LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS

LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS

Darkness cannot exist in the light.  When we walk into a dark room and switch on the light, darkness has to disappear.  Light is essential for life.  In a world where there is no light, life cannot exist. 

Plants cannot grow without the light from the sun.  Light is essential for our own body.  Sunlight can improve our mental health.  There are studies that show that, “Sunlight actually increase levels of a natural antidepressant in the brain.  On sunny days, the brain produces more of the mood-lifting chemical serotonin than on darker days.” Dr. Michael Murray (www.care2.com/greenliving/7-little-known-benefits-of-sunlight.html)

Natural light can also give us stronger bones because of vitamin D that we get from the sun.  This vitamin helps in the absorption of calcium.  It can help with faster healing.  There is research that shows that it can play a role in faster healing after injury or illness.  “People recovering from spinal surgery experienced less pain and stress and took fewer pain medications when they were exposed to natural light.  An older study showed that the view out the window (trees vs. a brick wall) helped recovery in the hospital,” reports the Harvard Health Letter (http://www.health.harvardedu/newsletters/Harvard_Health_Letter/2010/July/a-prescripton-for-better-health-go-alfresco?utm_source=mental&utm-medium=pressrelease&utm-campaign=health0710). These are a few of the benefits to our body and mind and emotions.  Ultra-violet light purifies by either killing or inactivating microorganisms.

Where did light originate?  God, the Creator of all is the light.  In Genesis 1:3, “And God said, Let there be light; and there was light.”   Let there be light is a translation of the Hebrew phrase “yehi ‘or”, which was translated in Latin as “flat lux”.  A literal translation would actually mean, “Light, exist.”   It is more of a command spoken by God.  (www.gotquestions.org/let-there-be-light.html)

There are many, many scriptures that speak about light. 

John 1:4 “In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men.”

John 1:5, “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.)”

I Thess. 5:5, “For you are all sons of light and sons of the day; we do not belong either to the night or to the darkness.”

I John 1:7, “This man came to witness, that he might testify of the Light, that all men might believe in it (adhere to it, trust it, and rely upon it) through him.”

I John 1:5-7, “And this is the message (the message of promise) which we have heard from Him and now reporting to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all (no, not in any Way.)  (So) if we say we are partakers together and enjoy fellowship with Him when we live and move and are walking about in darkness, we are (both) speaking falsely and do not live and practice the Truth (which the Gospel presents).  But if we (really) are living and walking in the Light, as He (Himself) is in the Light, we have (true, unbroken) fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses (removes) us from all sin and guilt (keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations).”

Matthew 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a peck measure, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.  Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven.”

God is light.  We are created in His image.  If He is light, then we are light.  We are a portion of Who He is.  Jesus is the manifestation of God on earth.  When one is lost in the darkness he reaches for a light to show the way.  Jesus shows us the way to the Father. 

Just like some insects are attracted to the light, so should we be attracted to the light of God.  We should not be ashamed to reflect His light within us.  God commanded the light to cover the earth.  He has covered the earth with His glory but the enemy works in darkness.  We need to dispel the darkness by our actions and through who we are in Christ.  When there is darkness, you cannot see, you stumble and fall, but when the light comes into a space, all that has been hiding comes into view.  Darkness cannot overcome light.  

Light existed before darkness because God existed before anything ever existed.  Light is essential to our very life and the life of the planet.  Everything is given life through light.  Let’s be the light that God has called us to be.  Let’s be a reflection of Who He is and others will be attracted to us and then we can truly bring the Kingdom of God to the earth just as Jesus did when He came to live among us and show us how to live!

GETTING BACK TO THE GARDEN

GETTING BACK TO THE GARDEN

Adam and Eve walked and talked with God in the Garden of Eden.  They were created to live the way that God had ordained in complete communion with God.  They were aware of the presence of God.  It has been said that until they disobeyed God, the awareness of God’s presence was pre-eminent in their lives.  Their identity was one with God.  I guess you could say that their being and God’s presence were one and the same because they were essentially an extension of God’s glory.  They were clothed with God’s glory and were not in need of any physical clothing because there was no need in an environment where everything is perfect and there is no physical need for clothing.  When you are clothed in the glory of God, there is no need for anything else.

We need to get back to the Garden where we were truly one with the Creator God.  God created a perfect environment where one is loved and cared for and also where there is a purpose.  The purpose they had was to love and be loved by God and love and be loved by their beloved.  They also had a purpose which was to tend the garden.  They lived in a world that was perfect where love was given and received and where they lived in unity with their environment tending and taking care of it. 

How do we get back to the garden?  Can we get back to the Garden?  In Revelation 21:1 and 3 it says, “Then I saw a new sky (heaven) and a new earth, for the former sky and the former earth had passed away (vanished), and there no longer existed any sea.  Then I heard a mighty voice from the throne and I perceived its distinct words, saying, See!   The abode of God is with men, and He will live (encamp, tent) among  them; and they shall be His people, and God shall personally be with them and be their God.  In Revelation 21:4-5 it says, “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away.  And He Who is seated on the throne said, See!  I make all things new.”

