Tag Archives: Son

Out of Darkness – John 3:1-21

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John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of

the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (NIV)

Without Jesus we are in the dark. The darkness of Sin. We are lost. Jesus died so that we may have life and never have to walk in darkness again. Yet some of us choose even after being saved to return to that darkness, and to loose our way again. Thankfully our Father never looses sight of us, however whilst we are in sin and have an unrepentant heart, the Lord cannot help us.

When Jesus was on the cross, he bore all our sin.

Matthew 27:46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi,Some manuscripts Eli, Eli lama sabachthani?”–which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (NIV)

God cannot overlook sin, and although Jesus was completely without sin, that day he took it all on Himself. God could not look upon His own Son because of the Sin. What an amazing God whom would give His only Son to take the Sin of the world to save sinners like me and you!

As the Lord cannot overlook sin, when we are caught up in sin (darkness) for example a habitual sin or sexual sin (which can also be habitual) we cut ourselves off from the Lord, meaning he cannot hear help us until we come to Him with a repentant heart. The moment we say sorry the Lord is there quicker than a heart beat but whilst we harbour sin in our hearts and live in the darkness we will not benefit from His help.

Over the past few months, I have researched and discussed sexual sin with many brothers in Christ. Being caught up in the darkness of sexual sin can be like a slippery slope that you feel you can’t climb up out of. Sexual sin is different from all other sin as all other sin is outside the body, where as sexual sin is inside.

Our body is a temple to the Holy Spirit, in the Old Testament days no one would have dreamt of desecrating the temple in Jerusalem for example.

Sexual sin can manifest itself in many ways including self gratification, pornography, sexual relationships out of wedlock, un-natural relationships, affairs etc. For anyone who is captive to any of these, THERE IS HOPE! Jesus died on the cross so we don’t have to be caught up in darkness. Without Jesus we will always be searching to fill that God shaped hole we have made in our lives, and the deeper in sin we get to try and satisfy ourselves.

To break free turn to Jesus, repent of your sin, and ask for His help and before the words have finished leaving your mouth He will be there, and have brought you into the light. Of course it is hard for those who have been locked in darkness for so long, not to quickly return to the darkness and this is where you need to seek help. Pray to the Lord for strength, and also read His Word. But also seek Christian counsel from a Christian brother or sister. Bringing all your Sin to light to another brother or sister helps expose satan and all his tricks, and he will have to flee as he cannot stand the light! Sin brought into the light looses its power over you. The person you confide in can then offer advice, and also you can hold yourself accountable to them, and any time you fall, not only repent and seek the Lords help, but also talk with your brother or sister. It is less appealing to sin when you know you will have to look your brother or sister in the eyes and admit to them you failed.

I lived in darkness for many years and like a prodigal son turned to God. Like the loving Father He is, He came running to me and brought me back into the light. There is no turning back. I have Christian brothers to help me in my walk too, and the encouragement and wisdom they provide is invaluable.

It is hard, and the lie of the darkness can sometimes be overbearing. Whenever it gets that way, flee whatever the source of temptation is (literally) and look to the light of Christ. Don’t fight it alone!

For those who would like more information, check out http://www.settingcaptivesfree.com or drop me a line.

God Bless.

The Holy Spirit – Romans 8:11-18

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Happy Easter!  Christ is Risen.  Hallelujah!  He has defeated sin and death and is sat at the right hand of the Father in heaven.  He has gone ahead to prepare a place for us.  In the mean time it is our duty to go make disciples of ALL nations.  Our saviour didn’t expect us to do this on our own of course as human nature is weak and quick to give in!  He has poured His Holy Spirit into us so that we may have the necessary strength to witness.

On this Easter Sunday morning I am so encouraged and overjoyed as I remember that Christ rose again and ascended into heaven having completed His work on earth….  The exciting thing is, although he completed that part of Gods plan, He is still working in the lives of countless Christians around the world through the power of His Holy Spirit.  It wasn’t the plan to die on the cross, tell a few people then disappear and wait for people to react! It was His plan to unleash power to those who believe that they may grow strong in faith and wisdom, and be a shining light to the lost to guide them home.

