{"id":13715,"date":"2013-08-01T01:00:02","date_gmt":"2013-08-01T05:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=13715"},"modified":"2013-07-31T22:36:50","modified_gmt":"2013-08-01T02:36:50","slug":"i-am-chapter-4-day-4-jesus-is-the-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2013\/08\/01\/i-am-chapter-4-day-4-jesus-is-the-light\/","title":{"rendered":"“I AM” Chapter 4 – Day 4: Jesus is The LIGHT"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"John15_11\"<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This time last week I sat in the dark.\u00a0 There were no lamps, no overhead lights on;\u00a0I couldn\u2019t turn them on if I wanted to.\u00a0 It was a Monday, a typical Monday if you know what I mean.\u00a0 My power had been turned off and there was nothing I could do about it.\u00a0 Can you relate?<\/p>\n

On day one of this week, Teresa asked us which verse in John chapter 1 could we relate to the most, right now, where we are.\u00a0 I chose verse 5, not even realizing that it was my topic for this week.\u00a0 God is funny like that, right?\u00a0 John 1: 4-5<\/strong> says this: \u201cThe word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot extinguish it!\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you understand what that means? The darkness of evil never can and never will overcome God\u2019s Light. \u00a0Jesus Christ is the Creator of life, and we are dead people walking until He comes into our lives and breathes life into us.\u00a0 His life brings light to us and in His light we see ourselves as we really are—sinners in need of a Savior, a Redeemer.<\/p>\n

When we choose to follow Jesus, He becomes our true Light and we no longer have to walk blindly and fall into our old sinful ways.\u00a0 He lights the path ahead of us so that we can see the way we need to live.\u00a0 He removes the darkness of sin in our lives.\u00a0 He shows us how to walk along the way to freedom from sin and darkness.\u00a0 See, all who welcome Jesus as Lord of their lives will never have to live in darkness<\/em>.\u00a0 Now, that doesn\u2019t mean we will not have trouble or trials; and that doesn’t mean that we won\u2019t sin.\u00a0 It just means that no matter how dark your world may feel, He is there, giving you hope, peace, and joy.\u00a0 And remember, He became human Himself and experienced some of the same sufferings and hardships that we go through. \u00a0He is your beacon in this sometimes dark world.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Our verse for today is John 8:12.<\/strong> \u201cI am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life!\u201d\u00a0 Here, Jesus was talking to the people again, in the part of the Temple called the treasury.\u00a0 It was where offerings<\/span> were put and where candles burned to symbolize the pillar of fire that led the people of Israel through the wilderness.\u00a0 The pillar of fire represented God\u2019s presence, His guidance, and His protection. \u00a0In this context, Jesus Himself calls Himself the Light of the world.\u00a0 He is God\u2019s Presence in our lives. \u00a0He is God\u2019s protection over us and He is God\u2019s guidance.\u00a0 God sent His own Son! \u00a0Is that not amazing that He loves us that much?<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The last verses I found in the Bible that talk about Jesus being the Light\u00a0are in\u00a02 Corinthians 4:6-7.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0“For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made us understand that this light is the brightness of the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. But this precious treasure, this light and power that now shines<\/span> within us, is held in perishable containers, that is, our weak bodies, so everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own.” We are perishable containers yet God entrusted us with His precious treasure, Jesus Christ, His Son; that this Light shines brighter than any darkness we could possibly have in our lives.<\/p>\n

I did a little research on the sunflower (it is my favorite flower) and it actually bends toward the sun so that it can catch as much light as it possibly can.\u00a0 In the early morning, it actually tilts to the east, and by twilight it tilts to the west.\u00a0 If you take the flower and place it in a dark closet, it will still continue to bend everyday, just as it did when it was outside.\u00a0 Even the sunflower knows that the ones that are most likely to survive are the ones that catch the most light.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Friends, I don\u2019t want to just survive; I want to really thrive<\/strong> both physically and spiritually!\u00a0\u00a0The only way to do that is to stay bending toward the Light—the light of our Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

What about you today?\u00a0 Where does He need to shine in your life?\u00a0 What darkness is threatening to suck the life out of you?\u00a0 It is simple, really. \u00a0Just ask and He will come rescue you and fill you with His Light.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

And back to my story about the power outage…God came through as He always does and performed another miracle and the lights came back on.\u00a0 I praised Him the rest of the day!<\/p>\n