November 20, 2009
Exposed by the Light
I hope you are enjoying the Girlfriends in God daily devotions. We (Mary, Sharon, and Gwen) would like to introduce you to some of our special friends. From time-to-time, the Friday devotions will be written by one of our friends in ministry. We call them our "Friday Friends." So grab your Bible and a fresh cup of coffee and drink in the words from our "Friday Friend",
Leslie Nease.
Today's Truth
1 John 1:6-7 "So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing truth. But if we are living in the Light, as God is in the Light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin" (NLT).
Friend To Friend
While speaking at a women's retreat in the mountains, my friend Linda and I were about to go to bed and were chatting in our room at the retreat center. I began to fluff my pillow to make it a little more "comfy" and as I pounded it, apparently Linda could see dust flying everywhere around me. She said "Stop! You're completely surrounded by dust!" After carefully placing my pillow on the bed, I asked her if it was gone yet and she said "No, but I'll just turn out the light so I don't have to see it." She reached over, flipped off the light and said, "Oh, yeah, that's better."
We both giggled as we realized that the dust wasn't really gone, but as long as we couldn't see it, we felt better about it. While speaking to the ladies the next morning, I was reading from John 3:19 where Jesus says "God's light came into the world but people loved the darkness more than the light for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear that their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God really wants."
The night before flashed through my head and I began to relay the story of the dusty pillow and how we had turned off the light so we wouldn't have to see it. Turning off the light didn't make the dust go away, but it sure made us feel better. The dust was still there doing damage we couldn't see.
Just because we would rather live in darkness and pretend sin isn't an issue doesn't mean it's gone. It's still there. I think we often believe that ignorance is bliss and as long as we are ignoring the sin in our life, we are fine. The truth is that it can only go away when the Light of Christ exposes it and we confess it, deal with it and allow Him to clean us up. Without the Light, how would we know? How gracious He is to shine His beautiful Light on the dusty, dirty sin in our lives.
In John 12:35-36, Jesus said "My Light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the Light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in darkness cannot see where they are going. Put your trust in the Light while there is still time; then you will become children of the Light."
Please don't believe the lie that says ignorance is bliss. Ignorance is just plain ignorance! Jesus said His Light will only shine for a little while longer. Eventually, that Light will not be available to us to help us deal with the sin that separates us from a Holy God.
Today, I pray that the Light of Christ that shows you the sin in your life will not offend you. I pray you will receive it, accept it and allow the Light of Jesus to expose the parts of your life that need cleaning up and then ask Him to clean it up for you. He would like nothing more than to do that for you. We are not capable of cleaning up anything in the darkness ourselves and He graciously exposes and then purifies us so we can walk in the Light with Him forever.
Let's Pray
Dear Lord, we pray that we will not live in ignorance when it comes to the sin in our lives. Please, shine Your Light on our life and expose those areas we need to deal with. Thank You for the mercy You will give us in the process. Forgive us where we have failed You and give us strength to walk forward in Your grace.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.
Now It's Your Turn
Take a moment and ask God to reveal any un-confessed or ignored sin in your life. If He brings something to mind, confront it head on and ask Him for the strength to turn away from it.
Do you have someone you can talk with to give you spiritual accountability in your life? If not, please pray and ask God to help you find a trustworthy, Christian friend who you can talk to about important issues like this.
Are you ready to move forward in your walk with God but you know there is a sin that is hindering you from growth? Ask God to give you the strength to confront and renounce that sin so you can enjoy sweet fellowship with Him and walk in the Light of His presence.
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Originally published Friday, 20 November 2009.
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