Welcome the light

The more we experience light, the harder it becomes to tolerate darkness. This is true in every area of our lives. Get up in the middle of the night, when darkness abounds, then try to avoid hitting your toe on the furniture if there is not even one hint of light to guide your way. You stumble around, hands held outward groping for something to guide the way. Then there comes a bit of light - it settles our anxiety, helps us make out what has been hidden, and helps us 'navigate' with safety. Light is perhaps not essential, but the more we experience it, the more essential it becomes!

God is light, and in him there is no darkness. So if we say that we share in life with God, but we continue living in darkness, we are liars, who don’t follow the truth. We should live in the light, where God is. If we live in the light, we have fellowship with each other, and the blood sacrifice of Jesus, God’s Son, washes away every sin and makes us clean. If we say that we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, God will forgive us. We can trust God to do this. He always does what is right. He will make us clean from all the wrong things we have done. If we say that we have not sinned, we are saying that God is a liar and that we don’t accept his true teaching. (I John 1:5-10)

When that light is Jesus, the more we experience his light, the more essential our relationship with him becomes! Darkness isn't going to thrill us any longer - we won't desire to tolerate the things we once found we could 'grope our way through'. We will want light to be shed, perhaps only dimly at first, but then with the full brightness of his presence. Why do we desire to be free of darkness? It holds things that harm us. It creates a sense of fear within us. It creates 'images' out of lurking 'darker things' that we don't fully comprehend. So, we desire light.

Light sets things right. It dispels the myth that what 'lurks' in the darkness will harm us. When light comes into our spirit, the things that once hid in the darkness no longer have a hiding place. They are exposed for what they really are. In the night hours, that looming bookcase may take on the image of a giant monster, but in the light of day we see it for what it really is - a home for books. Light helps make the things that we imagine to be real evident for what they really are. When we trust God enough to give us the light we need, we are relying upon a light that will never go out. 

Light brings hope, dispels fear, opens our understanding. When we welcome light into our lives, we are actually asking darkness to flee. Just sayin!

Fuel comes in many forms

Desmund Tutu said, "Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness." We can see all manner of darkness, but we don't see clearly in that darkness, do we? We are enveloped by its heavy shadow, but we can push back that shadow when we bring light into that dark place. Someone once said we can either be a candle or the mirror that reflects the candle - either way, we are pushing back darkness. We may not feel like it, but our very presence on this earth brings light into some very dark places.

Lord, you provide the flame for my lamp. You, God, turn the darkness around me into light. (Psalm 18:28)

God provides our 'flame' - we reflect his light. There is much to be said about having the 'right fuel' for our fire. You could start a fire with a gallon of gasoline, but it isn't all that safe because it has an explosive power. You could start a fire with a mirror, but it isn't reliable unless you have the brighter light of the sun to reflect in that mirror. You could start a fire without any light, but the friction required to start that fire takes a toll on an individual. We need God's 'fuel' for our inner fire, but we also need it for the fire that is aimed at impacting a very dark world around us.

Fuel comes in many forms. I have discovered you can get camp stoves that burn with propane, butane, or kerosene. You can gather matches, wood, and kindling to create a fire. You might even be able to use fuels such as paper, wood shavings formed into 'logs' of sorts, or even dried animal dung. While the latter doesn't seem like a good option for 'fuel', it works, nonetheless. We might not see the fuel used as some can be odorless and colorless. We might not observe the qualities of the fuel at first, but some burn longer and brighter than others. Whatever the fuel, it has a purpose. Whatever the fuel God puts in your tank, it has a purpose!

The whole purpose of light is to turn darkness into light. The whole purpose of fuel is to keep the fire ignited. Without the fuel, there is no ignition. Without the ignition, there is no fire. Without the fire, the darkness remains. Since God gives us the fuel and his Spirit ignites it within us, isn't it about time we use that light within to push back some of the darkness around us? Just askin!

Pushing back the darkness

Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark. (Rabindranath Tagore)

I say this because all of God lives in Christ fully, even in his life on earth. And because you belong to Christ you are complete, having everything you need. Christ is ruler over every other power and authority. (Colossians 2:9-10)

If Christ lives in you, all of God lives in you - you are complete, lacking in nothing you ever need, full of power and might. Now, how many of us are actually living like we believe that? Most of us would cop to a plea of living somewhere below that mark, believing instead in the things that give us worry and stress as a bit more powerful right now. As Tagore said, 'faith is the bird that feels the light' even when the darkness around you hasn't been pushed away entirely by the light. We might just need to ask God to reveal himself in the darkness so it can be pushed back entirely!

