Tag: light

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Let There Be Light

Daily Reading

2Corinthians 1-4

Daily Thought

Light remedies darkness, and in the beginning, “darkness was over the face of the deep, and God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:2-3). But there is another kind of darkness, a darkness in the heart of humanity, for “people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil” (John 3:19). Our world is veiled in darkness, explains Paul, because “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2Corinthians 4:4).

The Apostle Paul recalls how the face of Moses shone when he descended from Mt. Sinai, “because he had been talking with God” (Exodus 34:29). Moses had been on the mountain forty days and forty nights, and so bright was the glory on his face that he wore a veil to dim the glow. “But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed,” writes Paul, “and we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2Corinthians 3:16, 18). 

When I was a kid, my brother and I would shut our bedroom door, turn off the light, and play catch with a rubber, glow-in-the-dark ball. But first you had to get the ball to glow. The longer and closer we held the ball near the light, the longer and brighter it would shine in the darkness.

“You are the light of the world. Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” ~Matthew 5:14, 16

Stay close to the light because God’s answer is still, “Let there be light.”

Daily Prayer

My God, Your light shines in this dark world and reveals what is good and pure and right. May my life be a reflection of Your glory. The more time I spend in Your light, the brighter I glow. May my life shine in such a way that people know I have been in Your presence. May Your church do Your works in this world so that You are known and loved and followed.

Amen

Daily Question

In what ways can the world see Jesus in the way you “glow”?

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Nick at Night

Daily Reading

John 3-4

Daily Thought

John, the writer of this gospel, makes much of darkness and light, “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil” (John 3:19). All people love. What matters is what you love, for in this you determine who you are. Nicodemus “came to Jesus by night” because he was part of the darkness, “a man of the Pharisees, a ruler of the Jews (John 2:1). Here stood Nicodemus at night, and from the darkness, he approached the light. 

Nicodemus began with a mixture of flattery and curiosity, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him” (John 3:2). Before he asked his question, Jesus cut him off and answered, “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Still dark, and Nicodemus said so, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” (John 3:4). Jesus continued, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). That did not help. Nicodemus still could not see. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14). That made no sense whatsoever to Nicodemus, but he kept listening. Dawn was approaching and he kept listening. 

Then Jesus said it, that most famous of all Bible verses, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). And the light began to shine.

We meet Nicodemus again, twice. Once when the Pharisees gathered to condemn Jesus. Nicodemus argued, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” (John 7:51). Like he had done. And finally, at the cross, when “Nicodemus, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight,” to bury his Savior and King. He did not know yet a resurrected Jesus, but it was daytime now, and Nicodemus walked in the light.

Daily Prayer

God, there is so much evidence of You. Everywhere I look screams of Your wonder and majesty. How can I doubt? How can I walk away? How can I chase other gods? You are the Creator, the Everlasting God. In You I am done searching. You are my God.

Thank You for turning on the light. I can see again. I now know why I am here and what is ahead for me. I am a citizen of the Kingdom of God. What fear I in this world when I know the King and the King knows me?

Amen

Daily Question

How did God turn on the light in your life?

Posted on

Let There Be Light

Daily Reading

2Corinthians 1-4

Daily Thought

Light remedies darkness, and in the beginning “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). But there is another kind of darkness, a darkness in the heart of humanity, for “people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil” (John 3:19). Our world is veiled in darkness, explains Paul, because “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2Corinthians 4:4).

Paul remembers how the face of Moses shone when he descended from Mt. Sinai, “because he had been talking with God” (Exodus 34:29). Moses had been on the mountain forty days and forty nights, and so bright was the glory on his face that he wore a veil to dim the glow. “But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed,” writes Paul, “and we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2Corinthians 3:16, 18). 

When I was a kid, my brother and I would shut our bedroom door and turn out the lights and play catch with a rubber, glow-in-the-dark ball. The longer we held the ball near the light, the longer and brighter it would shine in the darkness.

“You are the light of the world. Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” ~Matthew 5:14, 16

God’s answer is still, “Let there be light.”

Daily Prayer

My God, Your light shines in this dark world and reveals what is good and pure and right. May my life be a reflection of Your glory. May my life shine in such a way that people know I have been in Your presence. May Your church do Your works in this world so that You are known and loved and followed.

Amen

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Turn On the Light

Daily Reading

Proverbs 7-9

Daily Thought

When you speak sin aloud, when you describe it accurately, the glamour fades. We prefer the secrecy of darkness; wisdom turns on the light. She knows what is going on, “For at the window of my house I have looked out through my lattice, and I have seen among the simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense” (Proverbs 7:6-7). She knows what you are up to, why you are where you should not be, “passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house” (v 8), and when you should not be, “in the twilight, in the evening, at the time of night and darkness” (v 9). She knows the tempting way of the wicked, “I have spread my couch with coverings, colored linens from Egyptian linen; I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. For my husband is not at home” (vv 16-17, 19). And she knows you, “All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter” (v 22). 

She called you an ox. Wisdom does not flatter like that other woman, “the adulteress with her smooth words” (Proverbs 7:5).

Daily Prayer

My God, Creator of all, Author of good, Wise Judge, Loving Savior, I live this life for an audience of One. You are the crowd, it is Your applause I long to hear, “Well done good and faithful servant.” May my life be a reflection of Your grace and goodness. May I at all times be concerned for Your reputation, not my own. If I say I love You with all my heart and soul, mind and strength, may my words be backed up by my life.

Amen

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The Way It Is Supposed to Be

Daily Reading

Exodus 28-29

Daily Thought

“So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the Lord” (Exodus 28:29). The Hebrew high priest sacrificed daily offerings to God, a routine reminder of the way it is supposed to be.  

We become accustomed to the way things are.

In the movie Grand Canyon, a car breaks down in a bad part of town, and five hoods threaten a tow-truck driver doing his job. “Man,” says the driver, “the world ain’t supposed to work like this. Maybe you don’t know that, but this ain’t the way it’s supposed to be. I’m supposed to be able to do my job without askin’ you if I can. And that dude is supposed to be able to wait with his car without you rippin’ him off. Everything’s supposed to be different than what it is here.”

The work of the priests presents the difference, “And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty” (Exodus 28:2). For glory and for beauty, the way it is supposed to be. The way it was in Eden; the way it will be in the “kingdom come, your will be done” (Matthew 6:10).

This is the call of the Christian in this world, to be “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1Peter 2:9). To follow Jesus is to be a marvelous light, a reminder that this life is not the way it’s supposed to be, a beacon displaying something better, something good, something glorious and beautiful, that “they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God” (Exodus 29:46). 

Daily Prayer

My God, my Father in heaven, Creator of all that is, what a wonderful world. The world you created; not the part my sin has spoiled. Deep inside me, your image, the memory of eternity is buried. Thank you for uncovering it. Thank you for sending your Son to show what was, what is, and what is to come. You are God, the beginning and the end. Sin is messing with the middle, but you sent a Savior.  

God, made in your image, I shall reflect your glory. Forgive me, because I fall short. Teach me to walk in your ways, so others will see the way to You. Change me, dress me up, make me holy for your glory, displaying your beauty, your handiwork, proclaiming your excellencies, reminding the world that this is not what it is supposed to be, pointing the world to your kingdom come.

Amen