Friday December 19, 2008 HE IS LIGHT
This is the message he has given us to announce to you: God is light and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness. We are not living in the truth. But if we are living in the light of God's presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin. 1 John 1:5-7 Carl Jung, a noted psychologist, spent much of his time researching the dark side of his patients. He termed this dark side - the shadow. Well, in my opinion Jung was wrong. Shadows are outside of us, we can see our shadow based on where we are standing in relation to the light, and I believe this is the point John is making regarding our standing with God. Scripture often refers to our being in the "¼shadow of the Almighty" (Psalm 36:7, 57:1). Acts 5:15 says, "As a result of the apostles' work, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter's shadow might fall across some of them as he went by. Crowds came in from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all healed." (emphasis mine) So, if there is a dark side of God even that is comforting. When God's light shines in our darkness and exposes our hidden sin, He washes the dark area, makes us clean, and fills the void with the Holy Spirit. Yesterday, as I read through Romans 8, I all but laughed out loud when I read verses 30-31, "And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And he gave them right standing with himself, and he promised them his glory. What can we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?" So, when Satan reminds us of our past, we can remind him of his future! God amazes me. When I worked for Prison Fellowship, God gave me the joy of counseling a young, black lady. As I listened to her share the story of her life I felt my life was a dream. Starting at the age of six, she experienced full intercourse and was a full blown alcoholic by age nine. She started smoking pot when she was twelve and became a dealer when she was thirteen. At fourteen she was a prostitute. Like so many other wounded people I talk to, Satan convinced her that there was simply no place for her in the family of God. She ended up in prison. Yet, through Christians, going into prison to minister to her, she became intimately acquainted with Jesus Christ. This precious sister in Christ is now accepting full responsibility for her sins, as well as any pain passed on to her children. She is walking in the light of God's love. Still, when she falls short of human perfection, she finds herself tempted to turn her back on God. I'll never forget the look on her face as I shared Paul's writing in Romans, I saw sheer joy wash over her face. She is learning to walk as a Princess instead of as a prostitute. She is not "living in sin," but she is very aware that she may fall into sin. She is learning that when she falls she can stand back up, turn to her Father, confess her sin, and be embraced by the light of His love. As a matter of fact, she now works for Prison Fellowship. Let Him embrace you today as you worship Him! Isn't that a part of Christmas, being embraced anew by the Spirit of God? ******************************************* O. Addison Gethers e-mail address : [email protected] or [email protected] window live messenger: [email protected] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/DBILG?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