If Christ rules over every power and authority that exists, why do we worry so much about things we don't seem to have control over? Perhaps it is because we think WE need to be the one to be in control, living with a courage that really isn't part of who we are in a natural sense. We are faced with bills we cannot pay right now, so we fret, lose sleep, and look for a second job. We extend ourselves beyond what God intended for us to be extended physically, impacting how we feel emotionally and then wonder why our spiritual life is not 'holding us up' any longer. Truth be told, we are neglecting that while trying to figure out how to be our own life's power and authority!

When we welcome Christ into our lives, he becomes the ultimate authority. Like it or not, we must relinquish our 'control' to his ultimate power and authority. We really weren't controlling life well anyway, so how hard should it be to give over control? It is hard for us to admit we are 'not dealing well' with life's challenges, but we hold on to the edges of our sinking ship like it will save us. That 'sinking ship' is really a bunch of 'plans' we made that didn't really 'pan out' all that well. To hold onto those plans is to trust our lives to an anchor, not a life raft!

We would do well to recognize that all power and authority comes to us in the person of Christ. The more we let go of our need to control things, the more we will recognize the futility of the anxiety of working our own plans. It won't be easy to let go, even though the ship is sinking. We might not see our deliverance immediately, but we can trust God's promises. His Son lives in us, therefore his power lives in us. The very thing we need to overcome the darkness that seeks to invade our souls is present within us. Maybe we just need to let his light push that darkness away until we see clearly what we need to do right now. Just sayin!

Done in by what is brought in

We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God. (2 Peter 1:18-21)

Sometimes we hear or read the same passage time and time again, thinking we already know what it says. The times we 'discount' what God has to say to us in any passage of scripture are times we miss out on God showing us afresh what he has to say, or somehow revealing something we might not have discerned when we were exposed to that same scripture earlier. Either way, we miss out. God's 'ask' of us is that we 'pay close attention' to the Word of God - each and every time we read it, hear it, or recount it from memory. Why? It is powerful - it gives us light, pushing back darkness in every aspect of our lives.

No prophecy in scripture is of 'man's own understanding'. In other words, those words we find in scripture aren't there by accident, or because someone thought they'd make a delightful story for our reading pleasure. They are there 'on purpose' - because God wanted them there for our learning, protection, and encouragement. Do we have confidence in the Word of God - that it is inspired by God, recorded by human hand, but divine in its integrity? If we don't, we ought to! God's Word isn't trivial - it contains promises to bolster our faith, instructions to protect us from devastating sinful acts, and wisdom we didn't even know we'd need.

If you read the Word of God on a regular basis, you may not be aware of how much the 'light of God's Word' is pushing back the 'darkness of Satan's lies' in your life, but it is. There is no more powerful weapon than the Word of God. It does more than just 'stay' the attack - it dispels it and has Satan on the run! Light pushes darkness away - it repels darkness. You cannot bring light into a dark cave and have darkness remain. Wherever the light goes, darkness dissipates - it is 'done in' by the light you 'brought in'. So, bring in a little light today and see just how much the darkness is 'done in' by what you 'bring in'. Just suggestin!

Dressed, Ready, and Alert

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. (Ephesians 6:12-13)

If you haven't realized the innumerable forces standing against you, it is likely you've 'felt' their influence all around you. Unseen, in the periphery, and right there in front of you - the forces exist, are at work, and are constantly looking for any opportunity to call into question your faith and trust in God. Why? They don't like your determination to follow Jesus. You are a threat to them, so they want to make you think they are a threat to you!

Every piece of armor has been provided so we stand stronger than any attack they bring. Everything we think they have to use 'against us' is nothing more than them fighting against us with NERF guns! We have the Word of God to dispel all manner of untruth they fling our way. The breastplate of righteousness is ours because in Christ Jesus we bear his protection over our heart. Feet shod with the Gospel of Peace - making all we stand upon secure and certain. We take up the shield of faith, knowing God's protection outweighs anything the enemy can hurl our way. Our minds are protected by the helmet of salvation. The Spirit of God is like a sword to cut down all manner of attack against us. 

What does the armor do? It helps us to 'resist'. It doesn't keep us from attack, but it prepares us to be ready and able to resist the attack. We can withstand the actions and effects of evil all around us. The darkness still exists, but we aren't overcome by it because light dwells within. There is no better 'prep' for our day than to spend time with Jesus. It is like we are 'putting on' that whole armor of God as we do. Be more than an armor-bearer. Be an armor-wearer. Just sayin!

An open invitation

Jesus spoke to the people once more and 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)

If you were in a dark room and someone offered to turn on a light for you, would you just continue to stumble along, feeling your way around obstacles, risking bumping into things as you did? It is likely that you'd accept the invitation to have light brought into the room because you don't like stumbling aimlessly! Obstacles abound in life - many of them of our own making. Why would we choose to just stumble around in the dark, running into those obstacles repeatedly, when we are offered light to help us avoid them completely?

