring any and all of it into the light so we can live with integrity before God and people.

PRAYER: Dear God, please show me where I'm hiding a dark past, storing dark attitudes, and still doing dark actions. Help me to "cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light." Amen.

MORE: Feast of St. John
Today the church celebrates the Feast of St. John the Apostle. The day's liturgy begins with this prayer:

Shed upon your Church, O Lord, the brightness of your light, that we, being illumined by the teaching of your apostle and evangelist John, may so walk in the light of your truth, that at length we may attain to the fullness of eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Darkness vs. light

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 1:1-14

TO CHEW ON: "And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." John 1:5

Where I live Christmas day comes only days after the winter solstice. It's no wonder that for us, lights play a big part in our celebrations—candlelight, tree lights, spotlights. How wonderful that the connection of Jesus' coming to earth and light is not only a human invention but came straight from the heart of God.

Darkness as both physical phenomenon and spiritual symbol appears often in the Bible.

1. God was its creator (Amos 4:13).

2. It dominated the earth immediately after creation (Genesis 1:2).

3. Thick supernatural darkness lasting three days was one of the plagues on Egypt (Exodus 10:22-23).

4. Untimely darkness marked Jesus' crucifixion (Matthew 27:45).

5. "Darkness" is how Paul describes our pre-conversion state (Ephesians 5:8).

6. Dark activities include claiming to be Jesus' followers but living lives that don't back it up (1 John 1:6), hating others ( 1John 2:9,11), and cursing parents (Proverbs 20:20).

7. Darkness is frequently connected with judgment.
- Those who reject Jesus are cast into it (Matthew 8:12).
- It is the fate of rogue angels (Jude 1:6).
- Apocalyptic final judgments often include darkness (Joel 3:15; Amos 8:9; Revelation 6:12).

8. But when we come to Christ, we escape its clutches (Colossians 1:13)!

The use of the word "comprehend" in "The darkness did not comprehend it," is interesting. A word study article in my Bible delves into how that word enriches the meaning of this passage:

["Comprehend (katalambano) has three shades of meaning:
1) To seize, lay hold of, overcome. As such vs. 5 could read, "The darkness does not gain control if it."
2) To perceive, attain, lay hold of with the mind; to apprehend with mental or moral effort. With this meaning the verse could be translated, "The darkness is unreceptive and does not understand it."
3) To quench, extinguish, snuff out the light by stifling it. "The darkness will never be able to eliminate it."

Light and darkness essentially are antagonistic. The Christian's joy is in knowing that light is not only greater than darkness but will also outlast the darkness." - "Word Wealth," New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 1443.]

John declares Jesus to be "the true Light" (John 1:9) that is incomprehensible to (controls, mystifies and quenches) darkness. 

"The the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we behold His glory..." (glory = splendour, radiance, majesty.)

 We avoid darkness and live in light as we stay close to Jesus.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, Thank You for coming to bring light. I want to live in Your light. As I expose my life to Your scrutiny help me to deal with any dark places. Amen.

MORE: "Here I Am to Worship" by Tim Hughes

Exposing darkness

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ephesians 5:5-21

TO CHEW ON: "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them." Ephesians 5:11

Mike Leehan in his book Ascent from Darkness, does exactly that (exposes the "works of darkness"). Mad at God after his divorce, he decided to give himself to the dark side. For the next about 20 years he lived as a servant and worshiper of Satan. In his book he tells about that life:

• He describes how he repeatedly cut himself as part of his ritual and fasted to gain spiritual power.

• He discloses his mission: to sow confusion and mayhem within churches. Some of the things he did were carry copies of the Satanic Bible so he could plant them on church premises, seduce women, attend small group Bible studies to introduce unbelief and doctrinal error.

• He tells of numerous incidents when he had spiritual insight into people, sensing their spiritual protection or vulnerability.

• He describes how he felt and acted around Christians. For example, he found it impossible to sit in a worship service and often blacked out when in conversation as he channeled spirits.

