Are you afraid of the dark? You should be. I’m not talking about what happens when the sun goes down or when a light switch is turned off. I’m talking about the darkness of sin and the satanic evil around us. Satan has no love for you and only wants your destruction.

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

Oh yes, the devil looks for every opportunity to stumble you and keep you from living in the joy of the Lord, but he is no match for Jesus. Christians may have to fight daily battles, but Jesus fought the war and won victory for us. We need to make the choice to walk in the light or stumble in darkness. Too often we ignore the power within us and try to fight these battles on our own. Christians are sealed with the Holy Spirit and He lives within each of us.

“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Study your Bible to understand the power of God, and learn to follow His lead. Let God’s word light your path and the darkness will flee. King David knew the truth of God’s power and he relied on God’s strength many times during his lifetime.

(A Psalm of David) “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).

David lived many centuries before Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem, but he knew where his salvation and strength came from. Because he trusted the LORD he was able to courageously face Goliath and win the victory, he was able to walk through the valley of the shadow of death fearing no evil, and he faithfully reigned as God’s chosen king over Israel. Every one of the Psalms, whether written by David or someone else, points us to God.

“… Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalms 119:105).

God’s Word is a light for Christians. It will light up the path of righteousness and show us that narrow road that leads to life. Many Christians today neglect to study the Bible and their life is mostly filled with unhappiness, turmoil, and darkness. It’s easy to fall into sin when you don’t use God’s word as the lamp that lights your path.

In times past it wasn’t as easy to study God’s Word. David couldn’t just pick up a Bible from his coffee table, or even download an app on his phone. He didn’t even have the entire Bible available like we have today. When he was a young man sitting in the field watching over the sheep he had no way to flip through the pages of the Torah and learn of God. Yet, David knew God and loved Him. Why is it that so many Christians neglect or ignore God’s word? Could it be that if they study the Bible they may be convicted of sin? Do they love sin more than they love God?

“He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

That makes you think, doesn’t it? If you love your sin so much, maybe you really haven’t truly accepted Christ and are still owned by the devil. While we live on this side of heaven we will always struggle against sin and the powers of darkness, but if you love God you’ll desire to please Him. His word is your guide.

“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:5-7).

Fellowship with other Christians is important, but fellowship with God is essential. If you’re walking in darkness then you’re not in fellowship with Jesus or with other Christians. It’s easy to get out of the habit of reading your Bible, and when your path isn’t lit by God’s word you walk in darkness and it’s easy to embrace sin.

Jesus chose to enter His creation and restore fellowship between God and Man. That fellowship had been lost when Adam sinned and what a mess that made. Satan thought he had won but God had a perfect plan. First He judged the sin of that day and all but eight people perished in the flood. Then, when the time was right, He chose the Israelites to receive the Law and to be the ones to bring the Messiah into the fallen world.

“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).

Today we have the blessing of God’s grace through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ as the only atonement for our sin. By accepting that sacrifice we move from the darkness of the Satan-owned world into the Light of salvation.

“In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth indarkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:4-5).

Don’t ever take the Sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for granted. The free gift of salvation that’s available to us came at a great cost to Him. Pride caused Satan to rebel against God, which brought about the fall of man. It was God’s pure love for us that caused Him to enter His creation and purchase our redemption on the cross.

Study God’s Word and allow it to light your path and you’ll come to be very thankful for God’s love for you. The Old Testament is full of prophecy foretelling the suffering that Jesus would face, but His love for you and me compelled Him to go to the cross. Show your gratitude by choosing to live in the light of His love. Christians are a special group of people:

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).

No matter where we live, when we are in Christ we are a part of that peculiar group of people, which means we are a purchased possession of His…He bought us with His blood. He called us out of the darkness of this world. He sacrificed His life for us.

Through Him we have obtained mercy instead of condemnation. If you claim to have accepted His blood sacrifice for redemption, then live unashamed for Him. Walk with Him in the light instead of following Satan along the paths of darkness.

“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk aschildren of light” (Ephesians 5:8).