Jesus offers us light - light that dispels all manner of evil in our lives, pointing out obstacles and stumbling points so we don't run into them needlessly. Yet so many refuse to allow the light in. It seems to me that we get a little too used to this idea of 'feeling our way along' in life, not really wanting to give up our 'control' over our steps - even if there are unseen obstacles in our path. It is that stubborn rebellion that keeps us going around in circles, never really making much progress. Light has been offered, but we find the offer 'isn't the right time', or 'it might not be as good as I want'. 

The one who accepts the invitation to come into light and move away from darkness isn't assured there will be no obstacles at all, but at least we have an awareness of their existence and God's help to avoid them completely! Following someone in the dark is kind of like the blind leading the blind. Jesus never offered to lead us in darkness - he only offered to lead us in light. We might not think it is the right time to be 'led', but if we want true freedom, we follow! This might seem a little like a contradiction to some - follow to know freedom instead of just going whatever way we please.

The invitation is open. You can either accept it or continue to stumble around in your own darkness. The risk of following isn't nearly as great as that of stumbling around in the dark! Just sayin!

It is dark in here

Imagine being surrounded on all sides, enemy forces about to tromp on you, fear mounting, despair permeating every fiber of your being. You may not realize how 'dire' the circumstances really are, but you know something has happened to change the course of 'good times' in your life. We all get there on occasion - sometimes by our own doing. We choose to compromise our lives with some 'little sin' that really isn't 'all that big'. Then we wonder why we find ourselves with mounting pressures and attacks. Truth be told, that 'little sin' let in a dump truck load of other temptations you might not have wanted to entertain, but now they are there. In those times when the pressures seem to be closing in, keep in mind one very important fact - God has not forgotten how much you need light in your life!

The Lord will bring me into the light, and I will see his righteousness. (Micah 7:9)

Sin has a way of creating 'dark places' in our spirit, affecting our bodies, and disrupting our thought life until we feel like there is likely no way out. Remember this - with God all things are possible - there is always a way out. We may not readily see it, nor do we have a clue what got us where we are right now, but God does, and he will walk us through those dark places if we give him the chance. The nation of Israel was facing much conflict, rulers within their nation were even a bit corrupt and not following the Lord as they should have. The pressures from neighboring territories were mounting and war was always imminent. How much pressure do we have to be under before we realize we need God's grace to get us back to a place of light again? If we are anything like Israel, we may need to go 'through' a few battles, feeling a bit 'beat up', before we finally acknowledge we have walked down a wrong path.

What we can never forget is that God stands at the ready to dispel darkness - to deal with sin, then to bring restoration to the sinner. God doesn't like operating in the realm of 'punishment', but sin has a way of beating us up. It is a consequence of wrong choices. Grace is the blessing of right ones! Restoration begins at the point of confession, but we must remember that confession is more than an acknowledgement of sin. It is a starting point for repentance - the turning away from that which brought the darkness in the first place. Just sayin!

A vacuuming lesson

Do you think God wants to judge anyone 'guilty' as they stand before him? If you know anything about scripture, you will know it is quite the opposite - for God "did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him." (John 3:17) God's greatest joy is to receive us each into his great big family through the work of his Son, Jesus. If we desire to be free of guilt, we only need ask for that gift!

The Light has come into the world, but they did not want light. They wanted darkness, because they were doing evil things. All who do evil hate the light and will not come to the light, because it will show all the evil things they do. But those who follow the true way come to the light, and it shows that the things they do were done through God.” (John 3:19-21)

When we ask for light, we receive it and so much more. Grace comes in waves upon waves. Aren't you glad that grace is limitless? How is it that grace begins to do more than just remove our 'guilt' and 'shame'? Grace brings a new way of living - a new way of making choices - not for us, but according to God's will. How does God change our life from dark to light? By giving us the light that never goes out - the light that illuminates every area of our life, making it impossible to bury any of our guilt or shame any longer.

Grace has a way of digging up our guilt, bringing it to the surface so the light can finally take it away. As I was vacuuming this morning, I found if I kept the lights off in the room, using the very bright light on the vacuum to illuminate the path of the vacuum, I saw all the pieces of dirt that had been hidden with the other light on in the room. It took getting light close to the 'dirt' to actually expose it! Sometimes we may not feel all that comfortable having light shown into our 'darkest spots', but if we want to actually be rid of the 'dirt' once and for all, we may have to let God's light get closer to those areas than we might like!

Darkness, or even a dim light, has a way of concealing much that really needs to be dealt with, but remains a bit too well hidden. We might feel more comfortable with the dim light, but God wants us to have the brightest light possible - his Son! That way we will be able to be rid of the dirt that just serves to muck up our lives. Just sayin!

