From Darkness to Light

Hey there, and welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading, titled From Darkness to Light, was written by Dave Brannon. Nothing could pull Akash out of his dark depression. Severely injured in a truck accident, he was taken to a missionary hospital in southwest Asia.

Eight operations repaired his broken bones, but he couldn't eat. Depression set in. His family depended on him to provide, which he couldn't do, so his world grew darker. One day, a visitor read to Akash from the Gospel of John, in his language, and prayed for him. Touched by the hope of God's free gift of forgiveness and salvation through Jesus, he placed his faith in him.

His depression soon left. When he returned home, he was afraid at first to mention his newfound faith. Finally, though, he told his family about Jesus, and six of them trusted him as well. John's Gospel is a beacon of light in a world of darkness. In it, we read that whoever believes in Jesus shall not perish but have eternal life. We discover that whoever hears Jesus' word and believes God has eternal life, and we hear Jesus say, I am the bread of life.

Whoever comes to me will never go hungry. Indeed, whoever lives by the truth comes into the light. The troubles we face may be great, but Jesus is greater. He came to give us life to the full. Like Akash, may you place your faith in Jesus, the hope of the world, and the light for all humanity.

Our scripture reading for today is from John chapter 3, verses 13 through 21. No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven, the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

This is the verdict. Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. Let's pray. Dear Jesus, Thank you so much for coming to earth and exposing us to the light of your love and salvation. Help us to live lives that shine that light to others and show them the way to you. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. I'm Stephen Taber and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.