Darkness is not only scary, it can be deadly. This is why we need the Light.
“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1Jn 5:12 NIV
Why am I belaboring this point of our fallen nature? Why am I spending all this time reminding us of how sinful we are apart from God? Why must I continue to point to the darkness that lies within us? Because it is not until we really start to get how bad the bad news is, that the Good News becomes overwhelmingly good! The truth is even after we receive the Light, we are still a hot mess! Our old soul is still fighting, tooth and nail, to have control over our thoughts, emotions and desires. It still wants whatever it still wants. It is this selfish Pride that is at the center of darkness, and this darkness all originated with a spiritual being that was supposed to point us to the Light.
(If you are interested where the following story comes from, see the compilation of these Bible verses: Isa 14:12-15; Eze 28:11-19; Lk 10:18; Eph 2:2; Rev 9:1; Rev 12:7-9; Rev 12:12)
You see, Satan was not always called Satan. When God created him, he was given the name Lucifer, which means “Morning Star” or “light-bringing.” Lucifer was a beautiful Archangel who was in charge of worship, that is, he was to bring and point to the Light of God to others. He had the grand job of helping other created beings give veneration and adoration to God, their Creator. Sadly, Lucifer began looking at his own great beauty, focusing on his own gifts and believing that he didn’t need God anymore. He could lean on himself and his own power. As a matter of fact, he could take over God’s position and have others worship him instead. See how infectious sin is? Lucifer convinced some other angels to revolt against God and a great war broke out in Heaven.
We know what happens next, right? Lucifer and his angels are no match for God, and are thrown down from Heaven and into this world. The lovely beauty of Lucifer decays into the cruel ugliness of Satan. Imagine his big beautiful wings shrinking into little vile stubs on his back, and his dark heart transforming him into the monstrous and bloodthirsty Satan. The power and position he held vanishes into the darkness he invited into his heart. With limited power still in his grasp, Satan now tries to unwittingly recruit humans to continue fighting against God. He knows he won’t win; he knows his time is short, but he fights none the less, and why? He hates us, not so much because of us, but because God so loves us. He is desperate to find a way to hurt God, and if we do not have the Son…well, let’s keep at this tomorrow…
Join me in memorizing 52 verses this year:
January: 1- Jn 3:16; 2- 2Co 5:17; 3- Jas 2:26; 4- Eph 2:10
February: 5- Jn 10:10; 6- Ro 6:23; 7- Rev 21:4; 8- Php 4:13
March: 9- 1Pe 5:7; 10- Jn 8:32; 11- Dt 30:19; 12- Jn 3:30; 13- 2Chron 20:3
April: 14- 2Chron 20:12; 15- 2Chron 20:15b; 16- 2Chron 20:17
May: 17- Ro 8:28; 18- 1Co 13:13; 19- Php 2:12; 20- Mt 5:4
June: 21- Lk 23:42; 22- Jas 4:7; 23- Pr 22:6; 24- Mt 5:3; 25- Jn 14:6
July: 26- Jas 2:19; 27- Dt 31:8; 28- Jn 14:15; 29- Jn 8:11
August: 30- Ro 8:1; 31- Pr 4:23; 32- Pr 18:21; 33- Ps 118:24; 34- 1Jn 4:4
September: 35- Mt 16:24; 36- Isa 53:6; 37- Ps 23:1-6
October: 38- Heb 4:12; 39- Jn 15:5
40- Jas 5:16
41- 1Jn 3:1
42- 1Jn 5:12
<>< Peace, Diane
