The last day of 2013 and for today's Devotionals,
I have selected one from just before this Christmas Season and the latter from Christmas past 2009...
I have selected one from just before this Christmas Season and the latter from Christmas past 2009...
If you have not read the January '14 Edition of The StarLight News, it is posted at http://the-starlight-news.blogspot.com/...
Happy Reading,
Happy Reading,
Richard
Thought
for Today
Jesus is the Light of the World!
The Yard Light
(By Peder Eide, www.pedereide.com)
[Edited]
I love light!
I mean, if we had no light, we couldn't see things.
We couldn't see each other. We couldn't see where we are going and would step on really sharp toys that weren't put away! We would not know how to stay on the highway at night. We would struggle to get a tan. We would be colder. We wouldn't wear matching clothes.
To walk around in the dark all the time? Awful.
We would miss so much beauty. There is actually a form of depression some people suffer from when they are living long periods of life without sunlight. The list is infinite about how hard life would be without light.
You get the picture. Light is pretty important.
As we enter into this Advent season before Christmas 2013, I want to spend time looking at the message, power of, need, and reason for light. Specifically the Light of World that comes to us in Jesus Christ.
I remember on the farm we had a single yard light that was right in the center of our homestead. It was probably a 75 watt light bulb at the top of a telephone pole that was turned on and off in the house. It was there for the purpose of helping you see where you were going from building to building at night.
Walking from the steel shed or the barn or chicken coop on a dark Minnesota night back to the house could be nerve-racking for a seven-year-old who thought Scooby Doo haunted mysteries could be real.
The yard light, though, was a lifesaver. If I needed to flee from any monsters lurking in the nearby woods, I could run freely without worrying about tripping over a bike, running into a clothes line, or falling in a trap set by an enemy trying to take over the world (starting at my farm! - Yes, I had an imagination...).
As long as that yard light was on, no worries.
But I'd lose confidence when I was closing up the barn door for the night, and my older brother - let's call him Tom - was watching out the window to turn off the yard light. He'd force me to walk in the night without a light.
It changed how I walked, hoping I wouldn't bang my shin on something. The wind, the creaking of branches, gates swinging, and squirrels running were all way more evil than ever before.
My breathing would speed up, my senses on alert, and I'd move towards the house in total fear but with one single goal: don't die before giving paybacks to the brother we're calling Tom.
We need light. Not just physically, but spiritually. God the Father knew it. It was why He sent His Son to a darkening world. We are meant to live this life in the light not in the dark.
Do you feel any of those emotions in your day-to-day life that I was feeling when my brother turned off the yard light? If anything at all, then that's why this Advent is important for you.
Wouldn't it be great if this Christmas you discovered the light of Jesus in a new way so you don't ever have to fear the dark?
The best part about the light of Jesus? There is no one who can ever turn it off with a switch. It is always on.
Let's get ready to run in the light this Christmas, my friends, because darkness cannot overcome the Light!
Jesus is the Light of the World!
The Yard Light
(By Peder Eide, www.pedereide.com)
[Edited]
I love light!
I mean, if we had no light, we couldn't see things.
We couldn't see each other. We couldn't see where we are going and would step on really sharp toys that weren't put away! We would not know how to stay on the highway at night. We would struggle to get a tan. We would be colder. We wouldn't wear matching clothes.
To walk around in the dark all the time? Awful.
We would miss so much beauty. There is actually a form of depression some people suffer from when they are living long periods of life without sunlight. The list is infinite about how hard life would be without light.
You get the picture. Light is pretty important.
As we enter into this Advent season before Christmas 2013, I want to spend time looking at the message, power of, need, and reason for light. Specifically the Light of World that comes to us in Jesus Christ.
I remember on the farm we had a single yard light that was right in the center of our homestead. It was probably a 75 watt light bulb at the top of a telephone pole that was turned on and off in the house. It was there for the purpose of helping you see where you were going from building to building at night.
Walking from the steel shed or the barn or chicken coop on a dark Minnesota night back to the house could be nerve-racking for a seven-year-old who thought Scooby Doo haunted mysteries could be real.
The yard light, though, was a lifesaver. If I needed to flee from any monsters lurking in the nearby woods, I could run freely without worrying about tripping over a bike, running into a clothes line, or falling in a trap set by an enemy trying to take over the world (starting at my farm! - Yes, I had an imagination...).
As long as that yard light was on, no worries.
But I'd lose confidence when I was closing up the barn door for the night, and my older brother - let's call him Tom - was watching out the window to turn off the yard light. He'd force me to walk in the night without a light.
It changed how I walked, hoping I wouldn't bang my shin on something. The wind, the creaking of branches, gates swinging, and squirrels running were all way more evil than ever before.
My breathing would speed up, my senses on alert, and I'd move towards the house in total fear but with one single goal: don't die before giving paybacks to the brother we're calling Tom.
We need light. Not just physically, but spiritually. God the Father knew it. It was why He sent His Son to a darkening world. We are meant to live this life in the light not in the dark.
Do you feel any of those emotions in your day-to-day life that I was feeling when my brother turned off the yard light? If anything at all, then that's why this Advent is important for you.
Wouldn't it be great if this Christmas you discovered the light of Jesus in a new way so you don't ever have to fear the dark?
The best part about the light of Jesus? There is no one who can ever turn it off with a switch. It is always on.
Let's get ready to run in the light this Christmas, my friends, because darkness cannot overcome the Light!
One Long Extended Gift
by Charles R. Swindoll (Christmas, 2009)
It's not too late to give some things away
this Christmas. Not just on Christmas Day, but during the days after December
25. We could call these daily gifts "our Christmas projects." Maybe
one per day from now 'til the end of the year. Here are thirty-two
suggestions. Take your choice. by Charles R. Swindoll (Christmas, 2009)
• Mend a quarrel.
• Seek out a forgotten friend.
• Dismiss suspicion.
• Write a long-overdue love note.
• Hug someone tightly and whisper, "I love you so."
• Forgive an enemy.
• Be gentle and patient with an angry person.
• Express appreciation.
• Gladden the heart of a child.
• Find the time to keep a promise.
• Make or bake something for someone else. Anonymously.
• Release a grudge.
• Listen.
• Speak kindly to a stranger.
• Enter into another's sorrow.
• Smile. Laugh a little. Laugh a little more.
• Take a walk with a friend.
• Kneel down and pat a dog.
• Read a poem or two to your mate or friend.
• Lessen your demands on others.
• Play some beautiful music during supper.
• Apologize if you were wrong.
• Talk together with the television off.
• Treat someone to an ice-cream cone.
• Do the dishes for the family.
• Pray for someone who helped you when you hurt.
• Fix breakfast for someone on Saturday morning.
• Give a soft answer even though you feel strong.
• Encourage an older person.
• Point out one thing you appreciate most about someone you work with or live near.
• Offer to baby-sit for a weary mother.
• Give your teacher a break---be especially cooperative.
Let's make Christmas one long, extended gift of ourselves to others. Unselfishly. Without announcement. Or obligation. Or reservation. Or hypocrisy.
That is Christianity, isn't it?
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