{"id":9582,"date":"2024-01-17T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-17T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/?p=9582"},"modified":"2024-01-17T05:31:55","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T10:31:55","slug":"9582","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2024\/01\/17\/9582\/","title":{"rendered":"Bright Night"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Five-minute read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The night will shine like the day, For darkness is as light to you. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Psalm 139:12b<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bright night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Writing the morning after Christmas, the sparkle of holiday lights illuminates the sky.  Blow-up Santas, Snowmen, and Reindeer adorn yards.  Nativity scenes of all sorts glow under spotlights.  Nighttime brings an expectant joy as houses come to life with bright bulbs and strobe lights set to joyful music.  And, of course, the most brilliant light of all comes from the lighted Christmas stars that signify the birth of Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Light of the World entered it in a manger.  With no place to lay her head, Mary took refuge in a stable and gave birth to her baby boy.  The Star of Bethlehem shone brightly above the tiny family, leading the wise men to the Savior\u2019s side, offering gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe other \u2014 more astronomical \u2014 explanation is that there was a bright object in the sky \u2014 a conjunction between planets and stars. A conjunction occurs when two or more celestial bodies appear to meet in the night sky from our location on Earth.\u201d[i]<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Space.com\u2019s article, \u201cWhat was the Star of Bethlehem,\u201d scientifically explains the Christmas star.  Something happened the night Jesus entered the Earth, celestial light ushering in His birth.  Darkness becomes light when we place our faith in Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accepting Christ into our lives and inviting Him to reside in our hearts means darkness becomes light.  Jesus\u2019s eternal flame burns from within us and illuminates the darkness around us, sharing His light with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scrolling Facebook, I saw the perfect meme to describe how God\u2019s light works.  A multitude of people, all colorless, just an outline of their human form, stood together.  Then, one receives the light of Christ, and his form lights up.  Then, the meme shows him sharing his light with someone else, and they light up.  And the process continues until, eventually, the entire crowd receives God\u2019s light, no longer colorless but shining brightly for all to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We think our acts of obedience to the Lord go unnoticed.  But God sees and knows everything, and He will multiply our efforts.  One spark lights an eternal flame that never ends.  When we share Christ\u2019s light with others, we bring them out of the darkness and help them find the One who can transform their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Light spreads quickly, traveling 186,000 miles per second.  With a circumference of 24,901 miles, light circles the world over seven times in one second.  One act of love shares Christ\u2019s love with others and begins to illuminate the world in a split second.  We may think opening the door for a stranger, helping a friend through a difficult time, or sitting quietly with a sick family member goes unnoticed, but our light shines in their darkness and helps their flame grow and flicker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God gives us light in the darkness. Christ illuminates our souls and shines through us to the world around us.  Darkness becomes light when we follow Jesus.  And as we do, His light spreads.  The more obedient we become, the faster Christ\u2019s light spreads to the world around us, illuminating the darkness and bringing hope to the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Application:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Light of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Darkness becomes light when Jesus enters the world.  Everything matters to God.  When we obey the Lord, we share His light with the world.  Working in my shop at Christmas, I put everything on sale for 50% off.  A customer coming by stopped and loaded up.  \u201cI\u2019m so glad Christmas is almost over,\u201d I said, referring to the amount of work that goes into running a shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut you\u2019re bringing joy to people, you really are.  Don\u2019t forget that,\u201d she responded.  Instantly, I felt encouraged and uplifted.  My prayers answered with her statement.  Wanting to bring joy to others and share Christ\u2019s love, her words affirmed my actions.  And just like that, God\u2019s light spread in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Share the light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journaling Questions:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. Who shared Christ\u2019s light with you?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. How can you share your light with others?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. When did you last share your light, and how did it make you feel?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Prayer:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Lord, thank You for giving us Your light to illuminate the darkness.  Forgive us for hiding it.  Give us opportunities to share Christ with others and open our eyes and ears to the chances around us to bring His light to a dark world.  As we do our best to honor and obey You, bless our efforts.  Shine Your light brightly and eliminate the darkness.  IJNIP. Amen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    [i]<\/a> https:\/\/www.space.com\/54-earth-history-composition-and-atmosphere.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Five-minute read. The night will shine like the day, For darkness is as light to you. Psalm 139:12b Bright night. Writing the morning after Christmas, the sparkle of holiday lights illuminates the sky.  Blow-up Santas, Snowmen, and Reindeer adorn yards.  Nativity scenes of all sorts glow under spotlights.  Nighttime brings an expectant joy as houses… Continue reading Bright Night<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9582"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9582\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9716,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9582\/revisions\/9716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}