The Light of the World is Jesus Christ Alone ⋆ Effie Darlene Barba

John the Baptist was sent into the world to be a messenger preparing the way for Jesus Christ. As the apostle John wrote, the light of the World is Jesus Christ Alone. Let us begin by looking at those words.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁴In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:1-5 NKJV).

⁶There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. ⁸He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. ⁹Thatwas the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. (John 1:6-9).

¹⁰He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. ¹¹He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. ¹²But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: ¹³who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:10-13).

Preaching Rep

John the son of Zechariah was in the wilderness, learning of all that God had proclaimed. A very solitary man, living very modestly away from the fray and influence of the society around him. He was being prepared to usher in the Light of the World, Jesus Christ Alone.

Hewent into all the region around the Jordan River,preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.Luke 3:3.

This is a new idea, repentance—true repentance. It was always there; but so many thought they could just arrive with their sacrifice and all would be good after the sacrifice was presented. But did they truly come humbly with a repentant heart. Perhaps, that was the problem then and remains a problem within our churches today. Do people truly come with repentant hearts, believing that Jesus is the only way. Over 38 % of so called “Christians” today believe, there are many ways to God. 61% believe in part of the new age spirituality. And 33% believe all people pray to the same God—just by different names and it does not matter whether they accept or deny Christ.

We need to get back to the basics as John the Baptist, repent.

What is true repentance?

True repentance recognizes that we are sinners. Our hearts do not love God as we should, and we cannot find our own way to salvation. Hard as we try, we cannot be fully righteous. God is perfect righteousness and as such cannot in a just conscience overlook sin.

Therefore, we come with a heart that is broken seeking the only hope of being repaired. We come to exchange our darkness for the light of the world, Jesus Christ. To lay down our sin at the foot of His cross with the sincere desire to follow Him. We become sorrowful for what makes Him sorrowful. Knowing that we cannot do this on our own, we welcome the Holy Spirit into our lives to guide us. And we desire to obey Him. Our heart breaks each time we recognize we failed Him and we marvel at His Grace which never lets go once we are God’s redeemed Child because Jesus Christ paid the price for our sin.

John the Baptist went on to say,

“The person who has two tunicsmust share with the person who has none, and the person who has food must do likewise.” ¹²Tax collectorsalso came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” ¹³He told them, “Collect no morethan you are required to.”¹⁴Then some soldiersalso asked him, “And as for us—what should we do?” He told them, “Take money from no one by violence^,or by false accusation, and be content with your pay.” Luke 3:11-14

Hence, he presented that true repentance changes behavior as well.

The Light of the World is Jesus Christ Alone

John the Baptist made certain all knew he was not the Christ and that the baptism of Jesus was that of the Spirit. Only Jesus can provide salvation! Jesus came to John for His baptism and in all humility, John said, “It is I who needs your baptism”. Yet, Jesus in His humanity also fulfilled all the commandments of His Father. Jesus began His ministry at age 30 (the age that priests were to begin theirs).

About six months after that, John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded. His ministry lasted only about one year, but He never gave up and never stopped proclaiming the name of Christ to the world. (Even if it meant His death).

¹⁸And in this way,^[^bb^] with many other exhortations, John^[bc] proclaimed good news to the people. ¹⁹But when John rebuked Herod^[^bd^] the tetrarch^[^be^] because of Herodias, his brother’s wife,^[^bf^] and because of all the evil deeds^[bg] that he had done, ²⁰Herod added this to them all: He locked up John in prison. Luke 3:

When Darkness Overwhelms Us

It is of certainty that we are passing into a very dark winter. Not unlike many dark winters before within this universe, only this is the darkest seen in my lifetime. But we should not be surprised, for Jesus warned us of this. Furthermore, as the time for Christ’s return draws ever nearer—the demonic forces are running rampant. It is no wonder since even within the United States, there are growing Satanic worship Temples and sights, one of which is in Salem Massachusetts. They have successfully placed their literature within our schools and their statues in cemeteries and places of worship. Regardless of how dark this world becomes; the light of the World is Jesus Christ Alone.

