John 8:12; 1 John 1
"When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'"
(JOHN 8:12)
With God's great miracle of the oil for the Temple menorah, Hanukkah has come to be known as the "Festival of Lights." Light is both beautiful and mysterious. The psalmist spoke of God as light: "The LORD is my light" (Psalm 27:1). The Jewish prophets also spoke of Messiah as light: "your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you" (Isaiah 60:1). And then Simeon proclaimed the baby Jesus as "a light for revelation to the Gentiles" (Luke 2:32).
We live in a world today whose darkness has settled on the hearts and the minds of people everywhere. There is a moral darkness; a darkness of hopelessness and despair. At some point in our lives we are all faced with the darkness of our greatest enemy: death.
But there is really good news! "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all" and "if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin" (1 John 1:5-7). The Light of the World has shed His love on you!
INSIGHT
"FOR LIGHT I GO DIRECTLY TO THE SOURCE OF LIGHT, NOT TO ANY OF THE REFLECTIONS."
(PEACE PILGRIM QUOTES)
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Daniel 11-12
Proverbs 10
Hebrews 13
John 8:12
New International Version (NIV)
Dispute Over Jesus’ Testimony
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
1 John 1
New International Version (NIV)
The Incarnation of the Word of Life
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our[a] joy complete.
Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[b] sin.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
Footnotes:
a. 1 John 1:4 Some manuscripts your
b. 1 John 1:7 Or every
SAVIOR MESSIAH LORD
with Dr. Mark Strauss
Names have significance. Names of God have divine significance and at Christmas time we look at the names of Jesus. This gives us a deeper understanding of who He is and what He came to do.
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