Moonlight

An evil man has no hope of escaping the darkness. There is a sword somewhere waiting to kill him. He wanders from place to place, looking for food. But he knows a dark day is coming, which he brought on himself.
Job 15:22-23 ERV

I have much to "chew on" from the Book of Job this day but I'm hard-pressed to find encouraging words to share. So once again I will dole out from the Encouraging Word Bible:
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The moon models our role.

What does the moon do? She generates no light. Contrary to the lyrics of the song, this harvest moon cannot shine on. Apart from the sun, the moon is nothing more than a pitch-black, pockmarked rock. But properly positioned, the moon beams. Let her do what she was made to do, and a clod of dirt becomes a source of inspiration, yea, verily, romance. The moon reflects the greater light.

And she’s happy to do so! You never hear the moon complaining. She makes no waves about making waves. Let the cow jump over her or astronauts step on her; she never objects. Even though sunning is accepted while mooning is the butt of bad jokes, you won’t hear ol’ Cheeseface grumble. The moon is at peace in her place. And because she is, soft light touches a dark earth.

What would happen if we accepted our place as Son reflectors?

Suffering, as difficult as it is, needs to be regarded from God’s perspective. He allows certain situations in our lives for reasons beyond our understanding. Our job is to continue to reflect His life—even through our suffering...

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Prayer:

Father,

           Give us eyes to see from Your perspective. We pray for understanding. And if we don't get a full understanding, please never let us go. Let our faith and trust grow in You in such a way that we completely understand that You are God and we are not. And let us be at peace with it, knowing that nothing touches our lives without Your purpose. Light us up, Father, to make us a reflection of You.  In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Reminder - To Reflect

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Ephesians 5:25-27 NKJV

Recently, a friend sent me some terrific pictures via email. One photo was an incredibly majestic landscape that was perfectly reflected in the body of water in the foreground. Mountains with snow caps and grand pines, the brilliant blues of the sky and the matching hues in the lake. It was idyllic and serene, and so identical were the reality and the reflection, that it looked as though you could turn the picture upside down and see the same image. Had there been no water, the real thing would still be magnificent, but there would have been no reflection.

When the sunlight shines on them, the mountains can cast shadow, but without water, there is no reflection. I can see signs of light but the sparkle of light is only reflected through the water. Our lives as Christians are supposed to reflect Christ, but how can we do so if we are dry? How can Christ present us to Himself as a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, unless we are reflecting His perfection? Jesus is the living Water - He sanctifies us and cleanses us with the washing of water by the Word so we may reflect His glory!

Just like we shower or bathe daily to be clean, we must daily be washed by the Word of God, not just on Sunday. The winds of adversity blow and dry up the water. If there is no water, there is no reflection. What will He see when He shines His light on us? Let's reflect on that.

Prayer:

Father,
           Birth in us a great desire to know Your Word. Grant us wisdom and understanding to rightly divide its Truth. Shine Your light on us, O God, and cut away what does not reflect You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Work Hard

Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Philippians 2:12c-13 NLT

That statement - Work hard to show the results of your salvation - is NOT about having to do works to earn our salvation. Our hard work is walking in obedience. Yes, God gives us the desire and power to be able to do what pleases Him, but we still have to work hard to bring our bodies into submission to His will and ways and not our own will and ways.

Paul continues: Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.  We are not the light, but rather we live our lives so that we can be the reflection of the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. As the world becomes darker in its sin and greed, God's light will shine brighter. Let us work hard to make sure there is nothing in our lives that will get in the way of reflecting Christ to those around us.

Prayer:

Father,

           Thank You for the desire and power to do what pleases You. Give us Your strength so that we can walk pure before You, doing all without complaining and arguing. Give us clean hands and pure hearts, Father. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

By Request - Reflection

The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow.
Revelation 4:3 NLT

As I walked into my home office, I caught a glimpse of a colorful, tiny flash of light from the other room. As I went to investigate, I realized that earlier in the day I'd forgotten to close the lid of my jewelry box. The sun was setting and cast its light just right to slip through the blinds and catch the facets of the birthstones in my mother’s ring. For just a snippet of time, it was brilliantly lit as though it were alive. It was a unique moment with the sun lighting up the stones and reflecting back, and in that instant, I was reminded of our text for today.

For the nanosecond of time that it took to transpire, I feel as though I received a wealth of insight - the most obvious being how the faceted stones reflected the light. To me, the facets were an example of Christ followers who get close enough to Him to allow Him to cut and shape them into a thing of beauty. Submitting to the necessary cutting away of those things that don't or won't reflect His light...being transparent before the Lord our God. You see, it's the transparent gems which are normally faceted.

