Sunrise

Is Jesus the Light of Your World?

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 ESV

I rolled over in bed slapping at the alarm clock and then throwing off my blanket and sitting up. It was 4:45 a.m. again and time for me to begin milking the cow. I stumbled upstairs, found the milk bucket then filled the bottom few inches with warm water for washing the cow’s udder. Then I’d grab a clean cloth and step out the door with our cat  following close behind. At five a.m. no matter what time of year it was always still dark, but with the beam of my flashlight I could find my way; step by step across the dirt road to the barn where our cow Blossom waited for me.

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When we think of Jesus being “The Light of the World” we might picture him rising like the sun in the morning and making everything in life clear. But I think it might be a bit closer to those early mornings when I was crossing the road to the barn. When Jesus promise is that we won’t walk in darkness when we follow Him. It is as if He is holding the flashlight so that if we stay close to Him, it will shine ahead just enough for us to take our next step. We don’t need to know every twist and turn that lies on the road ahead. All we need to do is trust that Jesus knows the way and that He will lead us all the way to His Father’s house!

Wings of the Morning

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Forty five years ago we left the Christian commune where we lived which had slowly degenerated into a cult. Thankfully unlike other groups our leadership majored in booting people out rather than trying to force them to stay.  That morning we hurriedly packed our car with suitcases while squeezing our 6 week old son in between all the stuff in the back seat. A grey cloud of spiritual confusion surrounded me, but then God brought to my mind His promise.

If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;  Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. Psalm 139:9-10

That morning I wished that I had real wings so I could fly fast and far from my fears and disappointments. People I had trusted had misled me but on the other hand, I was young and foolish enough to follow them away from what I knew was right. Thank God that His love was greater than all my sins and stupid choices.

Looking back, I now can see that He has kept and led us all through the long years to heal and rebuild our faith. Over and over He has patiently shown what true humility and forgiveness we can find in following Jesus Christ.   People say that you can’t run away from your problems, but the good news is that God can fly faster than our problems! He always has a plan in place for us even when we don’t know what it is. When we fly away with morning wings we will discover that when we land on the other shore He is already there. In our darkest hour He reaches out His hand to lead us and then He takes in His arms and holds us through the night until the new day dawns.

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All The Things He Can

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During the last week of my Dad’s life I learned more from him than all the years before. The reality of God’s love reflected in his concern for my getting meals even though he only received his through a tube. He worried I was missing sleep at a time that he spent his night in the ICU. Most of all, dad loved having me and his nurse read the Bible to him. And that week he often quoted his favorite verse

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

Those last seven days with my dad along with his verse helped carry me through the sorrow threatened to overwhelm me with his death. Just after the death of Jesus it was the same for His disciples, His family and especially His mother. They hardly dared to recall the joy of those last three years seeing lepers cleansed, storms calmed and the dead raised. All that changed the night of the betrayal by Judas. That was followed by the arrest and false charges by the religious leaders. Finally the Romans sentenced Jesus to be crucified between two criminals and die a horrible and degrading death.

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But in the pre-dawn of hours of the third day everything changed. The stone sealing the grave had been rolled away. The women who came early to the tomb were met with men in white clothing who told them that the Lord was not there – He had risen. The bitterness and loss that they felt was quickly replaced by wonder and new faith as they encountered the risen Christ. Once we have invited this same risen Lord Jesus to rule our hearts we will discover that our lives are no longer defined by the many things we cannot do but by all the things He can!