Darkness--Our Foe!

As I sat this morning in the small glow from our Christmas village soon to be taken down for another year, the balance of our apartment was dark.  The pictures of our daughter and the Christian decor were covered by this heavy darkness and the light from my laptop screen seemed brighter because the darkness was complete.  As it has happened every day since creation, God brought forth the sun for light to our eyes and warmth to our day.  As a child, I ran from the darkened halls of my parent's house when I would get dressed for bed. Forgetting to say good night, I would race through the dark tunneled hallway to the living room and light.  I could have turned on the switch by my bedroom, but the fear of the darkness removed reason from a six year old.

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.  (John 3:19-20 NIV)

Has anyone ever seen a bar at nighttime with the lights turned up?  The answer is no.  Many of us remember the name, Studio 54.  This famous New York disco of the 70's and 80's was famous for
the "beautiful" people hand selected to enter into the world of drugs, drink, and debauchery.  Within the walls of Studio 54, the creators of the venue walked in darkness stealing millions of dollars and eventually spending time in prison for their crime.  Man loves the darkness because he thinks he can hide his deeds.  As children of God we need to act like children: we need to run from the darkness toward the light.  In the light there is my heavenly DAD where there is no darkness.  Not a bad place to be for a child afraid of the dark. 

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. (1 John 1:5-6 NIV)

The Defeat Of Fear!

In Isaiah 6 he records a vision of the heavenly court and the praise and adoration which was
being given to God. This soon turns to a personal fear because of two things: his speech and the speech of his people. In The Message of Isaiah 6, we read:   Look. This coal has touched your lips. Gone your guilt, your sins wiped out."And then I heard the voice of the Master: "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?"I spoke up, "I'll go. (The Message Isaiah 6)

In this passage we can see what a godly-fear does and what it produces in man. When faced with the high holiness of God we recognize the deficit in our lives. We were born into sin and continue in the life of sin with all of its destructive behaviors. Recognizing the fact like Isaiah that every word and deed we have ever done is tainted-even blasphemous (The Message Isaiah 6:1-8) brings redemption and justification. The payment of Christ's righteousness bring a new status as children of God and a different fear-awe of what God has done to us and for us. With this fear-awe, we become willing for service.

“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. (Luke 12:4-5 NIV)

There is another type of fear which reveals itself in such things as fear of success, failure, etc., and this type of fear immobilizes us. In my past I had such a fear of failure I either choose to do nothing or to strive so hard to cover all the bases failure was not an option. I feared what others might say if I failed and so I did not try. How did I overcome this? I chose to accept the fear-awe of God and not fear what others might say. This is not an arrogant thought but giving more credibility to God than man. I know I am his son by adoption and his outlook for me is eternal.

I Resolve ...

It would seem odd for a blog relating to New Year's Eve resolutions to come out three days later, but I figured by now a majority of those resolutions so resolutely made Saturday night no longer are valued or maybe on life-support.  Companies like Weight-Watchers, Jenny Craig, and gyms advertise around this time trying to gain business from those who resolve to lose weight or to join and gym.  Why is it most people wait to the beginning of a new year to make such resolutions?  Could it be the significance of beginning anew each January 1st gives people the motivation to make such resolutions?