Hope in the darkness

Well I'm back!  I wanted to take a few minutes to share with you some more thoughts.

Last Sunday evening I was tasked with the job of preaching on Isaiah chapter 9 at my church, continuing a series which other members of the church had been speaking on.  The title I was given was 'Hope in times of Darkness'.  This passage is where Isaiah prophesizes the coming of a child, a son, one that will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.

After spending a few minutes exploring what darkness means, relating examples in the earlier chapters of Isaiah to the society that we live in today; materialism, partying, calling evil good and visa-versa, a refusal to trust God and the seeking of guidance in the wrong places, I moved on to sharing an image that God had given to me about a year ago and how that image applies to every single one of us, not just in times of darkness but in every part of our daily lives.

The image that God had given to me previously was one of a single candle, surrounded by darkness.  A single candle, alight, in the distance, flickering faintly.  In this image I began to move closer to the flickering candle and as I did so, the flame started to become stronger, started to shine brighter, and started to fill the darkness that surrounded it.  Then I started to move back away from the light and it started to become faint again, becoming consumed by the darkness.  The significant thing however, was that the flame never went out.  It was faint, it was surrounded by darkness but it never went out.

This flame represents Jesus.  In represents that light inside all of us which is that child that Isaiah prophesied, the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace, that child that is of course, Jesus, the light of the world.  The candle flame in the image God gave me is Jesus in our lives, there amongst the darkness, waiting for us to move closer to Him.

As represented by the image, the closer we put ourselves to the flame, the brighter it shines and the more of the darkness it consumes.  As we move closer to Jesus, as we spend more time with Jesus, as we try and live our lives in a way which is more pleasing to Jesus, we allow that flame, Jesus to shine brighter in our lives.  That flame, that light has the power to consume that darkness which surrounds it, the darkness which is all around us in society and that darkness that lives inside of our own hearts.  Being closer to Jesus, allowing His light to shine brighter gives Him more control in our lives.

Of course, it is often easier to step back from that light isn't it.  It's often easier to find reasons or excuses to stand back and allow that flame to flicker faintly in the background of our lives, allowing the darkness around and inside of us to dominate, to overwhelm our hearts, our mind and our lives.  The real significance of this image is that the flame, Jesus never goes out.  Jesus will never leave us on our own, He is always there, waiting for you to approach Him again.  

How brightly we let Jesus shine in our own lives is up to us.  How much of the darkness we want Jesus to take control of is up to us.  How closely we walk with Jesus is up to us.  Jesus is always there, shining in the darkness.  In John, chapter 8 verse 12 it says this, 'When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."'

So where are you going to choose to walk today.  Are you going to walk closer to the light, defeating the darkness.  Or are you going to walk away from the light and let the darkness rule?

'For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.'  Isaiah 9:6

The Bus Driver

So I read an article this afternoon on the Sky News App on my phone and it got me thinking and appears to have finally given me the inspiration I’ve been looking for to jump on the bandwagon and start my own blog!

The story was from the US and was about a bus driver who appears to have helped to save a woman’s life.  The driver was working at the time, had a bus full of passengers and like any other normal day was driving from stop to stop, just trying to stick to the schedule given to him.  Rather unexpectedly, whilst driving over a bridge, the driver spotted a woman who was stood on the wrong side of the railings looking at the busy road below.  In the heat of the moment, the driver stopped the bus, got out and went over to talk to the woman.  The CCTV on the bus captured the driver giving the woman a hug before sitting down with her on the side of the road.

After a short time, another lady turned up followed by the emergency services.  The driver returned to his bus and was given a standing ovation by his passengers before he set off to complete his journey and head home.

This bus driver, just a normal guy, going about his normal everyday business, sticking to the schedule expected of him, when all of a sudden he was needed to play a part in saving someone’s life.  He didn’t have to think twice about jumping out of his bus, and probably his comfort zone, he just saw a need and responded.

Surely as Christians, this is the role that Jesus intended for us to play when He gave us the great commission.  Matthew 28:19 reads, ‘Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit….’. 

John 3:16 tells us that Jesus came so that we would not perish but that we would have eternal life.  By believing in Jesus, by following his teachings and trying to live a life pleasing to him, we are saving our own lives and will live for eternity in heaven with Him.  The calling, given to us from Jesus is to ‘go to the people of all nations and make them His disciples’.  It is our job, as believers in Christ, as people whose lives have been saved by the blood of Jesus on the cross, to get out there and save the lives of the people around us, those people who are stood on the wrong side of the railings.

Jesus wants us to stop the bus we are on.  He wants us to drop our schedule, put aside the expectations placed on us by today’s society, and walk out onto the sidewalk to place our arms around the people of this earth who are dying.  Jesus wants us to sit down with these people by the side of the road and He wants us to love these people as He loves us.  Jesus needs us to get out there, get out of our comfort zones and play a part in saving people’s lives.

The bus driver on the news was just your average guy, driving his bus, minding his own business, when he saw a woman who needed saving.  A woman, just about to take her own life, just about to die.  We are living in a world full of people who are just about to die.  We are living in a world full of people who are so wrapped up in their own desires, in the desires of this world, in the expectations set on them by the society that we live in and it is our job, as Jesus’ disciples to get out there and SAVE THEIR LIVES!

Whose life have you helped to save recently?