“The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying” (Romans 13:12-13).

We take many things for granted that are, in reality, blessings from God. Take light, for instance. We assume that the sun will come up every morning and warm the earth, help plants grow, and allow us to see any obstacles that might trip us. It will set in the evening, and darkness will come over the earth, and with it, coolness and the lesser light of the moon and the stars. The moon is only a reflection of the sun’s light. If you’re blessed to live where the artificial lights of the world don’t cover them, you can see millions of stars that glitter in the darkness. What a beautiful sight to see!

Darkness does have a certain kind of beauty unless you’re referring to the darkness of Satan. Darkness is used to describe the evil works of the devil, but the glorious works of God are described as light. The Apostle John wrote much about Jesus being the light of the world. After stating that Jesus is the Creator of all things, John writes, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:4-5).

People who choose to follow the darkness of Satan cannot understand the Light of God.

It’s hard to wrap our minds around it, but light was the first thing Jesus spoke into existence, even before He created the sun, moon, or stars. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:1-2). God created the heaven and earth, but all was dark until God spoke. “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).

The Hebrew word here is “owr,” which is the light itself, not the thing from which it’s emitted. There had to be light before anything could survive.

“And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:4-5).

It’s important to understand Genesis in order to understand that there was no big bang and no evolutionary cosmic goo that somehow became life in its many forms.

It wasn’t until the fourth day that God spoke the sun and moon into being.

“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years: and let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day” (Genesis 1:14-19).

On this fourth day, God created the sun, moon, and stars. Light had already been spoken into being, but now it was contained and set on a rotation of rising and setting.

The world is a very dark place without light. Satan is the ruler of the evil done in darkness. Jesus is the Light of the World, but Satan is the god of this world. Those who follow Satan cannot understand light.

“And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).

The word for darkness is the Greek word “skotos,” which metaphorically means “of ignorance respecting divine things and human duties, and the accompanying ungodliness and immorality, together with their consequent misery in hell.” It’s much better to embrace the light of Jesus and not face the misery that results from sin that makes life miserable. The disease sin brings is not worth stumbling around in darkness. I’ve never been in jail, but people I know who have spent time there don’t want to go back. The sin wasn’t worth the price paid. Yet, the darkness has a stronghold upon the sinner; the darkness engulfs them.

“The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness” (Luke 11:34-35). Various translations render the word “single” as “good,” “healthy,” and “clear.” Darkness will always cause you to stumble and fall.

Light extinguishes the darkness; even a spark in the darkness shines bright. Remember, Jesus is the Light of the world, and His light shines through those of us who call ourselves Christians.

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).

Following Jesus is following the light. He will light your pathway. Follow His light and flee from the darkness of sin.

Paul was a hateful man who was going to Damascus to arrest people who had placed their faith in Jesus Christ. His life was changed dramatically when he saw the light of Jesus. “And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven” (Acts 9:3).

The darkness in which Paul lived was shattered by the light of God. Jesus gave Paul a mission. “But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in which I will appear unto thee; delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me” (Acts 26:16-18).

Before Paul could fulfill this directive from Jesus, he had to let go of the darkness. Paul did let go of his dark sin and faithfully spread the light of the Gospel to a dark world, and today we benefit from his faithfulness. We need to follow His example in spreading the Light of God to a dark world.

When a person encounters Jesus, it may not be quite as dramatic as Paul’s encounter, but it is just as important, and it should be just as life-changing. We need to stop living in the darkness of sin and death. “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness” (John 12:46).

Study Scripture, which is God’s word, and apply it to your life. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105). How can you follow the light if you don’t turn it on? The Holy Spirit lives in each and every Christian. He is our guide in following God’s instructions, but we can hinder him. “Quench not the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19). Don’t let the Light of God dim in your life. Stand firm on His word every day. It may not be easy to walk in the Light of the World, but it makes life easier than stumbling in the darkness.

We all slip into the darkness at times. Sometimes we move away from the Light on purpose, but you can rest assured that there is always forgiveness for the truly repentant person.

“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2).

The word “propitiation” is from the Greek word “hilasmos,” which means “appeasing.” So, Jesus is the appeasement for our sins. Thank You, Jesus.

