Word, Light, Life Series

Have you ever noticed than when Jesus was born, every announcement of his birth started with the words “Fear not…”? The bright Light of God overwhelms those living in Darkness! I think that’s why God usually reveals His light little by little. He puts the “dimmers” on so we won’t be blinded. If we receive the light God gives us, then He will give more. On the other hand, if we walk away from that light, we go deeper into the darkness.

My brother-in-law has a friend named Pedro who’s a good example of how this works. The first time Pedro ever read the Bible, was when he was in prison. But once he “saw the light,” he couldn’t get enough of it. He read the entire Bible through in a matter of weeks. He would hold the Bible kind of under the table in the rec. room so no one would see what he was reading. But one day he came to the verse in Mark 8:38 that says, "If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels." He stopped reading. He pulled the Bible out from under the table, held it up in plain view, and kept reading.

That’s what it means to Receive the Light. The Light God shines on your life will show you the next step to take. That’s what I’ve noticed through the years.

I remember back when I graduated from college and was beginning to interview for ministry position. I was being looked at by 3 churches, but I wanted God to be able to guide in where I would go, so I agreed to go to the first church that would give me the official call.

Inwardly, I was hoping that Dodge City, Kansas would call me first, because I had been there two summers and knew the people there already. But soon I was introduced to the minister of the Ridgecrest Christian Church in Albuquerque who came to the college with the power to choose a youth minister for the church. He chose me, but I asked for time to think about it, and quickly called Dodge City to see what might happen. The minister there said the church wasn’t ready to make a decision that day, and he advised me to go ahead and accept the Ridgecrest offer. I was given light to make a decision even though it wasn’t exactly what I would have chosen for myself. God gave me enough light to take the next step and Albuquerque became my new home.

God gives His Light to everyone who receives him. First we see the light that leads to Salvation, then we receive increasing light day by day that shows us which steps to take. As Christians we still make choices about receiving of rejecting the light.. Will we walk in His light, or will we go the other way. If we resist God’s direction, then even as Christians we can wander into the shadows … and suffer the consequences of disobedience.

But when we Receive His light (I’m talking about doing what we know He is directing us to do) … When we step toward the Light, then He gives more light for the next step. And we find ourselves living an entirely new kind of Life!