As Christians we need to embrace the full power of the Holy Spirit!  The Holy Spirit is real and so important to the Christian life!  The Spirit is not something we should avoid talking about in church, nor is it something we should assume is a taboo subject.  We are talking about Gods OWN Holy Spirit that he has poured out to give you and me strength!  Not only did He give His life, but He is here among us and in our hearts continuing His works in our lives.

16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

I remember when this finally dawned on me that I was a child of God!  My first words were WOW!  Of course wow doesn’t even do the honour justice!  Because of Jesus death and resurrection, we as believers are adopted into God’s family!  In the UK, and adopted child becomes a lawful son or daughter, and legaly inherits an equal share of their adopted parents estate.  We are His Sons and Daugthers.  Heirs to the Kingdom.  We will inherit eternal life with Him.   WOW!

With that we need to rid ourselves of things that would cause us to sin, things that would enslave us.  For we need to be living each day by the Spirit.  For just as Jesus was raised from the dead, the Spirit will raise us from the dead (the depths of Sin) and bring us new life!  Amen

Prodigal Son – Luke 15:11-24

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This is one of my favourite stories that Jesus told. In a nutshell a Son who has wronged his father returns after he messes up his life, expecting not to be welcomed and seeking to simply become one of the servants so he can at least live more comfortably than he had been. Yet the father, seeing him from the distance, jumped up and ran to him.

21 The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

And although his son had stolen from him, rebelled against him and run away, the fathers love and forgiveness knows no bounds.

22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

We were once that son. We had rebelled against God. We were living for ourselves, and yet when we came to the point of realisation that we needed our Father God, and we took that first step, He came running to us with arms stretched wide open! There is a party in heaven for every lost Son/Daughter who comes to the father.

This morning, I am reminded too of the fact that although at a young age I had come to the father, I once again went out on my own, living for myself and freezing God out of my life. They were trying times, and a year ago, I finally came to the prodigal Son realisation again, that I can’t live without God in my life, and thus I began to take baby steps back toward him.

He came running to me, and over a period of a few months I was in a new church, with amazing new Christian friends who have all since helped to build me up, encourage me and help me in my relationship with the Lord.

For those of us who have never accepted Jesus into our lives, or for those reading this who have backsliden, the Lord is sat outside His house like the father in this story, and he is waiting to see you on the horizon so he can come running to you, and throw the biggest party ever at the return of His Son or Daughter. Check out my “Believe” Page.

What amazing grace our Lord has.  He is willing to forgive us ALL our sins, and welcomes us as part of His family.  Not as slaves, or as acquaintances, but as Sons and Daughters!  Heirs to His Kingdom!  It is so incredible to think that our Creator God, Almighty and Powerful God, loves each one of us that much!

If you have lost your way, take that step back to the Lord.  He is waiting to throw a party for you and to bless you.

Creation – Genesis 1:1-13

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1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

It amazes me that scientists spend their entire lives search for the answers to the beginning of the universe and yet there it is in Genesis 1:1. What makes me believe so strongly in the existence of God is the scientific impossibility of something being created from nothing. The theory of the big bang creation describes a constructive explosion.

The theory of chance, upon chance sounds far fetched when comparing it against the normal logic of science!

Science talks of the order of the universe, and yes if you look at each thing in the world, it is constructed in an ordered way. The human body, right down to cells. Order cannot have come from a big explosion. There has to have been a creator!

People are missing the obvious answer. God created the heavens and the earth! (Genesis 1:1). It was God that created something from nothing. God that made this earth, made the plants and animals, made you and me! How could this universe have started any other way?

Look around you at the beauty of this world, the majesty of the skies, the way everything works together so amazingly. You are looking at the amazing creation of our Living God.

I thank God that he took the time to make the Glorious Heavens and the Earth.  That he took the time to make you and me.  And that he sent his only Son, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)