The Apostle Paul, who was highly educated in his Jewish faith, understood that God created everything. “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

This agrees with Genesis chapter 1 as well as with the Gospel of John chapter 1. Jesus Christ is the Creator of all that is, and He called light into existence. He was the light before the sun, moon, and stars. He will be the Light throughout eternity, and He shines through us today. Let His light shine through your life. Turn away from darkness and walk in His light daily.

In Romans, chapter 1, Paul reveals the consequence of the sin of rejecting God as the Creator, and we see that happening in the nations today as the darkness of sin is accepted as the standard of living. We are swiftly moving to the end of time. It’s hard to imagine a world where darkness rules even more than it does today. We can see the darkness of sin getting blacker, but today we still have the Light of the world in us.

“Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth” (John 12:35).

As Christians we need to walk in the light without wavering. We cannot waver in our walk but must stay in God’s Light. Parents must teach children to follow the Light instead of the darkness of the world. It’s important to teach our children, but it’s also important for parents to walk in the Light as examples to the children. If we quench the Light of God in us, we leave the world in the dark. The darkness of sin is growing because Christians aren’t following the Light and are allowing Satan’s dark lies to be taught to children in schools and allowing dark, satanic thoughts to permeate our children’s thinking through music, movies, and television. Satan’s dark evil is strong in the world of entertainment.

Moses led the Israelites from captivity in Egypt and for 40 years wandering in the wilderness. When Moses died, Joshua led the Israelites in the battle for the land that God promised to Abraham. Satanic evil was thriving there, and the battle was tough, but Joshua was a strong leader who followed God instead of the satanic gods of the Egyptians and the pagan inhabitants of the Promised Land.

Joshua made his position clear. “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but a for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15).

Fathers, you need to take a stand and lead your family in the Light of God. Mothers, if the father in the household is weak and chooses darkness, you take a stand. As Christian parents, be sure you walk in the same Light in which you want your children to walk. Don’t let the light that shines in you be darkness.

When we accept Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection for salvation, our life needs to change from walking in darkness to walking in the Light. “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:5).

Stop serving darkness. Like Joshua challenged the Israelites, choose this day whom ye will serve… demonic gods who fill you with darkness, or Jesus Christ who is the Light of the world. Christians are a new creation in Christ. All sin is forgiven when you surrender to Christ, so stop stumbling in the dark and come to the Light of the world and allow His light to outshine the darkness of Satan. Walk in His light.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.

 

“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).

We make many choices in life. We must live with our choices, good or bad. The best choice to make is to accept Jesus Christ for salvation. Once we’ve done that, we need to choose to follow Him. How do we do that? Scripture is our guide, and the Holy Spirit is our navigator. We must choose to do God’s will instead of Satan’s will. Satan has always wanted mankind to fail. He’s the master of deception. He first deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had a lovely life there. They had food, water, and the presence of God was all around them. There was no disease or death. It’s hard to imagine just how beautiful it was before Satan’s lies were harkened to and all of creation fell. Adam and Eve knew God, and they only had to obey one law.

“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17).

That seems simple enough. Today there’s still only one path to salvation, but Satan’s lies have corrupted that. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

There is no other way to salvation than to accept the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God spoke plainly to Adam, who should have spoken plainly to Eve. Scripture speaks very plainly to us, and we need to pay attention to it. Had God’s one rule been followed, life would be very different today. But Satan entered, and by deceit, he talked Eve into disobeying God. He convinced Eve that God had deceived them, that God didn’t have their best interest at heart. God said they would die if they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge, but Satan twisted God’s words.

“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5).

Ever since that day, death has been part of life. It’s always smart to take God at His word and obey Him. Satan’s tactics haven’t changed. He uses lies and deception, and he only wants evil for humans. Pride caused his fall, and pride is a sin. God loves sinners and will forgive all sin.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

We like the forgiveness part but forget that encountering Jesus should change our attitude toward sin. When a prostitute was brought before Jesus for Him to condemn her to death, she found forgiveness in Him rather than condemnation. He asked her, “Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She said No man, Lord, And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:10b-11).

