The Light of the World

Saturday, May 6, 2017

The Light of the World

Scripture:
Matthew 4:16
“The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light,
And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death,
Upon them a Light dawned.”

John 8:12
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”


Isaiah 42:6-7
“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

Isaiah 60:1-3
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Micah 7:8
Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.

Devotional:
As I am moving through the Scriptures, I am letting the Lord lead me to where He wants me to focus. I have enjoyed pouring the epistles of Paul into my heart, but as I prepared to open another, I felt the Lord gently nudging me to begin to dig in to the life and words of Jesus.

Jesus. Oh, Jesus. Precious Redeemer. Savior of my soul. Emmanuel. God with us.

Jesus
Name above all names
Beautiful Savior
Glorious Lord
Emmanuel, God is with us
Precious Redeemer
Living Word

If you have never heard this song, it is one that is so deeply important to my life in Christ. To worship Him with these truths about Who He is puts me into a deep state of worship.

He is the Light of the World. He has come to shed light into our individual lives, and ultimately to shine light into this dark and fallen world so that we might be reconciled to Him. My main aim as a mother is to bring this light to my children, that they might walk out their lives in the light of the Truth of Who Jesus is. Bringing His truth into their lives is the main tool I have to help them to be able to recognize that their sin needs a savior, to begin to submit who they are to Who He Is.  I am to be the model of kindness, discipline, and Truth to my children by modeling Christ and by leading them to receive Him.

This can feel like a burden if I think that I am the light. I can easily turn this again into a task or a checklist. However, the Lord is faithful to always remind me that I depend on Him for my righteousness. I will continue to make mistakes for as long as I walk this earth, so a daily and constant awareness of my need for Jesus will be the only way that I can represent Him to them. He will do the work of being the Light in their lives, and my job is to stay out of the way and to stay humble. To stay real. To repent when I have sinned. To be open and vulnerable with my children about when and how I need my Savior.

I pray today that we will embrace the Light of the World in our homes. Let’s allow the Lord to do what He does, and give this day to Him to shine in and through us.

Prayer:
Father, I thank You that You have made provision in this dark world to shine light. You have given us Jesus so that He can shine in our darkness, and as we bring Him into our homes we also shine His light.

Lord, I confess that I need You to be the One to shine light through me. Remove any ideas I have about “how” to shine light, but instead show me how to allow You to be the One Who shines.

Jesus, I worship You. You are the Answer to all of my hurts, struggles, and challenges. I ask that You would woo my children to You early and continually. Let their hearts be established in You.

Lord, You know about my need. You know what is concerning and worrying me as a mother. You know what my child is going through. You are more than able to shine light in that situation. I ask that You would reveal what is hidden, deliver, fix and heal the root of any sin hiding and lurking in darkness. Any bitterness, pain, trauma, pride, selfishness, or deceit, I ask that You would cause it to be exposed and remove it.

I bless our home this day and ask that Your light would shine bright as day.


In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen. 

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