Faceting reveals the optical properties of a stone's interior at its best because faceting maximizes the light's reflection. However, it's not done indiscriminately. You can't just whack off a piece here and there. It takes careful consideration by the master jeweler - if He cuts too deep or too shallow, the light just passes through and isn't reflected back. It won't sparkle.

God calls us His precious jewels, but if we don't allow God to shape us, if we don't submit to Him, if we refuse to go through the cutting away process, and choose to keep parts hidden from His view, we cannot reflect His light back to Him - or to others. Anyway, that's my reflection on reflecting...

Prayer:

Father,
        Whatever it takes to make us reflect You... In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Friends' Favorites - Who is That In the Mirror?

But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

2nd Corinthians 3:16-18 NLT

We've all seen our image reflected in one way or the other. A mirror, a window, a waxed car surface. Have you ever seen your image reflected by a carnival mirror? The ones that make you tall and skinny or short and fat? There have been some pretty strange reflections, don't you think? Even in a good mirror, your reflection is still the opposite of you.

Life is like that - it can take who we are and twist and turn and warp our image, giving us and others a false reflection of who we are. It is only in the Lord that there is Truth. Only in Him is the Truth revealed. Only in Him do we reflect His true image. Glorious!!

Prayer:

Father,

          Help us to not be sucked into the deceits of the world's reflection with all its sparkling glitz and glimmer. Lord, we want only to reflect You and Your truly glorious image. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

* Reflection

The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow.
Revelation 4:3 NLT

As I walked into my home office, I caught a glimpse of a colorful, tiny flash of light from the other room. As I went to investigate, I realized that earlier in the day I'd forgotten to close the lid of my jewelry box. The sun was setting and cast its light just right to slip through the blinds and catch the facets of the birthstones in my mother’s ring. For just a snippet of time, it was brilliantly lit as though it were alive. It was a unique moment with the sun lighting up the stones and reflecting back, and in that instant, I was reminded of our text for today.

For the nanosecond of time that it took to transpire, I feel as though I received a wealth of insight - the most obvious being how the faceted stones reflected the light. To me, the facets were an example of Christ followers who get close enough to Him to allow Him to cut and shape them into a thing of beauty. Submitting to the necessary cutting away of those things that don't or won't reflect His light...being transparent before the Lord our God. You see, it's the transparent gems which are normally faceted.

Faceting reveals the optical properties of a stone's interior at its best because faceting maximizes the light's reflection. However, it's not done indiscriminately. You can't just whack off a piece here and there. It takes careful consideration by the master jeweler - if He cuts too deep or too shallow, the light just passes through and isn't reflected back. It won't sparkle.

God calls us His precious jewels, but if we don't allow God to shape us, if we don't submit to Him, if we refuse to go through the cutting away process, and choose to keep parts hidden from His view, we cannot reflect His light back to Him - or to others. Anyway, that's my reflection on reflecting...

Prayer:

Father,
        Whatever it takes to make me reflect You... In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen

* Reflections

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
Ephesians 5:25-27 NKJV

I'm always on the lookout for beautiful, scenic photographs because one of my friends really enjoys them. Recently, another friend sent me some terrific pictures via email. One photo was an incredibly majestic landscape that was perfectly reflected in the body of water in the foreground. Mountains with snow caps and grand pines, the brilliant blues of the sky and the matching hues in the lake. It was idyllic and serene, and so identical were the reality and the reflection, that it looked as though you could turn the picture upside down and see the same image. I thought how fortunate that the photographer was across the lake and able to take the shot. Had there been no water, the real thing itself would still be magnificent, but there would have been no reflection.

The other day, I was tinkering around the sink when a sparkle of light like glitter caught my eye. It was on my forearm and I thought, "Where did I pick up glitter?" knowing full well that I had not been around anything like that. As I brushed it off, I realized it was miniscule droplets of water reflecting the light above the sink. Immediately, God brought today's passage to my mind. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

When the sunlight shines on them, the mountains can cast shadow, but without water, there is no reflection. I can see signs of light on dry skin, but the sparkle of the light is only reflected through the water. Our lives as Christians are supposed to reflect Christ, but how can we do so if we are dry? How can Christ present us to Himself as a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, unless we are reflecting His perfection? Jesus is the living Water - He sanctifies us and cleanses us with the washing of water by the Word!

Just like we shower or bathe daily to be clean, we must daily be washed by the Word of God, not just on Sunday. The winds of adversity blow and dry up the water. If there is no water, there is no reflection. What will He see when He shines His light on us? Let's reflect on that.

Prayer:

Father,
           Birth in us a great desire to know Your Word. Grant us wisdom and understanding to rightly divide its Truth. Shine Your light on us, O God, and cut away what does not reflect You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen