Eternal Light 5th January Read: Revelation 21:22-26 “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.” Revelation 21:23 (NIV)
Last year, my husband and I travelled around Europe for 8 weeks driving about 7,000km. We stopped a couple nights in Helsingør, Denmark. Kronborg Castle was built in Helsingør and situated on the most northeastern tip, and you can see Sweden from it. Kronborg Castle was made famous in William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet where it was referred to as Elsinore. This castle dates back to the 1420s where it was built by King Eric VII. What made this an incredible castle to walk through wasn’t the beautiful rooms and the unrestored tower that you could climb, but the incredible casemates (the tunnels and chambers in the walls/ramparts which housed prisoners and soldiers for many centuries).
Down in the tunnels is a statue of Ogier the Dane who sleeps there until he is needed to protect Denmark. We wandered through these tunnels lit only by oil lamps and arrows guided our way. The darkness was so intense at times, and you could picture prisoners and soldiers living only in the darkness. Compare this to the vision of John in Revelation 21:23. This is the New Jerusalem, which never has darkness and doesn’t need any lamps to light the way to guide through darkness because God’s glory is so bright. All the nations will be guided by this light and there is no need for castles, ramparts, casemates or places to hide or attack any enemies, for there will be no enemies. All nations will live in peace and light. What a glorious place to be.
God has prepared this place for us; a place of peace and joy where we will only experience the love of a loving God who shines His glory and presence over everything. There is no need for gates, for all have constant access, security and safety. John had this vision of heaven given by God – no darkness, no pain, no sorrow, no suffering, no war! Until we get into this eternal light and love, let us shine out our lives into a world that needs God’s light. Heaven will be something we can never imagine – it will be incredible!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for giving John the vision of an amazing place f illed only with your light that I can look forward to. You are the source of everything good. Amen
It’s All About Light 4th January Read: 1 John 1:5-9 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7 (NIV)
Night and darkness can be terrifying. How many of you either had a nightlight when you were young or put one on for your children/grandchildren? There is something about not being able to see that makes our imaginations go wild. I remember as a child lying in bed paralysed by fear from a noise and picturing all sorts of monsters in my room. Disney Pixar made a movie about this, and it was released in 2001 – ‘Monsters, Inc’. ‘Monsters Incorporated is the largest scare factory in the monster world, and James P. Sullivan is one of its top scarers.
Sullivan is a huge, intimidating monster with blue fur, large purple spots and horns. His scare assistant, best friend and roommate is Mike Wazowski, a green, opinionated, feisty little one-eyed monster. Visiting from the human world is Boo, a tiny girl who goes where no human has ever gone before. The city’s power supply is provided by Monsters, Inc., a utility company that employs monsters to scare children and extract energy from their screams. This is considered a dangerous task since the monsters believe children to be toxic and touching them would be fatal.’ [review by rottentomatoes.com] At the end of the movie the monsters work out that instead of scaring kids, the monsters now make them laugh which gives off much more energy than screams, saving the city, Monstropolis.
What they thought brought power (fear) is replaced by something even greater (joy). Being in the light of Jesus brings joy. In the beginning, God gave us both the light of day and the darkness of night – they both have a purpose for living.
But even though darkness can be scary, there is no reason to fear it, for the Creator of the world, God, is also there. “…even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.” (Psalm 139:12 NIV) Walk in the light of God and live in His joy. Joy in the Lord brings power in a darkened world. It’s all about living in the light of Jesus!
Prayer: Lord God, let me live in your light-filled world surrounded by your love and grace. Take away my fear of the dark places, for you are also there with me guiding me through to your light. Amen
Transformational 3rd January Read: 1 Peter 2:9-10 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)
I recently went to a four-year-old’s birthday party. There was food galore, balloons, piñata, games, lots of children and parents and of course presents. The presents varied from slime, Lego, toys and games, but the favourite of this little four-year-old was a plane that transformed into a robot. He could run around with the plane, but then he could make it come alive and walk as a robot. You may have seen these toys, they are known as ‘Transformers’ and are some sort of normal car, truck, plane that turns into a robot with other powers. Children seem to like the idea of something changing into something else.
