Shine Jesus Shine...

Shine Jesus Shine...

Illus. By David Dewitt

In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. According to Leon Jaroff in Time, the satellite’s primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to earth about Jupiter’s magnetic field, radiation belts, and atmosphere.

Scientists regarded this as a bold plan, for at that time no earth satellite had ever gone beyond Mars, and they feared the asteroid belt would destroy the satellite before it could reach its target.

But Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more. Swinging past the giant planet in November 1973, Jupiter’s immense gravity hurled Pioneer 10 at a higher rate of speed toward the edge of the solar system. At one billion miles from the sun, Pioneer 10 passed Saturn. At some two billion miles, it hurtled past Uranus; Neptune at nearly three billion miles; Pluto at almost four billion miles. By 1997, twenty-five years after its launch, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun.

And despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to scientists on Earth. "Perhaps most remarkable," writes Jaroff, "those signals emanate from an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night light, and takes more than nine hours to reach Earth."

The Little Satellite That Could was not qualified to do what it did. Engineers designed Pioneer 10 with a useful life of just three years. But it kept going and going. By simple longevity, its tiny 8-watt transmitter radio accomplished more than anyone thought possible.

Light is a marvelous thing isn't it? The first thing anyone wants to do when they get lost in the dark, is to have light. If light is not available, then a fire will do. Something, anything to light the way, so the darkness doesn't consume and dominate the situation.

Many people are consumed by the darkness and become afraid of it. They constantly need and must have light at all times. Nyctophobia, is what is commonly known as fear of the dark.

There is a remedy to this condition found in the word of God. The ironic thing is, it is the word of God.

Psalms 119:105 NKJ

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Before you can eliminate the darkness you have to turn on the light. It works the same with the word. Gods word will light your path. But for it to light you're path, you need to read it, study it and absorb it into you're life.

You weren't created for just any old purpose. God created you for a specific purpose!

You may not feel like it, or realize it. But God thought about you in great detail, when you were created.

Ephesians 2:7-10 MSG

7-10 Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing

The accuser may try to tell you and convince that you don’t matter to God, and that your not worthy of the blessings that He has for you, but that’s not what the word says is it?

Not to sound redundant, but we need to be redundant when it comes to Gods word. The word says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God! And no matter how many times we hear this, no matter how much truth is in that spoken word from God! The devil still tries to steal it from us, each and every time that its spoken!

That's why we need to know the word, because in the word their is life! And not any old life, but "abundant life, the word says!" John 10:10 says!

Can anyone recite John 10:10 NKJ this morning? This is scripture that everyone should know by heart! "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

What kind of Life? That's right, "abundant life!" Msg. says, a more and better life then you have ever dreamed of! That's good news, friend! And the devil hates good news!