How does that apply to us today?  God did not create us for this world, this world system.  He created us to be in constant communion with Him and His creation.  How can we strive to get there?  We can do it first by having a close relationship with God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  No, we cannot physically walk with God but we can spiritually walk with Him.  We are not cloaked in His glory like Adam and Eve were but we have the Holy Spirit within us to guide us, comfort us, and fill us with God’s love and purpose.  Like Adam and Eve, we do not need to be ashamed of who we were created to be.  We were created to have fellowship with God and to reflect His image.  We need to be a reflection of God’s image here on this earth.  

God made us physical beings, man and woman and we need not be ashamed of our bodies.  God created a masterpiece.  Yes, the world is now saying you can choose your gender.  God created only two genders—male and female.  The world has perverted the human body.  God celebrated His creation.  He is not ashamed of His creation and neither should we. 

Celebrate the gift of one another in marriage which God instituted.  We need to be a light to others.  God says that the Church is His bride.  He has used the example of marriage throughout the Bible to show His love.  In Isaiah 54: 5 it says, “For your Maker is your Husband—the Lord of hosts is His name—and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; the God of the whole earth He is called.”  Don’t be afraid to let the world know that you love each other.  Celebrate the gift that God has given you. 

To the single, to the young, celebrate who you were created to be.  Be the light of Christ living within you.  Remember the song—“They’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”  Let’s not just speak the Word of God but live the Word of God by our actions!

We need to get back to the Garden---full circle.  A circle does not have a beginning point nor an ending.  It continues and is unbroken.  Let’s live in God’s world where there is no beginning nor end but full circle, encircled in His everlasting love!!

CREATED IN GOD’S IMAGE

CREATED IN GOD’S IMAGE

We are created in the image of God.  We are a resemblance of God created to manifest His glory throughout the earth.  When God created Adam and Eve, it appeared that He wanted to share His love and be loved, and He loved mankind so much that He gave him a will of his own.  God did not create robots but people with a free will who would choose right from wrong and also choose to love or be loved by their Creator God.

God has a plan and it started at creation when he created Adam and Eve.  He made us in His own image and made us male and female.  He has a plan and a purpose for our lives giving us a free will to love Him and serve Him.

Marriage, as stated in the Bible, is between one man and one woman.  That is God’s plan and we, as His creation, should not doubt our Creator and question His plan.  We are the creation and He is the Creator.  He is a loving God who only wants what is best for us.  Satan has always tried to steal our identity and it started in the Garden of Eden.  All he had to do was to put a small doubt into Eve’s mind by asking her, “......Can it really be that God has said, you shall not eat from every tree of the garden?” Genesis 3:1

Satan not only tricked Eve into doubting what God had told her not to do (eat of the tree of knowledge) but he continues to this day, if not by  corrupting humanity in the flesh like the Nephilim, but by assaulting our identities as a woman or a man.  A man’s identity has been bashed by the progressive left and feminist movement.  They want to destroy God’s plan by using gender confusion or a new definition of gender based solely on who I think I am rather than who I was created to be.  If the evil one can tear down who we are, then he can try to tear down who God is and make Him obsolete.

The conspiracy to “corrupt the seed of woman” is also evident in the conspiracy to change gender.  If we can change our gender, than there really is no purpose for marriage.  If a man’s sperm can be used to impregnate an egg for procreation there’s no need for a man and a woman to be joined together for a child to be born.

Owen Strachan stated in an article entitled “Transgender Identity—Wishing Away God’s Design said, “We should celebrate the beauty of God’s creative design.  The Christian Church and the godly family should be a festival of happiness.  We should rejoice that God in His sovereign wisdom has opened our eyes to see that He has made us according to His perfect design.  Manhood and womanhood aren’t Plan B.  God Himself has made us as we are.  We are the pinnacle of His creation.”

Don't be deceived by the world.  Don't let the world tell you who you are.  Stand up for who you are in Christ.  We are who Almighty God says we are!!

 
BIBLICAL IDENTITY DECLARATIONS:

1.  I am chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world that I may be holy and blameless before the Father.  Ephesians 1:4
2.  The Father has accepted me in the beloved.  Ephesians 1:6 

3.  I have redemption through Jesus Christ’s blood and the forgiveness of sins.  Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:14
4.  I am saved by grace through faith.  I am not saved by my own works.  Ephesians 2:8-9
5.  I am God's masterpiece.  He created me anew in Christ Jesus, so I can do all the good things He planned for me long ago.  Ephesians 2:10
6.  I am strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man according to the riches of His glory.  Ephesians 3:16
7.  Christ dwells in my heart by faith.  I am rooted and grounded in love.  Ephesians 3:17
8.  God gives me the victory through Jesus Christ my Lord.  I Cor. 16:57

9.  I have the mind of Christ.  I Cor. 2:16
10.  I am in Christ Jesus and therefore I am a new creation.  Old things have passed away and all things have become new.  II Cor. 5:17  (Igniting Hope Ministries, June 10, 2015)

We are not who the world is telling us who we are!  We do not think the way the world thinks.  We do not live the way the world wants us to live.  We ARE who God says that we are.  We do have the mind of Christ.  We WILL live the way Christ wants us to live.  We need to take a stand and not let our voices be silenced anymore.  Our true identity is being eroded by the anti-christ spirit living and moving in our politicians, media and sadly to say in some churches.