Show Notes
READ: PSALM 119:105; PROVERBS 6:23; JOHN 1:1-18; EPHESIANS 5:1-20
Once, when I was about fifteen, I was in the woods late at night with my scouting group. We turned our flashlights off to practice stealthy forest maneuvers—just to see if we could make it back to camp without a light. We decided that one of us would be the leader. The girl in front (she claimed to have excellent night vision) inched slowly ahead, and we each followed, one after the other.
To avoid branches in our faces, roots twisting our ankles, nettles ripping our skin, or losing the path altogether, we had to stick as close to the girl ahead as we possibly could. Each of us placed our hand on the shoulder of the one in front of us. And in that way, we made it back to base camp uninjured. However, what if the girl we were following was just plain wrong? She could have led us all into a slimy pond with hordes of mosquitos! Perhaps just using our flashlights wouldn’t have been such a bad idea.
Light is key. As Christians, we look to Jesus, who is the Light of the world. We grow in our relationship with Him through spending time in His Word, the Bible. That’s why the Bible is a lamp to our feet and a light for our path (Psalm 119:105), because it points to Jesus. It reveals to us the love of the Father. Through Jesus’s death and resurrection, He calls us and adopts us as His own sons and daughters.
How can we walk in our new identity as “children of light” (Ephesians 5:8)? We walk in the light through the power of the Holy Spirit living within. As we read the Bible, He illuminates the truth of God’s Word to our hearts.
We live in a very dark world. But, thanks be to God, He has not left us in some dark forest with just one of our number claiming some special skills as our only way through. We don’t have to mindlessly hold on to the shoulder of the one ahead. We can turn on the light. • Kristen Merrill
• Some people refer to their daily time in the Bible and prayer as a “daily illumination” because they’re spending time with Jesus, the Light of the world. We all need time like this because we’re all living in a dark world until Jesus renews His creation (Revelation 21:1-5; 22:5). Can you think of a time Jesus’s light illuminated a dark place in your life?
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 (NIV)
More from Unlocked: Daily Devotions for Teens
READ: MATTHEW 6:19-21; JOHN 3:16-17; 14:1-4; REVELATION 19:6-9; 21:1-5
READ: PSALM 139:1-4; ROMANS 5:6-8; 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 We curate the caption and crop the distraction, Chasing the applause of a virtual reaction. We polish the exterior to hide the interior, Afraid that our true selves are somehow inferior. But in the quiet, when the screen goes black, We feel the heavy weight of the perfection we lack. See, Jesus didn’t come for your highlight reel, He came for the brokenness you try to conceal. No filter could cover the crimson cost of sin, So He opened His arms to let the rebels in. On the cross, He was exposed, stripped, and bruised, So the real you would never have to be refused. He was buried in the dark so you could walk in the light, Tearing the veil to make your future bright. The grave couldn’t hold Him, the stone rolled away, Giving you mercy that is new every day. You are not a brand, a post, or a trend, You are chosen, beloved, and called His friend. So drop the performance, let the pretense cease, And rest in the rhythm of His perfect peace. • Ty Scott King • Why do you think it’s sometimes easier to show people a curated version of ourselves rather than who we really are? What parts of yourself do you try to curate, edit, and hide away? • Jesus sees the unedited version of you, and He loves you so much that He died and rose again for you. How could this truth affect the way yo view your mistakes, flaws, or things you just don’t like about yourself? • Are there any areas of your life where you feel like you’re putting on a performance instead of trusting God’s grace? Consider spending some time in prayer, laying these things down at Jesus’s feet and asking Him to help you see yourself the way He sees you. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)