God’s Light

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!

Light for Our Path

/ pastorpete51 / 14 Comments 
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105 KJV

For those of you who do not know, our daughter-in-law Melinda has been battling with ovarian cancer over the last two and a half years. Melinda recently finished her third round of chemotherapy, but after experiencing severe back pain she was admitted to the hospital over a week ago. After many tests, the doctors discovered that, the chemo had weakened the bone structure of her back leading to a fracture. Then this Tuesday, they did surgery to stabilize it, and also took a biopsy while they were in there. Yesterday the report came back positive for cancer, and we would appreciate everyone’s prayers for Melinda. Sometimes during these last two weeks it has felt like we were, wandering in a dark cave, with no assurance of finding a way out. But during my quiet time this morning, I came across today’s verse, and it occurred to me, that the writer of this Psalm may have also been facing a dark situation and like us, was looking for a light for his path. Imagine the joy they discovered when they found that what they needed was right in front of them, in the Word of God. During the dark and lonely times in our lives it is easy to be attracted to things like sporting events, parties, or social media in an effort to distract ourselves. But the Word of God is the true light and always available. Any other light is at best only temporary, like a flashlight whose battery is nearly spent, it soon flickers and goes out. None of us knows how long the darkness we are facing will last, but we can depend on one thing. The word of God is a light for our path, and no matter how long our night, it will shine on and on!

God knows that we can’t generate that light within ourselves, instead He wants us to run to His word, where we can find there an inexhaustible, immeasurable power source. In the darkest places of our lives, His word will shine, and not only for our own path, but also for the pathways of those around us whose flashlights are already going dead.

Photo by Simon Migaj on Pexels.com

Prayer: Father, help me not to look to the temporary lights of this world, but to completely rely on Your Word, because it is a light that no darkness will ever be able to put out!

A Little Sunshine at Watermark

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16 NIV

Watermark Assisted Living is a beautiful five-star place, and of all the facilities I have visited in three different states, it is by far the nicest. But in spite of the fancy sitting room, the delightful ice cream parlor and snack bar, it is still a lonely neighborhood. Some families do visit their loved ones, but the many rarely have a guest. Sometimes, I puzzle over the abandonment of our older family members, neighbors and friends we worshipped with at church. Maybe it all comes down to the feeling, that a long term care facility is a dark place. The loneliness is suffocating, even for visitors. No children play outside, no mail carrier, whistles through the hallways dropping letters and packages. There is no corner barbershop nearby or a place to grab a slice of pizza and sit for a quick lunch with a friend. Everything here seems stiff, artificial and professionally friendly, and yet, God has not forgotten. God has not abandoned. God is walking through their neighborhood and He asks us to walk with Him. In today’s verse, Jesus commands (not suggests) that we let our light shine before others. Now, we know that the source of that light is Him, yet we who are followers of Jesus, have both the honor and the duty of carrying His light to places that are dark. We don’t need to feel sufficient, strong or radiantly cheerful to let His light shine. We only need to trust Him and do what He asks. The amazing and unexpected miracle is that when we do this, not only will we shine a light for others to see, but it will light our own pathway as well! I hope you enjoy this hymn, which was a favorite of our youngest, when he was coming with me to nursing homes, forty years ago. Every time I sing it, I hear his little voice and see his big smile as he would clap his hands and sing about how Jesus with the sunlight of His love makes all our darkness flee!