Happy New Year!
I hope and pray you all had a relaxing and restful time off over the Holidays. It’s always hard to get back up and running as the new year begins but away we go. Some of us are boosted by the Indianapolis Colts winning their football game advancing in the playoffs! Driving back from church I was listening to the pregame radio show. One of the award winning players was being interviewed. He said (regarding the game) that “when my name is called I want to be able to shine!” In other words, I took that to mean be ready, practice, and get prepared.
What does it mean, spiritually, for us to “be ready?” Jesus encourages us in the Bible to “have our lights lit” and to “keep awake” because we do not know when our time is up (Mark13:33 for example). This time of year can be very difficult for many people. There is actually a disorder that affects some people: Seasonal Affective Disorder (appropriately, SAD). The darker, overcast days, the weather, the Holidays are over and it can be a downer time. The cure is to be around light, they say! Sun tanning booths, higher wattage in our lamps, or just finding other ways to be around light.
So friends, as we begin a new year let’s be “ready” and have our lights shine. Even if you feel down and maybe discouraged, God still has a light within each of us that brightens when we help others. We each are truly part of the body of Christ. Our eyes look for the need around us; it is our ears that listen for the cries of those who need help. It is our hands that reach out to lift up our fellow person, and our feet that take us to the place of great need. I hope for all of us we can be ready by praying, spending time in God’s Word, the Bible, and in worship. That way, when our name is called we will already be shining!
Pr. Doug
Eric is our current Webmaster and works on the NLS Communications Team. Raised in Judaism, he found Christ and the New Testament at age 16 in a Southern Baptist Church. He searched many denominations for the real church, only to find the Holy Spirit is present in all of them. He's worked for One for Israel, a group of native Israeli believers who are sharing the gospel in the holy land in Hebrew and is part of the only Hebrew speaking seminary in Israel.