Satanic worship is embedded within the halls of congress. Satanic rituals have been carried out in the Marxist movements of Antifa and Black Lives Matter. They have invaded every aspect of our culture. Their transformation of thoughts and mind are being carried out through Mainstream Media, many of our politicians, Hollywood, and Big Tech. Some aware of what they are doing. However, many are blind fools who have had their minds so indoctrinated they honestly believe themselves more righteous than anyone else.

Either way, we are seeing this play out before our eyes and never more evident than through the relentless attempts to destroy President Trump, because He wanted to return our nation to one nation, under God. This culminated in a rigged election where every legal door slammed shut.

Where is God in this?

Mark my Words, God remains on His throne. He hears every prayer of His children. Vengeance belongs to Him. He will righteously judge over all that has happened. This could not have occurred had He not ordained it. Since He ordained it, He will use it to accomplish His ultimate plan. Sometimes, God allows mankind to have what their hearts so desire to awaken them from their slumber. It was that way with Stalin and Hitler. If indeed this is the only way to awaken many of those who are lost, is it worth it that we go through this? After all, how much is the worth of one soul? How much pain or suffering is too great for the salvation of one soul?

We who know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior will sit with Him in glory. Should we be willing to suffer here on earth for a little while that He might harvest a few more souls before His return? If that is what He asks us to do, are we not willing?

As in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the end. Furthermore, did not Jesus willingly die on the cross that we might be saved? He was ridiculed, beaten, falsely accused, and crucified because He loved us. Should we be willing to do the same?

We must not be silenced; yet we must realize that may mean our punishment and death. Will we stand as did Stephen, Paul, Peter, John, John the Baptist and all those who were martyred that we might now have the gospel?

He is returning soon to establish His Kingdom. Then we shall be with Him. For now, our battle is one fought with preaching boldly His Word and prayer. Never lay down the sword of truth.

Christ’s Kingdom

He told us ²⁴For just like the lightning flashesand lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day ²⁵But first he mustsuffer many things and be rejected by this generation. ²⁶Justas it wasin the days of Noah,so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. ²⁷Peoplewere eating,they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage—right up to the day Noah entered the ark. Thenthe flood came and destroyed them all.^] ²⁸Likewise, just as it wasin the days of Lot, peoplewere eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; ²⁹but on the day Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.³⁰It will be the same on the day the Son of Man is revealed. (Luke 17 NET)

But before that day, Christ will rapture His church and while we prepare for the wedding feast, the 7 years of tribulation plays out upon planet earth.

Knowing all this, what manner of men ought we to be. Instead of sitting depressed, we should be rejoicing and busier than ever about our work for Him. He is coming soon. I long to see His face.

The Real Battle

Even though the Light of the World is Jesus Christ Alone, for the moment He is allowing Satan to run rampant and at times it even appears evil is winning. There is a spiritual warfare surrounding us every day. That spiritual warfare is for each human beings’ soul. For those of us who know Christ, Satan cannot take our souls—He has already lost. But He can destroy our witness.

¹⁰Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. ¹¹Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand against the schemesof the devil. ¹²For our struggleis not against flesh and blood,but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness,against the spiritual forcesof evil in the heavens.

¹³For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your groundon the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. ¹⁴Stand firm therefore, by fasteningthe belt of truth around your waist,by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵by fitting yourfeet with the preparation that comes from the good newsof peace ¹⁶and in all of this,by taking up the shieldof faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷And take the helmet of salvationand the swordof the Spirit (which is the word of God). ¹⁸With every prayer and petition, prayat all times in the Spirit, and to this endbe alert, with all perseverance and petitions for all the saints. Ephesians 6 (NET)

Therefore, since the Light of the World is Jesus Christ Alone

In these darkening times which will get worse, we must always listen to these words of Paul and don our spiritual armor every day. We are the Fearless Warriors! Yet, we do not fight with violence, nor anger. We fight as the blessed, redeemed, beloved, chosen children of the Most High God. Our battle is on our knees and our Sword is the Gospel. Holding fast to truth, we must be willing to die if necessary, that others may see that the Light of the World is Jesus Christ Alone.

DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD?

If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you to go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.

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How to Really Surrender to the Will of God ⋆ Effie Darlene Barba (myglorytoglory.com)

What if? Will you really trust God even so? ⋆ Effie Darlene Barba (myglorytoglory.com)

Disclosures

©Effie Darlene Barba, 2021
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. Furthermore, I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned except for my own books. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.