Kingdom of Light

Having just finished a marvelous week of VBS entitled “Illumination Station – Shining a Light on Who Jesus Really Is” from the theme verse John 8:12, I truly enjoyed seeing all the children take in the wonderful truth all week that our Savior is the source of LIGHT in this dark world we live in. My heartfelt thanks to all the dozens of teens and adult workers who served and made such an incredible week happen for our children. May God bless you all.

Darkness is all around us, not just in far off lands, but in our own community; the very neighborhoods we live in. Last week, the afternoon Carole and I returned from our vacation down in Miami visiting my brother Glenn, we pulled on to our home street to find six police and sheriff’s cars blocking our cul-de-sac. There was yellow crime tape wrapped around the front of one of the houses on our street.

A tragedy occurred on our street which reminded me that the power of Satan is real, and he wanders this earth seeking who he can destroy. Colossians 3:13-14 says, “God has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the Kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Paul’s letter to the Colossians was written to a people who feared the unseen forces of darkness – like the darkness that made itself known on our street recently – so Paul provided the antidote. Those who receive Christ are transported from darkness to light, from bondage to liberty, from guilt to forgiveness, and from the power of Satan to the power of God. We don’t have to live with a spirit of fear or be anxious about the darkness. Our God has defeated sin and death, and we live in His light.

No one needs this encouragement more than I. Think about an area of your life where darkness tries to overcome you. As you pray for protection in  that area of your life, remember that you’re a child of God. You’ve been placed in the Kingdom of Light.

Your servant in Christ, Phillip