{"id":476,"date":"2012-12-01T14:21:19","date_gmt":"2012-12-01T14:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=476"},"modified":"2012-12-02T15:00:25","modified_gmt":"2012-12-02T15:00:25","slug":"the-true-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/?p=476","title":{"rendered":"The True Light"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Christmas season has arrived. It\u2019s December 1st<\/sup> and today the \u201copen up a little door with candy inside\u201d advent calendars begin. Christmas reading programs begin. Decorating and shopping is in full swing. Festivities and parties will keep us hopping. And families will gather.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Of course if you look at the advertising world, the Christmas season has been here since October!<\/p>\n

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When my children were young, we had an advent log. Holes were bored into a 4×4 piece of wood and candles were placed in each one. At the close of each day, a new candle was lit, we\u2019d share a short devotion, and we would sing. By Christmas Eve, the room would be filled with great light and the Christmas season would once again come to an end. My sister and her family have continued this tradition and still visit the advent log on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

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The great light that shone through the darkness of our living room was a great reminder of Jesus. As the advent log was lit, more light was revealed. The same way Jesus was revealed to the world. At first, just a tiny glimpse. Prophecies of Jesus were given to Old Testament peoples which gave them a hope. Something to long and wait for.<\/p>\n

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Then the light grew brighter and brighter with each prophecy, until the full illumination of Jesus was fulfilled through His birth, His life, His sacrificial death, and His resurrection.<\/p>\n

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Isaiah was a great proclaimer of the promised Messiah. In his writings, he spoke of such a light. \u201cThe people walking in darkness have seen a great light.\u201d<\/em> (Isaiah 9:2a \u2013 NIV) We know how dark the world can be. Without Jesus, there would be no light at all. How thankful we should be to God because He was willing to share the Light of Heaven with us here on earth.<\/p>\n

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Isaiah also said, \u201cArise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.\u201d <\/em>(Isaiah 60:1 \u2013 NIV) As Jesus shines His light into our lives, we then are to shine for the world to see Him through us. Our light should not be dim, but as bright as a cloudless, summer day in Colorado. Now that is bright!<\/p>\n

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Jesus\u2019 beloved disciple, John, shared his thoughts on the Great Light in John 1:9 (NIV). \u201cThe true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.\u201d<\/em> Oh what a statement. As we look to the True Light and accept Him as our Lord and Savior, our lives are filled with His light.<\/p>\n

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As I sit at my desk, one of my Christmas trees is visible. It is covered with lights. I\u2019m sure your Christmas tree is covered with lights as well. Let\u2019s use these lights as a reminder to worship the True Light each day through the month of December.<\/p>\n

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Let\u2019s not walk in darkness as the world does. Let\u2019s allow the Light to penetrate the deepest, darkest areas of our lives and fill us with His light.<\/p>\n

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Philip P. Bliss, a great American songwriter, wrote a song about the Light of the world. Read through these words. Hum the tune if you know it. It is a great reminder of who and what Jesus is to the world.<\/p>\n

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The Light of the World is Jesus<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin,
\nThe Light of the world is Jesus!
\nLike sunshine at noonday, His glory shone in;
\nThe Light of the world is Jesus!<\/p>\n

Refrain:
\nCome to the light, \u2019tis shining for thee;
\nSweetly the light has dawned upon me;
\nOnce I was blind, but now I can see:
\nThe Light of the world is Jesus!<\/p>\n

No darkness have we who in Jesus abide;
\nThe Light of the world is Jesus!
\nWe walk in the light when we follow our Guide!
\nThe Light of the world is Jesus!<\/p>\n

Ye dwellers in darkness with sin-blinded eyes,
\nThe Light of the world is Jesus!
\nGo, wash at His bidding, and light will arise;
\nThe Light of the world is Jesus!<\/p>\n

No need of the sunlight in Heaven we\u2019re told;
\nThe Light of the world is Jesus!
\nThe Lamb is the Light in the city of gold,
\nThe Light of the world is Jesus![i]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why not come to the Light?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Donna<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
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[i]<\/a> The Light of the World is Jesus, Philip P. Bliss, 1875, Public Domain<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Christmas season has arrived. It\u2019s December 1st and today the \u201copen up a little door with candy inside\u201d advent calendars begin. Christmas reading programs begin. Decorating and shopping is in full swing. Festivities and parties will keep us hopping. And families will gather.   Of course if you look at the advertising world, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,16,8,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-believing-god","category-following-god","category-glorifying-god","category-praising-god"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=476"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":488,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476\/revisions\/488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}