All those who accused her left, and Jesus forgave her, but He told her to sin no more… change her lifestyle. We need to pay attention. All who come to Jesus find forgiveness, but then we need to turn away from the sin.

Pride is a sin. Pride causes us to think we know more than God. Oddly enough, we dedicate a whole month to the pride of sin. Satan’s pride caused his eviction from the realm of the Heavenly angels.

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the height of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:12-14).

Pride will always cause destruction. Satan thought he would exalt himself above God, but pride never works out. “Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit” (Isaiah 14:15).

Satan has led weak-minded people, who are easily deceived, in rebellion and sin ever since he deceived Eve.

Satan hates us, but many people today follow his will instead of following God’s will. God is love, and Satan is the opposite of love. Satan’s pride tries to destroy people, and many follow his lies. We are coming to the end of days, and Satan will try to thwart God by possessing a man who will deceive many people into taking his mark. It is the Holy Spirit living in Christians that restrains this man of sin from coming forward. That man of sin is a follower of Satan, and there are many candidates for the anti-Christ living today.

“Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10).

We can see the deceit that is permeating the world today, not only in the secular world but within the congregations that claim to be Christian. Brothers and sisters, don’t be deceived. God loved the world enough to offer His Son for our redemption, and Jesus willingly gave His life for us. If you call yourself a Christian, then believe God’s word and follow His directions in life. Don’t take pride in sin of any kind, but live life according to Scripture. Do God’s will, not Satan’s will.

Our first step in not following Satan’s will is to accept Christ for eternal salvation. The next step is to become a living sacrifice. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).

That is reasonable. God gave His life to purchase your salvation, so the least you can do is to live your life to honor Him. We can’t do anything to earn salvation, but we can thank God by living for Him.

“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him” (James 1:12).

God doesn’t set evil before you in order to tempt you. “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: but every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed” (James 1:13-14).

Did God set Satan in the Garden in order that Eve would yield to temptation? No. Temptation came because she allowed herself to be in a situation where Satan could tempt her. Satan will tempt you into sin if you follow his will instead of God’s will. Instead of standing upon God’s words, Eve listened to Satan’s twisted version of God’s words. His lies distorted God’s truth, and she believed Satan’s lies. God only speaks truth, but even today, we listen to Satan’s voice telling us that God is wrong. Instead of standing firmly on God’s truth, we listen to the lies of Satan. That’s when, like Eve, we become confused, and Satan’s lies begin to sound reasonable. From that, we get a perverted view of creation, marriage, and life in general.

The secular world cannot be expected to understand and obey God, but there’s no excuse for Christians to follow Satan’s will instead of God’s will. We have Scripture. Christians get mocked and laughed at if we don’t join in the ways of the world and yield to the temptation of sin, but we are to follow Scripture as our guide. There are no advantages to sin. When God’s ways are rejected, disease and death follow. Anger flares up, and guns get blamed for the violence that surrounds us in this life. It’s not guns but sin that causes a trigger to be pulled. Statistics say that 24% of US women will have an abortion by age 45. That’s a sad commentary on the moral state of America. There shouldn’t be any abortions. Babies are murdered, and it’s called “a woman’s right to choose.” That choice comes before a baby is created.

Brothers and sisters, we need to be leaders in choosing God’s will over Satan’s will. We need to require public schools to teach morals instead of promoting sin. We have the instruction book for a life that honors God. If we read it and apply it to our daily living, we will honor God Almighty. Walking in sin triggers God’s judgment, and as sin increases, it becomes more acceptable. As people embrace Satan’s will instead of God’s will, we draw closer to the ultimate judgment… the Great Tribulation. The people who have accepted Christ’s shed blood for salvation will be taken directly to Heaven in the Rapture before that time of God’s wrath upon an unbelieving world that follows Satan.

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (2 Corinthians 15:51-52).

But all who reject Jesus Christ, embrace sin, and walk in the path of Satan will face horrendous judgment, but it will be their own choice by rejecting Christ. Demons will rule, and pure evil will have nothing to stop it.

Accept Christ’s sacrifice for your redemption today because tomorrow may be too late. Then follow God’s will, not Satan’s will.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.