• He shows us the terrifying side of spirit possession—the spooky nights filled with demonic phenomena and his ever-present depression and obsession with death. He was preparing to compose a suicide note to one of his kids the day he called out to God at a men's retreat and was miraculously delivered.

Why read such a book? Perhaps it's not for everyone, but it certainly opened my eyes.

• It showed me the fearful price that Satan exacts in loyalty, obedience and servitude.

• It showed how Satan's promises are lies.

• It illustrated, by contrast, the light, life, freedom, and joy we have in Christ—things it's easy for us to take for granted, until we've experienced (vicariously, through reading about it was experience enough for me) what life on the dark side is like.

• It provided an insight into what may be behind many of our society's bizarre and self-destructive behaviours (like rampant suicide, the prevalence of cutting, the spirit of lust that has taken down not only lay-Christians but many pastors too) and gave clues as to how to minister to demonically oppressed people.

• Mike's spiritual zeal for and commitment to the dark side put me to shame as I compared it to my zeal and commitment to Jesus.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the freedom, peace, joy, cleanness and wholesomeness  available to me because of Jesus. Help me to live with a greater awareness of darkness, and to guard myself against it. Amen.

MORE: Why share such a story?

Here, in Mike's own words, is why he told his story:

"I have learned the only thing that evil can take over is darkness. Darkness invades our lives when we shut out the light of God's love. But where there is light, there cannot be darkness. Light pierces darkness and illuminates the truth.

We must realize that we are in a world that is spiritually intertwined. There is more to our existence than the obvious. We must open our eyes to see the spiritual realm, which is very real and very powerful. And we must learn the weapons of our adversary, not only to avoid becoming ensnared by darkness but to be able to reach into that darkness to rescue others, like me, with the light. We are instruments of change. We are powerful vessels carrying an eternal cargo of either life or death.

The reason for sharing my story in this book is to demonstrate the power of God over Satan and to show how merciful a God we have in heaven. To give Him the glory and praise, and to demonstrate the power of love over fear, to show the love our Father has for us, to let God's light expose the darkness—but mainly to facilitate the hope that by reading this story, people might turn to the King of Kings!" - Mike Leehan, Ascent from Darkness, Kindle Location 3462 (emphasis added).

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Walking in the dark

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 John 2:3-29


TO CHEW ON: "But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes." 1 John 2:11

Our eyes are not well equipped to help us maneuver on our own in the dark. In darkness they no longer distinguish color. Our perception of depth and distance is altered. If we take away all light, our eyes are useless and we're as good as blind.

The Bible talks in many places about walking in darkness in a metaphorical way.

• Jesus calls it having bad eyes (Matthew 6:22-23). He is talking about how we view life. We might call it worldview.

• Jesus also talks about the Pharisees having an entrenched blindness that refuses to see life any other way than through their legalistic lens (Matthew 15:14; 23:19).

• Paul refers to the refusal to believe in Jesus and His finished work for us as blindness of mind and heart that is lifted as a result of believing ("Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away" - 2 Corinthians 3:14-16).

• The "god of this age" (Satan) can blind our minds to keep us from understanding and believing God's plan through Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:3-6).

• Paul characterizes this darkness as a downward spiral that leads to an ever-increasing corruption of understanding and lifestyle (Romans 1:21,24-32; Ephesians 4:18,19).

• And then we have our focus verse that reveals another aspect of walking in darkness: hating our brother. Really? we might ask. That's as dangerous as living in unbelief? As serious as having the legalistic, self-righteous worldview of the Pharisees? As hazardous as the determination to refuse to acknowledge God at all?

"Do not be blinded by the darkness of hatred," says a sidebar article on this passage in my Bible. "Understand that it will cause you to fall in your walk with the Lord. Turn away from hatred; ask for forgiveness for any hate in your heart. Ask God to heal you and enable you to forgive, knowing that Jesus paid the price for the wrong people have done" - Leslyn Musch, Truth-In-Action-Through 1 John, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1791 (emphasis added).

