Light Remains

(by Lorie Codispoti)

When I was a child I was deathly afraid of the dark. I could not sleep in a dark room. If someone turned the lights out to say that I experienced panic attacks would have been an understatement. This paralyzing fear followed me into adulthood & I was in my early 20’s before being rescued from its grip.

That rescue came in the form of Light!

It was not the kind of light that comes on when you flip a switch, but the kind that pursues & overcomes the darkness, as well as its debilitating sidekick called fear.

I started reading through the Bible again this year. It never ceases to amaze me how every read through brings with it things you didn’t see before. While reading about the plagues in Exodus I was struck by what it said about the ninth plague: a darkness so thick that it could be “felt” (Ex.10:21).

The Hebrew word for this "felt" darkness relates to something you could actually touch. This thick darkness covered the land of Egypt for three days.

Have you ever experienced a darkness so dark that you could not even see your hand?

We were taking a late night walk with some friends many years ago. We didn’t realize how dark it actually was until we got far enough away from the facility where we were meeting with a group of people. None of us thought to bring a flashlight, which was a huge regret as we stepped into the darkest dark I’ve ever experienced. We literally could not see our own hands, nor could we see the road, which was on the side of a mountain. I suddenly became aware of what I could not see - namely the road, those with us, & what might be lurking in the woods. It was scary.

Then, one of our friends frantically commanded all of us to "STOP!" His teeth had just fallen out. Not kidding! Thankfully, he was able to feel for them & find them in that thick darkness. We all had a good chuckle as it lightened the mood a bit, but we still had to find our way back to the facility.

That was the darkest dark I’ve ever experienced, & it’s one I will never forget.

In the Bible, darkness is more than the absence of light, which is how we define it today. Most of the time darkness is a representation of a tangible evil - a blinding force that can affect both the just and the unjust when they are caught in its grip.

It’s fascinating to note which plagues the Israelites endured alongside their Egyptian slave owners, and which ones they escaped due to the merciful hand of God.

Exodus 10:23 says, “…but light remained in the houses of the Israelites…” God spared them from the plague of a darkness - a presence that manifested so intense that it very likely drove many of the Egyptians to the brink of insanty.

“But light remained!”

I don't think this was a light that suddenly appeared when darkness crept in. This was a light that was already present. A light so powerful that darkness could not overpower & drive It away.

"The light shines in the darkness, & the darkness has not overcome it." (John 1:5)

That's the Light that rescued me!

Does this kind of indwelling Light reside within you? A Light so bright & present that you can “feel” It? When you do, you will know the freedom of stepping forward with certainty & without fear.

No amount of darkness can put out the Light of Christ. His light will rescue you from fear & "remain" resident within you. It will help you find your faith (or your teeth) when the darkness encroaches and would have you believe that all is lost.

"Shine down your Light on me, let the darkness see, that in Your presence darkness flees, oh, Father of Light shine down on me." (Sandi Patty)

GloryUsGate.blogspot.com

Valentine Love

(by Lorie Codispoti)

According to the Christian History Institute there are several St. Valentines, who were all martyred about the same time in the third century.

First, we have the Valentine who aided Christians who were being persecuted. He was imprisoned, where he found faith in Christ and refused to deny Him. He was tortured, beaten with clubs and then beheaded. He was said to have written letters to his friends during that time that read, “Remember your Valentine.”

Second, Valentine was said to have been a priest who secretly married couples so that husbands wouldn’t have to go to war during Emperor Claudius’ soldier shortage.

And third, Valentine was a priest who refused to sacrifice to pagan gods. From his prison cell he shared God’s love through his testimony. As a result of his prayers the jailer’s daughter was healed and on the day of his execution he left her a note that was signed, “your Valentine.”

There isn’t enough evidence on any one Valentine to determine which one the day was named after, but, there is one thing that I see common to all three; each one embraced and lived out what it truly means to love.

Today is a great day to remind ourselves of the wonderful truths found in I Corinthians 13…

Love is longsuffering

Love is kind

It doesn’t envy, parade itself, or puff up

It doesn’t behave rudely, seek its own, provoke, or think evil

It doesn’t rejoice in sin, but rather in the truth

It bears all things

It believes all things

It hopes all things

IT ENDURES ALL THINGS!

Valentine endured much, because that's what selfless love does.

Love is hard!

