Candles

A number of candles have been lit this week, especially with Nathan's birthday having just past. I am sure you can all picture your family moments, when the birthday boy/girl gathers around the cake, ready to blow out the candles? But, I wonder if you have ever considered that Proverbs speaks of our 'spirit' as being a candle of God? It is an unusual suggestion, but this is what Solomon wrote:

"The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly." - Proverbs 20:27 (KJV)

This verse implies that God's spirit joins with our 'spirit' and then shines into the depths of our lives. The Holy Spirit shines into every corner of our 'belly' revealing all that is hidden there - thus, we can't hide from God - God knows every part of our lives.

I find that the more we have to hide from God, the less we like to spend time with him. It is almost as if we are afraid that he will shine too much onto our 'dark spots.' In truth, it should be liberating to allow God's spirit to shine into our 'bellies', so that God can heal our deep wounds.

Why not try and spend a few minutes with God today. Give the Holy Spirit freedom to shine his light in your life.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Hello Darkness

Reading through Psalm 88 this morning I was startled by the ending.

"...the darkness is my closest friend." - Psalm 88:18

All of the Psalms are brutally honest and contain their fair share of bleakness, but they usually end up in a positive place. Today's Psalm leaves us hanging, wondering how things turn out for the writer.

The next Psalm immediately starts with a positive note - "I will sing of the Lord's great love for ever" which is a great continuation of the story and leaves me feeling a little more encouraged.

By the way, when I had finished reading Psalm 88, the song 'Hello Darkness' by Simon and Garfunkel came into my mind:

"Hello darkness, my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence."

May God be with us in the midst of our dark moments.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Beauty at Sunrise

The winter sunrises are awesome at the moment. I think that the dust particles and morning clouds make these sunrises even more spectacular. This reminds me that sometimes God's light shines more beautifully through the difficulties of our lives. It would be nice not to have the 'dust' and 'clouds' in our lives, but that is unrealistic. Everyone has to deal with troubles and problems, but perhaps we could allow Christ's light to reflect off our lives and to reveal His majesty.

"We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations." -
Charles R. Swindoll

May God's grace reflect off your life today!

Living in Grace
D3LM3 

When the lights goes out

Last Tuesday our electricity went out at home, during a huge storm. We rushed around looking for torches and candles - we eventually managed to get enough light to finish supper and the kids homework.

What do you do when the lights grow dim in your faith? Who do you turn to?
Remember that you can always turn to Jesus - He is your constant companion - He is the Light of the World.

"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us." - Albert Schwietzer

Living in Grace
D3LM3

The spark

"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us." - Albert Schwietzer

I am grateful that the Spirit of God lit the flame within me. It was Jesus who rekindled the fire of love in me and I pray that you allow him to breathe new life into your body today.

Living in Grace,

D3LM3

Jesus' Star

Our 5 year old son took us by surprise last night! It was just getting dark and we had finished eating supper, when he quickly popped outside to get something. A few seconds later he came running inside saying, "Come and see Jesus' star! Come and see Jesus' star!"

Our immediate response was, "Our child has lost his marbles!" However, it slowly dawned on us that he was talking about the Evening Star and then we chuckled about it. He made the simple connection between the star at Christ's birth and the one he was seeing now. What is even more profound is that he taught me another lesson -"Jesus is present with us today, as much as he was real 2000 years ago."
Thank you Nathan for the reminder.

Matthew 2:1-2 - "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

And a child shall lead them...

Living in Grace,
D3LM3

Put the light on!

Stumbling in the dark is not without it's dangers. Stubbing your toes, walking into coffee tables or walls, feeling your way from room to room and praying that you will find the matches. This happens when our physical worlds are plunged into darkness, but is it not the same kind of scenario when spiritually or emotionally we feel the darkness descend? It's hazardous territory.

Thankfully, 'Light' and 'darkness' are very popular themes in the scriptures. Take this one for example:

"You light a lamp for me. The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness." - Psalm 18:28

Live in the light of God's grace,
D3LM3

P.S. Awesome photo from here

Monkey's Wedding!

Two weeks ago I shared at our morning services about how a 'Monkey's Wedding' can be a sign of heaven breaking through into our lives. If you don't know what a monkey's wedding is, here is a simple explanation:
"It is when the sun shines at the same time as it is raining!"
(Overseas it is known as a 'Sunshower' and in Afrikaans it is referred to as a 'Jackal's wedding.')

Today I got to see another monkey's wedding - it was awesome! Again it reminded me that even though the rain may fall in our lives (and we feel as though we are in a storm), the light of Christ will always shine through.

Psalm 112:4 - "Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man."

May you know the light of Jesus in your heart today.
Be Blessed, my friend.

Living in Grace,
D3LM3