Jesus, Light of the World (12-8-12)

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(Excerpt from Cheryl Gnagey's Advent Devotional, "Jesus, Light of the World," for preparing to light the second Advent Candle, the Bethlehem candle.)

Acts 26:1-18
"The apostle Paul finds himself standing before King Agrippa fighting for his very life.  His own people, the Jews, have turned on him because of his faith in Jesus, the Messiah, whom they don't believe has come yet.  They want Paul dead!  but his battle is truly not with his flesh and blood brothers.  His battle is with the enemy of Jesus, Satan.  The enemy has heard that Paul is being sent out to the Gentile race.  For the first time, the enemy is battling God's plan for all mankind, not just His plan for His chosen people.

Paul is his own defense lawyer and pleads his case to the king.  He tells the king his entire testimony, from being a devout Jew, to persecuting the followers of Jesus, to his personal, life-changing encounter with a 'light from heaven.'  And he told him that opt of that very light cam a voice, the voice of Jesus, the true light.

Paul relates to King Agrippa his call to ministry, to minister to the Gentiles.  What was it the Jesus had said to him on the fateful day?  The Light said,

'Arise, and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the tings in which I will appear to you; delivering you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.'

Jesus, the Light of the world, calls us to open our eyes and turn to Him in all things.  By turning to the Light, we are turning away from the darkness.  No longer can Satan, the enemy of our walk with the Light, have rule and dominion over us when our eyes are focused and fixed on Jesus, and we are obeying His commands.

We initially set our focus on Jesus when we came to Him in faith, believing the He is the Son of God and our Savior from sin and death.  But we are not to leave our focused gaze behind once we have come to Jesus.  Our focus should remain the same.  With our eyes opened wide and fixed on Him, we can remain in His light.  That light will then begin to reveal to us moment to moment those places in our lives where we are walking in our own flesh and desires, our own understanding and in our own strength.  Once they are revealed in the light of Christ, our daily sin issues can be immediately confessed and surrendered to Christ, our Savior.

Thank God today for your Christian heritage that can be traced back to Paul, God's devoted servant to our race.  Thank God that His plan of salvation included us!  Thank Him for appearing to Paul 'as a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around.'  Confess your sins to Jesus, turning from the 'darkness of Bethlehem,' and standing instead in the light of His glorious Presence!"

THE RESURRECTED LIFE -- Day 39

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Day 39:  Timothy (2 Timothy 1: 1-7)

It was time to write his beloved Timothy again.  Paul first wrote to him five years earlier, when Timothy was shepherding the new church at Ephesus.  That first letter had been full of instructions on how he should lead that church, in a God-pleasing way.  But this letter would be different.  Knowing his time was short, Paul sat down to write this letter to address how Timothy should guard the spiritual treasure he had in Christ.  But there was another reason he was writing, as well.  Paul wanted is dear friend, Timothy to come and see him—and soon!  So putting quill and ink to the parchment, he began.  ”To Timothy, my beloved son.”   It wasn’t long before Paul’s mind began to reminisce. . .

Timothy had always been a faithful co-laborer for Christ.  And his faith in Him was so much like Paul’s own.  How Paul loved Timothy.  He even called him his true child of the faith.  What a blessing he had been because he constantly lived out what he believed.  How Paul longed for him to come! There was still so much to share with him, so much Timothy needed to learn in order to serve God to the fullest.  Paul’s desire was to be used as an example, and that the words that he wrote would be a great encouragement to Timothy, even long after Paul was gone.

“For I am mindful of your sincere faith,” Paul continued his letter.  Pausing again, he considered why Timothy’s faith had been so sincere.  Timothy’s spiritual heritage was stronger than any other he had known.  Both his grandmother and his mother had trusted God and walked in faith in Him.  The influence of these two godly women greatly influenced the young life of Timothy.  Without seeing their faith in action, Timothy would not have become a man with resurrection power flowing forth from him.  Two strong generations produced a believer who was not afraid to stand for what he believed.  “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power, love and discipline,” flowed on to the page of parchment.  How perfectly those words fit his beloved Timothy!

What does the spiritual legacy you are leaving your children look like?  Are you aware that the legacy they will carry on will look like what they have seen in you, not what they have heard you say?  Are you leaving a legacy for your co-workers and neighbors?  What do they see in you?

THE RESURRECTED LIFE -- Day 38

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Day 38:  The Jailer, Paul, and Silas (Acts 16: 25-34)

Beaten and thrown into prison, chained by their ankles in the stocks, Paul and Silas began to pray aloud and sing praises to their God.  So loud were their prayers and praise, there was no one in the jail who did not hear their worship.  But the earthquake turned their concert of praise into screams of terror from their captive audience.  The violent shaking caused the foundations of the old jail to shift, and all the doors came unlatched.  Even the chains that held the prisoners to their cell walls broke loose. 

Awakened by the deafening and frightening sounds, the jailer arose to see an even more terrifying sight.  Having been charged to securely guard Paul and Silas, he knew that he would surely be killed for allowing the prisoners to escape.  Pulling the sword from its sheath at his side, the jailer was determined to end his own life; thus, he would avoid embarrassment.  With his sword poised, a tear ran down his cheek as he contemplated the shame his own family would surely endure.  But at that very moment, a shout rang out through the chambers of the jail.  “Do not harm yourself!  We are here!”  Calling for lights to be able to see and running into Paul and Silas’ cell, the jailer fell at the feet of the two. Hugging their feet, he wept for joy and relief that they had not fled.  

Something truly awesome had happened that night—things in the spiritual realm that the jailer had never before experienced.  Turning to his prisoners, he pleaded with them to tell him how he might be saved, for surely their God was the God he wanted to know.  They told him simply that he must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.   Trusting their testimony, he confessed his faith.  No longer caring what might happen to him, the jailer invited these Christian brothers to his home for a meal, these men who had once been his wards.  He took care of their wounds while Paul and Silas told his whole family how they too could be saved.

How do you react to the suffering and trials that come into your life?  Do you receive them from the hand of God?  Do you find ways to praise Him in the midst of your storms?  Or do you ask “why” and throw yourself a gigantic pity party?  Who might you influence, even to the point of salvation, with a testimony of praise and worship while you are being tested?