Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
Well, we have had a beautiful week in the Northwest of the United States. My garden is looking great and I think 2020 will go down as the year that everyone in my neighborhood became farmers (ha ha). Seems like a good thing to do in a lockdown situation. I was also blessed to share via zoom meet with Utrecht, Netherlands yesterday. Thank God for technology in the midst of the present situation.
As believers in Christ, we are living in a day of increasing light. It is not a day of darkness. It is a day where the light of Christ can shine like never before. Light is more powerful than darkness, so people can choose light – but they must choose light to become sons of light.
John 12:35 Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in 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.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.
To be the light, we have to first believe in the light. We must be of the Father of lights to be sons and daughters of light. We must believe in the light of Christ to be the light of Christ. It is not merely a matter of doing good things, kind things, or humanly compassionate things; it is a matter of doing God things!
John 12:44 Then Jesus cried out and said, “He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. 45 And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. 46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. 47 And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”
When we believe in Jesus, we choose to abide in the light. Jesus is the light and in Christ we are the light made known to the world in the form of the body of Christ. Jesus is light in the world – not in people of the world. To be the light of Christ we must believe that He is, and we must embrace His presence in our lives. Jesus is light in the word (cosmos), so people can choose light over darkness by Christ’s influence in the atmosphere around them so Christ can be born within them. Even as first Adam created an option and influence of sin in the world (cosmos), Jesus as the Last Adam has given us an option and influence of grace in the world (cosmos). God’s grace is the power of His manifest presence. Holy Spirit is present in the world, but we must embrace Him to be able to even see the truth of the kingdom of heaven. We must be born again to see the kingdom of God and we must be born of water and of the spirit to be able to enter into the reality of the influence and power of the kingdom of God. We must be born of a water womb that empowers us to be natural and we must be born of a spirit womb that empowers us to be of the spirit of Christ in the world. It is by this that we can be the salt and the light of the world.
Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. 2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. 3 The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. 4 “Lift up your eyes all around, and see: they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be nursed at your side. 5 Then you shall see and become radiant, and your heart shall swell with joy; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.
Where is our focus? Are we looking to the light of Christ or are you looking to the darkness in the world? When things become troublesome in the world, some Christian believers become focused on things they believe to be signs of the end of the world. They say, it must be getting close to the end, because look at how dark it is getting. This is good. Finally, persecution will come to the church in America or the church in Europe, or the church in the world. Now maybe we will become the real church.
It is true that pressure does make what is real manifest in our lives. So, should we get excited to invite undue pressure? Or should we say? It is time to arise and shine! It is not time to arise and judge. It is time to arise and demonstrate what it looks like to be the people of God. All that we are, and all that we do, must become life-giving to the world. It must produce life-giving testimonies. We don’t need to condemn the world. In a day of seemingly bad news, we must look to the true light and be good news to the world. It is time for a grassroots revolution of the true light of Christ. If we only aired good news on the radio and the television, we could impact the world in a life-giving way. If we only told good news to our neighbors, we would change the world. If we simply broadcasted all the good news something good would happen. The world is not going to do that. The true question is; will we?
Blessings,
Ted J. Hanson
Help us fulfill our Mission!
Donations can be made at the link on the home site of:
Checks can be made payable to House of Bread Ministry and sent to:
House of Bread Ministry, 3210 Meridian St., Bellingham, WA 98225
