Page 11 - REVEALED MAGAZINE WINTER 2023
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A thought came to mind as I read this passage of Scripture.   be and is fully self-sufficient with no need for God.  When
     Have you ever shined a flashlight outside on a sunny day? It is  people embrace the darkness of the lie that God is a matter
     hard to see the light, if at all.  There is no more costly deception  of personal preference and that there is no separation from
     that we must deal with than self-deception. We invite tragedy  God and therefore no need of reconciliation, we cannot help

     and defeat when we accept darkness as light - false for truth.  but cry, "Woe to those who are full of darkness and call it
     We are told clearly about this problem as one of the purposes  light".
     that Christ was born.
                                                                   However, this is not an (us vs. them) type of thing for we
     You have tried to share the light of Jesus Christ with someone  must first begin with self.  Self-examination is crucial. If
     who loves darkness rather than light and have found yourself  we are ever to be able to fulfill our responsibility to 'make
     frustrated at every turn.  We cry with Isaiah who said, "It is bad  disciples' in such a world as this, we must first make sure
     for those who call what is sinful good, and good sinful, who say  that we ourselves have not embraced the darkness and
     dark is light and light is dark, who make bittersweet, and sweet  are solely relying on our self-righteousness.  This is why
     bitter."                                                      Jesus went on to caution that we cannot serve two masters.
                                                                   We must be sure that we are fully surrendered to God for
                                                                   only  when  Jesus  is  Lord  will  we  have  eyes  that  can
                                                                   distinguish between darkness and light.  When Jesus is
                                                                   Lord, we crave and feast upon his Word so that every fiber
                                           (Matt 6:22-23)          of our being is saturated with the Living Truth.  When Jesus
                                                                   is our Lord and Savior, we will submit to the body of Christ
     Does any of this sound familiar to you in our current society?  being  accountable  for  what  we  believe,  say,  teach  and
     I believe it is a description of the world and the society in which  preach.  When Jesus is Lord, we can walk in true light with
     we live.  A world where good and evil, right, and wrong, moral,  blessed assurance. (Matthew 6:24) (1 John 1:7)
     and immoral have become so vague as to be perceived by many
     as  one  and  the  same.    Our  society  consistently  embraces  In our day and age there are many (lovely, likeable, and
     darkness as light which makes our sharing of the Gospel even  charismatic)  trumpets  of  false  light  in  our  world.
     the more difficult.  In our day and time, it is a sad fact that many  Remember  we  have  been  warned  that  satan  himself
     people are convinced that they are all right and have no need  masquerades as an angel of light.  That is why we must be
     of a Savior.  Many have been duped into believing that man can  forever diligent, mindful, and alert to make sure that our
                                                                   hunger and thirst is for righteousness.  For as we hunger
                                                                   and thirst for righteousness, God fills us with himself and
                                                                   thereby  gives  us  eyes  able  to  recognize  true  light.
                                                                   (Matthew 5:6) (1 Corinthians 11:14)


                                                                   So, this Christmas Season let us remember the "WHY" and
                                                                   be about the business of using every opportunity presented
                                                                   to us to make known our God's wondrous salvation.  Let us
                                                                   point men, women, girls and boys to the only source of
                                                                   forgiveness.  Why?  Because nothing will encourage their

                                                                   faith more than the proclamation of what God is prepared
                                                                   to do for those who love Him.  And when the light shines in
                                                                   darkness revealing the treasures of Christ that will enrich
                                                                   and dispel their hopelessness, they will yield themselves
                                                                   to be led in the paths of righteousness.





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