Welcome to iworship423!

Worship in Spirit and Truth!

LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS

June 28, 2022

 

THANKS TO OUR LISTENERS

All of us at iworship423 have been blessed by the increasing number of listeners each day! We are especially blessed when we have the privilege of bringing a listener to Christ! There are two songs that bring the most requests for help in finding Jesus—“Raise a Hallelujah”[i] and “Waymaker.” There is something about the revelation and presence of God felt by these songs. Waymaker uses the phrase “Light in the Darkness,” and we can see why!

Have you had times of “darkness” in your life (where things went wrong or exceedingly difficult)?

Did you hope for “Light” (more positive, better times)?

AN EXAMPLE

Let me give you an example—years ago, we had been married for 5 years when our first child was born. He had a condition that required daily watchfulness over his diet. After the second child was born, the tough times increased. Both of our children had enormous needs every day.[ii] At the same time, I was working in a high-pressure research center that had lots of deadlines and travel requirements.

Since we were not active Christians at the time, we did not know how to call on the Lord for help. Instead, we joined our friends at parties, traveled locally, and tried to block out the difficulties. We didn’t have much time for hobbies, but I was exercising and running long distance marathons. Also, we were in some training for beginning our own business and the trainers required the reading of books that included a lot of scripture as well as business advice. One of our books had a section on the importance of salvation and using prayer in your work. After a few months of training, as I was running down a country road and cried out to the Lord—something I had not done in years—He stopped me right on that country road, and I went down on my knees right there! Fortunately, there was no traffic! The Light turned on in our lives!

The Holy Spirit grabbed me that day and my whole life changed. My wife accepted the Lord at about the same time following a Sunday service done by the business trainers. In the months ahead, the weight of all our difficulties with our children got better by all our prayers and fellowship at a local church. Even my main job began to flourish which was an amazing breakthrough after seven years of little progress. The Light turned on in mighty ways!

LIGHT IN THE BIBLE

The Bible has the word “Light” 200 to 300 times depending on the translation! Here are a few examples from the New Living Translation (NLT):

  1. Psalm 18:28—The Lord my God lights up my darkness.
  2. Psalm 112:4—Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.
  3. Ecclesiastes: 2:13–Wisdom is better than foolishness–Light is better than darkness.
  4. Isaiah 58:10–Feed the hungry…your Light will shine out from the darkness,
  5. Luke 1:79[iii]—(The savior) will give Light to those in darkness and near death.
  6. John 1:4–The Word gave life to everything created and brought Light to everyone.
  7. John 9:5—(Jesus said) “while I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”

CONCLUSION

Jesus is our Light and the source of new peace and fulfillment in our lives. All we need to do is study the Bible verses listed above and add lots of prayer and study of the Word, striving for the following:

  1. Make God a major part of your daily life
  2. Do our best to be generous, compassionate, and righteous.
  3. Learn the Wisdom in the Bible and follow it
  4. Feed the hungry or help others that are needy
  5. Follow more of the Bible’s description of those who came close to God—our favorites are King David and all his Psalms and Paul in Acts
  6. Choose worship music that gets you closer to the Lord—to start the day or the best time for you. Search for the songs that have added free-flowing words from the Lord (like the two songs we mentioned at the beginning)

We pray that these suggestions will help you reach the Light!

May the Lord come to you with power and love!

  

Pastor G. Harold

Copyright © 2022, Roid Family Trust

[i] Raise a Hallelujah was written by Jonathan and Melissa Helser with Molly Skaggs and Jake Stevens, Bethel Music (Redding, CA). Waymaker was originally written in 2015 by a Nigerian gospel singer named “Sinach.”  The 2019 version by Michael W. Smith and Venessa Campagna was a huge hit, reaching more than 100 million listeners, and part of the TBN special “Surrounded.” Waymaker was recorded by many other Christian artists as was Raise a Hallelujah.

 

[ii] One child had a rare condition called PKU (Phenylketonuria)—a genetic condition that requires a strict diet. The other had a large birthmark and difficulty sleeping.

[iii] Luke 1:79 is part of a prophecy by Zachariah over the birth of John the Baptist and the coming Savior.