Everything I read in scripture about love demands a kind of love that I do not possess in and of myself. Without my Helper I am not capable of this kind of love. I can’t work it up, I can’t fake it, and I can’t escape it. This kind of love requires something of me that I cannot give; yet, like Valentine, He calls me to it and then enables me to walk in it. Isn’t that so incredibly awesome?

I’d like to challenge each of you this Valentine’s Day (& every day really) to look beyond the shallow, trinket filled, heart fluff our culture promotes. Go a little deeper into what it meant for Valentine to put action to his words and LIVE out his love. Ask yourself if you are willing to love like that… to bear things unpleasant… to believe that God has a plan… to hope in what you can’t see… and to endure the hardships that accompany true love. Jesus was willing and it broke His heart and cost Him his life. You and I are not capable of this kind of love… but He is… and if He lives in you He will enable you to embrace and live out this love. If we say yes to His definition of love, then we must be willing to embrace the “fellowship of His suffering.”

It is hard to love, but the fruit of Christ's love borne out in your life is worth every sacrifice.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35

Happy Valentine’s Day!

GloryUsGate.blogspot.com

Called to be Perfect

(by Lorie Codispoti)

Have you heard the expression that “perfect is the enemy of good”?

Now, if what someone means by that phrase is that we will never progress to the good thing if we demand absolute perfection in every area, then I would agree. Perfection can be a vicious task master that wants nothing more than to enslave its victim to the point that they never see the beauty & freedom that resides within the “good” that God designed for us to experience.

I confess, I have fallen prey to the perfection bug, which I now think is subconsciously rooted in a desire (fear) to control every little detail of life. (Pretty ridiculous to think we are in control of anything.)

I don't think there's anything wrong with setting high standards for yourself, but there is a problem with setting unrealistic ones.

For example:

For many years I worked incredibly hard to perfect my skills as a seamstress, but no matter how precise I was there was always a flaw - a crocked seam, right sides imperfectly matched, etc. Few people would have ever noticed, but the problem with demanding perfection is that nothing is ever good enough. Sometimes I have to remind myself that a lack of perfection does not have to mean that something is inferior. It’s better to have a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without one. (Chinese proverb)

So if perfectionism isn’t all it’s cracked up to be then what about Jesus’ command for His disciples (which we are) to “… be perfect just as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” (Mtt.5:48)? Is the Bible wrong when it says that Noah, Asa, Job, David & his army were all perfect? Did they embody some sort of moral perfection that the rest of us will never attain?

Unfortunately, our default to Jesus’ command for us to “be perfect” is usually the worn out excuse that none of us is perfect. However, when our understanding conflicts with what we are reading in Scripture it’s important for us to stop & take a closer look at what God meant for them & then before we attempt to apply it to ourselves today.

Our culture defines “perfect” as being free from blemishes, like the airbrushed models on magazine covers - the epitome of fake perfection. But the word Jesus uses for “perfect” in Matthew 5:48 is not rooted in external features or behaviors. The biblical meaning communicates completeness or wholeness. It can also mean maturity.

The context of this verse is key to understanding the kind of perfection Jesus is talking about. The goal is for our faith to be complete, whole, & mature; something that comes through the process of sanctification.

Note that Jesus’ command in verse 48 is a summary statement. It follows the point that God wants us to extend impartial love to everyone - even our enemies - in the same way that He does. To love with partiality is to imitate the wicked. But Jesus tells us to imitate the Father (as does the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5:1).

After Jesus tells us to “be perfect,” He says “just as your Father in Heaven is perfect.” In the same way that children imitate their parent’s, we are to imitate & extend to others the kind of impartial love the Father has extended to us. Our love may never equal the perfect love of our Father, but that’s not an excuse. The love we extend to others can look like His in its quality. Through His indwelling Spirit He enables us to love - perfectly.

We are all flawed diamonds in the rough, but that should not dissuade us from seeking to be like our Father & loving others with a complete, whole, & mature perfection. I have seen God sanctify the flaws right out of His children. Why, I’ve even seen him turn a pebble into a diamond that sparkles so bright under the Light of the Son you’d never believe it was once filled with so many blemishes it was unrecognizable. God perfects every precious stone that desires to imitate Him.

May we all be “perfect” & shine with the love of Christ.

GloryUsGate.blogspot.com