I like the idea of being transformed by God. In 1 Peter, above we are given a small glimpse as to how God has transformed us. In our baptisms, God washed us clean from all our wrongdoing and even though we are human and keep doing wrong, we can keep coming back to God telling Him we have blown it again and we will be forgiven. It is sort of like being a normal type of car that we keep driving around in, but when God enters our lives through the Holy Spirit we are transformed into His “…chosen people”. As it is written in 1 Peter 2:10, “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
Before we were baptised, we were living in the darkness of sin, but with God entering our lives, we get to be brought into His wonderful light. It’s an amazing transformation that only God can perform. We get to now live in this light and love of a loving Heavenly Father.
When a person is brought to know Jesus and God’s love, we can picture God like a four-year-old running around rejoicing with the angels that another has been brought into His light and Kingdom. It is important to thank God and sing His praises for we now belong to God. Knowing God is transformational!
Prayer: Almighty God, thank you for bringing me out of darkness and into your family. Help me to be open in sharing how you can transform lives through the Holy Spirit. Amen
Father of Lights 2nd January Read: James 1:17-18 “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17 (NIV)
I remember when younger watching ‘I Dream of Jeannie’. I was captivated by this 2,000-year-old genie, Jeannie, who lived in a bottle and could grant wishes to whoever looked after the bottle. She was discovered by an astronaut, captain Tony Nelson, whom she ended up falling in love with. Overall, there were 139 episodes of this from 1965-1970 and re-runs have been played repeatedly. If you have never seen this show – it is a lot of fun! Sometimes people treat God like a genie; you pray to Him and He grants wishes. Unlike a genie, God is the Creator of the world, He is the ‘Father of Lights’ creating the sun, moon and stars, but is also the source of everything that is good, true and pure.
Unlike the stars, sun and moon which shift into darkness or change, God is eternally consistent in His faithfulness and in wanting the best for all His children. So therefore, “every good and perfect gift is from above.” In this gift giving, was the greatest gift humanity could ever receive; the gift of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who suffered pain and death, but whom God raised on the third day to overcome all darkness.
We now live in the glorious light of the resurrection receiving eternal life with our Heavenly Father. God is generous and good and only good things can come from God. It is our sin and our humanness that causes things to go wrong. We then rely on God’s grace to set all things right again. “How great are God’s riches! How deep are his wisdom and knowledge! Who can explain his decisions?
Who can understand his ways? As the scripture says, “Who knows the mind of the Lord? Who is able to give him advice? Who has ever given him anything, so that he had to pay it back?” For all things were created by him, and all things exist through him and for him. To God be the glory forever! Amen.” (Romans 11:33-36 GNT) Our Lord never changes with His love for us!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, you are the Lord of all creation and the ‘Father of Lights’ producing everything good and right for the world. Thank you for your gracious gifts and your goodness to me. Amen
God’s L.E.D. Light New Year’s Day (1st January) Read: 2 Timothy 1:7-10 “This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” 2 Timothy 1:9b-10 (NIV)
In 1960, the first low-powered LED lights were developed. But in 1968, they were developed commercially by Howard C. Borden and Gerald P. Pigini and put into a Hewlett-Packard product. LED is an acronym for Light-Emitting Diodes. They have become more popular in use as they are more energy-efficient (often 75% less), long-lasting (can last for tens of thousands of hours) and versatile (comes in a variety of colours, shapes and sizes). Electricity passes through a small microchip which causes it to glow brightly and are cool to the touch. I like to think that God’s light is L.E.D. – Lighting Extreme Darkness!
He is also our Light-Emitting Diode – energy-efficient (God loves us unconditonally), long-lasting (eternity), and versatile (for all people everywhere). God sent Jesus to earth, which had been planned from the beginning of the world, no one just knew when. The Old Testament foretold the coming of a Saviour, but until it happened in a blaze of light from heaven, no one believed it! Jesus came to earth in a burst of light from the angels and in all the pictures of nativity scenes we see the light from the star (which led the wisemen), shining brightly on the manger. I love the brightness that surrounded the birth of Jesus. Jesus came to an earth filled with the darkness of sin, and hope lay in the acceptance of sacrifices. Jesus became the sacrifice for our sin and brought hope to a darkened world.
