Light Broke Through The Darkness

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A dear friend of mine, who has twice been a guest writer for 4^th Day Letters, sent me a text message a few days before Christmas. Included with his text were two pictures which he had taken on his way to work. He felt these pictures perfectly depicted the coming of Jesus as “light into darkness” on that first Christmas day. Today I want to share those photos with you and the message which they convey. Please read more:

In the picture above you see a gloomy overcast day. My friend Lee is the pastor of Mountain Hill Community Church, which sits on the top of a mountain on which I live. The gloomy picture was taken near the bottom of the mountain. As he drove up the nearly 3000 foot ascent to his church at the top, suddenly a bright light broke through the gloom as is evidenced in the picture below. In a flash, these two starkly different pictures taken on the same day just minutes apart spoke to him of the meaning of Christmas. So now, I share them with you.

Around 700 years before the birth of Jesus the Prophet Isaiah, in Isaiah 9:1, spoke of the light Jesus would bring into the world when he said: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who lived in a land of gloom a light has shone.” He went on further in Isaiah 9:5 to speak of that day that the Christ child would be born: “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.”

On December 25^th, we celebrate the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophesy. We celebrate the light of Christ entering into the darkness of our world and we also celebrate the light of Christ shining into our own darkness. Later in life, during Jesus’ public ministry, He affirmed that He was in deed the light. We read this in John 8:12 “Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world.” Next Jesus gives us this assurance, “Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Now that Christmas day has passed, and the Christmas season has begun, what are we to do with this light Jesus brought into the world? Look again at the verse above and see that Jesus says “we will have the light of life.” If we have it, what are we to do with it?

In Matthew 5:14-16 we are again told to be the light. He tells us that our light must shine before others. He goes on to say that as light, our good deeds should glorify our heavenly Father. Jesus is calling on you and me to keep His light alive. Will we?

Let me conclude my short Christmas message by examining a few verses from one of our favorite Christmas hymns.

O Holy Night
O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining;
it is the night of the dear Savior’s birth.

Is Christ’s light alive and burning brightly in our hearts?

Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

We all have sinned….Christ has come into the world. Has He come into our soul? Does our soul feel its true worth?

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Do we rejoice in the hope that this year will be a new and glorious morning in our relationship with the Christ child?

Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

Do we fall on our knees in appreciation and acknowledgement of just how divine the night of Jesus’ birth truly was for our sinful world?

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.

By loving one another let us go forth and keep the light of our Lord Jesus Christ alive in a world that too often is still gloomy and dark like Pastor Lee’s first picture.

On behalf my daughter Betsy who helps me to produce these 4^th Day Letters, and Broken Door Ministries, I wish each and everyone one of you a very Merry Christmas. I pray that God’s peace will be with you always.

Heavenly Father, your Son Jesus brought light in to our world, though the power of your Holy Spirit, help me to keep your Son’s light alive in me and help me to bring that light to others, amen.

As always, I love to read your comments below as well as hear from you personally by clicking here.

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Brian Pusateri

Brian is a Christian author and speaker. Brian, a lifelong Catholic, felt his life was forever changed when God spoke to his heart while attending an eight day silent Christian retreat in November of 2011. Soon after that retreat Brian founded 4th Day Letters and Broken Door Ministries. With the God inspired message of mercy and unconditional love that was placed on his heart during that retreat, Brian has been impacting others all over the country and around the world with his weekly letters, his talks, and his all day Christian retreats. In June of 2014, Brian’s life was again impacted in a very dramatic way when his eyesight suddenly became permanently impaired. The initial diagnosis was Multiple Scleroses (MS) but in December of 2019 the diagnosis was corrected to MOG antibody disease, a rare neurological disease. This health challenge has only served to draw Brian closer to God and bolster the importance of this timely yet ageless message.

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