Even The Devils Believe

And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.

And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.

And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.

And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.

And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.

And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee. 

                                                                                   (Mark 1:21-22 KJV)

After Jesus' baptism as he began his ministry it was not the disciples or any living human being who recognized him as the Holy One of God. It was an unclean spirit. The unclean spirit knew that Jesus had the power to destroy it. And... all the people were amazed. His fame spread throughout the region. Yet, the people did not recognize who he truly was. 

As they followed Jesus for the next three years; although they saw many miracles and witnessed many amazing events in Jesus life, the disciples never fully realized that Jesus was the Holy One of God. They never truly grasped that he had come not to overthrow the powers of the authorities on earth; but, to overthrow the power of sin, death, and the power of the devil for them. They did not understand that he came to die for them. The demons understood this. They knew that he had the power to destroy them. As St. James put it:  "the devils also believe, and tremble." (James 2:19)

So you say you believe? Even the devils believe! They know he exists. But, they do not love and worship him. Do you? 

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Live Life in the Light of Christ

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”    

                                                                           (John 8:12 NRSV)

The winter nights get mighty long. There seems to be way to many hours of darkness. But, it does not have to be that way. Jesus, who is the light of the world, is with you always. The light of his life and of his love shines like a beacon even in the darkest of days or nights. 

Follow in the way the Jesus would have you go and live life in his light no matter how dark the world might appear.

God's Peace - Pr. J

I Need The Son Even More Than The Sun

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.” John 8:12 

It is about time! It is time for the daylight hours to get a bit longer. Today is the winter solstice. Last night I slept for at least ten hours. By the time the summer solstice rolls around, I will be sleeping about six hours per night if my old patterns continue. The reality is that I need the sunlight to live. I need a lot of it to be fruitful. But; even more than the sun, I need the Son. 

Without the Son the world cannot live in the light. Nothing good can come about without the Son. He came to dispel the darkness so that we might live; really live. He came so that the people living in darkness would see a great light and on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light would dawn. (Matt 4:16) It is time to wake up and live most fully in the light of Christ. In the light of Christ we can see the way to eternal life. In the light of Christ we can see his footsteps and follow him to the place that he has prepared for us. 

I, for one, am most grateful that I will be seeing much more of the sun each day for the coming months. But; more than that, I long to be able to see the light of Christ in the world around me, more and more each day.

May the light of Christ shine on you and in you and through you more and more each day so that others may see the light and glorify our Father in heaven. (Matt 5:16)

God's Peace - Pr. J