(Matthew 4:12-17)
12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; 13 and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:
15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan,
15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
By the way of the sea, on the other side of the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light,
And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death,
Upon them a Light dawned.”
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
It is when we have repented of our sins, the Lord forgives us, and we are reconciled to God, so that we can have a personal relationship with Him. For now and all eternity, we can fellowship with the Lord!!! And because we are in Him, His love and His light, He guides us into sweet fellowship with other believers!!! Because all believers have received His indwelling Holy Spirit, as we all allow God to work in us and through us, we will experience true unity, love and caring, which is selfless, sacrificial and unconditional. Because we are in the Light, we are able to see others the way God sees them, and we will desire to love them the way God loves!
(1 John 1:3-10) what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
16 The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great Light,
And those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death,
Upon them a Light dawned.”
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
TODAY'S TAKEAWAY
Darkness vs Light. Sin vs God's holiness. We are all born into sin and darkness, separated from the Lord. With spiritual darkness, we are blind to realizing and truly experiencing God and His goodness. In that, we are also blind to truly seeing and caring about others. Because, when one is blind, all one can experience is themselves. In darkness, and in thinking that our survival is all up to us to figure out, one cannot help but experience hopelessness, fear, hatred and worry. Therefore, in sin, people will really only care about themselves.
The relationships that people do form will be all about what others can do for them, because sin is all about being self-centered, selfish and prideful. All a person can think about is what they can do in their own efforts, or how they can use others, to survive, and just maybe gain some advantage to excel in something, or succeed and gain an upper hand, or at the very least prove their value to others so that there is an exchange of favors that takes place. Defensively, there will be those who say, "No-no-no, I do care about others, and do good..." but unbelievers will always have ulterior motives behind this.
All good deeds that we do in our own efforts are worthless, and saving ourselves or working our way up to heaven is impossible. God knows this, and because God is love, and God is light, just as the Lord prophesied, He came in flesh to walk among us, to be our Light! But we cannot be part of that Light and share His unconditional, sacrificial love, unless we realize we are in darkness, and understand that we must LEAVE the darkness. The only way to be in the Light is to repent of our sins, and desire to be in the Light - to be reconciled to God. To be part of God's kingdom!
(1 John 1:3-10) what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 These things we write, so that our joy may be made complete. This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
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