Following Christ is a choice and it comes with responsibility. When you choose to follow Him, persecution will quite often come your way. If keeping friends, listening to ungodly music, or watching a rerun of some worldly television show is more important than following Christ, then you’re making wrong choices.

By choosing worldly ways you’re choosing to walk in darkness instead of allowing God’s light to guide you. Life on this earth is temporary, but your choices here and now will determine your eternal location. Ask Christ into your life, then allow His word to light your path.

“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).

He loves you. He died for you. Be a living sacrifice for Him.

When people around you know you’re a Christian they’ll watch you closely. Some will try to make you stumble and others will just laugh. Don’t be ashamed of following Christ and living that faith rather than stumbling around in darkness. When a Christian fails people see the failure and are sure to point it out. You will stumble less if you separate yourself from the darkness around you and live in the light of Christ.

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).

Let everything you do glorify God. If you walk in His light, you just might make a difference in the life of someone close to you. I challenge everyone who reads this commentary to take a few minutes each day to read your Bible. Download a Bible app onto your phone and read Scripture while you’re sitting at a bus stop or waiting to see a doctor.

Wake-up a little earlier in the morning and read a few verses, then apply them to your life. You might be surprised at how your life will be changed for the better. Your actions will be guided by God’s Word and you’ll become that light shining in a dark place.

“… Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105).

Choose to let God’s Word light your path.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

www.straitandnarrowministry.com

ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

God told Noah to build an Ark. He obeyed. We might not always fully understand all about God’s warnings, but when God’s warnings are heeded good things result. Noah probably didn’t understand what God meant about rain, flood, or even why he was to build a big boat on dry land, but he took God’s word seriously. It was faith that saved Noah.

“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an Ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith” (Hebrews 11:7).

Noah could have wasted time wondering why an Ark was needed, what did God mean by rain, and if God really meant He would destroy all flesh or if He was just exaggerating. Noah didn’t allegorize God’s Word or try to decide what He really meant. Rather than wasting time asking useless questions, he got busy building the boat. Because of his obedience, he and his family were saved from the Flood, and you and I are alive today,

Noah had kept himself pure by being separate from the evil that was all around him. Even if he had been tempted by the lure of evil, he didn’t participate in it. Noah had come from a long line of God-fearing men and learned to obey God from his father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and so on. Because of that, God was able to use him to accomplish great things.

“For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; and spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly…the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished” (2 Peter 2:4-6, 9).

Peter tells us that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. Did he stand on the street corner and proclaim that God’s judgment was at hand or go door to door telling people about God? He didn’t have to do that. His life reflected God and his obedience in building the Ark served as the only witness he needed. It was up to those to whom he preached righteousness to accept or reject his message.

Corruption in the world isn’t new. Satan had been trying to destroy humans and stop the advent of the coming Messiah since he duped Adam and Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. After that he almost succeeded in corrupting all of God’s creation by tinkering with the human genome by using the fallen angels to mate with human women producing Nephilim. The reason that God had to destroy everything was more far reaching than the idea that Seth’s sons married Cain’s daughters.

“And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth” (Genesis 6:12).

Earlier in this chapter of Genesis we’re told that the angels (the sons of God) had taken the daughters of men (human women) for wives and so the corruption of the human genome began. Those evil beings corrupted humans as well as all living things. God had to destroy all flesh because everything was corrupted.

“And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:7-8).

Noah found grace. Today our salvation is only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Noah found grace in the eyes of God because he honored God and he was pure in his generations, which means his genes were fully human and not tainted by the fallen angels. He came from a long line of men who honored God which kept his genes pure. His great-grandfather Enoch walked so closely with God that he was raptured prior to God’s judgment. It was faith that protected Enoch.

“By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5).

The sin and corruption around Noah was great, but like his forefathers he chose to follow God rather than joining in with the worldly corruption all around. We can learn a lot from Enoch and Noah.

Unlike Christians, Noah was saved by works. Even though he may not have fully understood why God asked him to build a huge Ark, he obeyed. Because of his works 8 people and some animals were saved from God’s judgment. When Noah finished the Ark the animals, Noah, and his family all entered in and God shut the door.

“And they went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in” (Genesis 7:16).

