Devotional For God’s Family
John 12:35–36 (ESV): So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”
There is light and dark – there is no other. Only the movement from darkness to light and light to darkness. A thing is either blessed or it is cursed. If it is in the light it is blessed, if it is in darkness it is cursed.
The question should not be “Is this true?” Although a person has to decide for himself whether what I say is true, I grant that.
The better question to contemplate is what in my life is in the light and what in my life is in the dark? Do you believe that everything in your life is in the light? Don’t be fooled that all that you put your hand to is in the light. Do you believe that everything in your life is blessed? Everything? I would like to think that everything is in the light, but we have to continue to fight against the dark and live in the light.
Romans 7:18 (ESV): For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.
So, if I am a believer in Jesus and I am heaven bound, but I have a streak of anger in me, or perhaps bitterness or fear, is that area blessed, is it in the light? What about when those areas spill out on others and hurts them, is it blessed? Would you consider the fruit of those conditions to be in the light of God’s truth?
This may be hard to understand or even accept, there are areas in our lives that can be cursed, because the fruit we bare is of darkness, even though we are Christians. It is a foolish thing to believe that since I am a Christian, everything I do and believe is of God and therefore, blessed.
If that is the case why would James write this…
James 1:14–15 (ESV): But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Does this not apply to you? This applies to every person, whether you are a Christian or not. The whole book of James is teaching Christians to stop living like the world to the best of our ability. And this verse sums up the course of action that exists for anyone who lives in sin.
This verse is the path of sin, the curse, that exists for those who walk in the darkness of this world. The path of Christ is the path of light. It is the path of peace. The path of this world is darkness and sorrow.
A Christian is saved from the future penalty of their sin. This happens when a person receives the forgiveness of God for their sin and chooses to repent of walking in darkness. Even though they may struggle with that sin, their heart’s desire is to rid themselves of that sin. They still experience consequence for the sin in the present, but the future penalty of the sin is taken away by Jesus when He died on the cross and took our punishment there.
The current ramifications of the sin in my life can easily and will assuredly produce cursed situations. But we do not have to live there. If I am a thief, and I have been saved by Jesus but I still steal from others, maybe not to the degree that I did, I am still liable for the breaking of man’s law.
If I am arrested for stealing a lesser thing, that is still, very much, a cursed situation. To stop stealing is to live in the light. To continue to steal is to be cursed. I am going to feel the heaviness and sorrow of my decision.
Jesus gives every single person who accepts His gift of forgiveness the power to be transformed. Changed from a person who was cursed to a person who is blessed, even though we may still need to walk out the consequence of our cursed decisions in the past, and sometimes regrettably in the future.
But, God’s mercy and grace is never ending for those who accept His love and forgiveness. Man’s love and forgiveness is questionable, because how can a world that rejects the light of God’s truth live in it?
One day the curse will be lifted. One day all will be as God intended from the beginning. Through Jesus we have a living hope that casts our eyes to that time when we receive the fullness of our salvation. Today we are saved into an inheritance that we have not fully received. It is ours in the promise of God. We hold tightly to it and God holds tightly to us.
This is a tough teaching, and yet super important. Sometimes we feel like because we are Christians, God gives us a blessing to a degree that no matter what I do I am blessed. Nope. If I choose sin, I am going to reap the earthly consequences of it. My life can be a curse that I bring upon myself.
The best course of action is to present your body as a living sacrifice to God…holy.
Romans 12:1–2 (ESV): I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Lord, thank You that we can live in the light. We can receive forgiveness for our sins. We can know that we are not penalized forever. We have been set free by Your Son Jesus. We have hope for a future when we will never sin again. Today, break the hold of sin on our lives. I do not want to live in a cursed way. You have freed us from guilt, shame and condemnation through our belief in Jesus. Thank You for making a way for us. Thank You for lifting the eternal curse from us. Show us how to live in the freedom afforded by Jesus.
Blessings,
Pastor D
