Follow the Light

Greetings,

This past weekend I was flipping channels and came across The Croods. It's a movie about a caveman family living in a dangerous, ever-changing world.  I first saw it with my niece and nephew when it came out in 2013 and decided to watch it again because I remember loving it so much.  It was just as great the second time around, and it amazed and blessed me that its core message is so relevant today: In a nutshell, they must "follow the light" in order to survive.

As soon as I heard those words I automatically said, "Amen!"

John 8:12 " I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life."

Following Jesus means we have the wisdom we need to avoid destructive behaviors and live a blessed life. Following Jesus means we trust that what He teaches is true.  And since we are never in the darkness, the Light is ever present and always pointing us in the right direction. We will never be left without a clue as to what to do, and we can be free from ignorance, sin, debilitating emotions, and misery.

How do we follow the Light?

It starts with prayer. 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, You are our life-giving Light.  We invite You to shine brightly in the dark areas of our life that are destructive.  Wherever there is fear, expose the root cause so we can be filled with peace.  Wherever there is unforgiveness, unmask it so we can be liberated from negative emotions, wherever there is pride that says we know better than You, bring it to the surface so we can repent and place our trust in You again.  Wherever we are toying with temptation, lay it bare so we can spare ourselves unnecessary suffering.  We follow You, Jesus, today and every day.  Thank You for making our paths bright; fill us with wholeness and healing. Amen.

Go Toward the Light!

John 8:12 "Jesus spoke and said, 'I am the Light of the world. If you follow Me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the Light that leads to life."

I like having plants in my home, but I do not have a green thumb. On the contrary, I am the antithesis of a green thumb, which thesaurus.com says is a brown thumb. That’s funny!

Nevertheless, I have one plant in particular that is a fighter. This green leafy vine has dutifully lived in a parrot planter for over three years now and survived my sporadic attention. I water it when I remember, and sometimes I’ll say something nice like, “Thank you for not dying.” Sometimes I am insensitive and will say, “I can’t believe you’re still here!” But I noticed something remarkable the other day: The entire plant was leaning in one direction, and I finally figured out that it was sun-starved.  In an effort to revive itself – (because I am no help) – it was reaching toward the bright and beautiful light.

What need do you have right now? Do you need peace in your weary heart? Do you need joy in your family? Do you need help in making a decision? Do you need health in your mind, body, and/or soul? God has bright and beautiful things for us, and the way to invite that into our lives is by doing what my little plant did: Revive yourself, and go toward the Light.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We lean into You right now through prayer. We need Your guidance and wisdom; thank You that we DO NOT HAVE TO WALK IN DARKNESS.   Give us clarity of mind and shine Your light into our lives. In Jesus’ name, AMEN~