Forgiveness. Is that the switch that turns on the light from living in the darkness of hatred?

PRAYER: Dear God, I am not free from dislike, resentment, even hatred. Please show me where I am walking in such darkness. Help me to forgive and release anyone who has wronged me. Amen.

MORE: Shades of hatred

Would we recognize hatred in ourselves more readily if we acknowledged its subtle shades, its gradual growth in us from feelings of irritation, to dislike, to extreme animosity?

I was struck by this quote in Henri Nouwen's little book With Burning Hearts:

"I wonder how I would live if there were no resentment at all in my heart. I am so used to talking about people I do not like, to harboring memories about events that gave me much pain, or to acting with suspicion and fear that I do not know how it would be if there were nothing to complain about and nobody to gripe about! My heart still has many corners that hide my resentments and I wonder if I really want to be without them. What would I do without these resentments? And there are many moments in life in which I have the opportunity to nurture them. Before breakfast I have already had many feelings of suspicion, jealousy, many thoughts about people I prefer to avoid, and many little plans to live my day in a guarded way" - Henri Nouwen, With Burning Hearts, pp. 32,33.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Celebrating darkness

Halloween jack-o-lanterns (pixabay.com)

TODAY’S SPECIAL: John 8:31-47

TO CHEW ON: “‘And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’” John 8:32

Today is Halloween. Tonight children dressed up in all kinds of costumes, cute to ghoulish, will knock on doors and expect us to toss candy into their plastic jack-o-lanterns or pillow cases. It’s a lot of fun for the kids. Many consider it the highlight celebration of the year.

Halloween’s roots are not quit as innocent. The Samhain holiday observed by the Celts on this day was a time that spirits of those who had died in the last year were believed to roam. People offered food and drink to ward off these spirits.

When the Romans conquered Britain, the holiday morphed into a harvest celebration honouring the fruit tree goddess Pamona. During the Middle Ages, the day—though officially abandoned—took on religious overtones linked to the Christian belief in evil spirits (info from The Christian Almanac by George Grant & Gregory Wilbur, p. 639).

The modern celebration seems to get bigger each year with store displays for Halloween set up earlier and targeting a wider age range. Though it is mostly lighthearted and fun for the children, the creatures associated with it—skeletons, witches, ghosts, vampires, werewolves etc.—honor death, fear, the occult, the paranormal.

Because of the above, I have always felt uneasy about celebrating Halloween. It seemed contradictory to me to honor forces and beings of darkness when I claimed to belong to the creator and bringer of light. A friend of mine who works in the deliverance ministry recently asked for more prayer covering because she deals with a lot of deep and real darkness rooted in occult involvement.

And so this Halloween day, let’s focus on Jesus who said earlier in John 8: "'I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life'" - John 8:12,   “'I am the way, the truth and the life'” - John 14:6 and “'You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.'” - John 8:32.


PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for defeating all the power of the evil one. Your shed blood on the doorposts of my life means he can’t touch me. I pray protection on families, homes and communities tonight when darkness is celebrated as innocent fun. Amen.

MORE: The Vigil for All Saints Day
Some churches celebrate a Vigil for All Saints Day. An article on the Share Faith site describes the vigil and what it means in different denominations:

"All Saints Day begins with a vigil, the observance of which originated with the Antioch Church. The night time hours of All Saints are devoted to prayer and fasting. The Catholic ceremony for the day is a solemn one, and includes the observance of Mass, followed by prayers offered to the Virgin Mary and all the saints. Lutherans and Episcopalians remember the day by giving thanks to God for all saints, living and dead. The Orthodox Churches continue to honor all Christian martyrs on the first Sunday after Pentecost." Read the entire article...

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Obedience

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 11:14-28

TO CHEW ON: "And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, 'Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts which nursed you.'

But He said, 'More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.'" Luke 11: 27-28

The woman who called out to Jesus may have done it in the spirit of fan worship that infects so many of us today. She was saying, in effect, How fortunate are the people who have a blood tie to You, Jesus.'