At that time in history there were three categories of people: There was Enoch who was raptured prior to God’s judgment, there were rebellious people and Nephilim who rejected God and they perished in the Flood, and there was Noah and his family who were protected through God’s judgment.

Today there are also three categories of people in the world: Christians who will be raptured prior to the coming judgment, the rebellious people who refuse to accept Christ for salvation and will perish in God’s judgment, and the ones who will go into the Tribulation period but against great odds will choose to follow Christ rather than the man of perdition. It would be smart for everyone to reject the evil and corruption of the world and accept Christ’s free gift of salvation right now.

There are many similarities between Noah’s day and the days live in. It takes very little research to see that the corruption of the human genome is an issue. In the name of science, human embryos are being crossed with animals. These monstrosities are supposed to be killed within a few days, but why create them in the first place?

Another question is, are they really being killed? Many scientific organizations are trying to define what it means to be human and how much DNA of an animal will it take to constitute a non-human. The answer is easy. Only 100 percent of human genes that are unmodified constitute a human.

Genetically modified food is hitting the grocery store shelves, but do you really think that science can do better than God in making food that is healthy for humans? The knowledge to do these horrific things certainly didn’t come from God.

“The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence” (Genesis 6:11). Just as in Noah’s day we see corruption and violence everywhere. That shouldn’t surprise us. Jesus said that at the end it would be like the days in which Noah lived.

“But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:37).

Don’t confuse “the coming of the Son of man” with the Rapture. The Rapture will happen first. In the days after Eden and before the flood the sin and corruption gradually got worse and we see the same happening today. Violence and hatred are getting worse. Genetic manipulation is corrupting human and animals.

Wars, earthquakes, disease, famine, and more are growing stronger. Noah built a boat and was a witness of God’s grace. If Christians heed God’s warnings we will get busy. Christians today need to be the light that shines into the darkness around us and show Christ to this lost world. We need to preach righteousness with our life.

We don’t notice how bad things are because we are used to the daily violence and hatred. Sadly, this seems normal so we aren’t horrified at the atrocities that ISIS inflicts or ungodly laws that governments pass. The people during Noah’s time also went about their daily life ignoring the danger around.

“For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matthew 24:38-39).

Those people were willfully blind and ignorant of how bad things were. This shouldn’t describe the attitude of Christians. We should feel the urgency to get busy going into the world, which includes your own neighborhood, and living as a witness for Christ. Talk about Jesus and how it will soon be too late to accept His gift of grace.

Study prophecy and watch the news with an awareness of God’s Word. Tell others about what will soon come upon the earth. God has promised to remove Christians prior to His wrath, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see persecution against us. Don’t let that stop you. Things will only continue to get worse, and if our faith and trust in Jesus isn’t strong—we will live in fear. Don’t delay in drawing nearer to Jesus and trusting Him daily.

There are many signs that we’re nearing the Rapture and after that Daniel’s 70th week will begin.

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem” (Zechariah 12:2).

God gave the land to Israel, but the unnatural hatred against God’s chosen people was prophesied in the Old Testament and is being fulfilled today. Paul wrote this to Timothy:

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth” (1 Timothy 4:1-3).

This is very evident illustration of today. Christians need to stand firm on God’s Word and not be distracted by the sin and apostasy around us. Our eyes need to stay on Jesus. Scripture is filled with prophecy concerning the end times, but too many Christians don’t seem to care. If God didn’t think it was important for us to know and understand He wouldn’t have put so much prophecy in Scripture.

People tend to want things to happen fast, but God is longsuffering and patient. Time is rapidly moving towards the end times, but whether that happens today or years from now it’s urgent for you to believe God and get busy “building a boat”—that is witnessing for Christ.

“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (2 Peter 3:3-4).

Only those ignorant of God’s Word can possibly think that things are the same as they were 10 years ago. Evil is growing and God’s judgment and wrath are in the near future.

Noah got busy and built a boat. Christians need to get busy being a living witness for Christ. Judgment is coming.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

All original Scripture is “theopneustos” (God breathed).

twotug@embarqmail.com

www.straitandnarrowministry.com

ron@straitandnarrowministry.com