{"id":1614,"date":"2017-06-08T12:19:27","date_gmt":"2017-06-08T10:19:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pellissier.co.za\/faith\/?p=1614"},"modified":"2017-06-08T12:19:27","modified_gmt":"2017-06-08T10:19:27","slug":"light-of-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pellissier.co.za\/faith\/2017\/06\/08\/light-of-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Light of the World"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Those of us living in cities are not used to real darkness in the physical sense. So this may be a stretch of the imagination. But try for a moment to imagine what it would be like to be in a basement room with no windows, with the lights off. Near absolute darkness, at least as far as human eyes can detect. <\/p>\n

And now imagine lighting a single small candle in that room. The light instantly drives out the darkness. It is only a small light, but the darkness cannot stand before it!<\/p>\n

The same thing happens in the spiritual world. Light drives out darkness. And I think we can all agree that we don’t want to live in spiritual darkness. So how is the world illuminated?<\/p>\n

\nMatthew 5:14 (WEBBE): 14<\/sup>You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can\u2019t be hidden.<\/font>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jesus said that we<\/em> are the light of the world. But where are we supposed to get this light from? Can we do it on our own? No, absolutely not. We get our light from Jesus.<\/p>\n

\nJohn 8:12 (WEBBE): 12<\/sup>Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, \u201cI am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.\u201d<\/font>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n2 Corinthians 4:5-6 (WEBBE): 5<\/sup>For we don\u2019t preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus\u2019 sake, 6<\/sup>seeing it is God who said, \u201cLight will shine out of darkness,\u201d who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So we clearly see that the light that we have comes from Jesus. We have the light if we follow Him – it is our choice to allow Him into our hearts. And if we really have Jesus, it changes our lives completely.<\/p>\n

\n1 John 1:5-7 (WEBBE): 5<\/sup>This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6<\/sup>If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and don\u2019t tell the truth. 7<\/sup>But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If we say that we are children of God, and yet our lives are no different from that of the carnal world, it does not add up. It certainly is not how mature believers should live. <\/p>\n

If you are not quite there yet, don’t panic. All of us are still in the process of renewing our minds to the Word of God. Even Paul said that he had not yet arrived at perfection.<\/p>\n

\nPhilippians 3:12 (WEBBE): 12<\/sup>Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect; but I press on, that I may take hold of that for which also I was taken hold of by Christ Jesus.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It is a process – we should strive to get to a place where we are completely filled by God’s light.<\/p>\n

\nRomans 12:2 (WEBBE): 2<\/sup>Don\u2019t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

How do we renew our minds? By reading the Word of God, filling ourselves constantly with the things of God. By spending time with God, in His presence, in worship.<\/p>\n

\nMatthew 5:14-16 (WEBBE): 14<\/sup>You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can\u2019t be hidden. 15<\/sup>Neither do you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house. 16<\/sup>Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.<\/font>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

God is the infinite source of light and love and all that is good. And He wants to fill each and every one of us. But not just for ourselves – so that we can shine His light on the people around us.<\/p>\n

Notice that Jesus said to “let<\/em> your light shine before men”. He didn’t say that we have to make<\/em> our light shine. If we walk in relationship with Him, in maturity, His light is always available for us to allow to shine through us. And we simply have to choose to let it happen.<\/p>\n

If you feel like you don’t have enough light to make a difference, like you are not yet walking in that maturity of faith, I would like to assure you that a little light goes a long way. Remember the single candle flame in the basement. And the more light you shine, the more light you will have to shine.<\/p>\n

So choose today to let God’s light shine through your life!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. Those of us living in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[8,7,10],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pellissier.co.za\/faith\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/06\/DSC00254_candle_small.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7I1MG-q2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pellissier.co.za\/faith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1614"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pellissier.co.za\/faith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pellissier.co.za\/faith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pellissier.co.za\/faith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pellissier.co.za\/faith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1614"}],"version-history":[{"count":44,"href":"https:\/\/www.pellissier.co.za\/faith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1661,"href":"https:\/\/www.pellissier.co.za\/faith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1614\/revisions\/1661"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pellissier.co.za\/faith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pellissier.co.za\/faith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pellissier.co.za\/faith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pellissier.co.za\/faith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}