Light & Hope & Jesus

 

Recently the words of an old hymn by Philip P. Bliss came to mind: 

“The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin, The Light of the world is Jesus! Like sunshine at noonday, His glory shone in; The Light of the world is Jesus!”

Christ alone is the source of true light and hope. Not government. Not politics. Not entertainment. Not drugs or alcohol. Not even financial security. Not even robust health. True light and hope consistently ride above any and all circumstances in life, good or ill.

The more that the world sees the light and hope of Christ shining through a Christian, the more likely it is that Christian is going to be asked for some account of it: “What makes you tick? Why are you always so positive? How do you stay bright and steady amidst all the rot and gloom these days? What’s the basis of your hope?”

When people ask a Christian such questions, he or she should be ready to cite the solid basis that they have for their hope in Christ. They need to explain why Christianity is not just wishful thinking. They need to defend historic Christian faith as intellectually credible. 

1 Peter 3:15 says, “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”

That’s apologetics. And that’s where we come in. One of the main reasons we are here is to help Christians be better prepared with reasonable answers, solid evidence, and the light of Christ when explaining  the basis for their hope.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, a joyfully anticipatory Advent season, and a very Merry Christmas!

Daryl E Witmer, AIIA Executive Director

P. S. — Oh, yes, here’s an update on our recent bout with COVID. By God’s grace we’ve survived. Some lingering annoying cough episodes from time to time, and a doozy of a head cold for Mary back-to-back with her COVID. But our energy levels are about back to normal and we’re still marching forward. Thanks to so many of you for going to God on our behalf — things might have been far dicier, especially given my physical condition. Our lives and times are in His hands. So even as we now head into the vortex of another long, cold, hard Maine winter — we have hope!

P.P.S. — Be sure to click the six slides on the home page of our website at AIIAInstitute.org to stay in the loop about what’s ahead for AIIA (and us) in 2023!

 

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