From Darkness Into The Light

John 12:12" Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

Until Jesus came to dwell among men, the entire world was in darkness. The concept of walking in darkness, symbolized the sin and ignorance of the lost. Even the most godly of men relied upon the priest to offer annual sacrifices, first for himself and then for the sins of the people. The coming of Christ, the spotless lamb of God, has taken away our sins and our darkness. His purpose in coming as the "light" was to rescue all who believes in him from Satan's" dominion of darkness" and to bring them "into the kingdom of the Son", Gods kingdom of light and love.

Jesus the "true light" that gives light to every man; but this light is visible only in those who believe in and follow Christ. True believers will never walk in darkness, That is they will not continually abide in sin and spiritual ignorance. They shall walk in the light, the divine truth and holiness of God. The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. When you are born again. God opens your eyes to the spiritual realm, allowing you to see and understand things that you didn't know existed. They are hidden from the world, but revealed unto us. The holy spirit indwelling us reveals to us the path to life,(taking us from darkness into his marvelous light), the will of God ,and the revelation of the word of God.
Now we are the lights of the world, who were sent to open the eyes of the lost, to turn them from darkness to light, and free them from the grips of Satan, and lead the to the mercy God, that their sins may be forgiven. But just as the Father and son are one, we to must be one with Christ, for he alone is the source of our light, without him we to are in darkness...........

He Told Me To Run On

Galatians 5:7 "Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth"?

We should always admit and praise that which is good that you may effectually rebuke the evil.Paul did not hesitate to praise  the Galatians and say,"ye did run well". It brings great joy to Christians to see others running this race well.To do this,we must run on the right road,straight forward, and persevering,at the top of our pace,with our eyes on Christ.It is great grief to see the many who are hindered or lead off the road.The way is the truth,and the running is obedience.We are hindered when we cease to obey the truth.It will do us good to check and see who and what has tried to hinder us in our race.

This Christian race is by no means easy.We are hindered in running the race which is set before us, because of our sinful nature still remains in the holiest of us.The entanglements of the world,like heavy or tight fitting clothes,hindering the runners ability to run.Our weakness and infirmities,wear us out, because the race is long and the road can get rough.Some are to busy,they run around to much to run this race well.Some run to fast at the start and are soon out of breath.We have fallen off in the areas of  reading God's word,and family prayer.We have lost God's word in the mist of various other books about the bible that seems to occupy so much of our time, we find no time to read the truth of the bible. Many have read biographies,and commentaries written by religious leaders and famous preachers, but have never read the biography of Jesus Christ,the bible.Many are hindered by the many worldly friends in our lives, none can help us in this race but those who are themselves running it;every one else is a hindrance. When a christian forms a intimate relationship with a ungodly person, from that moment all progress is at a standstill.See the ungodly person is going in a different direction,so to walk with them you must turn from the direction of God .

A man's course in religion may often seem to be right and progressive, but the undercurrent of his besetting sins is driving him contrary to where he is striving to get to.Let us run on to the end.

Will You Really

John 13:37 "Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake."

Here we have Jesus ready to secure eternal righteousness for mankind, preparing to take the final step as the Son of man. Jesus ready to make the final sacrifice for man, ready to pay the supreme price to bring about the greatest event in all history: the salvation of  man. Jesus now ready to triumph over Satan by breaking Satan's power over death and over the souls of man. He had given them a new commandment, to love one another. He told them where he was going they could not follow, not yet, but Peter said he was ready.

Are you ready to follow Jesus? Are you willing to lay down your life for His sake? There is more to following Him than just walking behind Him. To truly follow you must be willing to walk the same way, endure the same things, and suffer the same hardships. Many say they want to follow Christ yet they want to travel on the road of their choosing. But there is only one way to salvation, there is only one road that leads to where Jesus was going, and that road is a narrow road that leads upward. So you will be bumped by the many on the downward road, your feet will be stepped on,your feelings will be hurt, your faith tried,and your commitment challenged. Jesus said if you will follow Him you must deny yourself daily and take up your cross to follow, to lay down your life. Everyday you must place God's will before yours. Everyday you must esteem others , higher than yourself. Everyday you must be willing to lay down your life, lay down your wants, lay down your needs, lay down the lust and desires of your flesh, not have them taken away, but voluntarily give them up, so that others might be saved, while trusting that God will make a way for you.

