Like Fireflies - (tap to view)

Observations from a time of intense suffering and grief.  

 Let me begin this by saying, God is faithful.  If you haven't noticed, contrary to media reports, the world is growing darker by the day. For those of us who are believers, the contrast is growing sharper.  Blending in with the world is no longer possible as the world has grown more dark.  Lines have finally been drawn that God's people can no longer in good conscience still step over.  As the world slides further and further into demonic worship and the false Jesus of compromise,  the differences grow more stark.  Even some professing Christians believe that their 'Jesus' is just fine with sin, and in fact, he admits he may have been wrong about all of that.  If you'll read the first four books of the New Testament, you'll discover that The real Jesus is God, is sinless perfection, is WISDOM itself, and His mortal body was killed BECAUSE He pointed out peoples sins and they were uncomfortable with that. The world hated what He said,  and hated Him because of it.  The worlds ‘Jesus’ is the spirit of antichrist, and their 'Jesus' teaches doctrines of demons. 

      As more stands are taken for Jesus, (or really just as soon as you decide to take them) Satan begins to unleash his attacks on God's people, and then not only is it the world we live in that is dark, but the very space around us feels as if it has been shrouded by darkness, squelching all visible light out, like when an angry looking storm system comes in during the day and blocks out the sun and unleashes its wrath.  As surely as Satan is attacking God's chosen people through terrorism and antisemitism, he is also attacking the followers of Christ who dare to stand up for God and against Satan.  The onslaught of health concerns and many other difficulties that I won't outline at the moment, all attack, sometimes simultaneously, in the attempt to extinguish FAITH and HOPE.   I was just thinking recently, that sometimes all of the light we have in this world is kind of like fireflies in the summer night.  A blink here, and a blink there, fleeting and faint, but still a reminder there is light yet.  Thankfully, we often have much brighter and more constant sources of light, Praise God, some are candles; but even in the darkest times there are faint flickers that remind you He still cares and has you.  My family has witnessed this several times these last few years, and especially so in the last few months.  Remember too, that God is refining us, heating and using the on-slot to remove dross and create a reflection of Himself..  In my analogy of the firefly and the candle, there is a difference between those items in this world, and the light of God.  The light those items show, are light that they create themselves.  The spiritual light that I am really talking about comes from God and is seen in His people when they reflect His light.  Sometimes that light is brighter, just because it is no longer under a bushel, or because the world has grown darker around it, but it can also become lighter because it has been refined and polished through suffering to create a more reflective surface for God’s light to shine from. 

Recently, one of God's constant ‘candles' winked out, when my wife of 32 years passed away.  The world is a little bit darker today.  Her love, kindness, and joy was a reflection of Jesus, polished by suffering, prayer, and reading Gods word.  I can’t tell you the number of folks I’ve seen, including folks who had just briefly known her, who said they could see Jesus in her.  If you knew her, as I and her children did, you’d know she was the real deal. You’d also know that she came to say, “Jesus sure makes us look good.” If you are His,  won't you take that candle out from under the bushel and put it on a candlestick.  If He’s polishing you, by allowing adversity in your life, try allowing it to clean you up instead of looking for a way out, or for better wording for your complaints.  If you allow it, that light will draw others to Christ, so that they can be saved.  At the same time, that light will also be an encouragement to other believers when they enter their darkened period, that God is real, that He is in control, and that He still cares.

If more of us would shine brighter and more consistently, instead of hiding under a bushel or smudging ourselves, it might be less like a firefly and more torch like.  He has called us to be candles and to put ourselves in a candlestick, which I believe is a Church, where we can get involved and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  😊