Shedding a little light

 “This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is.” (John 3:20-21)

I have to say there are a lot of 'dark places' where people can find their 'hideout' within these days. The unfortunate reality is that although they think they are hidden from the light, light has a way of dispelling ALL darkness. It may not seem like it, but there are 'runners' in this world - those who do their very best to live independently and without thought as to their eternal future. To those who run I have one thought today - what is it you are really running from? Is it that you fear trusting anyone other than yourself because someone has violated your trust so badly you have declared you will never trust again? Is it that you fear having to 'give up' the things you love to pursue if you become a 'follower' of Christ? Admittedly you will 'give up' some things as you become a follower, but if you will indulge me on this one - the things you 'give up' are nothing compared to what you 'get' in return!

The reason so many choose to live independent of God is because they want to 'live their own way'. I have had a look around at our world today and I am the first to admit - I don't think that plan is working too well for a very large percentage of people! Independent choice is something God gives each and everyone of us. Why? He doesn't want puppets, he wants participants. Individuals who are made up of thousands of unique personalities, all coming together to seek the light. If that doesn't paint a picture for you this morning, let me elaborate a little. When ten people are in a room, seated in different places throughout the room, all the lighting being on, do they see things differently at all in that lighted room? Of course they do because each has a slightly different vantage point from which they are taking in the room. So it is when we come into this relationship with Christ - we don't all become clones of each other. 

God allows us to retain our unique personalities so that we will help each other see his tremendous world from various vantage points. Living in the light doesn't mean we all have to see things identically - we just need to realize light exposes truth and exposes untruth. We don't need to argue over the fine points of 'religion' - because Jesus never called Catholics, Methodists, Protestants, or Jews - he called believers. He called hurting, messed up, and even sick people - into the light so the light could expose and heal. Light isn't to be feared - it is to be felt and embraced - for light doesn't expose to bring harm, but create health once again. Just sayin!

Dustpan and broom or dust blower

Have you ever moved a piece of furniture only to be mortified by the huge volume of dust bunnies collected under it? I have and let me tell you - I had no idea how 'out of control' they had become! What allows the dust bunnies to collect? Isn't it the darkness? We don't see them, so we don't think about them. They were covered by something that allowed them to 'get out of control'. In the darkest places, they could multiply unnoticed. Furniture now moved - they are exposed. They have to be dealt with now, don't they? We don't just push the object back over them and ignore them - we break out the broom and dustpan, the mop and pail, or the vacuum. They have to be gone before we move anything back into that space. Is any wonder that sin can get a bit out of control in our lives when we ignore those dark places where it can multiply unnoticed?

God is light, pure light; there’s not a trace of darkness in him. If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth—we’re not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin. If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—simply come clean about them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we’ve never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God. (I John 1:5-10)

When we 'enter into' relationship with God, we are entering in light. What has once been 'covered over' by heavy stuff isn't covered any longer. There is no longer a place for those 'dust bunnies' of our selfish or foolish pursuits to exist and multiply. Sin must be exposed because pure light is revealing it - there are no hiding places where pure light exists. Not a trace of darkness can be found in relationship with Christ Jesus - only places of light - places of hope and health in our inner man. We no longer stumble around in the dark, hoping none of our 'dust bunnies' will be noticed. In fact, God takes special care to move all that stuff out of the way that has become 'hiding places' for our sinful deeds - foolishness is about to be 'swept up' and no longer 'swept under the carpet'.

I admitted I have dust bunnies - that is the first step to getting them cleaned up. If we want to actually enjoy a life free of sin, we need to admit we have some places where light hasn't actually been able to penetrate for a long, long time. It is time to 'move the furniture' in our lives so light can actually do its work of exposing. Then we have to allow the broom and dustpan to begin the work of removing the debris that exists in those hidden places in our lives. If you want to liken the broom and dustpan to something 'spiritual', you might think of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. Each do their work of rounding up those 'dust bunnies' in our lives and ridding us of them once and for all. 

Have you ever used a yard blower? One thing I noticed about those objects is the extreme amount of force they exert to move the objects in front of them. Leaves go flying and dust is raised in wafts all around the one using that device. In truth, all it does is leave the dust in a brand new place! It never really removes the dust - it just upends it from where it was and moves it to a new location. How silly would it be to use a dust blower in our homes? We might have a crumb free floor in the kitchen, but did it remove the stains from dribbled coffee? We also now have crumbs in the living room because they had to go somewhere - they didn't just disappear! I don't know about you, but I want those crumbs gone, not just moved. Just sayin!

Abandoned Not

It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. 