Jesus' reply shows that the kinship she so values ranks lower in His regard than the relationship built by obedience. In fact in another place He says that the obedient ones are His mother and brothers. (I love how the Message puts it: "Obedience is thicker than blood.")

In today's passage we see some of the reasons Jesus rates obedience so highly:

1. It is our guard against demonization.
Jesus refers to demons re-entering a life (Luke 11:24-26). Though He makes no direct reference here to disobedience being behind it, the implication in other scriptures (e.g. Ephesians 4:26-27) is that willful sinning (disobedience) is one way we give the devil a foothold in our lives.

2. It helps us understand Him and why He came.
Jesus scolds the Jewish leaders and their generation because they continue asking for more signs in order to believe (Luke 11:29-32). He compares Himself to Jonah and likens His coming death to Jonah's stay in the belly of the whale. But unlike the Ninevites who repented when Jonah preached to them after his 'resurrection' these people refuse, and will continue to refuse, to repent (obey).


3. When we obey we live in light.
Our compliance with God's standards and ways of working affect how we "see" or understand all of life (Luke 11:33-36). A "Word Wealth" sidebar in my Bible sheds some light on 'darkness.'

"'Darkness' (skotos) from the word ska, 'to cover.' The word is used literally for physical darkness and metaphorically for spiritual, moral and intellectual darkness. The darkness arises from error, ignorance, disobedience, willful blindness and disobedience. Darkness is an evil system, absolutely opposed to light" - Dick Mills,  New Spirit Filled Life Bible p. 1411.

If our friendship with Jesus depended on a family blood tie, we'd be left out. But it doesn't. It depends (so far as we are concerned) on our obedience. It's so simple, yet so hard.

PRAYER: Dear God, I want a Holy Spirit-directed life that is full of light. Help me to make the connection, at a deep level, with how closely the fulfillment of this desire is dependent on my obedience. Amen.

MORE: More wise words on obedience

"The golden rule for understanding spiritually is not intellect but obedience. If a man wants scientific knowledge, intellectual curiosity is his guide, but if he wants insight into what Jesus Christ teaches, he can only get it by obedience. If things are dark to me, then I may be sure there is something I will not do. Intellectual darkness comes through ignorance; spiritual darkness comes because of something I do not intend to obey." Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, July 27th reading.

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 Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

Be afraid of the dark

Image: Jingoba / pixabay.com

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Luke 23:26-56

TO CHEW ON: “Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Then the sun was darkened.” Luke 23:44-45a


Darkness is not a real, tangible thing. Rather it is the absence of something real, tangible and measurable – light. There can be degrees of darkness with complete, utter darkness being the complete and utter absence of any light.

God’s first positive act of creation, which began to bring order to the chaos of earth, was to create light (before He created the sun, moon and stars (Genesis 1:2,3), which brings up the question – what was that light like; did it emanate from something, or somewhere, or Someone?).

This physical phenomenon of light and darkness is used throughout the Bible in a symbolic way, where light is equated with God and darkness the absence of God. At various times (this being one of them) God sent or allowed supernatural darkness. Another such time was the ninth plague of Egypt when the darkness was so thick the people felt it, couldn't see each other, and were confined to their homes for three days (Exodus 10:21-23).

I imagine there was some of that quality of palpability and isolation to the noon to 3:00 p.m. darkness that accompanied Jesus' death on the cross. Did He feel cut off from God as He hung there?  In Matthew’s telling of this incident just after he describes the darkness, come the words of Jesus: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” ( (Matthew 27:45,46) ). This was the utter darkness of God having withdrawn Himself completely.

It’s easy to shrug this off as a phenomenon that has nothing to do with us. But it does.
- The power of darkness controls us before we come to God (Colossians 1:13,14).
- Our preference is for darkness (John 3:19).
- When we come to God we pass into the realm of light (Ephesians 5:8-13).
- But even here we can quench light by living in darkness (1 John 1:6). 
- Jesus warned against the possibility of being thrown into darkness that lasts forever (Matthew 25:14-30).

