20 September 2026
The Hardening of the Heart of the Religious Leaders (TMF:2970)
Friday, September 25, 2026
by Daniel Litton Listen to the Feature
And what is sin? How can we define sin? We can define sin as behaving in a way in anything of which God does not approve, in a way that goes against the very laws of nature. That which goes against the human conscience a lot of times. Some persons have indeed seared their conscience and don’t have much of one left. That’s called the hardening of the heart. We are going to get into that later in the Gospel of John. These religious leaders present, already had a problem before John appeared on the scene, and God was providing a warning to them through John. What was their problem of heart? What was wrong inside of them? The issue at hand was that they were practicing religion (in truth, were masters at it), but they weren’t practicing in a way that begot love toward God in their hearts. A mode of existing where one goes through the motions but with secret, ulterior motives. Whether they realized it or not, whether they were consciously aware of it or not, they weren’t serving God for the right reasons.
John Proclaims the Way before Jesus Appears (TMF:2969)
Thursday, September 24, 2026
by Daniel Litton Listen to the Feature
Continuing on. Verse 6: “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (ESV). Thus, manifesting on the scene is a forerunner for the Nation of Israel, a messenger out in the wilderness sent by God to try to prepare them for the Christ, the coming Messiah. The last they had heard from God, before this time, was some 400 years earlier, when the prophet Malachi spoke to them. God spent the first couple chapters of that book calling out Israel for their sins. But their hearts were hardened. As pertains to John the Baptist’s message, we know, many believed, and many became disciples of John the Baptist themselves. It’s also true, though, that many did not choose that pathway. John instructed people to repent of their sins. At the heart of it, that’s the issue, sin. Truly, sin is always the issue. It’s what went wrong from the very beginning, back with Adam and Eve in the garden.
The Darkness Has Not Overcome the Light, Part 2 (TMF:2968)
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
by Daniel Litton Listen to the Feature
It seems we often miss it. We can get so drawn into the world, so engrossed in thinking that everything is messed up and nothing will ever be right. Yet, John reminds us, or perhaps points out to some of us for the first time, that the darkness has not overcome the light. Satan has not overcome Jesus. And truly, he never will. Try as he might, reap havoc on this and that, do this and do that, he can’t ultimately have the victory. Goodness triumphs over evil, and always will. Darkness is absence of light. God overcomes in people’s situations now, and he will ultimately overcome Satan at the end of our current time period. God is to win, and there’s nothing Satan or any of his fallen angels can really, at the end of the day, do about that. Sure, they can try to mess up circumstances for God and individuals now, but their day of judgment is coming. One day they won’t be able to do that anymore. The darkness can’t ultimately succeed.
The Darkness Has Not Overcome the Light, Part 1 (TMF:2967)
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
by Daniel Litton Listen to the Feature
So, a lot of the world works out, and a lot of things go well, but a lot of the world doesn’t work out, and all does not go well. Yet, this light John is speaking of “shines in the darkness.” It allows persons to uncover the root, the source, of what is truly wrong. Various religions and philosophies have their opinions on what is wrong, but Jesus Christ shows us what the answer is, what is truly wrong in us. Thus, “The light shines in the darkness.” Strangers we are not to the fact that darkness is in the world, and yet, John informs us that this darkness, however great in power it may appear at times, has not overcome the light. Despite all that Satan (God’s arch enemy; the true originator of all evil) and his forces have accomplished in the past, going all the way back and getting Adam and Eve to sin, to all the way forward to the present day, whatever you consider, John tells us that this darkness has not overcome the light. That’s a big verse, a big verse.
How to Have a Truly Fulfilled Life (TMF:2966)
Monday, September 21, 2026
by Daniel Litton Listen to the Feature
Verse 4: “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (ESV). John points to the reality that Jesus used to be here on the earth, but that he is no longer here. We see that in his use of the past tense. When he was here, he was the embodiment, the essence, of having true life. Everyone everywhere is always looking for true life. ‘How can you have a truly fulfilled life?’ is a common question. Many avenues are tried, and many ways contemplated. John cuts straight to that question, in saying if you want that, if that’s what you’re looking for, it’s found in Jesus Christ. “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Thus, this life was our light, humankind’s light, so that they could see the Truth, and as we are about to learn, see what’s wrong with the human condition. Everyone knows that something is wrong. Looking at the world, it’s obvious that circumstances are not at the potentiality they could be.