Bearing Witness About the Light

[Christsfreeservant]

I’m sharing this here with you from my time of personal devotions with my Lord Jesus Christ, for your encouragement. Sue Love

John 1:1-5 ESV

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”​

If we read further on down in John 1 we come to realize that the Word spoken of here is Jesus Christ, the only Begotten Son of God who is also God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus not only was with God in the beginning but he is God and he is our creator God who made us.

Jesus Christ, being God, is all that is good and righteous and holy. And he is truth. And he came to bring us the truth of the gospel of our salvation and to be our perfect lamb sacrifice for our sins so that we might be delivered from our addiction to sin, live righteously by his power, follow him in obedience, walk with him in his love, and have the hope of eternal life with God.

John 1:6-8 ESV

“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.”​

John the Baptist (not John the writer of the book of John) was called of God to prepare the way for Jesus Christ, to prepare people’s hearts to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior of their lives. So he taught repentance, which is a spiritual U-turn, i.e. it is turning away from our lives of sin to now follow Jesus in obedience to his commands (New Covenant).

For he was to bear witness about Jesus Christ to the people which we can read about further on down in this passage of John 1. He was the one the prophet Isaiah wrote about. For John was the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord.” And “straight” is honest, unmixed, upright, trustworthy, unadulterated and undiluted.

And we who are followers of Jesus Christ are also to be his witnesses and to make disciples of Christ of people of all nations teaching them to obey the commands of the Lord. And we are the light of the world and the salt of the earth, and we are to proclaim the excellencies of Jesus Christ who called us out of the darkness into his wonderful light, and we, too, are to prepare people’s hearts to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and to repent of their sins.

[1 Pet 2:9; Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Acts 26:18]

John 1:9-13 ESV

“The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”​

Jesus Christ, God the Son, left his throne in heaven, came to earth, and was born as a baby to a human mother with God as his Father. So when he lived on this earth he was fully God and fully man. And he suffered like we suffer, and he was tempted like we are tempted, yet he did not sin. Yet the world did not know him and his own people did not receive him.

While he lived on this earth, during his years of ministry, he healed the sick and afflicted, raised the dead, delivered people from demons, fed the hungry, and performed many miracles. He also comforted the sorrowful and encouraged the timid and he opened blind eyes and deaf ears and he healed the lame and he showed love and compassion toward the hurting.

But Jesus also taught that if we are to come after him that we must deny self and take up our cross daily (daily die to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. And he taught that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter into the kingdom of heaven but only the one DOING the will of God the Father who is in heaven (Lu 9:23-26; Matt 7:21-23).

He did not teach easy believism. He taught a faith in him that surrendered all to him, that left all to follow him, that died with him to sin and that lives to him and to his righteousness. He taught that we must forsake our sins and follow him in obedience if we want to be saved from our sins and to have eternal life with him. And his apostles taught the same.

So, to receive Jesus Christ is more than just words repeated after someone else in a prayer and more than a profession of faith in him as Lord and Savior. It is to welcome him into our lives as master and owner of our lives, and it is to accept all of who he is and of what he did for us and of what he requires of us as his followers into our lives and to do what he says.

For, when we believe in Jesus with God-given faith, we are born again of the Spirit of God to new lives in Christ Jesus, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. And this is not of ourselves. We don’t get to pick and choose what our salvation looks like. God does! And since our new birth is of God it will align with God’s will and purposes and with his character.

And since Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, and since he died that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him who died and was raised, and since he shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) so we will now honor God with our lives, then this is what our lives should be like.

And this is the truth of the gospel that we should be sharing with others and not this easy believism which makes no requirements for repentance, obedience, and submission to Christ as Lord. So we need to be telling people the truth that Jesus died that we might be crucified with him in death to sin and that we might be raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Tit 2:11-14; Jas 1:21-25; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-10; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Heb 10:26-27; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Matt 7:21-23; Ac 26:18; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

He Touched My Mouth

An Original Work / June 13, 2012
Based off Isaiah 6:1-8; Jeremiah 1:4-9

Oh, I saw the Lord seated on His throne,
High and lifted up; Holy is the Lord!
The earth is full of His glory.
“Woe to me,” I cried,
“I’m of unclean lips.”

My Lord touched my mouth
With His cleansing pow’r;
Removed all my guilt, paid for by His blood.
He asked, “Whom shall I send;
Who will go for us?”
I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Before I was born, God set me apart;
He appointed me to His servant be.
I said, “I don’t know how to speak.
I am but a child.” Then, the Lord replied:

“Do not say to me, ‘I am but a child.’
You must go to all, and do what I say.
Do not fear them, for I’m with you.”
My Lord touched my mouth;
Gave me words to say.