God is Light

December 31, 2015

Devotions:

      Our God is a good God.  In Him there is not evil. Religions want to paint Him as an angry, vengeful God.  One who is looking for any evil in man to punish.  They teach that we are to walk in fear of retribution and judgement.  But God in His goodness has planned a way of escape, His name is Jesus. Religion teaches that we are to bring sacrifices to try to appease God but Jesus appeased God by His death on the cross on our behalf.  Our sacrifices of praise are to a happy God whose wrath has been completely appeased in Jesus. There is still wrath for those outside of Jesus that is why we are to try to bring people into the covenant to know Jesus.

        “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”  ‭I John‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

        “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”  ‭James‬ ‭1:13, 17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

        God's judgement will come out of His goodness and love towards those who have reject Him.  He is the only source of good in the whole of creation.  So to reject Him is to reject love and beauty and goodness.  But for those who accept Him there is love and acceptance even when we mess up and sin.  In Him we are new creations recreated in His image and His likeness.  This new creation can not fail and will always be accepted before the Father.  Our flesh may fail but our spirit will always be right before Him.

        When we do sin we must bring it to the light of God, confess it before Him and receive our cleansing and forgiveness.  We do not confess to be forgiven but because we are forgiven. When our sin is kept hidden it can fester and grow and destroy. But when we confess it to God and appeal to Him for grace we receive deliverance.
        “Have respect to the covenant; For the dark places of the earth are full of the haunts of cruelty.”  ‭Psalms‬ ‭74:20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬        “He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”  ‭Proverbs‬ ‭28:13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The way we forsake them is to confess them and come to humble ourselves and come tothe throne of grace to receive grace and mercy to set us free.