19 September 2007 Devotion for Today "Walking in the Light" John 3:19-21

19 September 2007  Devotion for Today "Walking in the Light"  John 3:19-21

 

            You may have been to a restaurant where the lights have been really dim. At first you can hardly see anything around you. You’re afraid to put anything in your mouth until you’re sure what it is. It is case of eating by faith and not by sight. I took a mission trip to Russia back in 1993, and we sat down to eat at a cafeteria in Moscow at the place we were staying. Its not that it was fancy, it was because all those folks to afford was to put one light bulb to light up a large room. You had to strike a match to read the menu-which didn’t do most of us any good because we couldn’t read it even if we could see it.  But I was hungry, and the first course was served, from what I could see, it looked just like orange jello.  I grabbed a spoonful and shoved it in my mouth.  But then my taste buds did a complete double take as I gagged on slimy, fishy tasting little orange pellets swimming around in this gelatin concoction. I looked around, and the only thing to drink was a bottle of water but the cap was not off of it yet.  By this time I was groping desperately for something to wash it down, and grabbed a container filled with what they call “kvass.”  I couldn’t see what was in it, but filled my cup up with it and began to drink that. What the Russians didn’t tell me was the beverage consisted of a mixture of moldy fermented rye bread and water.  My mouth began to send a message to my eyes, saying, “you guys up there are killing us up there, so you better start getting it together.” But before long, I begin to see better. Not because someone turned on more light, but because my eyes became more accustomed to the darkness.  I can’t say I enjoyed my meal better, but at least I could see enough not to eat what I could not identify.

 

            Today I believe we find ourselves as a Christian community in very much  the same situation. We have become so accustomed to the dark, that we begin to notice it less and less, and in fact even become more comfortable with it. We like it.  That’s just what Jesus said about it in John 3:19-21

            This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

            God wants us to have more light but the problem is, we won’t budge out of the darkness because we love the pleasures of sin. Don’t think that sin isn’t fun or can’t be pleasurable. If it wasn’t fun, nobody would be doing it! If it didn’t feel good, we would shun it.  If people didn’t like sin, guys like me would be out of a job!          Ephesians 5:13 "But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light." The light of God’s Word shines upon us, revealing our faults, and sin. Wherever light shines, we can see more clearly.

            You can walk through your home in the dark and stumble over everything, but just turn on the light, and you can see more clearly, what obstacles are there, how to get around them, and what to do to get to your destination safely.

            When the light of the gospel is turned on, we can see the way to Heaven more clearly. God then turns on the heat to make us change our walk and avoid some of the obstacles, and overcome the rest, so that we can make it to Heaven safely.

How do we know we have that light?   God has foreordained that whatever produced light would also produce heat. Why? To give you a very simplified answer, reactions that produce heat will cause a release of energy that is often transformed into a light. Brighter intensity also means more heat!

            Pick up a string of 7 volt Christmas lights and hold them in your hand while they are burning. While they may be hot, or at least warm, you can usually hold them for a few minutes before they will burn too much. But, if you pick up a 100 watt bulb that is burning, you won’t hold it but a split second before it will leave a mark. There are some projector bulbs that will burn as high as 800 degrees and more. Of course, the ultimate source of natural light, the sun, burns at a temperature that has been estimated at 11,000 degrees Fahrenheit on the surface and 27,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit near its center.

The more we allow the heat of conviction to work in our hearts, the greater the light will shine in us, and we are brought into a closer relationship and a greater knowledge of Christ.

            The point is this: If we really want the light then we need to be prepared for some heat also.

God is going to turn up the heat of conviction in your life so that you will know what is not pleasing to God. He will turn up the heat of conviction in your life so that you will have to respond by either falling on your face seeking His will, or you will have to turn and walk away to avoid feeling uncomfortable all the time.

            Every time you come to church, the preacher will preach a message that turns up the heat and reveals a little more of what we need to work on. The light will get a little brighter, the Word of God will become a little clearer.  And when His light is in our life, we are also giving off some heat as well, and people are going to be warming up to us, because they feel the warmth of God’s love coming out of us.  They want to get warm.  There will be some folks, though, that don’t like that, though.  Just remember that’s a good thing, and know that its not you, it’s the light!

 

 

 

Rev. Jeffery C. Russell
Salem Baptist Church
Elizabeth City, NC
jefferyrussell@embarqmail.com

jcrussell@liberty.edu

 

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