How awesome and frightening must have been the darkness on the day of Jesus’ death with its effect on even hardened soldiers. His identification of what made it terrible – God’s absence – is instruction to us. The more God has of us, and we of Him, the more there is no room for darkness.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for enduring the agony of the darkness of God’s absence to buy my salvation. Help me to live always in Your light.

MORE:  Today some churches celebrate Holy Saturday, others the Vigil of Easter. 

• The liturgy for Easter Vigil is HERE.

• The liturgy for Holy Saturday is HERE. It begins with this collect:

"O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The horror of darkness

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Genesis 15:1-21

TO CHEW ON: "Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold horror and great darkness fell upon him.
Then He said to Abram: Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years." Genesis 15:12,13

Have you ever had a dream from which you awoke with pounding heart, in a sweat of fear, about to scream? Abram's dream of darkness here may have been of that type. It seems the horror and darkness he felt were connected to the content of the dream itself—a prophecy of Israel's years in Egypt.

Remind you of anything? What about the ninth plague where God told Moses He would send "...darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt" and it came about - Exodus 10:21-22.

Such supernatural darkness came on the earth another time too—in the middle of the day of Jesus' crucifixion: "Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over the land" - Matthew 24:45.

Darkness is mentioned a lot in Scripture.

• It is figurative of punishment.

* Israel was threatened with darkness for ignoring the prophets - Micah 3:6.
* Jesus said the faithless Jews of His day would be "cast into outer darkness" - Matthew 8:12.
* Peter talks of a place of punishment that is made of "...the blackness of darkness forever" - 2 Peter 2:17.

• It often describes the actions and lifestyle of the spiritually lost and confused - Matthew 6:23.

• But God's light dispels it - John 1:5.

• Though our natural inclination is to prefer darkness... - John 3:19.

• ... it is something we can choose to come out of - Romans 13:12; Ephesians 5:8

• and live in light - 1 Thessalonians 5:4,5.

If there is anything that ties all of these thoughts together, it is the idea that darkness is a picture of life without God. No wonder God was so hurt and disappointed when the Israelites, en-route to Canaan, repeatedly wanted to turn around and return to Egypt. Unfortunately, all too often they are a picture of us, wanting to go back to the old ways of darkness, not realizing that that place is, finally, a place of total horror and godforsakeness.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for dispelling the darkness of our spiritual condition and destiny by sending Jesus. Help me to resist the lure of darkness whenever it tempts me. Amen.

MORE: The world's light

"Then Jesus spoke to them again saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life" John 8:12.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A history of LIGHT

Creation of Light - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Genesis 1:1-19

TO CHEW ON: "Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light." Genesis 1:3

After reading this first chapter of Genesis tens of times, it finally sunk in, recently, that God created light before He created the light-givers: sun, moon, and stars. In fact, light was the first created thing. Perhaps it should not surprise us, then, to see that God is frequently associated with LIGHT.

He is the creator of the physical light-makers in our sky (Genesis 1:17) from whose properties and activities, I think we could argue (though I'm no scientist) come all the other light sources—lightning, electricity, lightning bugs…

Light often characterizes God-generated supernatural activities.

• When the Israelites were pursued by the Egyptians, the cloud by which God led them was a light to them, to help them across the Red Sea (Exodus 14:20).

• Angel visits were sometimes accompanied by light. The "glory of the Lord" shone around the shepherds when they angels told them of Jesus' birth (Luke 2:9). Peter was sprung from prison by an angel whose presence was a "bright light" (Acts 12:7).

The writers of the Bible's psalms and praise songs often referred to God in relation to light.

• "The Lord is my light and my salvation" - Psalm 27:1.

• "In Your light we see light" - Psalm 36:9.

• "For the Lord God is a sun and shield" - Psalm 84:11.

• "You cover Yourself with light as with a garment" - Psalm 104:2.

Light surrounds the life and ministry of Jesus.

• Old Testament prophecies we believe were fulfilled by His coming make many references to light - Numbers 24:17; Isaiah 9:2; 60:3; Malachi 4:2.

