light of the world

Sunlight at Sunshine

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

…I am the light of the world. If any man will follow me, he will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of light.” John 8:12 ESV

On Saturday we had a wonderful meeting at Sunshine Christian Village. The folks who came were a mix of residents in the assisted living building as well as others from the independent living apartments. What is unique about Sunshine is the extent of responsibility that the residents take in spiritual matters. Whether it is their weekly chapel meetings on Sunday afternoon or the monthly prayer and praise meetings which I help out with, the people themselves set the agenda. No matter health issues, or small doctrinal differences, they are commited to serving Jesus and others. How I wish I could see that in other places. The song which I opened with this week was “Sunlight -Sunlight” and it has been a favorite of mine for years. “No matter how dark the world may be there’s sunlight in my soul!” I hope that this far less than professionally recorded hymn will shine a ray of sunlight on your path today!

Don’t Forget the Flashlight!

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments 
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

Having lived on the central Gulf Coast of Florida for several years, we used to laugh that we had never seen the iconic Sunshine Skyway bridge, even though it is only twenty miles South us. So, on my birthday last year, we planned to drive over the bridge, stop at a nearby park for a picnic, and take oodles of photos. But a storm by the name of Ian set its sights on our area the day before our big plans. The Skyway bridge was closed, and we evacuated to an inland location. That night after we settled in, we heated up a frozen pizza and prayed for safety and God’s blessing on my birthday dinner. Then about halfway through the prayer, the lights flickered out and we found ourselves in total darkness. I learned that night, that the suitcases of supplies we had brought along to weather the storm, were nothing compared to our flashlight!

Jesus said, that if we follow Him, we will never be left in the dark, and that little flashlight that saved our dinner that evening gave me a great appreciation for what He meant! But Jesus never promised that we would have a blindingly brilliant light. He simply said that if we choose to follow, then He will always give us enough light to be able to walk with Him. Sometimes there are spiritual storms that come our way even more unexpectedly than Hurricane Ian. But if we keep our eyes on Jesus – The Light of the World – we will never be left in darkness. So as the tropics heat up this Summer and storms start to head our way, be sure you remember the flashlight!

The Candle – The Wick and the Flame

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. John 1:5 KJV

Our Sunday night prayer meeting had been dismissed and we were beginning to greet one another, when our friend Judy hurried over to the pastor with a question, “Pastor Kevin, I’m not leaving here until you explain the Trinity to me!”

I groaned inwardly and whispered quietly to my wife, “Looks like we’re going to be here a while!”

But Pastor Kevin just smiled and said, “No one can explain it perfectly Judy, but think of a candle, a wick and the flame. The candle is the source of everything, the wick draws the wax up and the flame is what people see in a dark room.” I relate this story for those who like Judy, struggle to understand the Trinity. Entire denominations have separated themselves from the rest of the church over this issue, with some even going so far as to consign the rest of us to the dark side for our belief in a God who is three in one. But we may never sort it all out and demanding to do so is no more helpful than chopping up the candle, helps us understand the flame. Maybe the candle of God burns to draw us closer, so that our hearts will be set aflame with the love of Jesus Christ. When He becomes our candle our wick and flame, then God flow through us to others, so that He will shine in the darkness till day that Jesus returns!