Saturday, December 24, 2011

Light, Shining Through Light


For light I go directly to the Source of light, not to any of the reflections. ~Peace Pilgrim


Into the inky darkness of Bethlehem a light appeared.  A light in the form of a baby, swaddled by Mary and cradled in a manger. Joseph, His earthly father, knew He was the Son of God. His mother, Mary, knew it. Even the shepherds knew it.  Herod might not have admitted it, but he knew, too.

And although so many knew it, their understanding of God's plan was limited by their humanness.  Peter, John, and the other disciples didn't realize what a big part they would play in spreading the light.
  • Saul, guarding the coats as Stephen was stoned to death -- soon would shine.
  • Peter, in spite of his impetuousness, was a light.
  • The blind man, given his sight by the Light of the world, shone.
  • A woman, burdened by her promiscuity, met Jesus at the well and another light was lit.
All throughout history men and women met Jesus, and each meeting added light to our world.  And now it's our turn to send luminous rays of light into the darkness.
  • Are we shining in our dark world?  Are we praying for persecuted Christians -- for the "Sauls" to whom they minister to be changed by the Light.  
  • Do we allow Jesus to work on our weaknesses so, like Peter, we can shine.  
  • Will we share what Jesus has done for our blinded hearts, letting our light shine on others?  
  • Do we praise the Light of the World for delivering us from a life of sin, inviting others to come to the Light?
"Like a little candle, shining in the dark..." we can shine -- should shine -- because of the Light shining in our hearts.  Light -- shining through light.

                                   These are my grandchildren: Ethan, Landon and Morgan

 
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29 comments:

Sandi@ Rose Chintz Cottage said...

Dear Pamela,
Thank you for your nice visit and comment.
I hope and pray my light shines for Him! He is the reason why I enjoy my life as much as I do. I am blessed, and so is every other soul who knows Him. Bless His Holy name!

Merry Christmas to you and your lovely family.

Christmas blessings,
Sandi

Create With Joy said...

Fabulous post!

Merry Christmas to you Pamela... thank you for blessing me with your presence & beautiful comment on my blog today!

Ramona
http://create-with-joy.com

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful message! It's one that we should be remembering all year long!

I pray that your family has a wonderful holiday season. :)

-M. Wildflower

Kerrie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kerrie said...

Dear Pamela,

Stopping by to wish you a Merry Christmas! We have hope because Jesus was born.

Blessings, love, and peace to you and all your family {pets included} this Christmas.

♥... Kerrie

Aritha V. said...

Thanks you for this great blog.

I wish you a Merry Christmas today.
Greetings from Holland.

Kaye Swain - SandwichINK for Grandparents and Caregivers said...

That was so adorable! Thank you for the sweet smile you gave me on this early Christmas morn. Have a blessed time with your family :)

GLENDA CHILDERS said...

Merry Christmas, Pam.

Fondly,
Glenda

Ruth said...

It's encouraging to know we are light to this world. And that our effect is farther reaching than we may ever know in this life time. Thank you for shedding light on lives shining the Light!
Blessings.

Esther Asbury said...

Pam, Thanks for "letting you light shine" through this blog - I so enjoy every post!

Sharon Claassen said...

"Like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden..." Matthew 5:14

This is exactly what Jesus told us to be...the light of the world. Thank you for the reminder.

Judy said...

Merry Christmas Pamela,

What a wonderful post about the Light of the World Jesus Christ. I, too, wrote about the Light on my devotional writing blog.

I haven't been blogging lately because I've been so busy, but I'm on vacation now and will be visiting my fellow bloggers once again.

Blessings,
Judy

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

One light at a time... lighting up the earth with the witness of God's truth! Oh how we must look from his vantage point!

Keep shining, sister. Blessings to you as you mark your steps these final days of 2011.

peace~elaine

Annesphamily said...

What a beautiful story! I work in a small office, 5 of us and no one else is a Christian. It is a lot tougher than one might think to work with such folks. I do a lot of praying there constantly. But one shining light at a time is the way to go. We may not be able to witness to the whole world but one person at a time. Thank you for the beautiful share. Happy New Year to you!

♥ my diary♥ said...

thank you for sharing...happy holidays...blessings soraya

Stephie said...

Pamela, Thank you for visiting my blog. Your examples of how we can let our light shine in the world spoke to me. Thank you.

Rebecca said...

"Take your candle....go light your world" (I THINK that's how the words go to a tune running through my brain after reading this post.)

Light shines all the brighter in the darkness - and "in this world of darkness we must shine; you in your small corner--and I in mine".

(Maybe "light" is my word for the New Year???? I'm still searching for it.)

Blessings to you, Pamela.

Janice C Johnson said...

What a lovely perspective, The Light shining through our little lights! The children's song illustrates it so well.
And "Amen" to Ruth's observation, that "our effect is farther reaching than we may ever know in this life time."

noreen said...

Hi Pamela, you've written a lovely post that makes me think about what kind of light I am to my family, friends and community. Thank you for the reminder. Do you know the children on the Youtube video? Her little voice is very sweet!

Laura said...

Your grandchildren are beautiful!

And this is a good lesson for this season, Pamela. I have been contemplating the journey of the magi for my upcoming sermon and it has been quite the humbling experience. Twelve days of Christmas are not nearly enough, are they? :)

Many blessings to you!

CHERI said...

Pamela, what a beautiful and sweet post this was. Wanted to thank you SO much for visiting my long-lost blog! I do hope to be more regular with it in the coming months. Your Christmas sounded heavenly...no stress! I too did most of my shopping online. I have done that now for 3 years and it's so much better than fighting crowds at the mall! We did have to do some traveling but our families live only about 2 hours away. I guess when our mothers are gone, we might then stay home one year but for now it's wonderful to have family to share the season with. Here's hoping you and yours have the most blessed year in 2012.

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Pamela, What a beautiful post! His light shines through you and your writing to bless others and to lead them to the Light.
Love in Him,
Laurie

Michelle said...

Pamela this was beautiful. It is so easy to focus on the single light given at Christmas but too easy to forget that we are supposed to spread that light around.

koralee said...

Thank you for visiting me...so glad your Christmas was blessed with Jesus' love. xoxoxo Your grandchildren are adorable!

Holly said...

Beautiful boys! Hope you all had a blessed and merry Christmas!

Joan Hall said...

Pamela - your grandchildren are precious. At their tender young ages, they are certainly letting their lights shine.

Many blessings to you and your family during the upcoming new year.

Charlotte said...

Amen, Pamela. I hope we will all let our lights shine more in this coming year than we ever have before. Thank you for sharing this encouraging post.
Blessings for a wonderful new year.
Charlotte

Kathy said...

Love this post - each day I hope to reflect the One that I love - the One that brought love, peace and joy to the world! Thank you Jesus!- I wish you a Delightsome New Year!
Kathy

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