Light!

 

When I ponder the difficulties that we face culturally, politically, and personally I see real problems with few human solutions. Poverty makes millions miserable.  Our government programs, instituted more than a half century ago, while reducing the grinding poverty of millions, certainly has not erased the deprivation of the poor.  The abuse of the powerless is an ongoing problem that shows up in so many ways - street violence, spousal abuse, institutional discrimination – to name a few. The best efforts of great minds has not made war a thing of the past and millions live with the horror of guns, bombs, and destroyed lives.  Millions live without purpose, without hope, confused by life, lacking knowledge of who they are created to be. How can we make it better?  

The answer goes to the human heart.  Apart from spiritual birth into the life of God, the best we can do is inadequate to produce lasting change.  But, God has not abandoned us to our failures, our flaws, our sin. Our celebration of the Season is about the dawn of the Light that shows the way out of confusion and darkness. Jesus said - “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” (John 8:12, NLT)

I am so grateful, so aware, that in Christ I enjoy a clarity about life that cannot be found elsewhere. In Him, I am freed from Self and Sin, able to choose a life of love.  He teaches me to be gracious and forgiving, not consumed with my own needs and quick to take offense. He leads me to generosity, to loving care for others, to hate violence and seek peace!  In Jesus, I have hope that extends beyond my earthly existence, faith that sustains me in the times of disappointment, and I need not stumble around in confusion. His light shows me the truth about myself and my world much as the full light of day reveals the world.

Are you living in the Light? Take some time to think about that. The theme is a recurring one in the Scripture.

"The Lord is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid? " (Psalm 27:1, NLT)

"Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord. They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation. They exult in your righteousness." (Psalm 89:15-16, NLT)

Nobody likes to stumble around a dark room tripping over the furniture, do they? We turn on the light and walk confidently. Spiritually, the lesson holds. Apart from God, revealed in Jesus, we are ‘in the dark’ about the realities of our existence. Oh yes, we may make a living, enjoy a relationship, create families, but at the core we wonder – ‘What’s it all about? Who am I really?’  Jesus answers that.  He restores us to our place in the family of God, sets eternity in our hearts, and removes the sense of futility that creeps up on so many when the music stops and the night comes.

Have you received Him by faith, my friend? Do you know your identity as a child of God, experiencing His transforming love, which in turn makes you a light in the world?  Here is the truth - "To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:12, 14, NIV)

Paul says " you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them." (Ephesians 5:8-11, NIV)

The Light! He has shined on us. Open your mind, your heart, your life to Him and let in His brightness.

This is a word from the Word, a promise for you, for me.  "The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble." (Proverbs 4:18-19, NIV)

 (Video of this blog at this link)

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Father, as the morning dawns bringing new challenges and opportunities

help us to stand where Your Light shines,

to enjoy the revealed Truth that comes to those who love the Light.

Shine in us, let Your radiance be seen in us.

 

And, in this may we find the riches of Life you offer and enjoy the promise that is for those who walk

the pathway of those who know and love You.

In the Name of the Light of the World, I pray.

Amen.

Gifts

Christmas is Gifting, right? God gave us His Son, we give to each other … Billions$ of goods!  When I was 12 I got a ‘field car’ for Christmas. For the non-farmers among us, that was an older car that a kid could drive around the fields and farm roads.  That old Plymouth provided hours of great fun. Yep, it was one of the most memorable gifts in my life. Last year a friend gave me a photo/slide scanner that has given me hours of enjoyment reviewing and digitizing hundreds of old pictures. It is a great gift.  But the best gifts are not those wrapped in bright paper under the tree.  Here are some thoughts on gift giving.  I wrote these thoughts a long time ago and I think they are worth repeating.

There is the CHEAP giver.

He is driven by one goal - buying something, anything, that satisfies the imperative for gift giving -while spending as little money or energy as possible. My one question to this person is - "Why bother?" You have missed the meaning of Christmas entirely. Save yourself the effort because the person who receives your 'gift' will only be obligated to write an insincere 'thank you' note!"

There is HURRIED giver.

With hummingbird-like rapidity, she darts from store to store, grabbing this and that, checking off the names on her list. Obligation, not love, is the primary motivation for giving, so most any gift will do. Just get it and wrap it up.

There is the "PAY MY DEBTS" giver.

This person foolishly believes that with one gift, usually an extravagant one, he can make up for thoughtlessness or offenses piled up during the year. Yes, it is particularly a 'man' thing! Men are much more likely, according to published reports, to overspend to compensate for misdeeds than women. But, the truth is, no single gift can erase a year's worth of inattention or emotional distance. This gifter is in for disappointment!

There is the "I'D SURE LIKE THAT" giver.

He buys things he would like to receive and presents them to others! His gifts are often very nice, but they don't 'fit.' Why? Because, his gifts are not thoughtfully chosen with the recipient in mind. Even his 'giving 'reflects his preoccupation with himself.  I love tech gifts. What do you like?  Are your gifts about you or the receiver?

