Spiritual Light

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Spiritual Light – Episode 224

Does your spiritual light shine through to others so that there is no doubt you are a Christian? Join Felice Gerwitz as she explores how we can point people to the light that is goodness and truth which is only found in Christ.

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Darkness is dispelled by the light of Christ in our lives and in the lives of others. We are reminded of this in John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Light refers to God and darkness to the enemy. We see proof of this darkness all around us but especially when it comes to confusion.

Without being specific we all know there is confusion in this world. We hear it and we are amazed that no one seems to push back. The best way we can push back is by increasing our dedication to the Lord. Throughout history, we are aware of times of persecution. We’ve seen evidence of the persecution today. Innocent people are being harassed and fear is the one factor that controls them better than anything else.

Perfect Love Casts Our Fear – 1 John 4:18

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love.

There is no room for fear if we trust the Lord. Recently, as I mentioned in a previous podcast, we faced a category 4 hurricane. The predictions had it passing close by but no one predicted until it was too late to leave how close it would pass. The eye itself we heard was 30 miles wide. We looked at storm and weather maps before we lost power and what they showed was devastating. The eye was so, so close and the side of the storm that hit us was the side with the most winds. Yes, we have Flood Insurance we have Home Insurance and we even have Life Insurance, but all of those protections don’t keep you from fearing and worrying.

Once this realization that it was hitting nearby (landfall would be miles from our home), we knew the best insurance was prayer. We prayed as a group and miraculously the fear dissipated. When we were the most fearful, we prayed again. We could see the storm through our hurricane (impact glass) windows and that in itself was not reassuring. The blessing to me was that it was during the day and not at night. This was the longest storm I’ve been through. It began at about 11 am and we lost power around 1 pm (and for five days afterward). The storm raged until at least 7 pm when the worse was past but rain and wind gusts still blew.

By praying that light of Christ that dispels darkness, that perfect love that casts out fear came into play in our lives in a real and powerful way.

How do we keep ourselves in the light? By reading Scripture, attending church, joining in Bible studies, and reading good Christian books. When we surround ourselves with a focus on God our lives become richer. This became real for me several months ago, when my husband had surgery on his foot, and I became his caregiver. He had a three-month recovery and is at the end of it at this point in time. I was depressed because I realized, I was not attending daily Mass, nor praying as I did before. My routine had been shaken. I asked if he’d pray with me daily and he readily agreed. My outlook improved dramatically.

Identifying the reason, we are in the dark rather than light is half of our problem. I pray you can identify the darkness in your life and eradicate it with prayer. How are you praying? We typically petition when we pray. “Please Lord, I need this – or I need that.” Remember that praying is two-way, we pray and we listen. Even if we don’t think we hear the Lord, we can if we open our Bibles, these words are for each and every one of us. Not just for random people years ago, but for you and for me, today!

After the storm, while we had no power or internet (as I share this with you we are two weeks after the storm and still have no internet other than hot-spotting our phones), we could not see the pictures of the devastation on Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Island or Captiva. But once we did tap in and look we felt hopeless and distraught. We did not know how we could possibly help our friends, even though we were able to help a few right after the storm. Our pastor’s home was flooded.  So once again, we prayed, asked the Lord how we could help, and proceeded again. And, once again the darkness was dispelled.

What are the Bible verses that have an impact on you? What are the words that resonate and help to dispel darkness? Do you have a journal where you can list these? Sure, we can use a topical list but the verses that have the most impact are those that you read and seem to leap off the page.

One of my favorite Bible verses or the verse that really had a great impact upon me early on when I began to read the Bible regularly is John 1 – 5. I love it!

The answer is to allow that light to penetrate our hearts. Another verse I love along the same theme is Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

Most of us do not realize how important our works are in regard to sharing the light of Christ in our hearts with others but as it pertains to our salvation and our faith. We must have faith, in Christ and understand the ramifications of salvation but we also must realize that works are important. Without our works, glorified through Christ so we do not boast or brag but give GLORY to our Father in heaven, and without works faith is dead.

We read this in James 2:14-26  (Read online.)

The idea here is to put action behind our faith. Peace be with you is wonderful, but without following through, the light of Christ in us will remain dormant. Lastly, in Phillippians 2:12-13 (Read online.)

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