Peter didn't understand, that he wasn't ready to follow Jesus. The spirit man is willing to do and go where the Lord leads us, but it is the weakness of our flesh and the strength that we sometimes allow it to have over us that causes us to deny Christ. Jesus said "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak". Are you ready to lay down your life for Christ sake.

A Living Sacrifice

Romans 12:1 " I beseech you therefore,brethren, by the mercies of God,that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,holy,acceptable unto God,which is your reasonable service."

The servant Jesus, was the perfect representative of God's character.But it was God's intent for Israel to serve that same purpose.It is also something that God wants to accomplish through Christians today. People should be able to look at a Christian's life and see what God is really like.Christians should share the Gospel with the way they live their life, as well as with the words of their life. Christians should focus on living in a way that glorifies God at all times as well as use every opportunity to tell a dying world the good news of salvation. Our lives should tell the truth about God, and our words should communicate God's truth. This will at times require us to put aside our thoughts ,opinions, Ideals, likes,dislikes and desires, that a lost soul might experience the love of God through us.

Sometimes it might seem useless, the complaint that "I have labored to no purpose" could have crossed Jesus' mind as he was nailed to the cross, and those who watched this event, may have thought His mission was coming to an end and his life a failure. But when Jesus died, He knew his death was not to be his end. Three days later, when he rose from the dead, he proved that He is the  Son of God and ultimately convinced His disciples that his death served God's purpose.We too, today might voice these same concerns,wondering if we are laboring in vain, as it might sometimes seems when we talk about Jesus to an unbelieving world, our words seeming to fall on deaf ears. But God wants us to know, even though it seems to be in vain, to  keep on being a living sacrifice for him, keep on laying down our will that His will be done, keep on telling the story of salvation, and it will eventually bear spiritual fruit.  For his word will not come back void,it will do just what it says.

God wants to restore His relationship with all people, a relationship broken by sin and compounded by people's rebellion against him.God doesn't intend to cut off his creation, Jesus death, burial and resurrection provides a way for fallen man to be reconciled to a Holy God.Our mission in life, is to share the truth about God with others, so that they know what they have to do to have a right relationship with God.God's servants are to be the light that penetrates spiritual darkness and will leads others to Jesus.It is through dedication ,self denial, and commitment to the truth in this mission , which will glorify God as we bear fruit, and fruit that shall last.

The Eyes Of The Blessed

Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”



The word of God tells us that  with our lips we honor God, but our hearts are far from Him. Outwardly we honor God, we sing songs of praise we pay tithes we even call on Him in prayer, but when it come right down to it we have no love for God. Our hearts our inner person are not pure. We act religious to be noticed by man, but don't live holy to be pleasing unto God. In fact the word of God calls us hypocrites.


When we accept Jesus as our Lord and savior we are given a new heart."And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. God gives us new hearts that want to follow and obey him and pours his Holy Spirit into us who motivates us to sincere obedience. To be pure in heart doesn’t mean we never sin. But it means that now we don’t want to. We hate it when we do, and are grateful for Jesus’ constant cleansing.


Now there are ways to cultivate and maintain a pure heart and live a life acceptable to God. First we can read your Bible regularly for it convicts, warns and encourages us. We can constantly pray and ask God for inner purity. David prayed, “Create in me a clean heart.” Regularly ask God to deliver you from evil and temptation. Be careful what you take in through your eyes and ears. Flee from all temptation. Fellowship with like minded people and confess your struggles and temptations and ask for prayer of one or a few wise, trustworthy believers. The reward for pursuing purity? “They shall see God.”

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure (1 John 3:2-3). 

Are You The One?

Matthew 26:22"And they were exceeding sorrowful, and begin every one of them to say unto him, Lord is it I?"

