“When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, He left Judea and returned to Galilee. He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah: ‘In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali, beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River, in Galilee where so many Gentiles live, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined.’” (Matthew 4:12-16 NLT)
To live in sin is to live in darkness of mind and heart, apart from the light and life of the Lord Jesus, but when we yield our life and allegiance by faith to the Lord, He fills us with His Spirit who pushes out the darkness and opens to us an avenue of new life, hope, meaning and contentment we never knew existed. The essence of the Light is to believe the Truth; the essence of darkness is to believe the lies of Satan.
The plot thickens because Satan doesn’t have the capacity to tell the truth and doesn’t take our commitment to Christ sitting down. He’s constantly bombarding us with lies that seek to contradict the Truth of God’s Word and pull us back into the darkness. The battle we face as long as we’re residents of these bodies of flesh is to stay in the Light and not drift into the shadows of compromise that quickly pull us back into sin.
One of Satan’s favorite lies is: “That’s not so bad, after all, aren’t all your friends doing it!” Or “What’s one little drink, smoke, snort, puff, high, going to do? If you don’t like it, you don’t have to do it anymore!” “Sex is good, God invented it, stop being such a prude.” And a thousand other lies and innuendoes to get us to question what God’s Word clearly teaches.
Ray Majoran addresses this in his beautiful prayer: “Lord God Almighty, You are the Author of life, the One who formed us from the dust of the ground and breathed life into us. Your Word declares what is true about our condition and our hope. You have spoken plainly that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23); we acknowledge the weight of that truth before You.
Father, we see how easily death settles into the human heart, how sin hardens what was meant to flourish, and how darkness can feel familiar if we linger there. Yet You have not left us in that condition. You call us to walk in the light, for You Yourself are light and in You there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). You urge us to turn and live (Ezekiel 18:32), and You command all people everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30), holding before us the gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). Strengthen our hearts to respond with obedience and faith, and guard us from growing comfortable in places where death still stands.
Holy Spirit, awaken any part of us that drifts toward shadow, and lead us fully into the light of Christ. Let us not remain barren when You offer life, nor resist when You draw us toward truth. Establish us in the new life You give, so that where death once stood, righteousness now takes root, and where sin once ruled, grace reigns through Jesus (Romans 5:21). May the evidence of new life in us point beyond ourselves to the Savior who rescues and restores.”(Where Death Once Stood)
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 