• John the Baptist referring to One coming after Him, talked of  "witnessing to the Light" - John 1:7-9.

• Jesus, referring to Himself said, "I am the light of the world..." - John 8:12; 12:35, 46.

Now we, as believers in Jesus, His disciples, followers, children, are possessors of that light - John 8:12.

• We inherit that light - Ephesians 5:8; Philippians 2:15.

• We distribute that light - Matthew 5:14.

In this season of short days and long dark nights (at least where I live), let's thank God for light of all kinds—the physical and the spiritual—which will culminate, one day, in a place where there is no more need for the sun, moon and stars, but God will be our sole source of light - Revelation 22:5; 1 John 1:3.


PRAYER: Dear God,  thank You for physical light, the light of mental understanding, but most of all for the spiritual light that overcomes sin and all the darkness that descended on the world and in us as a result. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The battle of 2015

Happy New Year! 

Spiritual Warfare - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Colossians 1:1-20

TO CHEW ON: "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love." - Colossians 1:13


Kristine McGuire grew up in a Christian home and gave her heart to Jesus at an early age. However, a combination of things including an interest in horror movies and scary books, a series of life events that frustrated and angered her, and the performance-based legalism of the church she attended, fueled an attraction to the occult.

And so for eight years as an adult she gave herself to ghost hunting and activities as a psychic, medium, and witch, rationalizing that she could be involved in these things as a Christian, even calling herself a Christian ghost hunter.

Her story, told in An Insider's Guide to Spiritual Warfare, shines a light on one area where many in our society and even some professing Christians are living under the power of darkness, that is, through involvement in the occult. McGuire writes:

"People are hungry for a spiritual connection with God …. Satan counterfeits the power and good gifts of God, twisting them into what we see being done by mediums, psychics, diviners, energy healers, and those who practice forms of magick and spellcraft" - p. 160.

But we don't have to stay in this dark place of fear, deception, and confusion. For as our focus verse reminds us:

He has delivered [rescued, drawn to Himself] us to Himself from the power [authority, right to act, ability, privilege] of darkness [darkened eyesight or blindness, ignorance respecting divine things and the accompanying ungodliness and immorality] and conveyed [transferred, removed and relocated, "… refers to the deportation or transference of captured armies or populations from one country to another" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible p. 1671] us into the kingdom [royal power, dominion rule] of the Son of His love [agape love].

Recognizing and getting free from the power of the occult is only one aspect of spiritual warfare. As we enter this year, let's prepare to fight in all areas as captives-who-have-become-warriors of the kingdom of light. McGuire ends her book with this challenge:

"Spiritual warfare:
It is in the prayers we say or forget to say.
It is in the choice to be kind or hurtful.
It is in our work ethic or lack thereof.
It is in the people and relationships in whom we choose to invest or not to invest.
It is in the experiences, mundane or supernatural, we accept or deny.
It is in the causes we take up or reject.
Every day the battle wages.
You are a spiritual warrior.
The time has come. Take up spiritual arms.
And with God's help, make your stand" - Kristine McGuire, An Insider's Guide to Spiritual Warfare, p. 226.

PRAYER: Dear God, please alert me to areas where I am playing with and living in darkness. Help me to live completely in the Your kingdom of love and light. Amen.

MORE: Feast of the Holy Name

Today the church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Name. The liturgy for today begins with this Collect:

Eternal Father, you gave to your incarnate Son the holy name of Jesus to be the sign of our salvation: Plant in every heart, we pray, the love of him who is the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Clothed in light

Clothed in light - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 104:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "Bless the Lord, O my Soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great:
You are clothed with honor and majesty,
Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment." Psalm 104:1,2


Images of light—and dark—are woven through the Bible. Today let's sample a few of them to understand what the Bible says about light and dark, and to get a sense of where we fit in the spectrum.

• "God is light, in Him there is no darkness at all" - 1 John 1:5.

• God's breath gives man intellectual understanding or light - Job 32:8.

