pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: light


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Living Like the Light

The prophets have long spoken of God in terms of light.  The Old Testament refers to the coming messiah as one who will bring light into the world.  In the transfiguration story we see Jesus becoming the ultimate light of the world.  The light grows from within Him until his whole form is dazzling and simply full of brightness.  To me it would be like looking into the sun – except that He is right there instead of 93,000,000 miles away.

As we come to know Christ and to grow into our relationship with Him, our daily walk is generally blessed and we are often happy and content.  But there are moments in each day and sometimes days when we seem to struggle with darkness and wrestle with the evils of temptation and sin.  But overall, life is good because ultimately our hope rests in Jesus and His saving grace.  Yet our reality is that evil and darkness do exist in our world.  Life can be difficult.  At times it draws close to us and at other times evil and darkness seem far away.  When we are tempted, evil has drawn near.  We also can find it in people we know and meet.  There are all kinds of dark things that people are struggling with.  For some, all seems dark for they have lost hope.  Yet none are beyond hope.  Nothing is outside of the love of Christ.  No situation is unable to be redeemed.

It is when we find ourselves in darkness or when facing down the evils of sin, that we can call upon the light of the world to chase away the darkness.  Just a quiet ‘help’ and He comes running.  Just a glance toward heaven and the light begins to grow.  The Lamp begins to glow, as a candle spreads light in the dark, and we can again see our way and we can find our hope and peace.  In turn we can also be the light that shines into other people’s lives to dispel that darkness and give light to their path.  We can each be a candle that illuminates.  As we grow in Christ, our light radiates out to bring light and love to a broken and hurting world.


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Taste and See

Isaiah 34:6-8:
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
He saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And He delivers them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.

These verses from Psalm 34 really stood out to me this morning. I especially like “this poor man called” and “taste and see that the Lord is good.” God loves us all equally, but He seems to have a special, soft spot for those in need. The need may be physical, emotional, or spiritual. We see this soft spot in Jesus too!!

In Matthew 5 we are called to be salt and light to the world. As salt we preserve and we flavor. When we are salt to others we encourage them in their situation and remind them that God loves them and will help them persevere. Salt reminds us to continue to hang on, to continue to lean into God. As salt we also challenge others to action – to get off the seat of complacency and to be a part of building the kingdom here on earth.

As light we both shed light into the darkness and also provide a way back into the life of faith. At times we are that light that shines into people’s lives who are lost in darkness or sin. We call them out of that life. At other times light means helping people to see God again. At times we all get lost or off track. As the light we are called to help people find God when they are having a difficult time seeing or feeling the light.

Many out there are in need of God. Many who are hurting physically, emotionally, or spiritually. When this poor man calls, may we be there to answer the call. May we be thereto be God’s hands and feet. May we be there so that they can taste and see that the Lord is good!!


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Shining the Light

 

At the end of the Beatitudes Jesus reminds us that when we share the light and love, we may be insulted, persecuted, and falsely accused. This mirrors what Jesus faced His last few days as he faced the religious leaders, Pilate, and Herod. Jesus chose to endure insult, persecution, and false accusation so that He could walk to Golgatha and bear death on the cross for our sins. In verse 12 He also reminds us why He walked that road – He knew that great is the reward in heaven!
When we chose to share the light and love of Jesus in our world, sometimes we cast that light and love into and upon the darkness that some people live in. And when we cast that light upon the darkness, sometimes people recoil and react. They respond by hurling insults, by falsely accusing, and/or by persecuting. But they have heard and seen the word revealed. The soil may be rocky and the seed will not bear fruit, but they have heard the word.

When we chose to endure the insults… we are also shining a light upon Jesus. They expect a reaction from us and when we make the choice not to engage, we shed more light. Others that do not recoil and react but have now seen the light and heard the word will be drawn both to these and to our non-reaction. This soil is a little more fertile so these seeds may begin to take root. For in being willing to model love and mercy in the face of insults, accusations, and persecution, we are modeling the Jesus that we seek to share with the lost and the broken in our worlds!!


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Boasting in the Lord

God does not usually choose the rich and the powerful to be His instruments in the world. He does not usually choose the strong and the influential. It’s not that He couldn’t or that He sometimes doesn’t. Sometimes I wonder ‘why not?’ but then I am called back to 1 Corinthians 1. Those on top tend to think that they got there themselves, through their own hard work, brains, … They would not necessarily boast in God. But there is another side too. For those hearing someone like this, we may also see them as part of the reason God’s work is being done, as if they were at least partly responsible. This is natural for those who are looked up to.

Yet when God chooses the weak, the ones who do not have, He chooses them so that when we see them do great things for God, we see it as all God’s work and might. We are awed that they are doing the work they are doing and we see God’s hands all over it. There is a second purpose in 1 Corinthians as well. When the low and without are able to do much for God, it shames the wise. It shames the strong. It nullifies the things that are. It makes them see God’s presence and action in the world. It draws them to it.

