Tag Archives: Light of the World

Who will turn on the light?

Who will turn on the light?

i have not written for Five Minute Friday in forever! As many of you know, I just had lumbar spinal fusion surgery of my L4, L5 and S1 two weeks ago. Somehow, I also picked up the shingles virus before I left the hospital (I am writing about that and hope to be done in a couple of days!) I am just now feeling like conversing, writing or just existing. So, my five minute post is a little long! I hope it is a blessing.

Twenty plus years ago, we had just returned from a trip, late at night, and I had put two of My Three Sons that I had at the time to bed. Kyle was just about seven and Kristopher was not quite two. Now, my neighbors knew we had been gone and that my husband was away for three months with his job and they were not expecting us for another day.

Enter Kristopher, The Mischievous One. I did not know he had taken the garage door opener to bed with him, sneaking it out of the diaper bag. I assumed he was asleep, you should never assume anything with Kristopher! He was not the least bit sleepy. He was busy standing in his baby bed, flipping the bedroom light on and off, on and off and pushing the button on the garage door, up and down, up and down until it stopped midway and just flashed its emergency button on and off.

Naturally, the neighbor called he police and you can imagine the rest or you can read it here. A pint-sized, blonde-haired and not quite two year old had created havoc with a turn of a light switch.

Had it been in the middle of the day, no one would have even noticed…except for the fact the garage door might have been stuck halfway. But at night?

That small TURN made way for light to pierce the darkness!

Light makes others stand up and take notice in the dark. People are drawn to the light, they respond to the light, even bugs flock to the light! (Except for cockroaches, who RUN from the light, but that could be an entirely different thought and post…)

Even Genesis tells us there was chaos until God spoke the light into darkness.

What is The Church if it is not Light in darkness?

Let us not be surprised at the events that we see taking place around us. The Bible tells us that all of these things must come to pass before He returns! It would be easy, as Christians, to get so caught up in the chaos that is happening in our world that we forget that those who do not have Light, who do not know Jesus, are waiting on us to help them. They are looking for hope, for an answer and they won’t find it if we are just harping and jumping on every bandwagon that comes around on social media. Of course we can’t just sit back and pretend nothing is wrong but our enemy is not of this world!!

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12

These things will happen but the fight is with the rulers of the darkness of this world…against the enemy of our souls, Satan himself. He would do anything to cause confusion, even among the people of God, especially among the people of God! Because we are human, we all have differing opinions, and he will purposely divide The Church, in the time when the world needs us the most, and get our focus off of spreading the Light, keeping us consumed with who is right and who is wrong.

John 8:12 tells us, “…I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” If we have that Light of life, HIS Light, we should automatically shine it everywhere we go and those that are in darkness will be overcome by the Light, they will be drawn into it because the Light consumes the darkness!

Do you not think that your co-worker, neighbor, family member or friend, who doesn’t know Christ, is worried, possibly dreadful at the events that are unfolding in our country and our world? Hopelessness is everywhere!! Maybe they aren’t sleeping at night, maybe they are concerned for their soul but don’t know where to turn. Maybe there is true conviction in their heart and they are just waiting for someone to turn on the light for them, to point them in The Way.

Who will turn on the light?

Can we bring hope into hopelessness? Yes, I believe we can and I believe we should in these last days. We are The Church, it is our one mission to share the Gospel, the Good News that Jesus died for everyone and that they can have eternal life, eternal HOPE, through His name.

Take in these scriptures about being Light in darkness today and then let’s just do it. Before we go about our day, let us ask the Lord to help our Light to shine, to not get distracted and lose our focus, what Jesus has commissioned us to do, to turn on the Light!

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16

“Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” Romans 13:11, 12 NASB.

“…for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light.” Ephesians 5:8 NASB.

“For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.'” Acts

Be the Hands and Feet of Jesus!

Be the hands and feet of Jesus!

 “No man is an island.” ~ John Donne

“Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you…For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a  drink…when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’”  Matthew 25:34-40.

Jesus has always called us to reach to the “least of these”, to serve the needs of others as He did.

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” John 14:12.

One of the greatest examples of the apostles being the Hands and Feet of Jesus in the early Church is found in the third chapter of the Book of Acts. Peter and John were on their way to the Temple to pray like they did every day at around three o’clock. There was a man who was lame from birth being carried in. Every day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one they called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple.

When the lame man saw Peter and John, he asked them for money too, but Peter said, “Look at us! I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazarene, get up and walk!” Acts 3:4-6 NLT.

According to the Word, and the Name of Jesus, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed! He jumped up and began to walk and the Bible said he went “…walking, leaping and praising God…into the Temple with them.” Acts 3:8 NLT.

Peter and John were being the Hands and Feet of Jesus. Jesus had already ascended into Heaven. He had told the disciples to wait for the Promise of the Father, the Comforter, which He would send. And He did. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost, according to Acts 2.

And The Church is born.

Such as I have

And the only way we can continue to write that 29th chapter is to be the Hands and Feet of Jesus.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.Matthew 5:14-16 NIV.

Jesus entrusted us to be the Light when He left us in charge of things here on this earth. Here we find ourselves in the Endtime. It doesn’t take a scholar or a theologian to realize that things are winding down. Jesus is coming back for His Church, His Bride! But that doesn’t mean that we are to sit back and just wait for Him to catch us away. We are to be about our Father’s business. We must be the Hands and Feet of Jesus.

We are responsible to reach out as much as we possibly can, to touch as many as we can with the Good News that Jesus is alive and lives to give eternal life to all who want to partake of it.

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!’” Romans 10:14, 15 NKJV.

The story is told of a small town in Italy that had a beautiful statue of Jesus in its town square. One day there came a horrific hurricane that devastated the city. The statue was toppled and when the clean-up crew finally came around they found that the statue was mostly intact except that the hands and feet were missing and crushed beyond repair.

It was finally decided to erect the statue back to its original place and a plaque was put up that said, “Jesus has no hands and feet except yours…”

Those words are true for us today. We are His hands and feet in this world. The Sweetheart says this so often in his sermons, “He didn’t save us just to save us. We are here for a bigger purpose. He saved us to reach others.” He means that after salvation we aren’t just to sit down and fold our hands and wait for Heaven. Jesus told us to go into all the world and share this truth; we have a responsibility!

Let us do all we can today to reach our world with the Good News, the Gospel that Jesus Saves!

For the kingdom

 

 

I Know Who Holds Tomorrow!

The old song has been playing over in my mind, “Many things about tomorrow, I don’t seem to understand. But I know Who holds tomorrow, and I know, Who holds my hand.” The comfort comes in knowing where our future lies. If we have that hope then we have no worries!

Jesus said in this life we would have tribulation, trials, and problems.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.

But He gave us peace in the midst of our trials!

As long as our hope is in Him we can rest in confidence.

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This beautiful picture was taken one day after church in Pinki, Latvia. I was coming out of our Sunday service in our rented building in the small city of Pinki, about a 45 minute bus ride from the capitol of Riga, Latvia, where we were serving in Eastern Europe. This beautiful pathway was right beside the centuries old church. I saw the elderly lady walking towards me and the scene was so picturesque I couldn’t resist getting out my camera and waiting patiently until she had passed to take this lovely picture.

It reminds me of the faithfulness of the Lord, His hand upon our lives. He will never leave us, or forsake us, but will be with us to the end!

Is there something in your life you need to trust God for today? Do you know who holds YOUR tomorrow?

If you are unsure of your eternity, please contact me via email at ynannette@gmail.com and I would be happy to help you find direction. It is that important, friend.

“Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12 NLT.

Sharing with Sandra @ Still Saturday