(Aristotle Onassis)

Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life. (James 1:12)

Think about one of your 'darkest moments' right now. Maybe it was quite some time ago, or perhaps you are just coming out of that place right now. What did you experience as it started, went on for what seemed like an indefinite period of time, and when it finally ended? If your moment hasn't completely ended, you might just learn something from those of us who have seen the end. The darkest moments of our lives are a time of intense focus - they 're-center' us, don't they? There are hard feelings to endure through those times, and even some awful troubles that we have to overcome, but what we all have in common as we walk through these moments is there is no absence of hope as long as we take Jesus by the hand and allow him to bring us through.

Notice I said he would bring us through - not out of in an instant, but in the endurance of the dark moments - he walks with us through them. We meet the challenge and we only manage to 'stick it out' because we have him taking us through step-by-step. Days will seem darker than ever and our emotions will feel like they are about to do us in as we 'go under' for another round of what seems like unending tests and trials, but in that darkest place of emotional upheaval his hand hold tightly to ours. Leading, guiding, never letting us go into that darkness alone - never abandoning us to our grief, despair, or depression.

Our emotions will attempt to convince us otherwise, but God never abandons us in our darkest places. In fact, he is the ever-beckoning light that is breaking through time and time again when we seem to be 'going under' for who knows how many times. Sticking it out when all we feel is like we are going under again is hard for even the most dedicated believer - sticking it out alone is even harder. When we are going through those darkest moments it is easy to draw back, pull in, and be like snails secure in our own little shell of emotional turmoil. This is not going to help the 'darkness' because that shell only creates more darkness for us!

What we need more than anything in the darkest moments when our emotions are crushing us from the inside out is each other! We need that friend who will not allow us to slip into that darkness, feeling abandoned and all alone. That friend who will remind us we don't walk alone - spiritually and physically. God is with us spiritually - they are with us naturally. Did you ever stop to consider why Jesus didn't just call one disciple? He called twelve because he knew in the darkest moments when they would question everything they knew to be true they would need each other to remind each other of the truth! 

So, the lesson we most may need to learn from the darkest place may just be that we don't stand alone - even when we might believe our emotions that tell us otherwise - we aren't ever abandoned by God and he has provided those around us who will help us rise from the pit once again if we don't retreat from their help and strength! Just sayin!

Light is about him!

Everyone who does evil hates the light. They will not come to the light, because the light will show all the bad things they have done. But anyone who follows the true way comes to the light. Then the light will show that whatever they have done was done through God. (John 3:20-21 ERV)

I had almost missed the tiniest bit of truth in this passage this morning, but after reading it again, I caught it! What WE do isn't really us doing it when we are moving toward the light of God - it is him DOING within us whatever it is that is done in and through us. Little steps toward light are called obedience. All steps into the realm of obedience are making it possible for God to be working in and through us - it is us yielding to his love and trusting his direction, but it is him working in us through and through.

There are times when we all can observe evil around us - maybe even a little bit of it dwells in each of us on occasion, if we were to be entirely honest here. Evil intent and action on purpose is one thing - evil that comes out of us because we are feeling a little selfish at the moment, or hurt about something we had hoped would turn out differently is another. God is still in control of our lives and is drawing us back into the light - we just need to turn back toward him and find that the evil is soon dispelled by the light we begin facing full-on. Evil cannot dwell in the presence of light for it requires the realm of darkness to spread like wildfire.

Light has a way of drawing people in - unless evil is the intent of the heart. Whenever evil is at the core of a man's heart, light is a repulsive thing because it brings exposure. To move from darkness into light is possible, but it is not always comfortable to those who have made "evil actions" their pattern of life for a long time. Once light begins to become the "comfort zone" in which we live, we find that more and more of Christ comes through in all we do. Why? Because it is him working in us!

We can thank God for the light, but we can also thank him that it is him working in us while we are drawn into and living inside that light. We can count that he will do good things - dispelling all manner of evil within us simply because in the presence of diving light, evil has no home! Just sayin!

The road will darken...

Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens. (J. R. R. Tolkien) If our path is easy, well-lighted, and the journey is without much effort, it is likely we will see it through till the end. When our journey is harder than we expected, riddled with dark places and hard problems, and the demand upon both our energy and drive is beyond what we have left to give, we might want to give up or turn to a different course in life. One will get us somewhere, but will it yield the same strength of character?

He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him. 

(Proverbs 2:8 NLT)

Sometimes all we have to hold onto in the midst of dark places is the faithfulness of God in the face of our desire to just turn tail and run! God doesn't abandon us in the dark places - he is there to turn on the light switch! As a child, we may have been frightened of the darkness, experiencing all kinds of imaginary "monsters" come alive in the images portrayed on our mind's "big screen". Mine were those who lived in the bathroom, coming deep from within the churning waters of the toilet, somehow there to steal me away in the darkness of night, but never there in the day. What is it about the light that makes the same path seem so much more "do-able"?

