Thank you Lord for the Light

All scripture references, unless otherwise noted, are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible. 

Sometimes I sing that chorus,
     Thank you thank you thank you, thank you for the light,
     Living in a world of darkness, I  thank you for the light,
     Thank you thank you thank you, thank you for the light, 
     Thank you Lord for the light.
I am truly grateful for the light. As Iv'e said on some of my other posts, I was brought up without going to church. My late mother backslid from serving God for various reasons. So I essentially was brought up as a heathen. She didn't like it, but without a godly influence in my life it was bound to be. My folks separated when I was three years old. According to my mother, because she did not want us brought up in the environment of Morton, WA., she and my dad agreed that she would move to Puyallup, WA., and my dad would follow. Instead he sued her for divorce on the grounds of desertion. As a result, we three boys were brought up without church. 

I thought that not having a dad around was normal. When I was about nine years old my mother remarried. She had long since gone the way of most backsliders. The man she married was as nice a man as one could be and to my knowledge he never mistreated us boys. He had been brought up and confirmed a Lutheran, but he never went to church (with the exception of marrying my mother in the Lutheran church).  So I was brought up a non church going heathen. I lived to please myself. I quit school and joined the army at age seventeen and served a three year enlistment. As I said, I lived to please nobody but myself. I swore before I went into the army but I really learned how while I was in. It upset me to be so used to four letter words, because at least once I used the f word in my mom's presence as well as in the presence of a friend's mom who was a religious person. 

I hated my bad language and made up my mind to stop. I found that I couldn't even think without using bad language. The day  I met the Lord Jesus, (it was on Monday in June of 1965) He told me the life I was living would lead me to death. Then He said, and I quote, "You have a choice to make, make Me your choice, I am the only reasonable choice you have." It was said in such unutterable tones of love, that I was overwhelmed. I knowing that without His help I could not live for Him said, and again I quote, "Lord Jesus if you will help me I will serve you from this day to the day I die." Immediately all the bad language was gone and the desires for myself.  And as immediately the Lord told me to read His word and start in Matthew. The Lord Jesus had shined the marvelous light of the gospel in my heart. (see 2nd Timothy 1:9-10 and 1st Peter 2:9) After telling my mom and stepdad of what had just happened to me, I got my Bible, (which I had, but had never read) found the gospel of Matthew and began reading. I think I finished the New Testament that week.

My dear friend, perhaps you feel as I had often felt, that God was a holy God who lives in a holy heaven and wouldn't want an unholy sinner as I was to be in His heaven. You couldn't be more wrong. The Lord Jesus loves you with an unutterable love that took Him from heaven's throne to a cruel cross to die in your place. He was buried and rose from the grave because of His desire to have you in His holy heaven. Much more could be said, but if you will repent of your sins, find someone to baptize you in the only name that can save you, the name of Jesus Christ, God will fill you with His Spirit and make you ready to meet Him in peace when He returns.