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

We are called to live as children of light. Living as children of the light means not walking in darkness.

Living as children of the light means being careful and wise about how we live our life and making the most of time. “Be careful how you live.” The opposite of careful is careless. Psalm 90:12 says: “So, teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.”We are called as children of light to pursue after goodness, righteousness and truth, every moment, every day. We are to live for Christ every moment and every day of our lives. We are to pursue peace with all men and live a Christ-like life. As children of light, we don’t have anything to do with the deeds of darkness.

The deeds of darkness are immorality, impurity, greediness, foolishness and vulgar talk, among others. Ephesians 5:5 warns very strongly that no one who lives in deeds of darkness “has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God,” and says followers of Christ are not to associate with people like that.

If you are truly a child of God, there must be a past tense in your life, meaning that you are no longer living the way you were living in the past. Paul said: “For ye were sometimes darkness.” Paul is saying that you were dominated by sin and death in the time past. Sin makes us dark. It darkens our minds and our hearts.

It makes us desire the shadows and gloom of this world. But when Christ came into our lives, we were made light and now children of light. We no longer manifest the deeds of darkness, but the deeds of light. Light symbolises the purity and holiness of God. Light shows us the truth about ourselves. In God there is no darkness because His essential nature is holiness, love, light and truth. There is no room in God for darkness because darkness stands in stark contrast to light. The light of God reveals our sin and the darkness that we lived in. To walk in the light means that we are to walk with God.

To live as children of light is not to have fellowship with darkness. Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin; that is whyJesus came to set us free from the slavery of sin and into His marvelous light. At this point, sin will no longer have power over us, because Christ has given us power over sin and all the desires of the flesh. You cannot claim you are saved and still be living in sin. 1 John 1:6 says: “If we claim, we have fellowship with him and live in the darkness, we are lying and do not act truthfully.” We die to that old life, and come out of the darkness to “live a new life.” Paul says in Romans 6:4: “Therefore, we were buried together with him through baptism into his death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too can walk in newness of life.” If there is nothing new in your life when you say you are now born again, then you are lying and the truth is not in you. There must be dramatic change of lifestyle when you give your life to Jesus. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin and then you continue to live a life of victory.

• Today’s nugget:Light is walking with God.

Prayer: Lordhelp me to walk in newness of life. Prayer lines: 08033299824.E-mail: [email protected]. Rev. Abel Ukachi Amadi, General Superintendent, Assemblies of God Nigeria.