I think it might just be the evidence of what is seen. Even when we see the hugeness of the issues before us, in the light we can begin to bring them down to size. In the darkness, we don't fully comprehend their size, making it easier to imagine them as giants in our path which will never be removed. Where light exists, the "hugeness" of the issue is brought down to size! Where God's presence resides, there is no ability for imagined giants to alter our path or change our course!

Light comes in various ways. On a dark winter's night, when clouds abound and winds howl, the subtle light from the moon hidden away beneath their layers, the blackness of night seems deeper and darker, doesn't it? In the fullness of the moon's glow, the shadows cast in the darkness show us the things in our path are still there, but they aren't as much of an obstacle for us because we have a general knowledge of their presence. Yet, even in the darkest of places, we can have the teeniest hint of light, coming from the places of depth within us, hidden away for such a moment as the one we face at that moment. That teeniest of light sparked by the Word of God that took hold perhaps many, many days before begins to break through the darkness. In that tiny ray of light comes hope and courage and peace and renewed purpose.

This is why God tells us to hide his word deep within our hearts - because he knows we will need that light at some point where darkness invades and obstacles abound. He knows we will cower in fear without that glimmer of light - but oh when it comes forth, the fear vanishes and the shadows cast away make it possible to step out again in faithful abandon to the truth that will guide us through. Just sayin!

You riding a bicycle or tricycle?

Ruined lives surround us no matter where we live.  People start out well, but somehow through a series of misadventures and wrong turns, their lives end up in a state of shambles, almost like falling down shacks.  Along the way, they may have heard advice to not take a certain path, or to turn away from what they were pursuing with such earnest.  In ignoring the warnings, they compounded their misfortune and increased their speed of decline.  Now, at the bottom of the pit, they live with nothing more than regrets and the constant wondering of the "what if".  The worrisome part of their decline into the pit is the possibility of them having blamed God for the decline - for putting them in the pit.  In reality, it was their failure to heed warnings, to turn away from their self-directed pursuits.  Why is it we blame God when things end in ruins?  He isn't a God of "ruin", but of "hope", "possibilities", and even "impossibilities".  

People ruin their lives by their own stupidity, so why does God always get blamed?  (Proverbs 19:3 MSG)

Scripture is quite plain, no matter which interpretation or version you consult - people ruin their lives by their own decisions, actions, and self-directed paths. On the other hand, people do not really "improve" their lives - at best, we can do a little self-help regimen which might create a different set of circumstances for ourselves for a while, but true life change only is accomplished by the indwelling of God's Spirit in our lives.  Try as we might, we cannot change ourselves.  Scripture calls following our own path "foolishness" or "folly".  It ends in disaster, defeat, and decline - in other words, the bottom of the pit!  What seems good at the moment results in a "pay-out" much worse than we counted on.

Self-directed lives have a natural "flaw" - they are directed by emotion and reason (two quite unreliable sources of direction for our lives).  Yesterday, we spoke about the importance of man's three parts - body, soul, and spirit.  As we explored those three aspects of our being, we discovered man needs the spirit to bring balance to the things "sensed" in the body and "experienced" in the emotions, rational intelligence, etc.  Relying upon one or the other exclusively (body or soul) is definitely leaving us at risk.  If man relies upon how he interprets life simply by what he "senses" with his body - sight, smell, touch, hearing, etc. - he will lack the help of the intellect and emotion to "interpret" what he is sensing.  On the other hand, if he relies solely upon emotions to give him insight into right choices, he may miss the importance of how emotions are affected by our senses.  Body and soul walk side-by-side - but they still need a "third wheel" to give them balance much in the same way we need a third wheel on a tricycle!

A bicycle is like relying upon the body and soul - we can go places, but we may lack the stability of balance.  Adding the third wheel to the bicycle makes it a tricycle. If you learned to ride one of these, you know you didn't have to work hard to keep yourself upright - the third wheel assisted us in balancing without much effort on our part.  In the same manner, the spirit is the place of balance in our lives - the place of connection with God.  I realize this is an over-simplified illustration, but when we begin to recognize how the Spirit of God influences our spirit and brings us to a place of "reliable balance" in our decisions, we become less reliant upon our own abilities to remain upright and moving forward (like we have to when riding a two-wheel bicycle).  The "third wheel" is not added to the back, but to the front.  Think of the body and soul as being those two back wheels on the tricycle - the spirit is the front wheel. As the wheel out front, when it is connected with God's Spirit, it is free to help direct our path, steering us around obstacles, and keeping us from ending up in the pit!

