“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out 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, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1:5-7
There are so many things in this world that we are assured are the real thing and then we find that the world has once again duped us. Marriages fail, doctors’ diagnosis is incorrect, elected officials promises don’t happen, the best sports teams lose, stock market plummets, weather forecasts turn out to be best guesses; so often the sure things of this world are not what the learned of this world tell us. There is only one sure thing in this dark world that brings Light that many are seeking but are looking in the wrong places. My daughter made the attached chalk drawing after seeing a photo of these two Haitian children in Caredeux and in it you can see the symbol of the true Light of this world; the Cross of Christ on which His precious was shed. Jesus Christ is the sure thing in this troubling world where people are trying to save themselves by their own means and not recognizing the only way to be saved is through the Blood and Righteousness of Jesus Christ. I close today with the words from the hymn ‘Jesus, Thy Blood and Righteousness’ that were written by Ludwig von Zinzendorf in 1739.
1. Jesus, thy blood and righteousness, My beauty are, my glorious dress; Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed, With joy shall I lift up my head.
2. The holy, meek, unspotted Lamb, Who from the Father's bosom came, Who died for me, e'en me t' atone, Now for my Lord and God I own.
3. Lord, I believe thy precious blood, Which at the mercy seat of God, Forever doth for sinners plead, For me, e'en for my soul was shed.
4. When from the dust of death I rise To claim my mansion in the skies, E’en then this shall be all my plea, Jesus hath lived, hath died for me.
5. Jesus, be endless praise to thee, Whose boundless mercy hath for me And all who trust thy hands hath made An everlasting ransom paid.
6. Ah! give to all, almighty Lord, With pow’r to speak thy gracious word, That all who to thy wounds will flee
May find eternal life in thee.
7. Oh, let the dead now hear thy voice! Now bid thy banished ones rejoice; Their beauty this, their glorious dress, Jesus, thy blood and righteousness.
Dear Heavenly Father, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.