Verse of the Day and Devotion 5/4/2023

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Verse of the Day

May 4th, 2023

Scripture

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. – John 1:9 NIV

Devotion

The world was a dark place before Jesus was born. The Apostle Matthew quoted Isaiah to describe it. It was “the land of the shadow of death” and the people that lived in it were “people living in darkness” (Matthew 4:16). When you live in darkness you can’t see anything and you don’t know which way to go. It is impossible to have a proper understanding of anything. Even worse, when you live in “the land of the shadow of death” there are dangers lurking in the darkness that you cannot see and to which you are vulnerable.

What was needed was some light to shine in the darkness and show people the way. People were actually living in God’s earthly creation, but they refused to acknowledge it and refused to live accordingly. The darkness had captured them and blinded them to their true state of existence. As a result, “their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21). True, the Jews had some light, but they were a small portion of the earth’s inhabitants and even they did not fully understand the situation. Indeed, Jesus even said they “loved darkness instead of light” (John 3:19).

God was gracious, however, and sent light into the world. Jesus was the light. He was and still is “the light of all mankind” (John 1:4). He was and still is the “true light” that gives light to the inhabitants of the earth. There had been and still are many false lights in the world. These are the ones who lead people astray. They claim to be the light, but they only lead people to eternal darkness and destruction. Jesus, in contrast, was the true light that showed people the truth about their situation, showed them how to get back to a proper relationship to God. He showed them they were sinners living in God’s world and they needed a savior. They needed him.

At Christmas, the true light came into the world. Never again would the darkness monopolize the earth. Never again would the darkness have the same kind of grip on the hearts of people. The light that was coming would push back the darkness and eventually penetrate to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

The light would shine in the darkness and the darkness will never overcome it (John 1:5).

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