Daily Bible Verses for 7/28/2016

Bible Verse
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. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice 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 Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Reading Notes
Into a dark and fallen world, by the grace and mercy of God, the light of Christ has come! That by His name mankind may see the salvation of God, offered to us only by Jesus Christ our Lord. The darkness of this fallen world blinds us from seeing Jesus for who He truly is; He is the all mighty God who stepped out of eternity and took on humanity that we may live forever, by our faith in Him. In addition, the darkness of our sin and this fallen world also damages us physically! They take our heart of flesh and change it into a heart of stone, which because of our sin-nature, places us at enmity against God. This in turn makes us dead because of our sins causing us to love evil and the things of this world and to hate the things of God. But the blood of Christ shed for us, heals us, it restores our relationship with God and places in us a new spirit. One which is sensitive to the  things of God and the work of the Holy Spirit who now indwells us.

We who were dead in our trespasses and sins, and in the darkness of this fallen world, become alive again as we stand in the light of God’s grace. Through our faith in Jesus we become children of God and co-heirs with Christ in the kingdom of God. Because of the salvation we received by our faith in Jesus, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit who begins the work of “Sanctification” in us. Sanctification is the process of spiritual growth carried out in us by the Holy Spirit, whereby God replaces our heart of stone with a heart of flesh, making us sensitive to the things of God and His calling on our lives. And it’s through the Holy Spirit’s work of illuminating scripture that we learn wisdom from God. This means as we study God’s word the Holy Spirit deepens our understanding of scripture, in light of who Jesus truly is and what He has done for us. And it’s through the process of sanctification that God teaches us and builds us up with the wisdom of His word as He prepares us for service in His kingdom work.