The Power of the Light

The power of the light.  Its victory over the dark is instant.  You flip a switch and darkness is gone.  I believe that there is both a promise and a lesson in this.  The promise is that our darkness can give way to the light, and the lesson is that there is something (a switch) to engage to turn on the light.  I believe that switch is God’s word. 

John 8:31-32:  “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”  The cross of Christ sets us free, but the truth in God’s words makes us free.  Like a bird in a cage that has been set free by the opening of the cage door, Christ opened the door for all of us.  If the bird stays in the cage even though the door is open, he is not free.  Are we doing this to the freedom that Christ has provided?

Have you ever tried to reconcile some of what man says the Bible says with what you read in the Bible?  It can be crazy making.  I did this for a while when younger thinking I was not smart enough to figure these things out.  Still, it made me crazy because I would end up with a verse for study that did not match man’s take on things. 

Eventually, I found 1 John 2:7:  “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.”

It reminds me of some pretty important truths.  One, I have been anointed by Jesus Christ.  How awesome is this!  I can trust God via the Holy Spirit to “instruct me in all truth.”  I understand that we all can be instructed.  Given that, man’s instruction will take second place to God’s instruction.  Will we give God this much room in our lives, or will be give preeminence to the teachings and traditions of men?  Political correctness and financial expediency means nothing to God.  His truth is not colored by these concerns.  This cannot be said of man.

When Jesus gave the great commission in Matthew 28:19-20 He said: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you, and low I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Another way of putting this is:  pay attention to the words in red; pay attention to my modeling and ask for discernment regarding His words. 

It is a given that we are held captive from the day we are born to now.  We are captive to our inheritances physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  Do you feel the prison?  It seems that the more I help people find freedom from this captivity, the more I am taught just how deep the captivity is. Our freedom comes through the cross of Christ and the word of God.  Neither can be left out.  My prayer for all of us is that we will be restored to God’s original intent for our lives…truly free from the lies that are holding us captive.  Amen.