We must all examine ourselves in our walk with the Lord. We must begin to look within for those things which hinder our relationship with Christ. Look within for the gods of this world that blinds us to the will and way of the Lord. Then each looked within and ask the question "Lord is it I", Is it I betraying you for the love of money, selling you out for a hand full of silver. Is it I committing spiritual adultery and fornication, as I confess with my mouth, my marriage to the lamb, but secretly climb in and out of the bed with the gods of this world. Lord is it I, being led by the powers of Satan unaware, captivated by his lies, and false promises, blinded to the things of heaven, trapped in the flesh, a slave to the old man and his ways, while confessing a new life in Christ. Lord is it I, causing division within your flock, proclaiming and teaching a self serving doctrine, catering your word to fit my beliefs, and lifestyle, Lord is it I; Am I denying you three times before the cock crows, denying you in my walk, in my talk, and in my appearance, as I bear no resemblance to you at all. Lord is it I who dips with you in the love of the Father with one hand, while stabbing you in the back with the other. Lord is it I, Who serves you with my lips, while my heart is far from you, dressed up on the outside looking like a new man, but on the inside just dead lifeless bones, walking on the same crooked path. They all asked" Lord is it I",eating bread with you while, lifting my heals up against you, they wanted and needed to know for themselves,"Lord is it I."

We must be absolutely sure as to where we stand with Christ, salvation is real, and the choices we make are eternal; have you with all sincerity of heart, ask the question" Lord is it I". Because we are the "I" who was lost in sin, the"I" on the way to hell, and the "I" that Jesus suffered ,bled and died to save. So let us ask daily, "Lord is it I" and then pray for the strength not to betray the Lord of Glory.............

Trust In The Word

1 Thessalonians 2:4 " But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts".

Paul and Silas offer up a good example of whole loaf living. They shared, not just the Gospel through words, but they showed how to apply what they were teaching to everyday life. Often it is the testimony of our lives, along side the Gospel that authenticates the message in the eyes of those around us.

Even though our lives might be busy, full of activity and even a great ministry, it's important that we take time to nurture and encourage, to teach and train those believers God has placed in our path.
The Thessalonians likely could see how Paul worked, making tents. They seen how he conducted his business, his quality of workmanship, and how he went about making sales. They could see how he and Silas got along together, how they shared what the had, and how they lived out their faith in the community. How they lived the life they proclaimed. As believers, we have people looking at us. There are many people in our lives with whom we may share the Gospel, but who see only slices of our faith in action. But God also places those in our path who get to see the whole loaf, those with whom we are sharing our lives, as well as the Gospel. These include our spouses and our children. Often though, there may be young or weaker believers in church who may be watching us, or co-workers, friends, and other people we might associate with regularly. How might we open up and share the whole loaf of bread with them . How might we be a living testimony of our Lord and Savior.

 Sharing our lives with them can positively impact their perspective on the Gospel as we faithfully live it out before them. Being doers of the word and not hearers and Sayers only. Ask yourself this question daily "Am I living a life today that supports the Gospel message I Proclaim?"

Harden Not Your Hearts

Deut.13:18 "When thou shalt harken to the voice of the Lord thy God,to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day,to do that which is right in the eyes of the Lord thy God".

We live in a sophisticated age where technology rules.This high-tech living causes us to hear many voices,radio "shock jocks",television talk show host, and outrageous sitcoms that offer everything but comedy. We are inundated with noise.yet ,in spite of all that we hear,there are really only two voices to be heard.The voice of the almighty God, and the voice of the enemy,Satan.The bible is full of many who listened to the wrong voices,The Hebrews in the wilderness,Jonah, Hannah, Abraham, Rebekah, Job, and a host of others at one time found themselves listening to the voice of lack and limitations, but they soon heard the voice of God and did what was right.

Both voices come from different forms,through any type of medium.The voice of God may direct you to do that which seems least desirable,while the lure of Satan seems to call us to paradise. Many of us have muddled our lives because we have not listened to the right voice.We must remember the devil is a liar,he is incapable of telling the truth.Jesus is our shepherd,he is our provider, he leads us along on this journey,he will take care of us and our every need.Every person is free to listen to what ever voice he/she wishes, but when we confessed to be Christians, we no longer belong to ourselves,and once you've chosen there is no turning back,and being His sheep we must hear His voice and obey it. His voice the right voice, tells us that we are to seek out that which serves others as well as our self. It tells us to put the needs of others before our own.It tells us to love in-spite of.It tells us to be Christ like even when all others have fallen away.It tells us to follow Jesus even when the road seems to rough to travel.

If we listen to the wrong voices, we will be full of fear and worry about doing God's will.The wrong voices fills our head with negative, limited thinking.From the wrong voices we get the what if's, these are the voices that get us in trouble.The truth is God will take care of us.When we obey the voice of God, he will never bring us to a place and leave us alone.So what voices are you listening to?

