Outcast or Cast out to Seek Men

“Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”” ‭‭John‬ ‭9:35‬ ‭ESV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ 

This man was blind from birth, then miraculously  healed.  The Pharisees question him; his parents bailed on him; he was excommunicated from the church and could no longer worship. He surely felt all alone, but then Jesus sought after him. Jesus always sought out the outcast, the sinners, those that were looked down on in society. Think about Zacchaeus, the tax collector, the sinner, the short guy that no one liked or thought highly of. Look at the men He called to be His apostles none of them were the ones that were making it as Jewish rabbis; they weren’t the ones that were called to continue their education. They were fishermen they, were tax collectors, they were normal everyday people, yet Jesus chose them to come follow Him.

How do we look at the look at the outcast in society? Do we seek them out and say "Do you know Jesus? Come along with me and I’ll teach you about him!" Or do we look for the "up- to-do/popular" people the arrogant, the rich, the proud, the high in society, and choose those to hang out with and Worship with? Is that the list of who we are aspiring to be like. The Pharisees were not the in crowd to hang out with even though they thought they were. The "right" in crowd was the meek and lowly who chose to worship Jesus and truly understood who He was. Those were the ones who truly believed.

Dear Lord, help me always try to live the example that You demonstrated for us. Help me to seek out those who truly seek You and see You as their Father God. Help me to encircle myself with those who want a relationship with You; with those who will help me seek out those who are longing to come and worship you authentically. Help me to cast myself out to reach everyone, even those who society may consider an outcast. 

Let Your Light Shine

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

The theme of John’s Gospel is that Jesus is the long-awaited, promised Messiah and the Only Son of God, who gives eternal life to all who choose to believe. As for the verse I chose to write about today, the LIGHT, the TRUE LIGHT, shines and the darkness has not overcome it. The darkness does not comprehend it. Darkness, in the Bible, commonly denotes ignorance, guilt, or misery. When it is said that "the light shines in darkness," it means that the Lord Jesus came to teach an ignorant, wicked, sinful world. This has always been the case. It was so when He sent His prophets; it was so during the time of the Judges, during His own ministry, and in every age since. His efforts to enlighten and save men He has been like light struggling to penetrate a thick, dense, dark rain cloud; and though a few rays may pierce the gloom, the great mass is still impenetrable. 

I really like to watch the sky after a storm when the clouds are dark and the sun is trying to pierce through...I can never get a good photo of the beauty to do it justice, but this is what I envision when I read this part of scripture. Perhaps we have been given over to our reprobate minds. Darkness, sin, cannot comprehended the LIGHT until the Holy Spirt softens the density of the darkness. The darkness did not "receive" or "admit" the rays of light; the shades were so thick that the light could not penetrate them; men were so ignorant, so guilty, so debased, that they did not appreciate the value of His LIGHT, His instructions, His salvation; they despised and rejected Him. And so, it is still. Humanity, sick in sin, to this day, will not receive His teachings, and be enlightened, saved by Him. Sin always blinds the mind to the beauty and warmth of the LIGHT of the Lord Jesus.

We need to realize our LIGHT needs to always shine into the darkness around us. However, we need to be realistic and understand, that just as in the days of old, we may only have "rays of light" that penetrate due to the dense darkness of the world of sin around us. Do not let this discourage us as we let our LIGHT shine. John 16:33 tells us: 

"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

LIGHT always outshines darkness! It is so much easier to walk toward light, even if it is a small glimmer or flickering, than to walk toward darkness! Shine on, my friends, shine on! 

Let us pray without ceasing, that our eyes may be opened to behold The TRUE LIGHT, that we may walk in it; and be made more wise in His Word. That through faith in Jesus Christ we may press on toward the mark, letting our LIGHT shine into darkness always, without regret!

Be the Light!

"LIGHT" is used repeatedly in God's Word. In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus uses it to illustrate to Christians that our lives are open books and sometimes the only Bible others will see. We are the LIGHT to this dark world...we should not hide our LIGHT, we should let it shine for all to see. Being the LIGHT in this time is a high calling - whether you are being the LIGHT to your family as you are at home, or the LIGHT to others as you are still going to work every day, ---both has challenges at this time. 

In Genesis 1- God said "Let there be light". In 2 Samuel 22 David says "God is his Lamp that lightens his darkness" (vs 29). Psalm 27 says "The Lord is the light of my salvation whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid?" Jesus said in John 8:12 "I am the light of the world whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." Revelation 22:3-5 tells us the day is coming when things will no longer be acursed and, we will be face to face with our almighty Lord and Savior and there will be no more night, or need for lamps or sun, for God will be our LIGHT." I challenge you to seize the day and let your LIGHT shine for all to see while we are able. Are you still shining brightly, or is your lamp starting to flicker like it's running low on oil?? What are a few things you and your family can do to become a stronger LIGHT for God in these uncertain days? Pray for God to give you strength to shine brighter than ever! Encourage and pray for others, make some phone calls, mail some homemade cards...let your LIGHT SHINE! Sit outside and enjoy the beautiful light for a few minutes today!