• The prophets depict the coming Messiah in terms of light: "But to you who fear My name / The Sun of Righteousness shall arise…" - Malachi 4:2.

• John talks of Jesus using the metaphor of light: "In Him was life and the life was the light of men … That was the true light which gives light to every man" - John 1:4,9. 

• Jesus claimed to be light: " ' I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life' " John 8:12.

• He said belief in Him brought people into light:" ' I have come as a light into the world that whosoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness' " John 12:46. 

We gain an understanding and appreciation of light when we contrast it with darkness.

• Moses describes the consequences of disobeying God: "You shall grope at noonday as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways" - Deuteronomy 28:29.

• Proverbs talks of the wicked person's way, "…like darkness. They do not know what makes them stumble" - Proverbs 4:19.

• The prophet Micah depicts the time of Israel's apostasy as "… night without vision. And you shall have darkness without divination" - Micah 3:6.

• In general, we humans prefer darkness "…men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil" - John 3:19.

• But darkness and light can never coexist. When light comes, darkness has to leave: "And the light shines in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it" - John 1:5.

• We can never hide from God's light. No darkness is too thick that He can't penetrate it  - Psalm 139:11,12.

• Paul tells us to cast off darkness and "… put on the armour of light" - Romans 13:12.

• He speaks of our pilgrimage to faith in terms of once being in darkness but now in light - Ephesians 5:8.

• Jesus tells those who believe in Him that they are the light of the world - Matthew 5:14.

• And someday we will live in the city which has no need of the light of sun or moon—for God's Son will illuminate it. Jesus "…the Lamb is its light" - Revelation 21:23.

I ask myself, where am I on this journey from darkness to light? Where are you? Are we living with sin in the shadows, thinking we can hide from God? Have we seen Jesus' attractive light, but we're still in twilight, not sure we want to go all the way in putting on that armour? Or are we on the pilgrimage to ever-increasing light as we let the scriptures probe our lives, shining light on any rooms and corners where darkness still resides, becoming ever more attractive light-bearers (2 Corinthians 3:18)? Let's live in the light now so we can look forward with anticipation to heaven when we will experience perfect light!


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for being light. Help me to expose my life to Your light and walk in it all my days. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Dichotomy within the gospel

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Exodus 14:10-31

TO CHEW ON: "And the Angel of God who went before the camp of Israel moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. … Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night." Exodus 14:19-20


The Egyptians were in hot pursuit of Israel after their exit from Egypt. But when the Egyptian army was about to pounce, God cut them off. His miraculous cloud served double duty, darkening the night for the Egyptians while it illuminated the journey through the sea for Israel.

This cloud reminds me of the way God's plan works double duty in other parts of the Bible.

The prophets (Isaiah 28:16; Zechariah 10:4), Jesus (Mark 12:10), and the apostles (Ephesians 2:20-22) use imagery of a cornerstone to describe Jesus and His work. But not everyone accepts Him as this. Peter describes how to those who don't believe  in Jesus, He is a "stone of stumbling and rock of offence" (1 Peter 2:8).

Paul talks about the knowledge of Christ as a fragrance. To those being saved it's the fragrance of life but to unbelievers it is the "aroma of death" - 2 Corinthians 2:14-16.

"'Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth,'" Jesus says in another instance. "'I did not come to bring peace but a sword.'" He goes on to say how belief in Him may cause a rift between people in the closest relationships (Matthew 10:34-38).

From earliest installments of the story (like our reading in Exodus) we have seeds of the gospel's potential to divide. So let's not be caught off guard when our faith offends, when our beliefs cause arguments, when even our closest relationships are affected by our loyalty to Jesus and the gospel.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to be uncompromising in my loyalty to You and the gospel, regardless of the reaction of those around me. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

How to be a reflector

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 60:1-22

TO CHEW ON: "For behold the darkness shall cover the earth

And deep darkness the people;

But the Lord will arise over you

And His glory will be seen upon you." Isaiah 60:2

We have just come through a season where thousands of Christmas lights made darkness a festival. As, one by one, these lights go out for the season, the darkness seems even darker than it did before the lights came on. That kind of opaque darkness is what Isaiah describes:

"For behold darkness shall cover the earth
And deep darkness the people."

