A Lesson in God's Love From My Oven

Hello, friends! Please welcome back to the blog Hannah Clements, my dear friend who carries joy and wisdom like a mantle. Listen in as she learns a lesson in God's goodness from...her oven. 

My oven is old, I like to think vintage, maybe an antique.

My oven is impossible to clean. It holds years of meals and burnt grease. When the oven light is off, it appears clean(er). It hides its stains and grime in the darkness. The oven light exposes its true character.

Today, the light exposed burnt spaghetti sauce, a popcorn kernel, and an occasional husky hair amongst its old grease. I saw the mess and was tempted to turn the light off and let it linger in the darkness, but I have dinner guest coming and a messy oven won't do.

While wiping away grease and grime, God reminded me that light exposes our sin.

"Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and dispose the motives of men's hearts, and then each man's praise will come to Him from God." 1 Corinthians 4:5. 

We may think we are hiding in the darkness but nothing can separate us from God's love. Light pierces darkness:

"The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:5 

Praise Jesus because He doesn't just expose our mess and grime but He stays around to clean and restore us. Psalm 51:7 says, "Purify me from my sins and I will be whiter than snow."

Praise Him because He doesn't turn a blind eye on our darkness but He cleanses us - loving us too much to let us remain in the our dirty form.

Oh Lord, "Search me and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life." Psalm 139:23-24

Amen.

Leave the Light On

The Joker. Gypsy. Bride. Hippie. Woody Woodpecker.

What do all these things have in common?

They were all Halloween costumes I proudly wore as a child.

I'll never forget the year I was a toucan. (Yes, a toucan.) My mother lovingly stapled hundreds of construction paper feathers to a black garbage bag.

That's love, folks.

I didn't live in a neighborhood so we'd always drive around to houses of people we knew looking for porch lights that were on.

Boo to the friends whose porch lights were off. They will never know the wonder of seeing a 7 year old girl wearing a Hefty bag covered in feathers.

Oh, you know. You know you've been the person to turn off all your lights, close the blinds, and hide in your bedroom watching Hocus Pocus until all the merriment of Halloween was over.

We say Bah Humbug to Halloween!

Our hearts are two sizes too small to celebrate this day.

We hate Halloween!

Don't like it!

No way!

And anyway, doesn't it have something to do with Satan and devil worship? I mean, WWJD?

Hmmmm...what would Jesus do?

For at one time you were darkness, 

but now you are light in the Lord. 

Walk as children of light!

Ephesians 5:8

No matter how you celebrated in Halloweens past or plan to celebrate in Halloweens future there's always been much debate on the Christian church, Halloween and our role in it. Some churches embrace the night fully and have trunk or treat events, some hold fall carnivals, and some stay out of it altogether.

I'm not here to talk about that. I don't want to talk about church history or pagan rituals. I'm here saying let's look at Halloween as an opportunity.

In John 17 Jesus says that you and I are not defined by the world, but we still have to live here. Why? Why do we live here? Because He has given us a mission - to declare His truth to the world.

I always celebrate Halloween with the tiny thought in my brain of what does God think of all this?

And, friend, I can't answer that.

But I can respond to Jesus' commissioning of you and me. For all the evil and darkness that Satan and His evil forces claim Halloween to be, what if we claimed it for Jesus? What if we took a night meant for darkness and made it a night devoted to light?

What would Jesus do on this night?

Well, he'd take it back. Jesus has literally taken the keys to death and Hell from Satan. So let's take Halloween, too.

What if on the night when Satan feels strongest we made him tremble at the power of Jesus' Name?

Jesus says to us "the harvest is plentiful!" There are so many in our communities who don't understand the saving goodness and grace of Jesus. You have neighbors and friends who are clueless when it comes to knowing the Gospel. And you know who is supposed to tell them about it?

You are.

Jesus also tells us that the workers are few. It doesn't take a mathematician to realize that there's much work to be done in getting people to heaven and we need every one of God's people declaring His truth to our neighbors.

So this year let's be the houses that not only keep their porch lights on, but have the best candy. Let's not just decorate our yards with pumpkins, but let's invite our neighbors over and cultivate relationships. Let's extend hospitality and warmth and, well, Jesus.

Use this night as an opportunity to do your part as a harvest worker.

Don't be the house that shuts the world out. Be the house that invites it in.

This world is dark and, some believe, is darkest on Halloween.

There's not a better night to share Light. Let this night be for sharing the Name of Jesus.

Let this be the year you leave your light on.

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 Sun and the Son

I am cold all the time. Unless it is a solid 80 degrees in a room I will need a sweater. Or better yet, a Snuggie. I have just resigned myself to the fact that from October to April wearing cute clothes is not necessary because they will be covered up by a large coat.

Do you know what the absolute best feeling is to this cold-natured gal?

Recess at 12:30 every day.

Stepping out of the school building onto the playground and feeling the bright, warm sun shining on you. You know that kind of warmth I'm talking about. The Vitamin D almost tangibly soaking into your skin?

I see it in every child as they reach the door. The walk becomes a run. The quiet, inside-voice becomes a shout. The "I just took another assessment" face becomes the "I'm a kid again" grin.

I mean, even the smallest child knows that all living things need the sun, right? I can ask my five year old: "Buddy, what does a plant need to grow big?"

"Water and sun." (He's a genius! Surely some famous botanist in the making.)

Kidding aside, even a Kindergartener knows that living things thrive in the sunlight.

So, ahem. An ode to the sun:

I love the sun
Not because I can see it
But because I can feel its warmth
It reinvigorates my weary bones
Brightens my perspective
Makes my heart take a deep breath
Reassures me of goodness
Chases away the blackest night
In the sun, I find the source of my very existence
In its light is my very life

Now, I bet if you listed all the reasons you love Jesus it would read exactly the same way.

Let's try:

I love the Son
Not because I can see Him
But because I can feel His warmth
He reinvigorates my weary bones
Brightens my perspective
Makes my heart take a deep breath
Reassures me of goodness
Chases away the blackest night
In the Son, I find the source of my very existence
In His light is my very life

Matthew 4:16, referencing Isaiah 9:2 says this:

The people living in darkness

have seen a great light; 

on those living in the land of the shadow of death

a light has dawned.

Before Jesus came, the world had been living in a long, dark night. Clouds covered the moon. There was not a star to be seen.

But He came. And He ushered in the dawn.

Then He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

Because the weight of darkness is heavy.

But the light of Jesus is light - as a feather.

I hope we realize that before Jesus came we walked in the valley of death. There was no mercy, no grace, no future.

We walked in cold, darkness.

But then! He came and all these things were supplied - in abundance.

Job 38:19-20 says,

What is the way to the abode of light?

And where does darkness reside? Can you take

them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwelling?

I know where darkness lives. I've seen it in the world. I've seen it in me.

But, I know where light lives, too. And True Light only lives with my Jesus. Because He is that light. 

See, the sun and the Son have much in common. They renew. They reveal things unseen in darkness. In their presence I draw strength. In them is life.

This week is Holy Week. The week we remember the days and events leading up to the resurrection of Jesus. I need to prepare my heart for such a celebration. So today and every day this week I will:

Dwell in light.

Choose light.

Look for light.

Darkness has no place with me. I am a child of Light! (Ephesians 5:8) 

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

The Light of the world lives in me. I would do well to remember it.

Precious Jesus, Light of the World,

Create in us a heart that is aflame with holy light.

Lord, may it be so.

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.