When an observer asks someone about what they are doing for God, a humble servant boasts in how God is present and is the driving force behind their actions. They acknowledge the fact that they could not do this on their own. The wisdom of God comes to them through Jesus and through the Holy Spirit. They find guidance, direction, and strength from the true source. He is their, and our, righteousness, holiness, and redemption. His is their all in all, so that when they boast, they boast in the Lord. Like them, may our inner light shine the focus back on the source of that light so that others may see and come to know Jesus.

PS – As I was walking this morning, I wondered how one comes to discern where God is leading or calling us to go.  It is hard to not make our path seem like His path.  We must seek His guidance with humility and openness and an honest eye, lest our feet may not be unpon the path that God has set before us.


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Light of the World

As followers of Christ we are transformed. We enter into a relationship with Christ and thereafter we are ever-changed and ever-changing. As we seek to follow the light of the world, we become light in our worlds. Isaiah 9:2 says “those walking in darkness have seen a great light.”

As we grow in our relationship with Christ we are surely changed on the inside. This process is one that should be constant and on-going. As Christians we are never ‘there’ because Jesus is always working to make us more loving, more compassionate, more giving… As we allow Christ to permeate our lives we see the world and those around us in new ways. We seek to share what Jesus gives us through acts of mercy, kindness, love, …

The people we encounter should see the light within us. This changes our relationship with them. As people watch us in action, they should either be lifted up and encouraged (if they are a fellow Christian) or they should be drawn to the light and want to know where this love of neighbor comes from. Our light begins to dispel the darkness in which they walk. Our light draws them to the light of the world – Jesus.

You never know what people will notice. Is it that you go out of your way to extend kindness and love to that person at work that no one else really talks to or wants to be around? Is it that you are willing to pitch in and give a hand even if it is not on your job description? As Christ grows in us, our light in the world grows. Allow your light to be that hook that dangles just in front of the fish, enticing it to come a little closer, enticing it to be caught by the love of God almighty!


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Being a Light in the Darkness

Isaiah 9:2 – “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” And in verse four these words speak out to us: “you have shattered the yoke that burdens them.”

Can you see yourself in these verses? Can you see someone you work with, go to school with, someone you encounter each day? Or it could be a person you meet for the first time ever! At times we all find ourselves on both sides of this reality. The passage and the light it refers to has often been seen as Jesus. But as we extend this passage and its ideas out into the time beyond the Old Testament and beyond Jesus, we are called to take up and be that light.

I want to ask you a question. It is the same type of question I asked the young people at Youth last night.

If you think back over your week, when and how were you the light of Christ to someone in your world?

Their question was actually about taking a risk for their faith. But when we step out and seek to make that difference in our world – one person at a time, one moment at a time (thanks again Keihwan Ryoo!) – we are often taking a risk. But when we do we rest assured that God’s grace always go before and that the Holy Spirit is always with us.

Today, yes – today, we will probably all have an opportunity to be God’s light to someone walking in the darkness. They may be dealing with an illness or there may be some other struggle going on in their life. They may be carrying the heavy weight of past baggage upon their backs. They may just have never seen the true Light. Today we can be that difference. It may be through your prayers, presence, gifts, service, or witness. It might even be a combination of these!!

As we go forth today, may we seek to have the eyes to see and the heart to love those in need. We may not be able to ‘fix’ everything for that person, but we can let them know we care and that God loves them and we can begin to point them towards that light. We can be the beginnings of hope in their life. Through the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit we can do much. Good luck fishing today!!

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ALL the Time!

“We share a common calling from God to bear witness in the entirety of our lives that Jesus is Lord of all.” In this line from the Upper Room “Disciplines” book, my favorite part is ‘in the entirety of our lives’. Not just sometime, not just Sunday morning, not just Wednesday night. But all the time and everywhere!

My second favorite part of this line is ‘Lord of all.’ Not just part of my life, but ALL of my life. In bearing witness to Christ, we can do so by words, by actions, by deeds… As people encounter Christians they should know that we are different. It should show up in all areas of our life and in all sectors of our life.

To do these two things, somtimes we must ‘count the cost.’ At times there will be a price to pay for choosing to walk the path of God. We may make choices that cost us friendships, popularity, position, and so on. But in reality, God is only asking of us what He in return gives us. He isn’t just with us some of the time, He is with us ALL of the time. We can’t just call on his name between 8 and noon on Sunday, we can call on His name anytime.

In closing I’d like to share part of the prayer from the same reading today and would encourage you to pray it instead of just reading it: “Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, for your peace and forgivenss and for making me new in you. Thank you for the many Christ-bearing witnesses you bring into my life and heart. In Your Spirit, Holy One, may I bear the light and love of Christ to others. Amen.”