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Walking in the Light

Walking in the Light
Words of Faith 12-15-16
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2016
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
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John 11
[7] Then he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."
[8] "But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?"
[9] Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light. [10] It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light."

Suddenly the cost of following Jesus was rising! To this point, the Disciples had followed Jesus anywhere He had asked them to go without question. But the good times were coming to a close. Jesus was headed back into the “hornet nest” of Jerusalem where enemies were conspiring against Him. They were not so eager to follow Jesus into such a dangerous place.
The answer of Jesus requires a little explanation. "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light. It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light."
Jesus was using the image of natural light and darkness to describe the illumination of walking with the Lord. Walking in the light is “doing the will of my Father”. We will not stumble if we are walking in the will of the Father. Realizing that He was acting in accord with the purpose of the Father who had sent Him and that He had clear illumination concerning his duty, Jesus resolutely decided to return to Jerusalem in spite of the peril.
The big truth for us is that as long as we are doing God’s will-- listening, trusting, obeying-- we are walking in the Light, no matter how dark or difficult things may appear. Jerusalem and the enemies there are only scary if you don’t believe in God. The same goes for any situation we may face. He is in charge. He has ordered our steps.
John was inspired in his First Epistle to use similar imagery but in a negative sense: "If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth" (1 John 1:6).
We often think of light and darkness in terms of moral dilemmas or fleshly temptations. In fact, ANY willful digression from God’s revealed purposes is a walk in darkness that breaks fellowship with the Lord. We cannot simply say: “Well, I haven’t sinned horribly, so I am not in the darkness.”
We could even be doing very “religious” activities, but if they are not the will of the Father, we are walking in darkness and have no fellowship with Him. We could appear to be very dutiful in our Christian lifestyle, yet if we are neglecting to actually listen to God we are walking darkness.
Are you listening? Trusting? Obeying? He may not call you to a dangerous Jerusalem. He may only call you to listen to a neighbor, reach out to a co-worker or pray for a particular person. Whatever it is, this is the place of Light. Walk in the Light.

Lord, I am listening. I am trusting. Show me where You want me to go and what You want me to do today. I desire to walk always in the Light. Always with You. In Jesus’ name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2002, 2016
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.