Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today’s post illuminates the decision everyone makes to dwell in darkness or live in light.

Jesus said in today’s scripture, John 3:19-21 (NLT)…
[19] And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. [20] All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. [21] But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”

Consider…
Oxford Languages defines contrast as, the state of being strikingly different from something else in juxtaposition or close association.

The definition makes me think of 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT)…
[17] This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

There should be a noticable difference between people who choose to live in the light of Christ versus those who choose to dwell in darkness of sin.

That means old habits and hangouts must become a thing of the past, and bad behaviors must stop.

The Apostle Paul explains in Ephesians 4:17-31 (NLT)…
[17] With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. [18] Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. [19] They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. [20] But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. [21] Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, [22] throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. [23] Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. [24] Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. [25] So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. [26] And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, [27] for anger gives a foothold to the devil. [28] If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. [29] Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. [30] And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. [31] Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.

Interestingly, the superscript for these verses is, ‘Living as Children of Light’.

Notice Paul provides practical contrasts between those whose “minds are full of darkness” and those who “have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him.”

The Apostle instructs those who have heard and learned to…

• throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life; let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes; Put on your new nature.

I find it interesting that Paul inserted let Spirit renew between throwing off the old and putting on the new. Which made me look up ‘renew’, where I found the following definition, and subpoints from Oxford Languages…
resume (an activity) after an interruption.

• re-establish (a relationship)
• give fresh life or strength to; revive.

That sheds light on the fact that our relationship with God which was broken by sin must be re-established or revived before we can put on His righteous and holy nature.

Said another way, we cannot live in the light of God without help from the Holy Spirit. That’s why Paul encourages us in Galatians 5:16 (NLT)…
[16] So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.

One of the wonderful things about Paul’s writing is his use of practical examples to illustrate spiritual expectations.

For example, just a couple verses down, Paul explains the following in Galatians 5:19-21 (NLT)…
[19] When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, [20] idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, [21] envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Notice Paul ended the list of sins with “and other sins like these”. That means his list isn’t comprehensive but representative of those who live according to their sinful nature.

He also, reiterates what Jesus explained in today’s scripture…
anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

That means our contrasted lifestyle matters, because it reveals we’re no longer dwelling in the darkness of sin and now living ‘in light of’ Him.

I like the phrase ‘in light of’, because it means drawing knowledge or information from; taking (something) into consideration.

That means we should be drawing knowledge from and taking consideration of Jesus in everything we do.

Which brings me back to Ephesians 4, where Paul used the conjunction ‘But’ to establish the contrast between living…

• hopelessly confused.
• with minds are full of darkness;
• wandering far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.
• having no sense of shame.
• living for lustful pleasure
• eagerly practice every kind of impurity.

…versus living ‘in light of’ what you learned about Christ.

As I finished that contrast, I heard Micah Tyler lyrically testifying…

I wanna be different
I wanna be changed
‘Til all of me is gone
And all that remains
Is a fire so bright
The whole world can see
That there’s something different
So come and be different
In me

That’s what Paul describes in practical terms should happen after putting on our new nature, created to be like God…

• stop telling lies…tell the truth
• “don’t sin by letting anger control you.”
• If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.
• Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
• Do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live.
• Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.

No if, ands, or buts about it, people who live ‘in light of’ Him must live strikingly different than their former life of dwelling in the darkness of sin.

Where you hangout reveals what you’re about. I think that’s why Jesus says in John 15:9-10 (NLT)…
[9] “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. [10] When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

He is telling us to hangout in God’s love through obedience, which means dwelling in disobedience is hangout outside of God’s love.

The contrast of obedience and disobedience harkens me to Romans 5:18-19 (NLT), which contrast…
[18] Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. [19] Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.

Thoughts of obeying versus disobeying led me to another lifestyle contrast which is illustrated with televisions.

AI Overview explains Contrast on a TV controls the difference between the darkest blacks and brightest whites, creating depth and “pop” in the image; increasing contrast makes shadows darker and highlights brighter, adding vibrancy, while decreasing it makes the image flatter, so finding the right balance reveals detail in both bright and dark areas without losing information. A high contrast ratio (e.g., 3000:1 vs. 1000:1) means deeper blacks and brighter whites, making scenes more lifelike and colors richer, especially crucial for HDR content.

Key takeaway:
Contrast is vital for a realistic and immersive picture, allowing for rich colors, clear details, and impactful scenes, especially with modern HDR content, so calibrating it is a key step in getting the best picture quality.

A couple things “pop” out with the contrast explanation…

• Increasing contrast makes shadows darker and highlights brighter, adding vibrancy, while decreasing it makes the image flatter
• A high contrast ratio (e.g., 3000:1 vs. 1000:1) means deeper blacks and brighter whites, making scenes MORE LIFELIKE and colors richer
• Contrast is vital for a realistic and immersive picture
• Calibrating it is a key step in getting the best picture quality

The AI explanation makes me think of Romans 8:5-9 (NLT)…
[5] Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. [6] So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. [7] For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. [8] That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. [9] But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)

You see the vibrancy of our light life is dependent on the contrast control of our minds…

• Letting our sinful nature control us leads to death
• Letting the Holy Spirit, who lives within us, control us leads to life and peace.

I liked how the AI explanation stated the higher contrast makes the image MORE LIFELIKE.

That visual leads me to Colossians 3:10 (NLT), which instructs…
[10] Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.

We read again…

• Put on new nature
• Be renewed, which is essentially being recalibrated.

… and again Paul emphasizes we become more like Jesus as we learn more about Him.

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT) declares…
[18] So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

You see we should experiencing, and displaying, a light transformation as we grow closer to Christ. And that transformation should be visible to others. Thus why in today’s scripture Jesus points out…
those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.

Wow, the Holy Spirit just showed me that God wants us to live ‘in light of’ Him, so others can see the what life looks like living obediently to Him.

That’s what Son of God did as the Light of the world! He showed us how to live doing what God wants.

Jesus said in John 6:38 (NLT)…
[38] For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.

And He pointed out in Matthew 12:50 (NLT)…
[50] Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!”

We show our relationship with Christ, when we do what our Heavenly Father wants, just like He did. 🤯

Wrapping this up, the Holy Spirit gave me one last illustration, based on the portion of today’s scripture that says…
All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.

I was looking for an illustration, but the Holy Spirit told me to just stick with God’s word. Ephesians 5:6-14 (NLT) admonishes…
[6] Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him. [7] Don’t participate in the things these people do. [8] For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! [9] For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. [10] Carefully determine what pleases the Lord. [11] Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. [12] It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. [13] But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, [14] for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

The Holy Spirit simply stated, either live in the Light or be exposed by Him, but make no mistake the Light of the world shines brightly.

That’s why John 8:12 (NLT) shares..
[12] Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

Jesus’ wording provides a final nuance, which is if you’re not following the Light that leads to eternal life you’re wandering in darkness that leads to neverending death.

The Holy Spirit just made today’s message clear as day to me, everyday we choose to live either light avoidant or Light obedient.

Every decision we make and every step we take either runs from or walks in the Light.

Bonus thought: Everyone will ultimately live in an eternal light, the question is whether it’s in the flames of a burning hell or in the glory of the Light that will illuminate eternity. Our Light decision while we’re here on earth will determine which.

As we prepare to celebrate the Light of world’s appearance, let’s make sure He’s the Light of our world Whom we choose to obey.

Today’s song is…
Walk In The Light

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)