Reflecting the Light

I am the moon. I am present, glowing in the dark night of this world. 

I go through phases. I can be full and bold for the name of Jesus. I can have doubt and lack faith and be nothing but a sliver of a crescent. 

I can be so filled with love for my Savior that my heart is as big and orange as a harvest moon. Sometimes I choose to let the darkness overpower me and I'm left as nothing but a blackened shape, eclipsed by sin. 

I wax and wane based on emotions, thought patterns, and circumstances. Once in a blue moon I will do something of value. 

The moon, like me, is not constant. We are very much stuck in our changing ways, desperate to somehow give light to the world.

Sometimes the light we give is so brilliant that it can illuminate someone's darkest night.

And sometimes we strain to create the smallest glimmer and resemble the crooked smile of the Cheshire Cat.

But, then again, I'm not in charge of creating my own light, am I? 

I'm just the moon.

"He himself (John the Baptist) was not the light; he came only as a witness to the Light."

John 1:8

The moon does not create its own light. I do not create my own light.

The moon's light is a reflection of the sun. My light is a reflection of the Son.

What a responsibility to be a light to others. To be the light of someone's life. A responsibility too great for me to carry. So I will instead be a reflection of THE Light. I will, in all I say and do, be a reflection of Jesus.

Just as John the Baptist was not the light, I am not the light. I am simply a witness of what the Light of the World, Jesus Christ, has done for me.

And why?

"That through him (John the Baptist and you and me) all men might believe."

John 1:7

I am the moon. I have no light of my own to give mankind. But when I reflect the Son I become bright enough to cut through the darkness of night.

I become a reflection and my reflection becomes a witness to "the True Light that gives light to every man." (John 1:9)

Because the point of the moon? The point of the moon is to receive light and then give it away.

So let's go today. Let's share the testimony of all the Son has done for us and let that testimony lead others to seek the Light for themselves. 

Lord, may it be so. 

The Mind of Christ

We speak what we think. No thought comes out of our mouths that first did not take up residence in our brain. For better or for worse, our words reveal our minds.

My mind is silly, curious, intentional, efficient, and full of random trivia facts. (Seriously. No one will play against me in Trivia Crack anymore.) 

My mind can also be a dark, scary place. 

Sometimes being inside my mind can be too much. Do you ever feel this way? When you need to escape and break free? 

Usually these are the times when we eat too much ice cream while we binge watch Friday Night Lights on Netflix. 

But what if there was something better for us? What if we could shed our minds and find the mind of Christ?

1 Corinthians 2 tells us if we are in the Holy Spirit, which is a gift freely given to those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior, then we have been given an incredible insight -

To know the mind of Christ.

“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” 

But we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:16

To know the mind of Christ is an insight that sages, sorcerers, kings, and conjurers have longed for for centuries. To know the mind of a deity! To know the wisdom of the ages!

And friend, we are freely given that gift from our Father in heaven.

Incredible.

So what exactly is on the mind of Christ? How can we even begin to discern this? It seems too great a task.

Oh, but friends, when God gives you a gift He will help you to unwrap it:

Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, 

that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 

1 Corinthians 2:12

We speak what we think. And Jesus was no different. As we reflect on Easter Sunday, let's reflect on the seven statements of Jesus on the cross. He spoke what he thought. Let's look into the mind of Christ:

1. His mind was on forgiveness.  In Luke 23:34 Jesus spoke, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." 

The mind of Christ is a mind of forgiveness.

2. His mind was on the repentance of sinners. In Luke 23:43 Jesus spoke, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise" to the thief who believed in the sovereignty of Jesus.

The mind of Christ is a mind that loves the sinner.

3. His mind was on humanity. In John 19:26-27 Jesus spoke to John the Beloved, telling him to watch over His mother. 

The mind of Christ is a mind that remembers the emotional and physical needs of humanity.

4. His mind was on the weight of sin. In Matthew 27:46 Jesus spoke, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

The mind of Christ is a mind that knows the darkness of sin.

