Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, the light of the world.

He is the Son of God, who came to earth as a sinless sacrifice. He took away the sin of the world by laying down his life for everyone. He was crucified, died, and was resurrected on the third day. Through Him, we have salvation and everlasting life.

Do you remember the first time you heard the good news of Jesus Christ?

Who is the one who told you about Him?

Maybe your first time hearing it is one minute ago when you read the first paragraph of this post.

Or, perhaps it’s been years, and you can barely recall. Either way, I’m so grateful to God that your heart is open.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved John 3:16-17

Those verses are so powerful that just reading them makes me get chills. When I get chills, I feel the Holy Spirit working in my heart … and I immediately start crying.

Not just a delicate tear trickling down my face, but a full-on messy, sobbing kinda cry.

Then it’s followed by laughter because God is probably like, Oh geez, here she goes!

My seven-year-old son hears me and says, “Mama, are you crying again? It’s ok, mama,” as he gives me a big hug. Of course, then we laugh together.

God bless his heart.

John 3:16 is probably one of the most quoted verses in all of the scripture. Jesus Himself tells us the good news in this verse.

Maybe you don’t remember all the details of when you first heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, but there’s a time in your life when it just stuck with you.

For some reason, you were impacted by it.

The words cut through to your heart and sparked something different inside of you.

You heard stories from the Bible quoted before, but it’s like you were really listening for the first time in your life.

Something spoke to your heart.

Right then and there, you were a different person.

You were finally made aware of a secret you unknowingly searched for your entire life.

Excitement, fear, grief, sadness fought for you right at that moment.

You couldn’t explain what happened to you, but something transformed, and you would never be the same.

No matter where you are in your faith journey with Jesus, you are forever changed once you have the gospel. Even when you try to escape it.

There was a darkness inside you at one point that was suddenly brightened.

You have a light that will always shine.

Knowing the gospel is a gift. Living the gospel is how you share your gift with those who need it, just like the person who shared it with you.

Whatever your darkness looked like, the world loved it.

The world wanted that darkness to last for as long as possible.

It still wants your darkness, that’s why sometimes you feel confused, or like you’re the rope in a tug of war.

Darkness hates the light because the light conquers it.

Jesus says you are the light of the world.

Once you know the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, He comes into your life, and His light is yours.

The truth will never depart from you. It’s inside you, even when you think you’re too broken to be blessed by it anymore. Jesus dwells with you from the moment you accept Him as your personal Savior.

Jesus’s light shines through you…  

There is no hiding the truth. When you reveal the truth of Jesus Christ, it’s like putting a flame to a candle in a dark room. It brightens everything in the room, including the one lighting the candle.

Things are visible that once weren’t.

You know the truth about Jesus Christ.

During this holiday season, remember the truth that was shared with you.

Be the light of the world, just like Jesus says you are.

Your light brightens in ways you don’t expect. Kindness toward a stranger … forgiveness toward an enemy … trusting the Lord during a difficult time … these are the ways to share the light that Jesus put inside you.

You have the most incredible gift right inside of you to share with the world.

Your light can change the life of someone you love, or even someone you’ve never met.

You don’t have to check all the boxes you think to be a “good Christian.” You know Jesus, and He lives in you.

He chose you because of who you are, not because of what you do.

Step aside and let Him shine.

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it

1 Corinthians 9:24

Strive for your crown.

Be the light Jesus calls you to be.  

I’m praying for you and your family to have a wonderful holiday season!

God bless you.

Please comment with one message of faith that helped you when you first came to know Jesus.