Light and Darkness

Monday, October 26, 2009: John 1:4–5

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Does darkness have understanding? It is mankind that is in darkness, being away from God, separated by sin.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009: John 1:8–9

He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

Background: this passage is about John the Baptist, the ‘announcer’ of Christ’s arrival.

What does this verse claim? This verse states that only in Jesus Christ can any man have the light of God: else the man is in darkness.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009: John 3:19–20

And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

What is the condemnation in these verses? It is not just that men are in darkness but that they love it and do not want their sin exposed.

Thursday, October 29, 2009: John 8:12

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

What is the implication of following Christ? Those who do, walk in God’s light instead of man’s darkness.

Friday, October 30, 2009: Acts 26:18

to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’

Background: this is Paul before King Agrippa, telling about his conversion on the road to Damascus.

What does it mean to be turned from darkness into light? It means that Satan’s grip on you is lost and you are under God’s power.

The wise man built...

Monday, October 19, 2009: Luke 6:46

“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?

Matthew 7:22–23

Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Are these verses comparing words to deeds? No, it is a comparison between not believing what you speak and believing what you confess.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009: Luke 6:47-48

Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.

What does digging to bedrock mean in life? Each believer must uncover dirt (sin) before reaching solid rock, the Savior.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009: Luke 6:49

But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”

What does doing nothing or not digging disclose? It tells us that there are those who are expecting that their good works will outweigh the bad: they think that it is what they do that will fit them for heaven.

Thursday, October 22, 2009: Matthew 7:21

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

Does this mean that some Christians will NOT be in heaven? Yes, in the words of Jesus Christ Himself.

Friday, October 23, 2009: John 6:40

And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

How can you do the will of God in order to enter heaven? The key is to believe in (don’t do anything) Christ Jesus’ finished sacrifice at Calvary.

Jonah

Background: Jonah was a prophet who received the word of God. He was to go to the hated city of Nineveh and proclaim their destruction in 40 days if they did not repent from their evil ways and turn to God. In spite of his relationship to God, he decided not to fulfill God’s commission in the hope that Nineveh would be destroyed.

Monday, October 12, 2009: Jonah 1:9-10

And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.
Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.

Was there any logic to what Jonah told the sailors and his actions? No, there was no logic to his actions. Where could he run from the God who made the dry land and the sea? What’s surprising is that we try to do the same. Or else, we pretend that God doesn’t see us or know our thoughts.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009: Jonah 1:11, 15-16

Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous.
So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.
Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.

What was behind Jonah sentencing himself to death? He realized his sin and his just punishment. So did the sailors when they witnessed the result - the tempest calmed immediately! Do we see signs and ignore them or explain them away as coincidences?

Wednesday, October 14, 2009: Jonah 2:3, 9

For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.
But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.

What did Jonah realize about his condition in the ‘belly (2:2) of hell?’ Jonah realized that God was behind ‘from the frying pan into the fire.’ Thrown into a raging tempest to drown, and now in an enclosed place for three days and nights, he understood that this was his salvation. Do we realize that Jesus Christ used this ‘sign of Jonah’ to tell the Jews that He would be three days and nights in a tomb and then rise from the dead?

Thursday, October 15, 2009: Jonah 3:8, 10

But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.
And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

Nineveh repented and turned from their evil ways after Jonah fulfilled his commission. (It is probable that the returning sailors spread the news of Nineveh’s imminent destruction and the prophet they had thrown into the tempest) God saw and turned from His anger. Do we heed warnings and act upon them? To grow as a Christ-one is to recognize God’s discipline in our life. Do not ignore it or explain it away. Search Scripture for the way you must go and follow it.

Friday, October 16, 2009: Jonah 4:1, 5, 11

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.
And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?

Jonah picked a vantage point to view Nineveh’s destruction and was angry that it was not destroyed. What was God’s reason? God wants even the worst sinner to repent and turn away from sin and seek God’s salvation. Beyond this, God wants those who have received salvation not to hate anyone God has placed in their life, no matter how unlovable.

Peter: Disciple to Apostle

Monday, October 5, 2009: John 18:17

Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, “You are not also one of this Man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.”

Acts 4:10

Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.
Background: The first verse was after Jesus Christ was taken by the officers of the chief priests: the second, before the 70 top leaders (Sanhedrin) after the lame man was healed in the Name of Christ.
What made Peter so bold? He had witnessed the resurrected Christ and was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009: John 18:25

Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself. Therefore they said to him, “You are not also one of His disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not!”

Acts 4:11

This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’
First Peter tells the top people of the Jews that they crucified Christ but God raised Him from the dead, now he tells them Christ is the chief cornerstone of prophecy. What did peter call them? Peter called them the builders who rejected Christ as a stone in the building of God.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009: John 18:26–27

One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, “Did I not see you in the garden with Him?” Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed.

Acts 4:12

Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
After denying being Christ’s disciple, the apostle Peter now makes a defining and exclusive statement. What is so exclusive about it? There is NO other name by which we must be saved. Anything or anyone different just will not get you to heaven, no matter what.

Thursday, October 8, 2009: 1 Peter 3:18

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit
What is the implication of ‘once’? Christ died once, never to die again: He’s alive forevermore.

Friday, October 9, 2009: 1 Peter 2:22–24

“Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth”; who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.
Peter was Christ’s disciple and lived with Him three years. How does Peter sum up Christ? Christ committed no sin and there was no lie in His mouth. He took our sins on His own body: no one else did.