Thought for November 3, 2023

•  1493: Columbus discovers Dominica
• 1534: Act of Supremacy--King of England is head of the Church of England
• 1783: Robert Raikes publishes a letter in the Gloucester Journal about the success of Sunday School. In London, William Fox reads the letter and begins a national Sunday School movement
• 1900: First automobile show in the U.S. [Madison Square Garden]
• 1930: Bank of Italy renamed Bank of America
• 1931: First commercially produced synthetic rubber
• 1957: Laika becomes the first animal in space [Sputnik 2]
• 1975: Good Morning America premiers on ABC
• 1996: Kobe Bryant makes his NBA debut [18 years, 2 months, 11 days old]
• 2001: Arkansas beats Mississippi in 7 overtimes
• 2014: One World Trade Center opens
• Born: Stephen F Austin, William Cullen Bryant, Bronko Nagurski, Bob Feller, Charles Bronson, Dr. James Kennedy [Evangelism Explosion], Roy Emerson, Larry Holmes, Roseanne Barr, Kate Capshaw, Dennis Miller, Karch Kiraly [3 Gold Medals in volleyball], Paul Katz [invented Zip file format], Colin Kaepernick
• Died: Annie Oakley, Henri Matisse, Mary Martin, Jonathan Harris [Dr. Zachery Smith on Lost in Space], Paul Mauriat

Thought:

Yesterday we considered the first 4 verses of First John 1. John's joy would not be complete until he shared his experience with Jesus. Now John wants to give us the message he heard from Jesus. Here is what this eyewitness heard:

• God is light. [1:5]. Go back and read John 1:1-13. 
• In Jesus is life and that life was the light of men. [John 1:4] Like the earth in Genesis, man was walking in darkness. In Genesis, God said, "Let there be light." In Jesus, God said here is the light of the world--Jesus
• Jesus is the true light. [John 1:9] There is no shadow, no darkness--pure light. An there is no other light.
• Psalm 27:1--The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? 
• There is no darkness in God. [1:5] This means God is always, pure, always righteous, always good. I cannot attribute any evil, bad or dark thing to God. 
• So, If I walk partially in the light and claim that I am walking with God, I deceive myself. [1:6] God is all light so to be fully in fellowship with Him, I must walk in His light. Jesus would say that I cannot be lukewarm, that I cannot serve two masters. He is in the light. For us the question is are we all in? Or do I try and keep one foot in the world and one foot in the light.
• Now two big if's--
• If we walk with Him in the light we have fellowship with Him, we have fellowship with others who are walking in the light and we are cleansed. [1:7] If I want to experience fellowship with Him, fellowship with you, and the purity of forgiveness, walk in the light--not just any light, the true light.
• If we confess our sins, He forgives and cleanses [1:9] And since we all have sinned and continue to sin, confession and repentance is for me a daily need. 

John wants us to have the same experience he had with Jesus. Think about his experience. Walking and listening. Watching miracles happen--blind healed, mutes speak, demons cast out, people raised from the dead, hungry fed, living water offered, lame walk. Seeing the transformation. Recline in Christ's bosom Watching the crucifixion. Running to the empty tomb. Seeing the resurrected Christ in the upper room, cooking fish by the lake. I want that experience--I need to walk in the light and confess my sin. Lord help me today to do just that. Then, my eyes will be opened and my ears alert to see and hear all that You are about. Where do I find light--Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. 

Blessings

Larry