His sacrifice paid the debt of our sin and unworthiness once and for all and we can now approach God directly and receive His love and forgiveness without question whether we are good enough. Today is the beginning of a New Year.
Treat this year as a new beginning to work on your relationship with God – read about Him in the Bible and get to know Him better. Make some new resolutions to grow your family in a new life with Jesus! Jesus is the light of the world, and He brings transformation in people’s lives. Grow in the LED light – Jesus Lights Extreme Darkness!
Prayer: Jesus, you brought light to my life when I was brought to you in my baptism. Shine your light into my heart and help me to grow deeper in my knowledge of you. Amen.
Kingdom of Light New Year’s Eve (31st December) Read: Colossians 1:9-14 “… giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” Colossians 1:12 (NIV)
It is New Year’s Eve. What are you doing tonight to celebrate the passing of the old year and the beginning of the new year? Last year my family walked down to the Noosa River, with hundreds of others and watched the fireworks burst over the Tewantin Marina. To get to the river we had to walk along some unlit paths through the nearby bush. It was dark! We took torches, but one of our sons said to not put them on and let your eyes adjust to the darkness. It is amazing how eyes do adjust to try to take in as much outside light as they can. The above verse talks of the Kingdom of Light, and the opposite is mentioned in the next verse as the “…dominion of darkness”.
Paul in Colossians tells the believers in Colossae that through their learning and knowledge of Jesus they are being brought from darkness into the kingdom of God’s light. It is here that they will find forgiveness, love, acceptance and all the promises of salvation. In Jesus coming to earth, God sent His love through His only Son. He gave His Son to the world and allowed Jesus to live and become a human. (We celebrated His birth to a human family at Christmas). In Jesus living in the world, He became one of us, but He never let the darkness of sin be a part of His life. He was God’s Son, holy and righteous.
But our sin affected Him in then choosing to die for us and our salvation that we may live in the light. Jesus took the darkness of the world (the dominion of darkness) away from us. He made us clean so that we now live only in the light of God’s love. Sometimes we may feel that we can’t see God, or that the darkness around us is too dark. Let your eyes adjust and pray for God’s light to show the way – God’s light can shine through any and all darkness. The Kingdom of light is where I want to be.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for not allowing me to stumble in the darkness, but that you bring light and love into my heart and life. Let me shine that light out brightly so others can also find their way. Amen
Candlelit Candelabra 30th December Read: Ephesians 5:8-14 “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light…” Ephesians 5:8 (NIV)
In 1991 I spent five months nannying for two children in Monmouth, Wales. I went from teaching year five in Mt Barker to looking after a 3 ½ year old and nine-month-old. They were children needing a lot of love and attention and I had them from 7am to 7pm, six days a week. The family was very generous, and I was invited to all family occasions. It was an old house, couple hundred years old, with six bathrooms, many bedrooms and a round staircase complete with a ghost I was told. For special occasions dinner was held in a total electricity-free dining room only lit by a large suspended candlelit candelabra. It was magical with the play between the darkness and the light cast by the candles. Before electricity, candles and oil lamps were needed to produce light in the darkness. If attention was not taken to keeping the candles lit and the oil filled, you could find yourself in darkness.
Darkness is sneaky and tends to sneak up on the unsuspecting. The vigilant housekeeper in Monmouth oversaw keeping the candles lit. If the candelabra went out, candles on the table needed to be lit. Darkness is scary, and to be in the dark without a Saviour is even worse. In the Ephesians text in verse 9, we are told what the fruits are to be in our lives for living in the light: goodness, righteousness and truth. Paul tells us in the Bible passage that we are to not live in the darkness, for many sinful things are done in the dark. Rather we are to expose the evil and repent and bring it all into the light of God’s love and forgiveness where everything is visible.
