Way of The Warrior- A Daily Devotional

But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. – 1 Thessalonians 5:4-8 ESV

Warrior;
Love, Light and LOVE- this is what Jesus is to us. Jesus is LOVE, He is the LIGHT OF THE WORLD, and He is the way, the truth and the LIFE- nobody comes to the Father, except by the Son! We have a tendency to focus on the LOVE aspect of God, sometimes to the exclusion of the other two. Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) There are many great qualities of LIGHT. Light reveals everything, when you turn on a light, things that were hidden are now seen, stumbling blocks and hidden obstacles are now in plain sight. Light guides us through darkness. At night when we are driving in our cars, it is the HEADLIGHT that keeps us from crashing, that keeps us on the road, that keeps us safe from unforeseen obstacles in our path.

Leader, In the book of John Jesus makes His 7 ‘I AM’ statements and never mentions LOVE, but does mention LIGHT and LIFE. “I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51) As bread sustains physical life, so Christ offers and sustains spiritual life. “I am the door of the sheep.” (John 10:7,9) Jesus protects His followers as shepherds protect their flocks from predators. “I am the good shepherd.” (John 10:11, 14) Jesus is committed to caring and watching over those who are His. “I am the true vine.” (John 15:1, 5) By attached us to Christ, we enable His life to flow in and through us. Then we cannot help but bear fruit that will honor the Father. “I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25) Death is not the final word for those in Christ. “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) Jesus is the source of all truth and knowledge about God. But today we focus on God being the LIGHT OF THE WORLD- To a world lost in darkness, Christ offers Himself as a guide. We get lost in HIS LOVE, and we pervert the Gospel by overcompensating with God on LOVE and we wind up with SLOPPY AGAPE! He is also LIFE, and HE IS LIGHT!

Conduit, if we have fellowship with God we must walk with GOD IN THE LIGHT. The basis of our fellowship with God and our brothers is our walking in the light. Often however, we break this fellowship by walking in darkness. Teach and urge these things. If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. (1 Timothy 6:2b-5) We live in a day where Christians are confused, they are marching for social justice and rubbing shoulders with people who hate their God and despise HIS WORD- with people walking in darkness. Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? (2 Corinthians 6:14-16) The TIME IS NOW, time to DECIDE. Light or Darkness, liked by this world or LOVED by our GOD, GOD’S way, or the WORLD’S WAY? There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to counsel. There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness. (Proverbs 14:12, 12:15, 30:12) We must start marching IN THE LIGHT, so we can CLEARLY SEE the error of our ways. It is only in the light that this can be ILLUMINATED!