The Light

“This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
1 John 1:5 - 7

Yesterday was Groundhog Day. It comes around each year on February 2nd. The most famous of groundhogs is Punxsutawney Phil from Pennsylvania. And, yesterday just before 7:30 a.m. Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his home and did not see his shadow in the daylight. So by his prediction, Spring will come early. As you know, if he had seen his shadow, he would have returned into his home and the prediction would have been 6 more weeks of Winter. Now, here are some useless statistics. In the last 101 years that this February 2nd tradition has been taking place and since they began to record the predictions, only 18 times (before this year) has Punxsutawney predicted an early Spring. But no one really keeps the count of whether his predictions come true. All this to say, a lot of media attention and newsprint for nothing. Good old Punxsutawney Phil or any other groundhog has nothing to do with Spring coming early or late.

I have always been intrigue though, by this statement of the light casting the shadow causing fear in the groundhog which makes him retreat into the darkness of his home. It reminds me of the verses I have shared above.

God is Light. That is who God is. He illuminates our sin and causes us to see it and have to deal with it. When we walk in the darkness of this world and ignore the Light, we will always retreat back into the darkness. The fear of exposure causes us to hide, hide our ways, hide the darkness in our lives. Our hope is, that no one else is able to see them. It becomes a game for those living in sin, even a believer. Everyday the Light of the Holy Spirit is saying, “I see (I have brought to Light) all you are doing. Confess, repent, and return to Me and be reconciled.” Satan and the world on the other hand says, “It’s OK. No one can see in the darkness. Just stay there and you will be fine.”

Folks, the darkness is no place to be. It can bring about depression, thoughts that are unhealthy, and sickness of the body. Our very souls / bodies need light. Light is healthy for us physically and mentally. AND even more importantly, we need to realize that though Satan wants us to hide in the darkness, the darkness never stops God from seeing our sin. HE IS ALWAYS the LIGHT!!!
And, the Light will set you free.

This passage from First John chapter one reminds us that when we walk in the Light, or in other words, when we walk with Jesus Christ daily, we have a real fellowship with one another. It is not superficial and we are not trying to hide anything. True fellowship is a blessing. Secondly, when we walk in the Light, we acknowledge that the blood of Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, the Savior of the world, has washed me, cleansed me of my sin. We proclaim by our life, our walk, our speech, our actions, that we are His and there is nothing to hide. We say, “I will walk in the Light.”

If you are reading this article today and find yourself retreating away from the Light because you have the fear that someone will see the life you are leading, I would ask you to confess, repent, and return to the One who will receive you and bring a sincere love and fellowship back into your life. For those walking in the Light, keep up the practice and pray that God will use you to help bring His Light to others around you. Let us be winsome people who walk daily in “The Light.”

Blessing my friends,
Pastor Marty.

Worship, Grow, Serve