John 1:4-9

"In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it."

"John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was..."

"God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony."

"The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can....."

Inspirational illustration of John 1:4-5 -- In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it.

Can we really break the code? While there is much ado about the Da Vinci code, the real proof of Christianity's vitality and truth to the younger generation will be seen our living of the truth of Jesus.

"In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . The Word gave life to everything that was..."

What are we supposed to do about Christmas? Knowing what to do about the birth of Jesus is quite a dilemma, however, we do need to acknowledge he was born and respond appropriately.

"Dear Follower, I came into the world as the Light of the World. That means I came to bring true light. So much light around you is dim and full of..."

"The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone."

"As he is in the light! Can we ever attain to this? Shall we ever be able to walk as clearly in the light as he is whom we call "Our Father," of whom....."

"John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light."

"Dear Disciple, In the verses below, I want you to notice a few things about the ongoing contentious dealings I had with the religious leaders. They....."

"In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . The Word gave life to everything that was..."

With Jesus' arrest under torchlight, the end for darkness' reign drew near. Phil Ware concludes his four-part series on Jesus' Passion called seed, towel, promise, and torchlight.

"Dear Seeker, When seen in the darkness of a moonless sky away from the light pollution from your cities, the billions upon billions of stars merge..."

In a year of trouble, sorrow, isolation, and loss, our prayer is that you can experience the presence of Immanuel in your life! Phil Ware shares the Heartlight.org and VerseoftheDay.com Christmas prayer with all their readers.

Show me, I'm tired of just hearing talk! Phil Ware continues his C2K or church to Kingdom series emphasizing that our message must be lived, displayed, and demonstrated and not just spoken.

How long has it really been? It's been two weeks since the awful murders at Virginia Tech and the heartbreak of parents, friends, and classmates.

What's shining in that darkness? Rubel Shelly talks about how important it is for us to be light for the dark places of our world.

Advent is the celebration of Jesus' coming to earth as the Son of God and our Savior. Inextinguishable hope is just one of the blessings of ADVENT! Phil Ware shares Scriptures and James Nored shares an inspirational video regarding the blessings and significance of Advent, Jesus' coming to earth as God in human flesh as our Savior and Lord.

What really matters to the emerging group of young adults? Rather than fearing the new group of young adults, we should embrace them and hope to influence them for Christ.

Why do we love the darkness so much? Phil Ware continues his series on Jesus, I AM, and his claim to be God with us, who brings light into our lives.

"[Jesus] had to go through Samaria on the way [to Galilee]. Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to..."

"The one who is the true light [Jesus Christ], who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He came into the very world he created, but...."

Can I really know Jesus? Phil Ware continues his series on The Andrew Effect focused on connecting others with Jesus as our life's mission.

Can you find that light that chases away the shadows? Phil Ware continues his series on When Spirit Becomes Flesh and talks about Jesus as heaven's light.

What else can you say, but thank you? Phil Ware shares a collection of Scriptures that talk about the significance of Jesus' birth.

Is there any hope, any light, for our darkness? Phil Ware talks about the triumphal entry of Jesus and the darkness that Jesus faced for all of us to defeat the darkness and bring us to light.

"Dear Child of God, The fifty days between My resurrection and Pentecost were important. I appeared to My closest disciples on several occasions, and...."

Some things you have to believe or you have nothing worth believing in! Phil Ware continues his series on I AM, God's handwritten messages from heaven and focuses on the bottom line faith requirement -- Jesus is God come in human flesh.

Mary's simple life was about to come to a dramatic end! Phil Ware finishes the year 2012 with two powerful posts or articles about Jesus' birth and the people gathered around him, and emphasizes that God's greatest beginnings are found in hard endings.

'The verses are the blues, the chorus is the gospel.' Patrick Odum picks up a line from a Bruce Springsteen interview and helps us understand the need for being real about our struggles but also celebrating our hope in the gospel.

God's yearning to bring life runs thematically from the beginning of our Bibles in Genesis, to its conclusion in Revelation. Phil Ware and Grady King bring us teaching and practical prayer strategies on praying for God's will to be done.

"Dear Disciple, I love the way My beloved disciple you know as John describes My coming to earth: "The Voice took on flesh and became human and chose...."

In the middle of our grief, loss, and brokenness, we must remember that we are not alone in our brokenness. Phil Ware reminds us that God shares our pain in our worst moments of grief and loss, God is heartbroken with us.

God came to earth as Jesus of Nazareth. God chose to come to us as one of us. Phil Ware shares the Heartlight.org team's reading plan for December to help prepare our hearts to welcome Jesus.

How can God know experientially how hard life can sometimes be for us? James Nored and Phil Ware remind us to push past the glittering lights and see that God came to be one of us in the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus didn't come to earth to be protected from life's harshest realities, but entered into mortality to share it all with us — the good, the bad, the ugly, and the painful! James and Phil continue their series on The Story of Redemption by focusing on the birth of Jesus and what it means for us.