Featured Article: A Light that continues to Shine

As we are days away from Christmas, so many emotions are stirring. My house has three kids under 10 and they are so excited for presents, cookies, and the Candlelight Christmas Eve Gathering. I am sure that there are houses bussling with trying to get presents wrapped, trees trimmed and house cleaned for family and friends to come over. But this year, there are also people who are going through some hard times. 

Being the pastor of a church, I have contact with so many people at different stages of life. Right now, I have members in my church who just lost their husbands and had to spend their first Thanksgiving alone. Just around the corner they will be celebrating Christmas alone for the first year. This is a difficult time for them and their families. This is the "new normal" for them. Holidays will be hard, they will question if the house needs to be decorated, and may hide at home instead of wanting to be around people, or may just put on a fake smile and go out like nothing is wrong. But it is a hard season for them.

If you are a believer in Jesus, I would encourage you to take this season and do the most loving thing to everyone you come in contact with:

Share the Light of Jesus.  

Jesus is the Light of the world and in Him there is no darkness...at all. Jesus is the light that is spoken about in Isaiah, He is the light spoken about in John and He is the light that we see, for eternity, in Revelation. Jesus is the manifest glory of God and He shines brighter than any created light. One of the amazing things about Jesus is that His light shines so bright that He causes darkness to flee. John 8 tells us that Jesus is the light of the world and whoever follows Him will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

Jesus brings life and salvation because He is light. So if we are walking in the light (which is Christ), we can radiate His light to those who are going through a rough season, who are going through a time of loss and who are at the end of their rope. This Christmas season, my prayer is that you will reach out to those who are in a dark place and stop in to visit them, bring them cookies, help them decorate, but most of all, share the light of Christ with them. 

The Bible says, "For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." - 2 Corinthians 4:6