One thing breaks the sense of despair and hopelessness this darkness brings;

"But the Lord will arise over you
And His glory will be seen upon you."

No doubt Isaiah's words brought to his hearers' minds a time when God's glory had been upon Israel literally as a cloud hovering over them by day, a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 16:7,10). Perhaps they thought too of when God revealed His glory on Mount Sinai (Exodus 24:17), in the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34), and at the dedication of Solomon's temple (1 Kings 8:11).

That glory came as a person in Jesus: "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12).

After Jesus had ascended to heaven, Stephen saw Jesus' glorified heavenly state (Acts 7:55).

The exciting thing is that we ourselves, earthbound as we are, can be vessels of that glory: "But we, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image form glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Corinthians 3:18.

"Beholding as in a mirror connotes 'reflecting' as well as 'looking into.' As we behold the glory of the Lord we are continually transformed into the same image by the Spirit of the Lord. We then, with ever increasing glory reflect what we behold" - Footnote to 2 Corinthians 3:18, New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 1614.

In other words we become like what we gaze at, meditate on, ponder, and try to be like.

The earth around us may be dark—not only physically but also emotionally and morally. We may feel small and inadequate to make a difference. But the thickness of that darkness makes even the smallest light visible. Let's light up that darkness around us today with the reflection of Jesus!

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, You are an impossible act to follow! Would You, by the Holy Spirit, work in me the will and the way to emulate You. I want Your glory to be reflected in and seen upon me. Amen.

MORE: Handel's Messiah Texts
George Frederick Handel used Isaiah 60:2-3 from today's reading in his his oratorio Messiah. Our Bible readings this year will bring us face to face with all the Bible passages he used in that great composition. This is Chorus 10 "For Behold Darkness Shall Cover the Earth,"performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus.

How to be a reflector

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 60:1-22

TO CHEW ON: "For behold the darkness shall cover the earth

And deep darkness the people;

But the Lord will arise over you

And His glory will be seen upon you." Isaiah 60:2

We have just come through a season where thousands of Christmas lights made darkness a festival. As, one by one, these lights go out for the season, the darkness seems even darker than it did before the lights came on. That kind of opaque darkness is what Isaiah describes:

"For behold darkness shall cover the earth
And deep darkness the people."

One thing breaks the sense of despair and hopelessness this darkness brings;

"But the Lord will arise over you
And His glory will be seen upon you."

No doubt Isaiah's words brought to his hearers' minds a time when God's glory had been upon Israel literally as a cloud hovering over them by day, a pillar of fire by night. Perhaps they thought too of when God revealed His glory on Mount Sinai, in the tabernacle, and at the dedication of Solomon's temple.

That glory came as a person in Jesus: "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12).

After Jesus had ascended to heaven, Stephen saw Jesus' glorified heavenly state.

The exciting thing is that we ourselves, earthbound as we are, can be vessels of that glory: "But we, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image form glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Corinthians 3:18.

"Beholding as in a mirror connotes 'reflecting' as well as 'looking into.' As we behold the glory of the Lord we are continually transformed into the same image by the Spirit of the Lord. We then, with ever increasing glory reflect what we behold" - Footnote to 2 Corinthians 3:18, New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 1614.

In other words we become like what we gaze at, meditate on, ponder, and try to be like.

The earth around us may be dark — not only physically but also emotionally and morally. We may feel small and inadequate to make a difference. But the thickness of that darkness makes even the smallest light visible. Let's light up that darkness around us today with the reflection of Jesus!

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, You are an impossible act to follow! Would You, by the Holy Spirit, work in me the will and the way to emulate You. I want Your glory to be reflected in and seen upon me. Amen.

MORE: Verses to memorize

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" - Matthew 5:14-16.