Living on the Light Side

I'm down in the hills of Texas for a few weeks and when it's dark here....IT'S DARK. I keep a flashlight with me when I venture out at night. That made me think again about Star Wars. Two years in a row, my family and I caught the latest Star Wars flick. Star Wars is a big deal to us – so much so that my 10 year old grandson wanted to turn in his Christmas gift from me so he could order the latest Star Wars costume. We did. He loves his costumes and light sabers and even my 16-year old, Payton, is a Star Wars junkie – with his room in all kinds of Star Wars memorabilia. The Star Wars craze always makes me ponder the notion of the “Light Side” versus the “Dark Side”. The Jedi were major practitioners of the Light Side, and were the mortal enemies of the Dark Side of the Force. Light versus Dark – that’s been mankind’s opposing forces since the very beginning of time.

In the creation story in Genesis, God “speaks” things into existence “Let there be light….” It’s a sign of God’s creative power that every single word He utters, brings forth something new, vibrant, and wondrous. Then Adam and Eve fell to the voice of the “Dark Side” when the enemy tempted them and succeeded, that caused them to be banished from the beauty of the garden.

In 1 John 2:5-7, John writes “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is LIGHT and in Him is NO darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” That’s the difference between the LIGHT side and the DARK side. You can sure tell that jealousy, hate, bitterness and anger caused Anakin Skywalker to go wrong and turn to the Dark Side. It’s quite possible, when we examine our hearts, we won’t find that we hate anyone. But every little thing that we allow to remain in our hearts can have a “dark” effect on us. We might not be in darkness, but we certainly might find ourselves in the “shade”.

The beginning of this new year is the perfect time to clear out those things that hinder the LIGHT in us. Let’s open ourselves to His healing and empowering light. When we declare with the Psalmist in Psalm 21:1 “The Lord IS MY LIGHT and my salvation, who should I fear? The Lord is my life’s refuge, of whom should I be afraid?” – then there will never be a shadow of doubt which side we’re on, and all the dark forces that try to draw us to their side, will never win! The FORCE (the LIGHT source Whom lives within us) Who comes with peace and calm, will always be in us and with us.

May THE FORCE – God’s LIGHT Source -- be with you!

Let There Be Light

We all experienced times of darkness in our lives. There's just no way to escape it: a season of regret, a time of the passing of a loved one, a debilitating illness, a financial set back, bad decisions, a huge disappointment, and so many more occasions to "be in the dark".

Here’s the truth about darkness. Darkness is absent of light. Think about it. The more we dwell on our negative feelings or confront someone that is negative, the darker it becomes. The more we listen to the news about wars and politics and economy failures, the darker it seems to get. But we have the power within our grasp to change all that. All we have to do is switch on the light.

Since creation, God has illuminated our world’s dark places. He started it all when He said, “Let there be light,” and there was light”. –Genesis 1:4

The room in this photo was pitch dark. It was absent of light. But, when the light came on, the room was illuminated so much that darkness was dispelled.

We have been called to be LIGHT BEARERS. If our little lights are shining out from within, we can BE THE LIGHTS that brighten our world. On the other hand, if our lights are dim, even out, not only will we not brighten the corners where we are, but we may very well be the circuit breaker switch that darkens the whole room. How does that happen? When we are complaining, whiny, bitter, angry, cynical, fearful, and anxious, darkness enters. We have a choice, stay there or TURN ON THE LIGHT because when LIGHT stands next to DARKNESS, LIGHT will always win.

First Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world”, then he turned around and flipped it and said to us, “You are the LIGHT of the world.” So, let’s BE THE LIGHT in our family, our neighborhood, our workplace, our church and our world and watch DARKNESS flee in terror!!

Living on the LIGHT SIDE

Living on the Light Side
I must be on Star Wars overload.  Watching the newest episode 3 times, as well as watching several of the earlier episodes with my two youngest grandsons, and seeing them donning their Star Wars costumes and light sabers over the last week, caused me to ponder the notion of the “Light Side” versus the “Dark Side”.  The Jedi were major practitioners of the Light Side, and were the mortal enemies of the Dark Side of the Force.  Light versus Dark.  Isn’t that mankind’s opposing forces since the very beginning of time?

In the creation story in Genesis, God “speaks” things into existence “Let there be light….”  It’s a sign of God’s creative power that every single word He utters, brings forth something new, vibrant, and wondrous.  Then Adam and Eve fell to the voice of the “Dark Side” when the enemy tempted them and succeeded, that caused them to be banished from the beauty of the garden.

In 1 John 2:5-7, John writes “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is LIGHT and in Him is NO darkness at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”   That’s the difference between the LIGHT side and the DARK side.  You can sure tell that jealousy, hate, bitterness and anger caused Anakin Skywalker and Kylo Ren to go wrong and turn to the Dark Side.  It’s quite possible, when we examine our hearts, we won’t find that we hate anyone.  But every little thing that we allow to remain in our hearts can have a “dark” effect on us.  We might not be in darkness, but we certainly might find ourselves in the “shade”.

The beginning of this new year is the perfect time to clear out those things that hinder the LIGHT in us.  Let’s open ourselves to His healing and empowering light.  When we declare with the Psalmist, “The Lord IS MY LIGHT and my salvation, who should I fear?  The Lord is my life’s refuge, of whom should I be afraid?” – then there will never be a shadow of doubt which side we’re on, and all the dark forces that try to draw us to their side, will never win!  The FORCE (the LIGHT source) that comes with peace and calm will always be in us and with us.

May THE FORCE be with you!

Good Morning, Lord!

Day 90 of Photo Inspirations -- Good Morning, Lord!
A couple of days ago, I captured this photo on a morning walk with a friend.   We start out our walk when it's still dark outside and soon the dark must bow to THE LIGHT.  What a sweet way to behold God and His goodness.  When we say, "Good Morning, Lord!"  He replies with a gorgeous sunrise.

During this particular walk, it seemed "light" was our focus.  His Light.  And, how when His Light comes into our conversations, our situations, and our thoughts -- darkness is dispelled.  When He said, "Let there be LIGHT" -- He showed up with sun and moon and stars and daytime.  And when He says "Let there be LIGHT" in our lives, He brings joy and peace and a bright new day.

We finished our three-mile walk and as we made the corner to our homes, we looked back and there was a brilliance of light over the homes in our subdivision.  It felt like God was putting a big spotlight on the place that we walked around.  We sensed His favor and approval.

I came back into my home and sat down for my morning devotion and my scripture reading was:  "The Lord is my LIGHT and my salvation; whom should I fear?  The Lord is my life's refuge; of whom should I be afraid?"  Psalm 27:1

This is a week for waiting.  I'm recalling Jesus' final days, his final steps toward the cross, His final words, and awaiting His final victory.  I really don't like thinking about His suffering, but when I do, I know that everything about that suffering is still colored by victory.  So the Psalmist's words , "The Lord is my LIGHT and my salvation" is not just wishful thinking.  It is the bedrock of our lives.  He is the Victor.  Period.  He triumphed.  And so can you and I.  Yes, He is our LIGHT!