God’s Light

Three Steps to Knowing God – Grace – Grace – Grace

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For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6 NLT

Back in 1976 one church organization launched a media campaign called, “I Found It.”, that included, T-shirts, buttons, and bumper stickers (I know we had one). Though well-intentioned, it missed the point that in fact according to the Bible, we don’t find God – He finds us. The prodigal son wasn’t lost. He knew exactly where his father lived, and when he came home, and the father commented, “He was lost but now is found,” meant that the father had restored the relationship by grace when the boy returned.

In today’s verse when Paul refers to the first words which God spoke at creation, “Let there be light!”, he didn’t mean that the darkness was searching for the light. In the same way, the Apostle Paul hadn’t come to Christ because he was searching for God, rather he was persecuting Christians. But then God shone a light so bright around him, that he fell to the ground and his life, and our world was forever changed. If we know Christ as Lord and Savior, it all began with God: not us. Yes, of course we had to respond. The prodigal had to repent and return; Paul had to humble himself and ask what to do next and we have had to take steps to obey Jesus. But before any of these things, God had to first speak a word, shine His light, and graciously welcome us home. All of this can feel immensely intimidating, because it takes things out of our control and confesses that it all began with God. But when troubles come, we fail or wander far from home, the love of God still shines in the distance. We have hope, to return to Father’s house, an action plan to follow and a glory to be found as we follow the light of the star of grace all the way to the feet of Jesus Christ!

This Little Light

/ pastorpete51 / 8 Comments 
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:15 KJV

One of my favorite old-time songs from church is “This Little Light of Mine. It reminds me of when our boys were small, and we lived in a tiny second floor apartment. One night my wife thought she heard a sound coming from the children’s room, and since our flashlight was buried somewhere in a kitchen drawer, she carefully worked her way through the dark in that direction. I half woke up as she got out of bed, but when I heard her voice suddenly pierce the night with “Oh! Oh!” she had my undivided attention.

“What’s going on?” I shouted sitting bolt upright, ready to rush to her rescue. By this time though the startled little scream had been replaced by peals of laughter. “You wouldn’t believe it!” Nancy said as she quickly slipped back into our bedroom. “I was standing in the middle of the kitchen, when a firefly lit up no more than an inch in front of by nose!” That tiny bug had everyone’s attention, not because of how impressive the candlepower of his light was, but because he chose the darkest place to shine it. With all the problems going on in the world around us we can easily get discouraged and feel like our little light won’t make much of a difference. But it just may be that God has called you to give just a little flash of His love to someone on the darkest night of their life!

The Lord is My Light

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom then shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1 KJV

Back in my hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania is a place called the Lackawanna County Coal Mine Tour. What makes it special is that it is a museum that is entirely underground. The only way to enter is to hop aboard a coal car, and travel hundreds of feet below the surface to where the miners once worked. To those of us who have never been in a mine, there are many interesting and amazing sights, but to me the most impactful was at the end of the tour. There, in the far reaches of the tunnel system we came to a large chamber, our guide unexpectedly came to a stop and then turned off all the lights. There in the pitch darkness he asked us to observe a silence moment and remember the miners, especially those who never made it out. Now, I have been in some pretty dark places, but in all my life I have never seen anything as black as what we experienced in that moment. It is very likely that as David was writing the words of today’s verse, he was hiding deep in a cave. Outside, as the army of King Saul was searching for him, with orders to kill him, David sat in inky blackness. But even in the darkness, David remembered how God had been with him all through the years. Whether he had faced a lion, a bear or a giant named Goliath, God had shown him what to do and David became confident that God would help him even in that cave. In that same way, God will be with us in our darkest places, when all other sources of light in our lives have been extinguished. So, let’s put our trust in our God, who had romised to shine around us, give us courage and strength and be our light forever!