A Light in the Darkness

  Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13             Life may be thought of as motion, and often this is how we discern life in the local church.   An oft repeated cry in the church is, “Don’t just stand there, do something.” For there is always something we might wish to have done, but to do something is not enough. No, to do something is not even the first order of the day.             Firstly, we must stand there. There being a precise place at the center of God’s revealed will. It is the only place in which doing something useful becomes a possibility. Standing there at the center of God’s will we have the best chance of doing the right thing. For activity is no virtue in itself.             There are many temptations to shift our stance, to move to another spot. To move about doing things till we have wandered away from our firm foundation. All other ground is shifting sand, and we shall not outlast the storms should we be found

  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5 ESV             No matter how deep the darkness appears. No matter how widespread it seems to be. The truth does not change, Christ is not overcome. The light still shines in the darkness, and it shall continue to shine till the final sunset when night is forever banished by the conquering King.             As Christians we have seen the, and we walk in it. It should be visible in and through our lives, the greater the darkness around us, the greater the contrast. Let us take care the Light of Christ is clearly seen, and heard wherever we go. Prayer             Father may the Light shine brightly in each of our hearts, pushing back the darkness, strengthen our hope, increasing our joy, and enhancing our peace. May it so shine that others see it, and hear of it, and come to walk in it to Your glory. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.  

  And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26 ESV             A stone is not alive. A stone heart feels nothing. A stone heart does not move.   A stone heart is worthless. Such a heart can not accomplish anything, it cannot even begin anything. Such a heart is dead weight. There is no life in it, or through it.             What a gift then was promised by the Father, secured by the Son, and delivered by the Holy Spirit, a gift of a living heart! It is an intimate gift of life to each individual who receive the gracious offer through faith. Life! And not just life. But new life unlike anything we had dreamed of in our walking death. We had nothing, and were given everything. We were dead, and now by grace we live! Prayer,             Father what a wonderful gift we are given. We thank You for it. We ask You to help us to appreciate it fully, that by th