We often think of light as coming from the sun, but light was spoken into existence by God well before He created the sun. Darkness is the opposite of the light that is God. His light is the source of all wisdom and joy. Darkness is the keeper of ignorance, sinfulness and misery, none of which reside in God. There is nothing to compare to the perfection and purity of the divine nature. Without His light, man would be without hope.

Jesus came to dispense light to all who would believe in Him. We are able to receive His light through divine enlightenment, salvation and our total acceptance of Jesus as God’s Son. Whoever follows Jesus will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

Having fellowship with God, necessarily suggests that we get to commune with the Divine nature. If a person claims to have communion with God, but lives a sinful life that does not follow the directions of the Bible, his profession has to be false.

But if we walk in the light, we will consistently strive toward a holy and righteous life, deriving our strength and life from Him. Then we also can have fellowship with other believers and the courage to profess God to nonbelievers. This is the way Christians live in order to be prepared to meet Christ our Savior, either when He comes to the earth again in glory, or when we meet Him in heaven after we die.

Darkness has power in the world we live in. Unbelief keeps people stuck in ignorance and vice. Those without Jesus in their hearts are slaves to sin and darkness. Christ followers are given authority which we can embrace when trials or sorrows try to tempt us or steal our joy. We are no longer under the authority and power of evil. Jesus promised His Holy Spirit would guide, comfort and protect us. Nothing less than the power and Word of God can redeem a person from evil and unbelief. All sin of every kind, with all its influence and consequences are removed by Jesus’ death on the cross. Worshipful gratitude is only our natural response to His loving mercy.

Christians are children of God, brought by the light of the Son of God to life and immortality. We have been saved from the darkness to spend eternity with God. We can’t keep His precious light to ourselves, but we must walk in it, demonstrating the doctrine of power and truth we have received. As Christians, we are partakers of Christ’s holy and happy nature. Let us always seek to honor our Father and draw others who do not yet know Him into His Glorious Light!

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 References: Job 38:19, 1 John 1:5, John 9:5, John 8:12, 1 John 1:6 -7, Col 1:12 - 14, 1 Thes 5:5, Mat 5:14, 16 (NIV)

Stressful lifestyles are prevalent in the twenty first century. Stress can be a good thing, if it is mild and simply serves to motivate and jump start your body. It can become a problem, though, when you begin to feel like your family and work obligations are less like normal activities and more like a frantic juggling act. We’ve all been there; it’s when these pressures become the norm, rather than the exception, that you feel a tightening in the pit of your stomach. When your daily activities are consistently hectic and all your time is scheduled down to the hour and minute, with unreasonably urgent deadlines, that’s a surefire clue that something has to change.

Short fuses and long lists of health issues are characteristic byproducts of our lives spiraling out of control. There needs to be a sense of calm restored to balance all the fast-paced anxiety trying to overwhelm us. Our bodies are equipped to handle stress, but not on a continuing basis. There are ways to stop living as if we can handle anything and everything without consequence. We can restore peace of mind and consequently healthy bodies, if we take action by implementing a sensible plan.

God did not say that life would be uncomplicated, but He did equip us with the resources to cope. A Christian’s first line of defense is his or her faith. Knowing that God is aware of you, that He has a plan for your life and that He wants peace to dominate your inner being, can cause you to turn away from yourself and toward Him for solutions to your problems. God designed us with the ability to communicate with Him through prayer and by reading His Word, the bible. That’s why it is most sensible to invest a few minutes the first thing every day with God. Let him know your concerns and wait expectantly for answers.

It is the independent spirit that stumbles when calamity strikes. God wants us to need Him. We are so conditioned by the world to become better, smarter, faster, or whatever. But the world is ruled by darkness and lies. Satan wants you to be self-sufficient because then he can be certain that you will fail. Don’t fall for pressuring tactics that have you striving to get through your stress by yourself. God is waiting for you to find your strength in Him!