Power Of Preaching

1 Corinthian 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power.

Where does the power to change a heart of stone to flesh come from? From our words and witness or the Holy Spirit? Many fail to share the truth of God's word fearing they will drive people away instead of drawing them to God. While it is true we can at time run people out of the congregation, we should never be foolish enough to believe we can run them from the church. This would be like saying we have more push than God has pull, for one cannot come to God unless the spirit draws them.

Here we have Paul speaking of his preaching or speaking, Paul spoke solely of Christ and him crucified, and trusted the holy spirit to do what Jesus said it would do. As he determined, so he acted. The subject matter of his ministry was not any of the liberal arts and sciences, or the philosophy and dry morality of the Gentiles, but salvation by a crucified Christ. His style, his diction, his language followed this in his preaching, He didn't try to entice man or impress man of his knowledge or how smart he was with technical words, words of art, contrived by human wisdom to captivate the affections. Nor did Paul come with bare probable arguments, but he spoke in the power of the spirit
partly by making use of solid proofs out of the writings of the Old Testament, indicted by the Spirit of God, and which amounted to a demonstration of the truths he delivered. Besides all these, the Spirit of God wonderfully assisted him in his work, both as to words and matter; directing him, what to say, and in what form, in words, not which human wisdom taught, but which the Holy Ghost taught. The Holy Spirit accompanied his ministry with his power, to the conversion, comfort, edification, and salvation of many.

The Spirit of God directed Paul, and he under the Spirit's influence chose, and by his assistance pursued this way of preaching. He pursued it with this view, and for this reason, that faith in Christ and in the doctrines of his Gospel, which comes by hearing, might not be attributed to the force of human effort but solely on the power of God.

Turn Back To God

Judges 2:13 "And they forsook the Lord,and served Baal and Ashtaroth".

Before Joshua died, the children of Israel made a covenant with the Lord, but shortly after his death they broke it. They turned to the idols they were suppose to destroy, and gave honor to and requested favors from the multiple Baal-gods of the sun, moon, rain, and harvest. They also worshiped Ashtoreth, the mother goddess of love, war,  and fertility. This worship of the false Canaanite gods included child sacrifice and temple prostitution. This greatly dishonored God, who highly regards children and demands sexual purity from His people.The book of Judges pictures graphically the family ups and downs of Israel. But like Israel, parents of the day sometimes fail to teach their children how God wants His children to Live. We must realize that if we don't teach them how to live for our God, the world will teach them how to live for the gods of the world. Through television, radio, and the social media, they learn the values and moral of this world which go against the word of God.

This causes the younger generation to drift towards the modern day Baals of the world, the need of constant entertainment, the pursuit of wealth and obedience to selfish philosophies. The religions of this world much like the Canaanite religion is extremely attractive. The Israelite's could worship the fertility gods of the land and satisfy their sexual desires with temple prostitutes. Next to this easy lifestyle, the true God seemed like a harsh task master. The religion of this world makes the way of life desired by the true God harsh and no fun, But God loved us so much instead of asking us to sacrifice our children, He sacrificed His only begotten son, that we might live with Him in eternity. We want the easy way of the worlds religions, but when crisis hits we seem to seek the Lord in droves. The first Sunday after September 11th, churches all across this country was full, but shortly after they begin to be empty once again, as the people once again were blinded by the gods of this world.

The Lord shows mercy when we turn back to him. Turning to Him is the only way that we ourselves can break the cycle of sin that so easily entraps us. When we are drawn away and enticed, we must seek Him to resist temptation. Let us train up our children in the way of the true God, that in that evil day they might be able to stand. Teach them, so they will know rather times are good or bad, they are kept and loved by the one true God always.

Satan's Challange

Job 1:11" But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face".


Do you truly love the Lord or is it the things He has given you, or the person you believe you are in Him that you love. Do you love Him just because of who He is or is it because of what you have? Now this is not a judgment on ones salvation, but just a question of self examination of ones motives for our worship of God. Can we honestly look at our lives and answer truthfully the reason for our worship and praise.

