Latest / Eurasia Region Podcast / S1-E42 | Everyday Eurasia | Mark Louw

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S1-E42 | 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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  Today is January the 2nd and my name is Mark Lowe.
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  I am the Director of the Eurasia Region of the Church of the
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  Nazarene. Our 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 him
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  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. Yesterday we began the year
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  where scripture begins, with Christ at the beginning of all
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  things. Today we move from where we
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  start to how we walk. John doesn't just tell us who
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  Jesus is, he tells us what life looks like when Jesus is taken
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  seriously. John says in him was life, and
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  the life was the light of men. The sentence is dense and deeply
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  practical. It tells us that life with
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  Christ is not merely belief. It's direction.
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  It's illumination. It's learning to see and live
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  differently. Light in Scripture is never
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  theoretical. Light exposes what we'd rather
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  keep hidden. Light shows us where the path
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  actually runs, not where we wish it ran.
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  And light removes the excuse of I didn't know.
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  That's why walking in the light always requires honesty.
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  At the start of a new year, honesty matters more than
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  optimism. Some people enter January with
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  ambition, others enter it with fatigue.
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  Most enter it with a mixture of both.
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  John reminds us that Christ doesn't meet us with slogans.
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  He meets us with light. And light asks real questions.
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  Where am I walking out of habit instead of obedience?
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  Where have I adjusted my faith to fit my comfort?
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  Where is Christ clearly leading and I've been slow to follow.
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  These questions aren't meant to condemn.
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  They're meant to clarify. Later, in one John 1, the same
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  writer says something that sharpens this even more.
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  John says if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we
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  have fellowship with one another.
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  Notice the order. Walking in the light isn't just
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  about personal holiness. It shapes community, leadership,
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  and trust. When people walk in the light,
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  relationships heal faster, decisions are cleaner, and
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  conflicts don't linger as long. Darkness isolates.
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  Light connects. Walking in the light also means
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  learning to move at Christ's pace.
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  One of the great mistakes at the start of the year is rushing
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  ahead of God and calling it faith when it's actually
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  impatience. Scripture is full of this
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  warning. Moses learned it in the
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  wilderness, David learned it before ascending the throne, and
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  even Jesus waited for the Father's timing.
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  Light doesn't rush. Light reveals the next step, not
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  the whole map. And that's often exactly what we
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  need. Just the next step.
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  Jonathan gives us a line that steadies everything.
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  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has
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  not overcome it. That isn't poetry for comfort.
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  It's a declaration of reality. Darkness resists light, but it
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  never defeats it. Not in creation, not at the
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  cross, not in your life. Some of you carry darkness into
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  this year that didn't leave when the calendar changed.
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  Grief, uncertainty, pressure that you didn't choose.
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  I want you to hear this clearly. Darkness is real, but it is not
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  ultimate. Christ does not wait for
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  darkness to clear. He shines into it, and this is
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  implications for how we live and lead in the year ahead.
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  Leadership shaped by light looks different.
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  It values truth over image, faithfulness over speed,
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  obedience over applause. People don't need louder voices
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  this year. They need clearer ones, steadier
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  ones, ones shaped by the quiet confidence of walking in
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  Christ's light. So as the second day of the year
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  unfolds, don't ask. How do I control this year?
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  Ask instead, how do I walk faithfully in the light I've
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  been given today? That question ask daily, changes
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  everything. Let us pray.
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  Lord Jesus, you are the light of the world.
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  Teach us to walk honestly, patiently, and faithfully in the
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  light you give. Expose what needs changing,
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  strengthen what is good, and guide us step by step into this
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  year. We pray this asking that you
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  would bless us and give us your power to be faithful witnesses
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  in this world. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
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  Thank you for listening to the Everyday Eurasia podcast,
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  Inspiring Fate for everyday. For more Everyday Stories,
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  subscribe on this podcast channel, follow our socials,
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  Facebook and Instagram, or our newsletter Snapshots.
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  For our newsletter and further information about the Eurasia
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  region, visit our website, eurasiaregion.org.