Weekly Memory Verse

It's Monday again!! I don't know where the week and especially the weekends go, but they go by so quickly. When I was younger, I was always wishing for a "new age"....when I was 11, I wanted to be 13; when I was 13, I wanted to be 16; when I was 16, I wanted to be 21. My grandmother always told me, "Stop wishing your life away--it will go quickly enough." And how right she was!!

So, how did everyone do with last week's memory verse? I had a little bit of difficulty in the beginning of the verse--kept reversing words--but I have the majority of this memorized, and the important thing is what God spoke to me regarding this verse as well as the fact that I remember where it came from for future reference--either for myself or someone else.

If this is your first time visiting "The Weekly Memory Verse" please stop by here where the basic format for our memorization is detailed.

Here we go:

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world, he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.".....John 8:12 (NASB)

Yes!! I have it down!! YEAH!!!

My thoughts on this verse:

God is truly speaking to me through this verse. Jesus is in the temple court addressing the Pharisees in this passage. They are questioning Him--time and time again they question Him. If we read a little further beyond this single verse, this is what we find:

The Pharisees challenged Him, "Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid."

Jesus answered, "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going.

You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me.

In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me."

Then they asked him, "Where is your father?"

"You do not know me or my Father," Jesus replied.

"If you knew me, you would know my Father also."

He spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his time had not yet come.

John 8:13-20 (NIV)

As I read further along in the Book of John, we come to Chapter 9, where Jesus heals the blind man--a man blinded from birth--a man walking in darkness.

As he (Jesus) went along, he saw a man blinded from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." John 9:1-5 (NIV)

If you know me personally, you more than likely know my testimony. If you haven't had the chance to read my testimony, I would encourage you to read it here.

While I knew of God, believed that--yes, there is a God--I did not have a relationship with Him. I was walking in spiritual darkness. I was not close to God, did not believe in the power of prayer. My life was so dark that I could not see the light. Others could see this in me while I could not. Many tried to lead me to the light, but I was resistant--resistant until the darkness became so dark that there was no where for me to turn, no one to turn to--only God could fill the emptiness inside me.

As Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees, He was referring to the conditions of their hearts. They were concerned--concerned with the "keeping of the laws" of the day and loved to show everyone how important and pious they were in their "law-keeping". But, the condition of their hearts was far from the love of Jesus. Yes, they were also walking in spiritual darkness.

It is important for me to realize that I will continue to have "storms" in my life. Just because I have accepted Jesus as MY SAVIOR does not mean that my life will be easy and calm for the rest of my time here on earth. This is far from the truth.

But these times--these times of "storms"--need no longer be totally dark--me feeling my way in the darkness--because I have found my Light of Life--Jesus--and He will keep the darkness from being totally black. He will lead me on with His Light--the Light that only He can offer.

Instead of walking in the darkness, I will follow His Light, and He will lead me through the "storms", always following His Light, until I am with Him.

What are your thoughts on this verse? Did God speak to you through the week as you were memorizing this verse? What is the condition of your heart? Are you walking in the light?

I would love to read your comments and your own blog post. So, please link up and I'll stop by after work today (as long as my internet cooperates!).

Next week's verse from the "Embracing The Word" cards is the Jack of Hearts. Oh, it is an easy one to remember--easy to always follow?

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy....Exodus 20:8 (NASB)

Beth

Just an addition--after I posted this I received this quote from Heartlight in an e-mail, and I wanted to share it with you:

In darkness there is no choice. It is light that enables us to see the differences between things; and it is Christ who gives us light.

-- Mrs. C. T. Whitemell