God wants us to be His children who live in His light; knowing a loving, compassionate Father that we can come to at any time and be assured that we will be heard and forgiven. So, be open with your relationship with Jesus – tell Him all and don’t let the darkness sneak up. Be enlightened and live in the Light! Prayer: With you, my Saviour, there is no darkness, only light. Help me to be vigilant to keep my light burning and not let the darkness creep into my life. Guide me in your way! Amen
Shining God’s Light 29th December Read: 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 “For God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6 (NIV)
“In the beginning there was nothing, God said ‘Let there be light!’ There was still nothing, but now you could see it.” When on a Lutheran Youth Encounter Team in America, our team often had to lead ‘lock-ins’ – overnight youth sleepover in a church where they were locked in. There were games, pizza, study and discussion and a little bit of sleep! One of the favourite games for a lock-in was ‘Sardines’. One person went to hide, and everyone had to find them. When they were found, they had to hide with them, and it kept going until the last person found the whole group trying to hide in the same place all squished together. Torches were not allowed, and we had to keep very quiet. 10-15 people squished in one hiding spot were usually found – the noise was enough.
The faces of the youth shone with laughter and joy, and we had to allow time for our eyes to adjust to the light after being in darkness for so long. I enjoyed these games and the time to talk. Many times, there were some in the group who did not know who Jesus was, and spending time together grew the friendships and by the end you could see the light of the knowledge of Jesus shining in their eyes.
When we know Jesus and the saving love of our Lord and Saviour our face shows the glory of God. It shines brightly. There are many in the world living in darkness without knowing about Jesus. God said: ‘Let there be light’. We can relate this to let there be light in our lives and hearts enough that we shine out His glory. Sometimes it is much easier to hide especially in a group and not tell others about our faith. We hide in the dark with the others even though we know the truth about Jesus. Maybe it is time to find all those ‘lost’ in the dark and bring them into the light of Jesus.
We won’t need a torch – our face will show enough light! Hiding in the dark can be fun, but enjoying Jesus’ light in community is better! Prayer: Lord Jesus, let my face show and shine out to others the knowledge and love I have in you. Help me not to hide my light in dark places, but to shine it out for all to see. Amen
Proclaiming Light 28th December Read: Acts 26:19-23 “But I have had God’s help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen – that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise form the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles.” Acts 26:22-23 (NIV)
One evening, a man took a small candle from a box and began to climb a long, winding stairway. “Where are we going?” asked the candle. “We’re going up higher than a house to show the ships the way to the harbour.” “But no ship in the harbour could ever see my light,” the candle said. “It is so very small.” “If your light is small,” the man said, “just keep on burning brightly and leave the rest to me.”
When they reached the top of the long stairs, they came to a large lamp. Then he took the little candle and lit the lamp. Soon, the large, polished mirrors behind the lamp sent beams of light out across the miles of the sea. A blinding light brought Paul to acknowledging Jesus as God’s Son and then became one of the greatest evangelists sharing the Gospel and encouraging new churches and congregations in the faith. Paul had his share of difficulties: arrested, beaten, stoned, thrown into prison, shipwrecked, bitten by a poisonous snake and had a physical malady, his ‘thorn in the flesh’. But his faith in Jesus never wavered, even when he addressed King Agrippa in Acts 26. Paul shared the Gospel at all times and in all circumstances.
Even in times of difficulty and persecution, Paul told of his Saviour Jesus, hoping to bring more to know Him. In the above story of the candle, we also may feel that we are only just a little light in the big world, how can we make a difference. But we are God’s candle, and it is our job to keep shining. Just like Paul. The result of this shining is in God’s hands. A tiny candle or match can start a forest fire.
The little flame of your good example can change people’s lives without you even knowing. Be a light to them like the beacon in the story that guided ships to safe harbour. Shine brightly to others that they may see you and then give glory to God. Prayer: Dear Jesus, allow my small light to shine brightly that others can see you. Encourage me to grow through learning more about you and your love so that I can share it more confidently. Amen.