We may not always make the best decisions in life, but it is good to know that we have been given every resource to change those decisions and to see new outcomes.  As we connect with God's Spirit, our spirit is energized, made alive, and we can begin to see the influence of his "balance" in our daily decisions.  We may curse the place where our body and soul allowed us to end up, but we cannot accept that God put us there.  No pit is so deep he cannot rescue us from it - no despair so dark he cannot bring light into those dark spaces.  How?  Connection with his Spirit in our spirit.  Just sayin!

Groping in the darkness

Have you ever been in a fog so dense you could barely see your hand out in front of you?  Or maybe a snow storm so intense you could not make out what was ahead because it was so obstructed by the intensity of the flakes falling? Or perhaps a dust storm so dark you felt enveloped by the darkness?  If you have, then you probably know how totally inadequate you felt making any kind of move - you just didn't want to venture into the unknown because of the potential harm which might be right in front of you, but be totally unrecognized.  Even when the storm finally passes, the fog clears, the dust settles, it is quite possible things will appear differently.  The dust leaves this huge layer of sandy substance over everything, in every crevice.  The snow changes the once recognizable things into mounds, but conceals what is underneath.  The fog leaves moisture which weighs down even the strongest of plants.  What is missing in most storms is the light!  In the midst of the storm, light is not our major focus - it is the "murkiness" the storm creates, isn't it?

You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You’re out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it! The good, the right, the true—these are the actions appropriate for daylight hours. Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it.  (Ephesians 5:8-10 MSG)

Murk is nothing more than darkness or gloom.  Paul tells us of two conditions of the body, mind, and spirit - one without Christ (dark and gloomy); the other with Christ (full of light and filled with actions of the light).  We have a tendency to "grope" in the darkness, don't we?  We "feel our way" - blindly searching.  This is what it is like to attempt to live godly lives apart from the grace of Christ within - at best, we "feel our way" through, but we all know the dangers of just living by what we "feel", right?  Living by what we feel leads to doing things just because we "feel" like it, and putting off others just because we don't "feel" like it.  The dependence on living by what we feel produces less than stellar results!

The passage above plainly states we are no longer groping - we don't have to rely upon feelings any longer.  We can experience a new freedom of movement in Christ - because he is light and where he is, there is light.  Our ways become plain - the need to "feel our way through" no longer is the best plan!  Three things Paul challenges us with in this passage - get on with the good, the right, and the true - actions appropriate for the light!  Don't miss the fact he is drawing our attentions away from the tendency to just not "try" by directing our attention to us taking actions - actions which are appropriate for the light - figuring out what will please God and then DOING it.  So, in contrast to being in the dark, where we take very little action because we are afraid to, he challenges us to begin to  take "appropriate" actions now that we have the light within.

* Actions which are good.  Whenever we think of "good" actions, we usually equate them to positive outcomes, don't we?  These type of actions are usually profitable in some way - they produce some type of advantage to the one taking them.  When we begin to save for the first time, laying aside only a small amount each month begins to add up.  In time, we see the action as advantageous and as profitable to us, correct?  The same is true when we begin to take actions which are virtuous, morally correct, and of such worth they cannot be denied as "good".  The actions are "sound" - they are reliable. If you have ever taken any action which was unreliable, you know how "uneasy" it made you feel.  The "soundness" of the action was the issue - it was unreliable.  So, if we are to change the actions we take, we must change the focus we have toward them.  All growth is incremental - but all growth occurs because action is taken.  The first times we spend reading the Bible may not seem very "good" - they don't seem beneficial or profitable.  But...in time, when we least expect it, the Word returns to us - specifically when we need it.  The action we took was profitable!  It produced something reliable in our steps. 

* Actions which are right.  This is the point when we begin to evaluate our judgment and see if it aligns with the light within.  We often make "judgment calls" - stepping out without really knowing for sure - because it just seems right.  Not every path is clearly marked out for us.  Sometimes we just need to make "good" judgment calls.  We can only do this when we begin to operate in the realm of learning what is virtuous, morally correct, and of such supreme worth as to be pursued in the first place.  When we begin to "adapt" to the light within, we soon find our "judgment calls" begin to align with what is good.

* Actions which are true.  A better word to use here is possibly actions which are authentic.  When we begin to take actions which have a sound foundation because they are based on the light of Christ within us, we begin to take actions which are a little less phony - they are authentic.  As a storm begins to clear, don't we still have a little bit of a hard time seeing things with clarity?  We have to allow the light to break through the dullness caused by the storm, don't we?  A huge sea of emotions is at work within us - leaving us in a mess of a storm at times.  In the midst of the storm, the best actions we take only mimic purposeful actions - but at best, we are just groping our way through.  Emotion-based actions are unreliable - they often don't reflect what is "true".  They often are not authentic - we are simply going through the motions because it is what is expected of us.  Light has a way of exposing our authenticity, doesn't it? 

