Light Over Darkness

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  John 1: 5


In light of what transpired in Virginia this past weekend, I have decided to use bits of a past post and quotes to show how relevant the above verse is. People who came out to show hate and divisiveness reacted violently to the peaceful protests from the opposite side. As a result, Heather Heyer, a young woman who stood up against this divisiveness, lost her life and many people were injured.

This should never have happened.

Despite the torches used on Friday night and the bright sunshine on Saturday, there was darkness in the hearts of many. But God's word says, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it"  (John 1: 5).

Here's an excerpt from an earlier post:

 According to Dylann Roof, his goal was to see the races separated. He wanted us to return to the days of segregation. And that's Satan's goal. He is all for division. He hates to see people, especially Christians, united. He divides families, friends, relatives, even nations. But instead of division, we saw on television people of all races and backgrounds hugging each other and mourning the senseless murder of the saints. This tragedy has brought unity in a way that has even crossed political lines.

 Many people have spoken and demonstrated their abhorrence of what took place this weekend. As happened in Orlando and South Carolina and Ferguson and other parts of the United States, whenever evil forces try to divide us, people come together in a greater show of love and solidarity. 

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  John 3: 19. 

There will always be those who will choose darkness over light, hate over love and division over unity, but thank God, they are in the minority. 

Paul says, " But where sin increased, grace increased all the more" (Romans 5: 20).

Let's thank God for His grace and for sending His light into the world, a light that the darkness can never overcome. God bless. 

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My book In the Wilderness will be released tomorrow at the same preorder price of 99c. Get your copy and read about what happens when the light of Jesus Christ transforms a person's life.

The Light That Never Fades

I had a strange experience driving home from work one day last week. It was after seven and the sun was setting. At first it seemed like I wouldn't need my shades, but as I turned westward, the sun burst upon me with a blinding glare. I hastily put my shades on, but then the  road became dark while the glare of the sun was still in my face.

Afterwards when I thought about that experience several passages of scripture came to my mind.

For now we see through a glass, darkly ; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known .1 Corinthians 13: 12.


Through my shades, everything around me seemed dark, even though the brightness of the sun was never diminished. Could it be that we are "seeing through a glass darkly," so that we miss the brilliance of the Son shining down on us? 

We live in a world that seems to be getting darker and darker, and the more we look at it the darker it seems, but if we turn our eyes away from the things of the world we would find that the light of Jesus shines as brightly as ever. 
 
Sin is on the increase. We call wrong right and right wrong, and Christians are fast becoming an endangered species. But let's not be discouraged, His light still shines. 

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. Exodus 34: 29

 Moses had to cover his face in order to speak to the people. But when he went in to speak with the Lord, he removed the veil. 

We need to remove our veil, our shades - everything that prevents us from seeing clearly - and get into the presence of the Lord. Let His glory shine down on us and then we can face the darkness of this world we live in. God bless.

If you love reading novels, here's my recommended reading for this week, and some music to cheer your heart.

Are You Letting Your Light Shine?

During the month of February, we'll hear about courageous African American men and women who risked a lot, in some cases their very lives, so we can enjoy the freedom we have today. Names like Martin Luther King Jr., Frederick Douglass and Rosa Parks are among the many icons who are featured on radio and TV during Black History month. However, during those dark days of slavery when slaves were forbidden to assemble for any reason whatsoever, there were still some who managed to shine the light of Jesus Christ and even became missionaries to foreign lands.

Here is a short list:

Peter Claver, born 1581 in Spain, became a Jesuit priest at age 20 and traveled to South America where he ministered to African slaves when they arrived in Cartagena, Colombia. He became known as "Slave of the Blacks," and "Slaves of the Slaves."

Richard Allen, born February 1760, founded the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church in 1816. This church became the largest denomination of African Americans, sending missionaries to Haiti, San Domingo and Africa. Allen developed such a strong Christian faith he was able to convert his owner. 

Henry Garnet was a  Presbyterian minister who became the first African American to preach a sermon in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1852 he traveled to Jamaica as a missionary.

Peter Williams was a slave who purchased his freedom in 1785. At that time, blacks who belonged to white churches had to sit at the back of the church and could not bury their dead on church grounds. In 1796, Williams and other black church members decided to form their own congregation. In 1800 Williams laid the cornerstone of the Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church at the corner of Church and Leonard Streets in New York.

Betsey Stockton was born in slavery in 1798 in New Jersey. While working with the Reverend Nathaniel Todd, Betsey became a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Princeton. Betsey later joined a company of missionaries to the Sandwich Islands (present-day Hawaii) on a trip that lasted five months with no stopovers. Betsey became the first single American woman sent overseas as a missionary.

Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5 : 16).  These brave pioneers could have settled for sitting at the back of the church and all the other indignities associated with their station, but instead they followed the great commission and did what they did to advance the kingdom of Jesus Christ on this earth. Can we emulate them in some small way? Will we let our light shine?

Carry Your Candle

Photo credit: MarcoMaru from morguefile.com    I don't know what prompted me to start singing this song this past week, but the words have been going round and round in my mind every day. I can only attribute this to the work of  the blessed Holy Spirit.  This song  deals with the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.  Part of the first verse goes like this: There is a spirit who brings the fire, Ignites the candle and makes its home. You see, when the Holy Spirit comes to live in us, He lights our candle, empowers us to be the best we can be, so we can shine, not for ourselves, but for Him. On our own, we may just be carrying a candle "without a flame." What good is that?


In  Matthew 5: 14 - 16, Jesus says, " Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid . Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."


As Christians, we are called upon to be the light of the world. In other words, to carry our candle, to show the world we are proud to be followers of Jesus Christ, to make a difference whenever and wherever we can. This week I came across a great example of someone who is carrying his candle for Jesus Christ. He is Ramiro Garcia, worship leader, who was born without ears, and was not expected to hear or speak. Ramiro recently auditioned for American Idol, sang Amazing Grace and was included to go on to the next level. Check out the video on You Tube: 





This is black history month, and you may be hearing stories you've heard before of courageous African Americans such as Rosa Parks, Frederick Douglas and Harriet Tubman, just to name a few. Their acts of  bravery and courage may make many of us feel inadequate by comparison. You may never be featured on You Tube or in the daily newspaper, but you can carry your candle by helping someone in need, or by telling them about Jesus Christ. The good that we do is for God's glory, not ours. Think about it, then ask the Holy Spirit to ignite your flame and let your light shine - for Him.  

Related articles

• The Holy Spirit (God's reprover) that deals with the negative side of life (ptl2010.com)
• Question of the day, what is a Christian? Sometimes it's good to look at the basics. (pastormikesays.wordpress.com)

Please Pass The Salt

Have you ever cooked something and forgotten to add the salt? I bet you realized your ommission the minute you tasted the food. Salt has such a distinctive taste that just a tiny pinch can make or break a dish. I know some of you may have to omit this precious ingredient from your food because of your medical condition. I sympathize deeply, believe me, but for those of us who don't have to, we even include it in sweet dishes, such as cakes and pastries, to enhance the flavor.

Jesus knew what he was talking about when He said, "Ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men" (Matthew 5:13). If Jesus were here today would he call the church "the salt of the earth?" Are we critical to the flavor of the world in which we live? Or can the world go on without us and never miss our taste?

In the same sermon, Jesus spoke about us being "the light of the world" (v 14). He went on to say "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (v 16). The church today has become a major part of the entertainment industry. We have the lights, music and the action, but are we impacting the world with our presence? If we really are the salt and light would there be all this ungodliness that is taking place in our society? I think not. We have lost our flavour; our light has grown dim. People don't taste us, neither do they see us.

If the church has to be "the salt and light of the world" it has to start with each dish, each candle. Each one of us has to do his/her part to "season" and "light" our world. Let's begin by asking the Holy Spirit to help us be all we are supposed to be, then let us go out and impact our world for Jesus Christ. He is coming soon and He needs you and me to prepare a dish that is flavorful for Him to take back with Him. Are you ready?

God Is Good All The Time

I was talking to someone the other night about the way things have changed for me financially over the years. I told him there was a time when I never thought about money because I always had more than enough. I concluded, "But God is still good." He replied, "No, He's not always good, because if He was, you would still be seeing His goodness."

Shocked by the response from this Christian young man, I felt the need to clarify what the goodness of God really means. Pointing to the overhead light, I said, "See this light? We are standing under it and we can see its brightness. But if we move to the other room where there is no light, this one becomes dim. The further away we move from it, the dimmer it gets until we may not see it at all even though it's still shining as brightly as before. God is like that. He never changes. He shines brightly all the time, but if we move away from Him, we cannot see His brightness or His goodness."

I also hastened to reassure him that there is a lot more to God's goodness than financial prosperity. Because I am not as well off financially as I once was, it doesn't mean that I'm not experiencing God's goodness. I feel closer to Him than I did then and I'm secure in the knowledge that no matter what happens He will take care of me.

Later, as I reflected on that conversation, the Holy Spirit laid a piece of scripture on my mind: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1: 17). God never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Yes, He is good. All the time.