“My dear children, I write this to you so that you
will not sin.
But if anybody
does sin, we
have an advocate
with the
Father—Jesus
Christ, the
Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for
ours but also
for the sins of
the whole
world.”
Sin. Sin is a horrible thing that we all commit on a
daily basis. In
thoughts and
actions, they
are both the
same in the eyes
of God. I love
the fact that
Christ died for
my sins. You
should be, too.
Christ died so
we will live
eternally in
heaven─if we
accept Him as
our Lord and
Savior. Christ
is the atoning
sacrifice for us
and for our
sins, our sins
yesterday, today
and in the
future. The
atonement of
Christ means we
are reconciled
to Him for our
sins and that we
are washed in
the blood of His
sacrifice.
Accepting Christ’s atonement for our sins is only the
beginning. Once
we are
reconciled to
Him, we are in
the light of
Christ.
“This is the message we have heard from him and
declare to you:
God is light; in
him there is no
darkness at all.
If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk
in the darkness,
we lie and do
not live out the
truth. But if we
walk in the
light, as he is
in the light, we
have fellowship
with one
another, and the
blood of Jesus,
his Son,
purifies us from
all
sin.” we are no
longer in
darkness. The
light is love
and darkness is
the separation
from Christ” (1
John 5-7).
I used to live in darkness. If Christ is not in your
heart, and not
the center of
you, then you
probably live in
darkness. Notice
there is no
mention of a
gray or shadow
area in the
verses you just
read. Either you
are in the light
or you in
darkness. Before
anyone came to
know Christ, he
or she lived in
darkness, the
darkness of the
world away from
Christ. I
thought I was
fine before I
knew Christ. A
lot of people
who don’t know
Christ think
they are fine as
well, and as
long as they are
good people and
live mostly
moral lives,
then they will
go to heaven.
This is not
true. If you are
not with Christ,
you are not in
the light and
will not spend
eternity with
him, simple as
that.
Living in darkness, away from Christ is living in the
“world,” the
world, being
life without
Christ. Those
who are of the
world don’t know
Christ’s love
and atonement
and are
therefore
clueless as to
what they are
missing by being
in the light.
The light is
love, peace,
joy, and
serenity, to
name a few. I
can look back on
my life prior to
knowing Christ
and can attest
that being in
Christ is so
wonderful that
words cannot
describe the
feeling.
Having Christ in my heart is such a peaceful and
loving feeling
that no matter
how bad my day
may be at work
or the worry I
have about my
family and the
world in
general, I feel
an overall
unspeakable and
indescribable
peace. Mostly
though, I feel
love. The love I
feel in my heart
while being in
the light is a
different love
than what a
nonbeliever
feels. It’s so
much more than
the love you
have for your
children, your
spouse, your
pets, your
family, your
hobbies, etc.
The love I feel
in my heart from
the light of God
is like being
wrapped in a
warm blanket of
love that is
full of caring
concern for my
well being while
at the same time
being
nonjudgmental:
pure love.
I never want to go back to the darkness. While in the
darkness,
looking back at
my life before
having Christ, I
thought I was
happy. I had
everything I
needed and felt
I was good
enough to go to
heaven because
I’m a good
person who cares
and because of
the love of my
friends and
family; it
seemed to be
enough. But I
admit I had a
void in my heart
that I could not
fill with
worldly things.
I tried filling this void with countless things such
as hobbies,
books, movies,
other types of
entertainment,
etc., trying to
find that
‘thing” that was
missing. I
thought that
void just meant
I hadn’t found
the right thing
yet in my life
and that the
world would
fulfill my void.
I kept searching
and searching.
Looking back and
seeing now, that
void in my heart
was Jesus.
My wife introduced me to Jesus by making me go to
church with her.
I avoided church
as much as I
could. Yet my
wife would
overcome my
objections and
drag me there
anyway. I used
to hate going to
church because I
would leave
feeling sad, and
disappointed in
myself. I would
say to my wife
that church was
not a place of
happiness for
me. After about
a year of this,
I began to
change, thanks
to prayers from
my pastor and
friend, my wife,
and others that
I didn’t even
know. Slowly but
surely, Jesus
began to move
the mountain of
resistance in my
life and my
hardened heart
began to soften.
One day, I decided to pray to Jesus. I prayed for
Jesus to work on
me and help me
to get to know
Him better, to
prove to me that
he is real and
to help me
understand Him.
I began to read
the Bible in a
hit and miss
manner and
actually
listened in
church and began
to feel better.
I eventually
became convinced
that Jesus
is─who the Bible
says He is. I
believed He died
for me, and my
sins (and
everyone else’s
too). One day I
finally asked
Jesus into my
heart and to
forgive my sins.
I asked Him into
my heart, to
live inside me
and be part of
me and to change
me. He did.
The road wasn’t easy at first. In fact it was pretty
bumpy, but with
continual
prayers from
others and my
own prayers, I
began to change.
I can attest
that the change
was pretty slow,
which was my
fault. I slipped
a few times back
into some old
sinful ways. I
began to doubt
what I believed
because I wasn’t
studying the
Bible and I was
really just
stubborn in my
ways. I got back
on the fence and
wasn’t sure
which side to
jump to. Jesus
fixed that
through a cancer
scare.
My doctors thought they found some carcinoid tumors in
my intestines.
Long story
short, after a
few weeks of
intense testing
and
investigation,
they determined
it wasn’t
cancer, but I
did have Crohn’s
disease. During
those weeks of
not knowing if I
had cancer or
not, was really
scary. It
brought to light
my immortality
and put my
thoughts of my
salvation back
on track. I no
longer sat on
the fence, but
leaped to the
side of Christ.
I fully renewed
my relationship
with Him and got
baptized.
Fast forward months later, I was able to look back at
my life before I
truly accepted
Christ and
realized He was
the void I had
been missing in
my heart. He
filled that
emptiness. He
filled my heart
with love. It’s
been a couple
years now since
I’ve been saved
and I can look
back at my old
life and can
attest I was in
darkness.
Darkness means
not having Jesus
in my life. He
is so wonderful.
I’m so grateful
that He
sacrificed
Himself for my
salvation. I’m
thankful for His
faithfulness. He
is still working
on me with me,
in our
relationship. He
is faithful and
I’ll spend
eternity with
Him. Thank you
Jesus.
Is it your time to accept Christ? Are you ready to
fill that part
of your heart
that you feel is
missing that
something?
[Jesus said,] “Ask and it will be given to you; seek
and you will
find; knock and
the door will be
opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks
finds; and to
the one who
knocks, the door
will be opened.”
If you are ready to accept Christ or are investigating
Christ, remember
the previous
verse. If you
seek the Lord,
you find Him. If
you ask for
Christ or to
know more about
Christ, He will
work in your
heart and give
you the desire
for Him. Christ
is waiting for
you. If you
knock the door
to salvation
will be opened
to you. Christ
is on the other
side of the door
with His arms
wide open ready
to embrace you
and begin with
you a journey to
eternity with
Him that you
will not regret.
Knock, my
friends. Knock.
May God be with you always and may you always seek Him
daily.
John Lysaught
John_lysaught@yahoo.com