Having trouble finding a gift for someone on your list? Relax and think about who they are, what they need, and how you can express love in a language they'll understand. It will come to you!

Be a gift-giver who says - "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU" I give you of myself.

This is the heart of Christmas! This person thinks carefully about the tastes, the needs, the personality of the person for whom he is getting a gift and, after a careful search, prepares a gift that he presents with no strings attached. This kind of giving reflects what the Bible says, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35, NLT)

Remember that we give to celebrate a GREAT GIFT, one that God gave to us. "God so loved the world (you could insert your name in place of 'the world')that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16, NIV)

God's Gift to us was -
costly,
prepared from eternity,
based on our greatest need, and
shaped by love!

What a gift!

The word from the Word  says-
"Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself.
A pure gift.
He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be.
And he did it by means of Jesus Christ." (Romans 3:24, The Message)

(Video of this blog at this link)

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Angels we have heard on high

Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o'er the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains

Gloria
In excelsis Deo
Gloria
In excelsis Deo

Shepherds why this jubilee
Why your joyous strains prolong
What the gladsome tidings be
Which inspire your heav'nly song

Come to Bethlehem and see
Christ whose birth the angels sing
Come adore on bended knee
Christ the Lord the newborn King

See Him in a manger laid
Whom the choirs of angels praise
Mary Joseph lend your aid
While our hearts in love we raise

Edward Shippen Barnes | James Chadwick

Words: Public Domain

Listen!

 

 

The babble of the world wearies me sometimes… endless talk, multiple opinions, predictions of gloom, accusations, mindless chatter.  Apparently I am not the only one who gets tired of it. Last night at Awana (children’s Christian education) the teacher of the large group session closed her lesson by asking for the lights to be turned off and then she told the children of elementary school age to sit quietly and listen for God’s voice.  I thought to myself, “This is going nowhere. These kids are too young to appreciate an exercise like this.” I was wrong!  They actually sat in silence, not fidgeting. In a few minutes when the lights came back on, Juanita asked them about the experience. One child said, “I liked the quiet. It was peaceful.”  Several chimed in to agree.

We could learn something from those kids, I think. Turn off the television, the podcast, the streaming music from whatever device you have … and listen for the Spirit’s voice. Richard Foster, author of the Celebration of Discipline, writes of the practices that help us to open our hearts and minds to God’s work, to let the Spirit form the life of Christ in us. He offers this insight. "Our Adversary majors in three things: noise, hurry and crowds. If he can keep us engaged in "muchness" and "manyness," he will rest satisfied.

This Advent season I encourage you to make time for contemplative prayer, to sit and listen, to quiet your heart and mind so that the voice of the Spirit can be heard.  Make time? “Jerry, I have a thousand things to do for the holidays. Shopping for gifts, cards to mail, decorations to finish, parties, gatherings, travel plans.”  And, in all that, what if you miss the important things because you are consumed by the urgent matters?  

We are made to worship and we will give our devotion to something or someone. Habakkuk, the preacher of old, warns of substituted idols of our own making for the living God. It is unlikely that you or I will carve a stick of wood and make a god of it. However, we may give our ‘worship’ to our work, giving our highest devotion to making a buck. Or we may turn our children into our gods, passionately serving their needs, seeking significance through them.  Or we may worship our own image, carefully giving much attention to looking good before the world in which we live.

But, these are ‘dumb idols’ that will not save us from ourselves, nor are they capable of guiding us to the life we are made to live.  So the preacher asks- “Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it? Or an image that teaches lies? For he who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak. Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’ Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’ Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it.”  NOW, note his prescription for real worship -  But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.” (Habakkuk 2:18-20, NIV)

The Almighty One is present, even if not perceived. He reigns even when not recognized. We do will to learn to put our pride aside, to silence the endless noise of our lives, and to LISTEN.

Will you do it today?

Will you invite Him to be your true, living God, the Spirit who gives you life?

Jesus invites us to come confidently, even if we are not skilled in prayer or meditation. He speaks.

The word from the Word reminds me of His majesty. It is Isaiah’s record of a divine encounter. Be inspired.

"I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:1-5, NIV)

(Video of this blog at this link)

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I Saw The Lord

 

The place was white as snow

And pure as finest gold

It had the look of new

It had the look of old

I felt like I was home

But felt so far away

In fear I thought to leave

But felt the urge to stay

 

Then a silence fell

Like none I'd ever known

I stood among the millions

I stood there all alone

His face was like the sun

His eyes were like a sea

His voice was like the thunder

Rolling through eternity

 

And I saw the Lord

He was high and lifted up

And rightfully adored

I saw the Lord and He saw me

 

Then from sleep awakened

I looked into the night

The darkness overtaken

By a bright and shinng light

I couldn't understand it

I couldn't reason how

Then my eyes beheld Him

I wasn't dreaming now

 

Dallas Holm

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