I couldn’t help but to take notice over the last few weeks, of the vast difference between DARKNESS and the coming of LIGHT. Let me explain…
The first thing I do every morning is to go through the
house and open up all the blinds, beginning with my bedroom, then the three
windows on the backside of the living room and finally swing around to open the
blinds on the front facing windows that look out over the cul-de-sac and golf
course.
Because of the somewhat early hour, it is still usually
fairly dark outside and while the new LED streetlight right in front of my
house helps to pick out the forms of the houses, it is still difficult to fine
tune the details of the yards, save for any lawn mowing equipment running on
the greens with their bright shining headlights. But I still like to pause at my study window
and take in the sights and soft sounds of the morning, before I head into the
kitchen to open the two sets of blinds that overlook our front porch.
The daily contrast between the DARK and LIGHT
seems to miraculously appear between the few minutes it takes me to get the
coffee brewing and then return to the study for my morning Bible time. It’s like the Lord flips the switch and the LIGHT
appears… and the difference is amazing… as the details and
colors, along with the birds, rabbits and squirrels seem to burst forth upon
the neighborhood!
A few minutes later, as I go back into the kitchen and then
return with my hot cup of coffee… and a small treat for the pooch and me…
I find myself drawn to the window, once again, as the LIGHT
increases with the sun’s golden beams splashing over the homes on the eastern
side of the neighborhood. At that point,
I can’t help but to enjoy being drawn into the ambiance and freshness of the
new life that comes with each new Oklahoma morning.
With all that in mind, I also can’t help to think about the
contrast between DARKNESS and LIGHT that Pastor
James talked about in our scripture verse from last week’s blog post.* James 1:17 informs us that,
“Everything good, healthy
and beneficial originates in heaven and comes down from the Father of LIGHTS
who created the universe, and in Whom there is no variation nor the slightest
suggestion of change. He is always good
and will never alter His methods of love. For He does not waver, and He is
certainly not the source of DARKNESS and death.”**
First and foremost, in this section of
scripture, James refers to God as “the father of LIGHTS”
and equates everything GOOD, HEALTHY and BENEFICIAL
with Him. In commenting on the phrase “from
the father of LIGHTS,” The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
explains that,
“The plural is used to express the thought,
that light in all its forms, natural (as in the ‘great lights’ of Psalm 135:7),
intellectual and spiritual, is an efflux from Him “Who is light,
and in whom is no darkness at all” (1John 1:5).
In his explanation of Jesus as being God incarnate in this
world, the Apostle John tells us at the very beginning of his gospel message
that,
“Jesus was the source of
life, and that life was the LIGHT for humanity. The LIGHT shines in the
DARK, and the DARK has never extinguished it. (God’s Word ©)
These scriptures and many more of them throughout the pages
of our Bibles, unequivocally state the clear difference between the LIGHT
and the DARK. And in the
written word of God, the fact is that God is LIGHT and in Him
there is NO DARKNESS at all… PERIOD!
On the other hand, the
various writers throughout the New Testament from John’s accounts of Jesus’ own
words (John 3:19) through the Revelation (Revelation 16:10), state
that DARKNESS is always associated with the devil and his works
of destruction, sickness and death. I
like the way that The Remedy Translation expresses the succinct manner in which
James sums it up at the end of our verse in James 1:17 by declaring,
“He (God) is always good and
will never alter His methods of love. For He does not waver, and He is certainly not the source
of DARKNESS and death.”
And what is contained and/or associated with the attacks of
DARKNESS in our lives?
Well… according to Jesus’ own words in John 10:10… it
would consist of anything that attempts “to steal, slaughter and destroy”
any part of our lives. While Jesus, who
is the LIGHT, has come to “give us everything in abundance, more
than we expect—life in its fullness until we overflow!” (TPT)
It is all pretty black and white to me… God = Good
and the devil = Bad!
Don’t ever allow the enemy of our souls to suggest to you
that something bad that you might be going through is from God. It is NOT! …and YES… we can (and
should) learn through the trials and tribulations in life… but as James said,
God is GOOD and will never alter His methods of LOVE toward
you and me… AND…
“He is certainly not
the source of DARKNESS and death.”
I would challenge you to meditate upon these truths today…
for it will revolutionize your active faith in God and in the truth of His Word…
and you’ll see it regularly working IN, THROUGH and FOR YOU
each and every day!
Have a great weekend!
Our beautiful fall weather continues out here and I hope that yours is
the same… BUT, please continue keep the folks that were so drastically
affected by Hurricane Helene in your prayers.
* https://pjberruto.blogspot.com/2024/09/the-slightest-suggestion.html
**James 1:17 – A personalization of The Remedy
and The Passion Translations.
