Matthew 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand; and it gives light to all that are in the house.
As we light the candles during the season of Chanukah, we remember that God has called us to be lights.
D. L. Moody told the story of a man who was crossing the Atlantic by ship. He was terribly sick and confined to his cabin. One night he heard the cry, “Man overboard!” He felt that there was nothing he could do to help, but on second thought, he said to himself, “I guess I can at least put my lantern in the porthole.” He struggled to his feet and hung the light, so it shined out into the darkness.
The next day he learned that the person who was rescued said, “I was going down in the dark night for the last time when someone put a light in a porthole. As it shone on my hand, a sailor in a lifeboat grabbed it and pulled me in.”
All of us have weaknesses — and times of weakness. The fact of the matter is, though, that weak or not, we need to muster up the strength to put our lights in our portholes for the sake of the dying and the lost among us. It’s so tempting to sulk in our weaknesses and stay in our beds — but God expects more of us. He has given us the strength to do all things — even move mountains! There are so many people around us sinking in despair. But God has chosen us to reach out and light up their lives!
Let’s do something extraordinary for the Lord today. Be bold, speak up! Let’s get beyond our weaknesses and light up the darkness around us!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]According to church history, the apostle Thomas, died in Calamina, a city in the East Indies. While there, Thomas had put a stop to the idolatry that was running rampant in the land. The idolatrous priest was not happy about this at all and accused him before their king. The king sentenced Thomas to death -- first to be tormented by red hot plates and then cast into a glowing furnace and burned. When the priest saw that the fire was not hurting him, he pierced Thomas' side with spears and javelins, and finally Thomas died.
A significant response to the current pandemic has been medical professionals in various places offering valuable advice on the role of diet toward building and increasing our body's immunity to viruses and disease in general. This kind of advice can be truly salutary, even life-saving. Yet the aphorism, "You are what you eat", though often heard, isn't always taken as seriously as we might...And that may contribute to unpleasant health consequences.
Missionaries Dick and Margaret Hillis found themselves caught in China during the Japanese invasion. The couple lived with their two children in the inland town of Shenkiu. The village was tense with fear, for every day brought terrifying reports of the Japanese advance. At the worst possible time, Dick developed appendicitis, and he knew his life depended on making the long journey to the hospital. On January 15, 1941, with deep foreboding, Margaret watched him leave.
As Joshua led the children of Israel into the promised land it seemed that God had given them an impossible assignment -- to conquer a foreign and hostile land with fortified cities and armies greater than their own. They had to go forth only on the basis of God's promise. They had to walk by faith and not by sight!
Over the weekend, the ministry lost a dear brother who suddenly died of a heart attack. In times of mourning, the realization dawned (once again) that this life is utterly fleeting ... a vapor in the wind ... and these frail human bodies in which we dwell are mortal dust. We are living in the land of the dead and dying, and only those of us who truly know and are known by the Messiah, upon our death, will enter the land of the truly living!
An ancient story in Church history tells of the apostle John. He would constantly repeat the words, "Little children, love one another." And his disciples became weary of the phrase. Finally, in his old age, as John was being carried to their assembly, the disciples asked him, "Why do you always repeat these same words?" "Because friends," John replied, "it is the Lord's commandment -- and if only this one were fulfilled, it would be enough."
The apostle John quotes Isaiah 53:1, saying to whom has the z’roah [arm] of the Lord been revealed? It’s a question that God answers throughout the rest of Isaiah 53, describing in detail the life of Yeshua (Jesus) and the ultimate price He would pay for the sins of the world.