5. His mind was on His mission as Messiah. In John 19:28 Jesus spoke, "I am thirsty."

The mind of Christ is a mind that knew all scripture written of Him (including this passage in Psalm where the Messiah is given vinegar to drink) must be fulfilled.

6. His mind was on salvation. In John 19:30 Jesus spoke, "It is finished."

The mind of Christ is a mind that came to finish death.

7. His mind was on trusting God. In Luke 23:46 Jesus spoke, "Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit."

The mind of Christ is a mind that believed in His Father.

So, tell me. What is on the mind of Christ?

Dear one, do you see it?

It's you.

Your forgiveness.

Your repentance from sin.

Your humanity.

Your sin and its weight.

Your need for a Messiah.

Your salvation.

Your redemption through God's grand plan.

The point of Easter...is you.

He knew me, yet He loved me

He whose glory makes the heavens shine

So unworthy of such mercy

Yet when He was on the cross

I was on His mind*

The mind of Christ is on you. So make your mind about Christ.

Risen Lord Jesus,

In humility I say:

Thank You.

Lord, may it be so.

*written by Ronnie Hinson

The Season That I'm In

I often say to friends going through difficult phases of life, "It's only for a season." 

This is my way of saying, "Hey, precious friend! The 2 am feedings won't last forever. It's only for a season!"

"I'm sorry your teenage son is acting like...a teenage boy. He'll grow out of it (*maybe*). It's only for a season!"

"I hate that your husband is having to work so much. But...it's only for a season!"

There are so many seasons a gal can go through: seasons of health and seasons of illness, seasons of joy and seasons of sadness, seasons of heart-soaring, make-your-friends-roll-their-eyes falling in love and seasons of friends-picking-up-the-pieces heartache. There are seasons of plenty and seasons of drought. There are too long winters and too short springs.

There are seasons when you can take a nap. And there are seasons where to sleep is simply a dream.

Now is the part where I share with you the season that I'm in. It's the season of complete and utter chaos. I have the great honor of being an elementary school teacher, a pastor's wife, and a Bible teacher, but it is my exceptional privilege to be the mother to a strong-willed, independent, creative, mud-puddle of a 5 year old boy. He is accompanied in all activities (good, bad, and down right ugly) by his shadow - my 2 year old son.

My beautifully restored and remodeled 1920s craftsman home is a sticky, couch-stained, giant playroomed, underwear in the living room mess. I wish it were clean. I wish it were magazine ready (ha!), but...it's not.

It's just not the season that I'm in.

So when my favorite Christmas carol tells me "All is calm! All is bright!" with such sincerity and purity - I have to chuckle. (As the cat nearly topples over the Christmas tree after drinking the tree's water.)

But then from my window - a picture perfect scene. My husband and the five year old mud puddle, outside playing in the yard: a call filled with laughter to his daddy, an embrace. And there it is-

Light in the chaos. Joy and laughter and crazy.

That's the season that I'm in.

And the season that we're all in now, Christmas, comes into focus with stark clarity. Just like the stars on a see-your-breath, lungs-cold kind of night. This world we live in is chaos - and not always the joyful kind. It contains the darkness of a fallen and sinful mankind. We who try so hard to put our hope in ourselves, but fall disastrously short.

We try to save ourselves. We always have. But we can never quite accomplish it.

But then! Through the din of chaos and darkness God sent his love letter to the world. The Word became flesh! And a great Light appeared!

John 1:1-5 (This is much easier to read if every time you hear "the Word" you think "Jesus.")
"1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

Isaiah 60:1-5 (This is a prophecy written 700 years before the birth of Jesus.)
"1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
2 See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
and his glory appears over you.
3 Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn."

John 8:12
"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."

1 Peter 2:9
"...that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of the darkness and into his wonderful light."

My night may not be silent (There he is! The two year old shadow waking up from his nap...). My night may not always be calm, but Lord Jesus! Let it always be bright! Bright with your goodness and mercy and grace. With your compassion and humility and great love!  

Bright with the knowledge that "we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, in him there is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5)

In all my seasons, Lord, let me walk, live, breathe, and bask full-face in your light.

Lord, may it be so.

Amen.