Authenticity is based on having become acquainted with what is right and good - what is reliable and profitable; what is best.  When we say something is the "genuine article", we are attesting to its reliability as being authentic.  It is not "artificial" or "generic".  This is what light has the ability to do within each of us - it challenges us to move from being "artificial" to being "authentic"!  Light has a way of exposing our actions - actions which are appropriate for the light have a way of displaying themselves as the "genuine article".  Don't know about you, but I am tired of groping in the darkness - time to allow the genuine article to be exposed and then to see what light can do.  Just sayin!

Spotlight on...Spotlight off

"I am the world's light.  No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness.  I provide plenty of light to live in."

(John 8:12 The Message)

Have you ever stumbled around in the darkness, stubbing your toe on something in your path that you knew perfectly well was there, but you just were "disoriented" by the darkness and ran into it anyway?  I think we might all have had that experience at least once in our lives.  With our toe throbbing, tears welling up in our eyes, and our original intention for being up in the dark lost in all the pain, we dance around and around bemoaning our pain.  Why were we walking in the dark anyway?  It is usually some silly reason, like we thought we could find our way without the light!  Ummm....how's that working for ya?

If there is one thing that I have come to conclude in my life thus far it is that I don't do so well stumbling around in the "dark" when it comes to the spiritual side of my life.  I may make every effort to live "right", being obedient as "well" as I can, but guess what...I get my spiritual "toes" stubbed a whole lot!  The problem about trying to make a "go" at obedience without God's help is pretty much like walking in the darkness when our path is riddled with all kinds of things that stand in our way of safe passage!  

Jesus made us a promise.  Plain and simple, it is that he PROVIDES light.  Not just "some" light, but PLENTY of light for us to live IN.  Okay, if you missed those emphasized words, let me hit them again.  It is his PROVISION of light that we have been given - we do nothing to "turn that light on" in our lives - it is already there.  We just have to use the light we are given to avoid the pitfalls that leave us hurting!  

It is MORE THAN ENOUGH light for the road we are on.  His light in our lives is not limited to just one area of our lives - it is like a floodlight that illuminates the entirety of our lives.  We often don't want that much "light" focused on us, so we try to hide some of the stuff in the corners hoping it won't be exposed to that light.  The fact is - light exposes.  We hit our toes a whole lot less when we allow that light free access into every area of our lives!

It is a light that we must LIVE IN.  It is not like a theatrical spotlight, step into it and perform a little, then step out of it and think we won't be noticed for what we do when we are out of it!  We LIVE IN it 100% of the time!  That is why God says nothing escapes his notice.  The light of Christ in our lives really keeps us humble - it keeps us from being one way on the surface while we are acting another way deep down inside.  When his light is allowed free access to every area of our lives, we may still not be entirely obedient, but when we are not, there is an immediate evidence of that disobedience.  We call that conviction and we want to run to God with it, or else we will deal with guilt and shame for a long time.

Jesus is talking to the Pharisee religious leaders of the day.  Whenever I think of what the Pharisees acted like, here is my little way of remembering:  A Pharisee lived a life that said, "I am pretty all right by the things I do and the things I don't do!"  It was kind of like saying, "I am a FAIR - I - SEE".  They saw themselves as okay in God's eyes, working to be right with God by the things they did or did not do.  To that, Jesus says, his followers have all the light they need to know exactly how to live and how to avoid the things in life that will trip them up - no set of rules and interpretations of rules were going to do that!

The fact is that we get "tripped up" in life - we call that sin.  We only "trip up" because we don't use the light we have been given.  It is kind of like walking around in the dark, fully aware that there are things in the room that will hurt us when we run into them, and doing it anyway!  When we choose to use the light we have been given, we call that obedience.  So, the choice is ours - either we use what we have been given, or we walk in the dark hoping to avoid the dangers.  Hopefully, as we grow more accustomed to the Light of Christ in our lives, we won't want to be without it so often!  The more we use what he provides in his Word, his teachings, his Spirit, and others he places in our lives as mentors, the more we become accustomed to being "in the light".  

So, the follower of Christ need never be in the dark about life.  The light we need is right there for our taking.  Sometimes, all we need to do is ask Jesus to make it a little brighter!  We don't step in and out of the "spotlight", performing one way in the light and another out, with any great satisfaction.  In fact, we usually find that we get pretty fatigued with being one way when we are "on stage" and another when we are "off stage".  If "spotlight" living has been your tendency, perhaps you need to ask Jesus to turn on the house lights!  You might see what you have been missing!