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Tag: I AM the Light of the world

Thanksgiving Series: For the LIGHT and lights

Psalm 136 can be touted as the “The Psalm of Thanks” or the “Thanksgiving Psalm.” It is a Psalm that is rich in content, apropos the character of God and since each verse in the Psalm is suffixed with “For his mercy endures forever”, it is a Psalm that is easy to read and memorize as well.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, giving thanks for the ultimate reason of sending us his only begotten Son, we will be looking at each verse in Psalm 136 and glean out the character of God from these verses, which would be reason enough to be grateful and give thanks to our LORD God.

Today we look at Verses 7 to 9.
To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:
The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:
The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.

These verses speak of two great lights that were made to rule, but according to the creation account recorded in Genesis 1:3, it is written, “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” This not only establishes that fact that the sun, moon and stars are not the source of true light, but it was this LIGHT that was in the beginning (even before the creation of the sun, moon and stars (great lights)) that is the true source of LIGHT that dispels real darkness. This is further accentuated in the scripture, where it is written that Jesus, the Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God who dispels spiritual darkness (sin) of the world, is the light in the city of God (heaven) which does not have the need for the sun or the moon (Revelation 21:23). Jesus is the LIGHT. He was not created. He simply was and is and forever will be – from everlasting to everlasting (Psalm 90:2). In the beginning was the LIGHT and that LIGHT was with God and the LIGHT was God (John 1:1) for Jesus said, “I am the LIGHT of the World (John 8:12), and whoever follows him shall not walk in darkness – spiritual darkness, separated from God, but have the light of life.” 

Points to ponder:
It is Christmas season and as one ponders about the birth of Jesus Christ in a manger, sometimes getting lost in the festivities, let us not forget that on Christmas night, Jesus had his birth in the form of a man, but not his beginning, but more importantly let us not overlook the true meaning of Christmas and that is “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.” (Isaiah 9:2; Matthew 4:16). Jesus is the greatest of all lights, the maker and ruler of all other lights. Are you still in darkness? Is your life a slave to sin? Ask Jesus to be born in your heart so that he can dispel all darkness and by that you can have the light of life. Now, that is a great reason to be thankful for.

Psalm 136:7-9 (KJV)
To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:
The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:
The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Revelation 21:23 (KJV)
23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

Isaiah 9:2 (KJV)
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Matthew 4:16 (KJV)
16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.

Brotherhood with the sinful does not pay off

When the evil men of the city of Sodom surrounded Lot’s house and demanded that he bring out the two angelic visitors, so that they could have sex with them, Lot steps out of his house and put’s himself in harms way. He then addresses the men as “brothers” pleading that they don’t do such an evil thing. He goes so far as to offer his own daughters to be violated, so that his visitors who had come under the protection of his roof be spared of such evil. But the people respond to him and state that he is a foreigner (implying he was not one of their own i.e., not a brother) and now he had come to judge them, turning judgment to bitterness and casting down righteousness (Amos 5:7), threatening to deal worse with Lot himself, as they pushed forward to break the door of Lot’s house. The angels put their hand out and pull Lot back in, out of harms way, and shut the door.

Lot putting himself in harms way is certainly commendable but the way he deemed the wicked evil men as his own brothers is not. In fact, such recognition (or acceptance) is not reciprocated as the wicked evil men deemed him to be no more than a foreigner. From this account, we can learn that brotherhood with the sinful does not pay off. Reasoning with the wicked (ungodly) is futile.

Points to ponder:
The righteous can have no fellowship with the wicked. A yoke of brotherhood between the righteous i.e., those who have believed in Jesus and accepted him (Romans 3:22) walking in the Light (John 8:12; 1 John 1:6-8) and the unrighteous i.e., those who have rejected Jesus and who continue to walk in darkness, after the flesh, is not only improbable but impossible, for what communion can the righteous have with the unrighteous or light have with darkness (2 Corinthians 6:14) for darkness is dispelled at the very onset of light. Are you calling the sinful your brother? Remember there can be no such relationship, if you and I are in Christ, for if we say that we have fellowship with Jesus and yet not follow him (John 8:12) but instead walk in darkness, we lie and the Truth (John 14:6) is not in us (1 John 1:6).

Genesis 19:6-10 (KJV)
And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.
10 But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door.

I AM the Light of the world

The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century which is expected to last nearly seven minutes is expected to occur tomorrow (July 22, 2009) as reported by the NASA Eclipse website.  The sun, a bright shinning star will be completely eclipsed because of the presence of another object (the moon) between the earth and the sun and the sun’s light (life giving source) will be temporarily cut short to all on earth. Now imagine for a moment, if this total eclipse is not just a temporary phenomenon. Plants wont be able to photosynthesize and animals that depend on plants will slowly start to die, until life itself as we know it, in totality may cease to be.

One of Jesus’ ‘I AM’ statements recorded in John 8:12 is ‘I AM the Light of the world‘  followed by ‘Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life‘.

If Jesus is the light of the world, then why is it that there are many who still dont see Him? Two reasons come to mind. First, sin and second blindness. Sin eclipses the resplendence and glory of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the bright and Morning Star (Rev 22:16). The god of this world (devil) has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them (2 Corinthians 4:4). If we choose to have fellowship with Jesus Christ (who is not just in the light, but is THE LIGHT), His blood cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). If we follow Him, we will never have to walk in darkness anymore. He will open the eyes of those who have been blinded (Psalm 146:8). If we choose to stay perpetually separated from Jesus Christ, the light of the world, our lives will be lost in darkness until life itself as we know it, in totality will cease to be. Jesus said, I AM the light of the world and in other words He said, I AM the LIFE GIVING source of the world.

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