Latest / Eurasia Region Podcast / S1-E41 | Everyday Eurasia | Mark Louw

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S1-E41 | Everyday Eurasia | Mark Louw · Eurasia Region Podcast

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  Hello and welcome to the Everyday Eurasia podcast,
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  Inspiring Faith for Every Day. Each day we are on a journey
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  with Jesus in our churches, our homes, our workplaces, and in so
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  many different places around the world.
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  Is it beautiful that no matter where we are, we can walk with
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  him every single day? Jesus is the one who connects us
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  all and stands at the very center of our lives day after
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  day. Through this podcast, you'll
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  hear voices from across the region sharing devotionals that
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  reminds us of God's presence in our everyday moments.
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  Hello friends, Happy New Year. Today is January the 1st and my
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  name is Mark Lowe. I'm the Director of the Eurasia
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  Region Church of the Nazarene. My reading this morning is from
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  John chapter 1 verses one through 5.
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  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
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  the Word was God. He was in the beginning with
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  God. All things were made through
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  him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.
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  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
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  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has
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  not overcome it. As we step into a new year, most
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  people are already thinking about what needs to change.
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  They're thinking about new habits, new plans, new energy.
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  But Scripture takes us some way more fundamental in the
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  beginning was the Word before calendars, before goals, before
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  success or failure. Christ is already there.
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  John is deliberate. He takes us back before our
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  beginning and reminds us that Jesus is not an add on to life,
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  He is the source of life itself. John says the word was with God
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  and the Word was God. That means this year does not
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  begin with uncertainty, it begins with authority.
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  Nothing you will face this year surprises Christ.
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  Nothing overwhelms him. Nothing sits outside of his
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  reach. That alone should change how we
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  step into this new year. John echoes Genesis on purpose.
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  Just as God spoke order into chaos in creation, Christ speaks
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  order into our lives. Now many people enter a new year
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  carrying unfinished business, disappointment, fatigue,
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  questions they hoped would be resolved by now.
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  And the temptation is to fix ourselves before coming to God.
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  Scripture says the opposite. You don't come to Christ after
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  you've sorted things out. You come to Christ so that he
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  can bring order Where there is confusion, John continues.
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  All things were made through Him and without Him was not anything
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  made that was made. That includes your work.
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  That includes your ministry, your family, your calling.
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  Anything you tried to build this year apart from Christ will
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  eventually drain you. It may look successful for a
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  while, but it won't last. What is built in Him carries
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  life because He is life. That is why Jesus later says in
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  John 15, Apart from Me you can do nothing, not a little, not
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  less efficiently, but nothing of eternal value.
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  Then John gives us a phrase we need to sit with.
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  He says in Him was life and the life was the light of men.
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  Light in Scripture is never passive.
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  Light reveals. Light exposes, light guides.
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  Walking in the light means living honestly before God, not
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  hiding, not pretending, not repeating all patterns just
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  because they're familiar. So let me make this practical.
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  At the start of this year, ask yourself, what is Christ asking
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  me to stop carrying into this year?
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  What is He asking me to leave behind?
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  Not because it's dramatic, but because it no longer fits a life
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  shaped by Him. And where is he calling me to
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  take a clear, obedient step forward?
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  These are not resolutions. They are alignments.
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  And alignments matter because light demands a response.
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  You either walk in the light or you avoid it.
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  Paul says it plainly in Ephesians 5.
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  Walk as children of light. That's active language.
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  It's daily, it's intentional, and it's sometimes costly, but
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  it leads to life. John then anchors us with one of
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  the strongest statements in the Gospel.
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  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has
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  not overcome it. Notice the tense.
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  The light shines right now, not after things improve, not when
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  circumstances cooperate. Now, whatever darkness you carry
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  into this year, be it fear, regret, uncertainty, exhaustion,
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  it does not get the final word. It never has, and it never will.
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  Darkness doesn't overcome light. It never has in Scripture and it
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  never will in your life. And this matters for how you
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  live and lead this year. People don't follow titles.
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  They follow clarity. They follow steadiness.
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  They follow those who walk in the light they claim to believe.
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  Leadership and influence in the coming year won't be about
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  pushing harder. It will be about bringing the
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  light of Christ into the spaces you influence, into
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  conversations, decisions, moments of tension, moments of
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  fatigue. So as this year begins, don't
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  start with pressure, start with presence.
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  Christ's presence. You don't need to see the whole
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  year. You only need enough light for
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  the next faithful step. That's how Scripture is always
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  worked, and it still does. Let us pray.
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  Lord Jesus, you stand at the beginning of all things,
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  including this year. We bring you what is unfinished,
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  uncertain, and heavy. Teach us to walk in your light,
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  step by step. Let our lives reflect your life
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  in us. For your glory we pray in Jesus
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  name, Amen. Thank you for listening to the
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  Everyday Eurasia podcast, Inspiring Fate for everyday.
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  For more Everyday Stories, subscribe on this podcast
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  channel, follow our socials, Facebook and Instagram, or our
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  newsletter Snapshots. For our newsletter and further
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  information about the Eurasia region, visit our website,
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  eurasiaregion.org.