Jesus Christ Is The Light Of The World! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 John 2:9-11,

“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.”

This world we live in is a lost and fallen world following Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God in the Garden of Eden. After sinning against God, mankind was driven from the environment God had created for them.

Lost, fallen, and now estranged from God, they faced mortality as they lived out their lives in this cursed world. Where mankind was originally created in God’s image to enjoy God's fellowship, his life and the quality of existence of his life was considerably reduced.

Now mankind labors under the fog of a sinful nature in his lost and estranged existence from God – often refusing to even acknowledge the presence and reality of the God who created them. Scripture often refers to this as “darkness”.

But a piercing brilliance of light has come and invaded this darkness. As Isaiah prophesied twenty eight hundred years ago, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:2.

John tell us, “In him [Jesus Christ] was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” John 1:4-5. In verse 9 he says, “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.” Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12. And, “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” John 12:46.

Because Jesus Christ burst forth in the darkness of this lost world as a piercing light, John tells us those who have embraced him, those who have become God’s children, now reflect that light in their lives as it is manifested through love.

Just how wonderful is that?!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

Eternal Life: A Wonderful Quality Of Life! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 John 2:9-11,

“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.”

As we are born into God’s family, we receive what the Scriptures call “eternal life”, see verse 25. It is called “eternal” as a reference to time. We will live forever with God and one another in his kingdom.

But many commentators point out there is a fuller understanding in the Scriptures as to what is represented in this term “eternal life”. Since we know that those who do not embrace Jesus Christ in faith will suffer an eternity apart from God, they live forever as well.

For the believer, “eternal life” speaks to a quality of life, as well as duration of life. A life of joy with our Creator in the resurrection, deliverance from suffering, pain and death, no sorrow, sharing in the inheritance of Jesus Christ together with him. There are many wonderful things to understand as we speak of eternal life.

In 1 John 2:9-11, John speaks of one great aspect of the eternal life we now possess. We no longer walk around in “darkness”. We have been quickened to spiritual things and now begin to recognize spiritual realities that we had not been able to comprehend before. We begin to live “in the light” of a newly acquired perception. We begin to see the things we used to stumble over - things we never saw before.

Additionally, one sure aspect of eternal life that John points to, is that if we live in the light, we love our brothers and sisters in the Lord.

With our new life in Jesus Christ we now have new spiritual acuity, new dimensions of perception and insight. Paul calls this becoming a “new creation” in 2 Corinthians 5:17.

How wonderful our God provides us this!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

Jesus Christ: The Light Of The World - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 John 2:8,

“I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.”

The old command was to love. The new command John speaks of is to love, but with a newness: light. John tells us, “… the true light is already shining.” In looking ahead to the coming Messiah, Isaiah prophesied, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:2.

John, in speaking of Jesus Christ, tells us in his gospel, “In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He [John the Baptist] came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.” John 1:4-9.

As Jesus told Nicodemus, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” John 3:19-21.

In John 8:12 we read, “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” And in John 9:5 Jesus tells us, “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Jesus also tells us in John 12:46, “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”

One work of God in each of our lives is that Jesus Christ becomes light for us when we embrace him in faith. In addition to being the light we come to as our Savior and our God, he does not leave us in spiritual darkness and confusion: our loving God brings illumination to each of us! As the Holy Spirit dwells within each of us he illuminates the Scriptures to us. We begin to become spiritually quickened as we see things around us in a new light… the light of Jesus Christ.

It is Jesus Christ who brings us wisdom. It is Jesus Christ who brings us understanding. It is Jesus Christ who brings us discernment. It is Jesus Christ who brings us a new way of viewing the things of our lives more accurately and decisively! He becomes the light to our path, he shows us the way!

Our Savior Jesus Christ is truly “the light of the world”!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

The Incredible Life Of Jesus Christ! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 John 2:5b-6,

“This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”

John provides another indication of how we can tell if we “are in him”, that is, a child of God. Those who are children of God live their lives as Jesus did, they “must walk as Jesus did.”

In thinking of what that means this morning it brings to mind the many wonderful aspects of the life of Jesus Christ. How he lived, what he did, how he treated those around himself, how he related to his heavenly Father. What a life this was!

We know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that the world was made through him, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” John 1:1-3. Nevertheless he came to earth to sacrifice himself to bring us eternal life with him, laying aside his prerogatives as God, “Who [Jesus Christ], being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!” Philippians 2:6-8.

While here he loved others, even those who would shrink back from following him, as the rich young man, “Jesus looked at him and loved him.” Mark 10:21. He had a compassion for people that found its expression in caring for both their spiritual needs, “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.” Mark 6:34, as well as their physical needs, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.” Mark 8:2-3.

He stayed on mission with undivided attention to give his life as a ransom for us all, he stayed in constant intimate communion with the Father, he challenged the forces of darkness and he attacked the religious apostate elites of the day. He taught, he served, he healed, he cared for others.

What a life this was! What a Savior this is! What a life to emulate!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.

Jesus Christ Died For Everyone's Sins! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in 1 John 2:2,

"He [Jesus Christ] is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."

A popular theology today claims that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ did not pay for the sins of the whole world, but only for a relatively few people. Of course all those who hold to this view also see themselves within that few.

It is often referred to as "limited atonement". They would explain the above verse's reference to the "whole world" as meaning only certain individuals from all parts of the world, as if God got on board with our culture's recent fascination with "diversity". My Bible speaks of something different, and frankly, it grieves me when I hear this faulty teaching passed along. Let me explain why.

A few years ago a buddy of mine and I went to bail a third buddy out of jail, for some traffic tickets or whatever. His bail was $150 and so the two of us split it, $75 apiece as our mutual buddy didn't have money to bail himself out. We paid the bail and home we all went. $75 wasn't too painful to help a friend. Now, I don't want to put a price on friendship, but what if the bail had been $750? What if it were $7,500? That is painful. Maybe at that amount he might need to spend some time in jail to consider his transgressions…

Where I am going with this is that the greater the bail I would be willing to pay, the greater expression of love it becomes. The more pain it causes, the greater expression of love the payment is.

My Lord died on the cross for my sins. Not for some of my sins but all of my sins. Not only did he die for my sins but he also died for your sins as well. He died for everyone's sins. As the above verse tells us, he died, paying for the sins of the whole world. That is payment for all the sins of all people who have ever lived.

This was a very painful payment our Lord made. A payment he made with joy, we are told in Hebrews 12:2. The enormity of this payment speaks to the enormous love our Lord has for us. To pass along faulty teaching that has as its consequence the misperception of the full expression of the love of our Lord is what grieves me. I struggle when anyone attempts to diminish our understanding of the fullness of the love our Lord has for us.

I would be remiss if I didn't point out that just because Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins, it doesn't provide us automatic entry into his kingdom. He requires we embrace him in faith and trust. What a deal that is! What a bail payment that was! What an expression of love that was… to suffer for all the sins of all people that ever lived! What a Lord!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.