Light above ALL DARKNESS

John 8:12 

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 

Darkness, in general, does not bother me.  I enjoy night, especially the quiet of the night,
unless I am in a strange place with which I am unfamiliar. On the flip side, I love the sun.
It was especially welcoming at the end of a long Ohio winter season to sit outside in the
light of the sunshine and feel its warmth. 

But there is a darkness that lurks inside of all of us. It is the darkness where sin abides,
that place where we have a tendency to go if we are not diligent and under the good care
of the Holy Counselor. It is a powerful darkness; just look at the newspaper headlines on
a daily basis. There is a spiritual battle taking place, often underneath our awareness,
where the light that is God does battle against the darkness that is characterized by His
absence.

 English Standard Version
And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.  John 3: 19

So what did our great God do to counteract this darkness, this powerful negative force
that "seems" to overwhelm mankind. He sent a baby!

 It was no ordinary baby, mind you, it was the Son of the Living God, a baby in
form, a God in reality, come into this world to bring the light of truth. For into this
world a child was born that would fulfill the prophets and the law, bring an end to
the devil and to death, provide a propitiation for the sins of those who would heed
His blessed call.

God didn't send an army; God didn't ever need an army to fulfill His covenants. He
didn't send a mighty man of great physical strength to do this battle of the ages, He sent
a blessed, precious baby boy. Herod was nervous! The devil would be defeated and we
would be blessed for time eternal with the joy of being adopted into the family of Jehovah
God.

Praise Him! Praise that precious Baby Jesus!

So what would I say about Jesus?

1 John 2:2 ESV / 

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

 I have met a new friend here in Florida who mentioned to me that he likes the preaching
at his church because it is about," Jesus and me." That got me to thinking.... what would he say about this Jesus and his relationship with our Savior.

Well he hasn't responded yet, but it brought to mind the question...What would I say about Jesus? Until a few years ago, I would have had very little to say, and that's very
sad and frightening at the same time. I would have mentioned Christmas and probably
done what many lost folks do... called Him a great teacher and moral man.

Well, thanks be to God, I know a bit more now. So here goes, briefly.

He, Jesus, is God. That can be a bit confusing, right? I mean isn't God the Father and
Jesus the Son of God? Yes, and no. Without even trying to explain the Trinity, I'll just
say that Jesus is fully God. The relationship between He and  His Father has existed for
eternity, is never changing and as strong as ever. Jesus was God on Earth. God incarnate.
His glorious attributes are the essence of God.

He, Jesus, is Lord of Salvation! There is simply no other path to forgiveness and
acceptance by God. The actions of Jesus provided the culmination of a plan that began
before time to bring God's creation into acceptance. Jesus is the propitiation for our sins,
He has paid the debt in full, He is the Great High Priest that can walk with us into the
very presence of our God. Without our accepting Him as our Lord and Savior, we are
eternally lost and separate from God. That's simply not a good place to be!!!!

He, Jesus, is our shepherd! Without Him, we, like all sheep, will tend to wander
and get lost. He cares for us and protects us when there is no way we can contuinue to
safely exist without Him. He gathers us to Him and uses His staff and rod in the
process of bringing us to safe keeping. He is strength, gentleness, compassion and
the truth. He is our friend with a capital F. Our lives should be full of the desire to
follow Him, cherish Him, glorify Him and Trust Him!

He, Jesus, is the light of the world! He has defeated darkness. He has defeated
even death. He has dealt a death-blow to Satan. He is the final judge of this world
and, upon His return, will make all things right and just! He is warmth and hope.
He is King and Lord.

HE IS JESUS!

The greatest rescue mission!

Romans 10:9 That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.

There is nothing more riveting than a rescue! Give me a wide range of scenarios and Leroy
Jethro Gibbs and I am glued in to the episode, fully engaged. Gibbs is one of those characters
that thrives in these types of dangerous situations, believable for the most part, though
fictional, because we know that there are real-life examples going on every day of people
being rescued.

Part of what makes real-time rescues fascinating is the risk being taken by the one, trained
or not, attempting to save someone else. These things, due to the very danger involved,
do not necessarily turn out for the best. There is real heroism in someone who risks their
own well-being to try and save another. In the very best cases the rescue is successful and
both or all survive. Obviously things can and do sometimes not work out so positively.

The greatest rescue mission of all time began quietly on a star-filled night in Bethlehem
when Light came into the world for the express purpose of saving people from their sins.
This was the ultimate rescue not only because of the eternal ramifications involved, but also
because he didn't risk His life, He GAVE His life. This rescue mission, fueled by the grace
of God, required a brutal ending. To the extent that not all will be saved, it could be looked
on as a partially successful endeavor, to the total need for rescue, there could never be
another such crucial and loving rescue attempt.

Christ Jesus willingly came on this rescue mission, leaving the glories of heaven to
take on a human existence. The task in this rescue involved the completion of living
a totally spotless, righteous life, something never accomplished by any other person in the
totality of time. Through the temptations, the frustrations and, yes, even fears on
His way to Calvary, Jesus marched steadily onward to rescue fallen mankind from
a hopeless existence followed, potentially, by an eternity of sorrow.

It was the gracious rescue mission promised by God and spoken of in the very
early scriptures. It is a mission that continues on, today, even after the death
and Resurrection of Jesus to culminate, soon, in His triumphant return. All will
notice, all will bow down and many will be saved to glory, life with God forever.

What a mission? What a savior!!!

Ambigiuous...I think not!

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. Matt 7: 13


⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14: 6

Well I hope you enjoyed celebrating the glorious resurrection of Christ Jesus. He HAS
risen and what that means for mankind, itself, is impossible to underestimate....unless...

There are folks out there who simply like choices. They want there to be an A,B and C door
that allows them a say in what is to happen. After all, it's their life, right? Well, I'm not so
sure, but that was handled in a previous blog. People want to be the captain of the ship, and
this may, unfortunately, include their perception of how they may find God. 

The Bible, Jesus, himself and God through His word have eliminated doors of choice. They
have made it clear that good people of other religions, of other beliefs or simply people who
are out there searching for their soul's destination really have but one choice when it
comes to the issue of their soul reaching God. Jesus.

That may seem a bit haughty, a bit limited, a bit stand-offish....okay. The choice of
following Jesus becomes more commonly known with every day. The gospel message
is available to people, everywhere, in some fashion. Whether one sides with the issues
of election and predestination or whether one sees God as reaching out to His whole
creation, the end route remains the same...acceptance, belief and trust in Jesus Christ,
the spotless lamb of God, the redeemer and our Savior. 

His arms are outstretched. There's plenty of room at the foot of the cross. He is strong enough and glorious enough to handle all concerns, fears, problems.. even sins. He
desires to be Savior, Lord and King.

What better time to find Him from your knees. He isn't hidden behind any door. He
is our accessible, grace-filled sovereign Lord. Speak to Him, today.

Praise God!