May 02nd, 2025

John 1:1-5 “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.  2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through Him, and nothing was created except through Him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”

It all began in the Garden of Eden, the wondrous story of Easter—Resurrection Sunday.  But to get there, we have to begin at the beginning. 

The One and only true God had poured out His incomprehensible love in His creation, and the first thing God created was LIGHT!  Light—it separated the darkness and became the theme of all God has done—light in the darkness—light separating the darkness--light giving life!  But I digress.

God continued His creation—the sky; dry land; seed bearing plants and trees; sun, moon and stars; sea creatures and birds; livestock and wild animals; and finally, saving His best for last, man and woman, created in His very own image, having a mind, will, and emotions.  All was good, and with the creation of man, Adam from the dust and Eve from Adam’s side, God stated that all was very good. 

Fellowship was had—God walking in the garden with Adam and Eve, sharing their hearts.  Have you ever wondered what they talked about?  I know I have.  Did Adam and Eve express awe over the God who made them?  Did they seek to understand Him—to express thankfulness for all He had done?  Did they laugh and dance, throwing up their arms in delight over the beauty of a world we cannot possibly envision?  I hope they did all this and more!

We do know that God, at some point and for their welfare, gave Adam one command—one seemingly simple boundary: “But the Lord God warned him, ‘You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden--except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.’” Genesis 2:16-17, and we know from Eve’s later words that Adam had passed this command on to her. 

Enter the serpent, possessed by none other than Satan, once the most beautiful and highest of cherubim who waged war against our triune God: “And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. 9 This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.” Revelation 12:8-9

Sly, conniving, murderous--Satan’s greatest goal became to destroy anything God had created and loved, and Eve became his target.  Using her innocence against her, he lied:  “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
Genesis 3:5  Was God withholding something good from her?  Eve ate of that forbidden fruit, encouraged Adam to do the same, and death entered the world.  Darkness.
 
Of course, our all-knowing God knew this beforehand.  He knew this before He created angels, before He created the earth, and before He created mankind—but He had a plan—a plan of LIGHT.  I can imagine Satan’s fear and anger as God pronounced judgment: “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild.  You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring.  He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”  Genesis 3:14-15
 
The Creator is greater than the created, yet Satan still raged against God.  Yes, he won the battle over Adam and Eve, introducing sin and death into the world, but his goal of forever removing mankind from God failed; God’s plan of bringing light into the darkness through Eve’s offspring prevailed.  God would send the second person of the Holy Trinity, known as the Word, to become His only begotten son, Jesus. JESUS WOULD BE THAT LIGHT!  Thus, Jesus, totally God yet totally man, was born.  Being pure and sinless, He was the only one whose perfect blood sacrifice would atone for man’s sin, enabling mankind to choose to live with God or not.  Thus, Jesus was tortured, died, and was buried in our place.  “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”  2 Corinthians 5:21
 
Fortunately, this is not the end of the story.  Death had to be conquered in order for there to be light, and so it was.  Three days after Jesus’ burial, He rose from the dead. Hallelujah!  Proving He was alive, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and other women, the disciples, and hundreds of others: “After that, He was seen by more than 500 of His followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.”  1 Corinthians 15:6    Now there is light in the darkness—light separating the darkness—light giving life! 
 
Jesus is eternal!  He always was, always is, and always will be.  Being made in God’s image, we also are eternal—we live now and we always will, so we have the most important choice of our lives to make:  Will we live in God’s LIGHT or in Satan’s darkness?  Choosing Jesus seems the obvious choice, and it seems the easy choice, but is it?  It is simple to have “head knowledge,” or an acknowledgement of who Jesus is; but having “heart knowledge,” meaning to fully surrender to Him—to live by His standards and not the world’s—is much, much harder.  We must choose now how we will live!  “So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. 15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”         Joshua 24:14-15
 
Joshua chose the best path—the path of following the true God, worshiping Him and Him only--not the idols of his time.  Let us take a moment and evaluate our lives.  Have we totally surrendered to Christ, serving Him and living in the light, or do we still have idols which we serve--things we prioritize over obeying, loving, and worshiping God?  Wealth, prestige, power, personal comfort, social media, sex, physical looks, and more—any of these can become idols in our lives.  Let us now put those things aside and choose what may seem the harder path--God’s path of light—placing His commands and our love for Him first.  That’s what Jesus did when He prayed, "Father, if You are willing, take this cup (His torture and execution) from Me--nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.”  Jesus surrendered to God’s will; let us do likewise—surrendering our hearts to Jesus, accepting Him as Savior, and living in His light. 
 
VERSES:

Luke 24: 1-6:  “ But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 3 So they went in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. 5 The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? 6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what He told you back in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that He would rise again on the third day.”

Romans 10:9  “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

John 11:25-26  “Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in Me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in Me and believes in Me will never ever die…’

John 12:23-26  “But Jesus answered them, saying, ‘The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.’”

PRAYER:  Dear Father, thank you for Resurrection Sunday, when Jesus rose from the dead, having offered His life in place of mine.  Thank You that He is life and light!  Still, I will be the first to admit that living in the light, choosing Your way instead of my own, often is not the easiest.  It is much simpler to choose ease and comfort over a choice that might require steadfast will, sacrifice, and great effort to achieve living the way You would have me.  Living for You, however, is my choice, so may Your Holy Spirit fill me each day that I might shine with Jesus’ light, sharing Him with others that all may come to Him in faith and live with You in Your light and love eternally.

DISCLAIMER:  I am just an ordinary woman who loves Jesus, accepting Him as Savior at the age of thirty-two and digging into the Bible ever since.  How could I possibly hope to develop a heart relationship with God and trust Him with my life if I didn’t know who He is?!
These devotionals are written to help you journey with Christ to grow in your heart relationship with Him.  However, it is essential that you examine my words, and those of all other “teachers,” with God’s Holy Word.  Therein lies the source of all truth!