overcome

Children of the Light

/ EllieJ / Leave a comment

There are many definitions for the word light. It’s meaning goes far beyond that of simple illumination:

  • life
  • day
  • means of knowing
  • a window
  • God
  • Christ
  • joy
  • comfort
  • deliverance
  • the Gospel
  • a true Christian
  • favour

All of these things exemplify light.

For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night.

1 Thessalonians 5:5 (NLT)

When we claim the title child of God, it means so much more than belonging to God. And that is a wondrous thing! When Paul says that, as Christians, we are children of the light, we have life, we have a way of knowing, we have joy, comfort, deliverance, favour. And, if we have anything other than these things in our lives, we have allowed ourselves to be pulled back into the darkness that Jesus died to save us from.

DARKNESS: absence of light; obscurity; want of clarity; that quality or state which renders any thing difficult to understand; a state of being intellectually clouded; great trouble and distress

These characteristics are unbecoming of a Christian. They have no place in our lives. Do we live in a dark world that would see us all brought back into that darkness? Yes. But that is why we are called to let our light shine. Let our joy, our clarity, our comfort, our deliverance, and our favour overflow and overcome the darkness that surrounds us.

But let us who live in the light think clearly, protected by the body armor of faith and love, wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.

1 Thessalonians 5:8 (NLT)

The close we get to God and the longer we remain in His presence, the more clarity we will find and the more confident we will be in our salvation. Darkness will become a distant memory that no longer has a hold on us because we are protected by these gifts from our Father.

So let us live as we are meant to, as children of the light. Let us cast all darkness from our lives and walk in the close comfort that comes with our salvation.

Daily Bible reading: Isaiah 62-64, 1 Thessalonians 5

Let’s argue this out

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Without even realising it, there are things that we do that render the value of grace to nothing. Without thinking, we say things that nullify the single greatest gift that has ever been offered to us.

One way to reduce the value of grace is to impose rules and regulations on Christians as a part of church membership. Women must wear their hair long. Men must always wear a suit and tie to church. Children must be seen and never heard. A youth cannot pierce their ear. Jesus never forced any of these things on his followers. Rather, he freed them from all those laws.

I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not one of those who treats the grace of God as meaningless. For if we could be saved by keeping the law, then there was no need for Christ to die.

Galatians 2:20-21 (NLT)

Another way to devalue grace is to insist that people “clean themselves up” before coming to Christ. By saying that they must first overcome their vices before they can receive grace, what we are really saying is that God’s grace is great, but not that great.

Yet another—and probably the most grievous—way that we can take away the value of grace is by saying that we ourselves aren’t good enough to receive it.

“Come now, let us argue this out,” says the Lord. “No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you as white as wool.”

Isaiah 1:18 (NLT)

The entire point of grace is that none of us—no matter how good or bad—are really worthy of receiving it. Its value is based entirely on the person who receives it and what their freedom in Christ is worth to them individually. If we put rules and regulations on grace, it is no longer grace at all, but something that must be earned—which grace cannot be.

So we can argue this out, but both Paul and Isaiah have done a pretty good job of it. Grace is only grace when it is completely free. For only grace that is completely free can set a person completely free.

Daily Bible reading: Isaiah 1-3, Galatians 2

What “if”?

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It has become acceptable in the church to pray, “God, if it be your will…”

This should be the least acceptable prayer. We know God’s will. He gave us His Word so that we would know His will. We shouldn’t have to add, “if it’s your will” if we’re praying for healing. Jesus took on the cross so that we would be healed. We shouldn’t have to ask, “if you want to” when we need provision. God already said that He will supply all our need according to His riches in glory. Why do we add “if You can”? Is it to give us an out should our prayer not be answered?

“What do you mean, ‘if I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.”

Mark 9:23 (NLT)

What is the look on God’s face when He hears “if” prayers? Does He roll His eyes as if to say, not again. Or is He angry with us because He’s already been pretty clear about what He is able to do?

Let’s stop praying “if” prayers. If you have a need, go to the Bible and find out what God says about it so that you can go to Him confidently. And if you still can’t stand before Him confident that He is more than able to accomplish what He says He can, ask for help!

The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

Mark 9:24 (NLT)

The question is not if God can do it, but whether or not we believe He can. If you’re not to the point of believing, ask God to help you believe! Start there. And build your faith so that, when you pray, you can go to God and say, “because it is Your will…”

Daily Bible reading: Numbers 28-29, Mark 9:1-29

Peace

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It is difficult these days to read the news and imagine peace of any sort. Over two thousand years ago, Jesus predicted this very thing. But he did more than that.

I told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have trouble, but be brave! I have defeated the world.

John 16:33 (NCV)

Jesus not only warned of impending trials, he took care of the situation already.

As the Church, we often think that we have to fight back. While we do have to maintain the fight of faith, Jesus already won. Not just the battle, but the entire war. He didn’t say that he will defeat the world. He already has.

So rest in this truth – if you are in Christ and he is in you, you can have peace. Remember that God has already gone ahead and fought your battles for you.

There’s an old song we used to sing in church that went like this:

If I hold my peace
Let the Lord fight my battles
Victory, oh victory shall be mine

What an odd concept that is. Hold your peace and you will win the war. Your peace is Jesus. Hold on to him. He’s already won.

Daily Bible reading: 2 Chronicles 23-25; John 16:16-33