Now I don't expect anyone to say anything other than it is God we love, but if we look at the things that we place importance on, we might question why we truly worship the Lord. When we look closer at our life we might see we will marry a person with a good job and no relationship with God, before one with a good relationship with God and no job. We tend to push our kids to get a secular education but  the attending Sunday school and bible study is optional. We go to work on time, but come to church when we feel like it. We do things in front of God that we would never do in front of our employer, and we go out of our way to please our spouse, but make no sacrifices when it comes to living a life pleasing to God. When we take a closer look at our life we will see that lean more on His love for us, than we do our love for Him.

Here in our text Satan questions the motive behind Job's worship of the Lord. He tells God that if he is allowed to take all that Job has , Job will curse God to His face. If Satan made the same statement to God about you would he be right. If everything you have was removed what would we see? would there be a heart desiring a  relationship with the Lord, or a  heart with a desire for the things of this world. Would you bless God with a life pleasing to Him or would you curse Him and die?

Keep Fighting

2 Timothy 4:7 "I have Fought a good fight,I have finished my course, I have kept the faith".

Baptism and the related steps we must take are only the beginning of the road to eternal Life.Before we arrive at our ultimate destination, we have many miles of road to travel.Remember we are traveling up a narrow road.A clear sense of purpose and direction can help us stay the course.When we respond to God's calling through repentance and baptism, many blessings and opportunities await us.Our minds will change,we will grow in wisdom, knowledge and understanding.We will learn to think and act as God wants us to think and act.

We must keep moving forward,trials will come and sacrifices will be required, but we must stay the course.These test help us to build godly character.James wrote" count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.But let patience have her perfect work,that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.It is the going through trials which helps in the perfecting us for this long journey home.Jesus cautions us to count the cost of traveling this road, just as we would with any major endeavor. No man putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for God's kingdom.Jesus expects us to finish what we start.

Just as a small child learns to walk,we may be wobbly at first, stumbling in this new way of life.The temptations and trials we face will sometimes cause us to stagger and fall.But remember that God the Father and Jesus Christ are there to comfort and help us each step of the way.Our job is to keep striving with God's help and to become mature Christians.Living God's way must always remain our priority. We must continually" seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.There are somethings that can help us stay the course through the many challenges we will encounter along the way.We must stay in prayer and continue in the study of God's word.Also fellow shipping with other true believers can be a tremendous encouragement in living our new lives dedicated to God.Jesus said not everybody who says Lord Lord will enter into His Kingdom, only those who do the will of the Father.We are given a choice as to what we will do,but Jesus clearly expects that we do our part in remaining faithful to Him.We must produce fruit in our lives that is pleasing to God.Stay the course, we come to far to turn back now.

Holy Leaders

1 Timothy 3:2"Bishop then must be blameless,the husband of one wife, vigilant,sober,of good behavior, given to hospitality,apt to teach";

Paul wrote straightforward requirements for church leaders,as this part of the ministry was extremely important.It was important that those in leadership positions were able to communicate God's word clearly.Needed to be blameless,faithful in marriage,sober minded, watchful against Satan,and good to the flock.The leadership was to serve the people not be served by the people.

In our desire to do things the right way,we can sometimes apply Scripture in a cold, loveless way.Or in our desire to make people feel good about themselves,we may skirt the difficult parts and compromise when it comes to honoring God's Word.We might be tempted to "fudge" on some of the biblical leadership qualifications, for example. Neither approach to applying the commands, instructions, and principles of scripture is good.Truth must be accompanied by love.Love cannot go forward without truth.So when selecting good leadership, it matters that we are true to scriptural instructions and yet loving as we apply them.To those who do not yet qualify for leadership but wish to serve in leadership capacity,we should encourage them to develop in their conduct and character,that they meet God's requirements. For those who do qualify, we must continue to hold them to the standard,yet in humility and love that recognizes our own failings.We can pray for them,encourage them, talk with them(rather than gossip about them) about concerns we might have. If truth and love are our rules,we cannot fail to do well in this area of church life.

Good leadership matters, and the people of God have seen the harm to the reputation of Christ and his church that comes when leaders are selected and upheld for wrong or insufficient reasons,such as a personal charisma, good business skills, exciting vision casting, or celebrity status.These cannot be the reason for choosing leadership for God's people.As you think about your own church leaders, how do they compare with the qualifications listed by Paul?How does your own life and leadership qualities measure up? A good leader cannot be one thing at home and something different at church,if one cannot take care of his own home ,how can he/she be qualified to take care of God's house.