Saturday, January 10, 2009

Caught in the Fog…

fog

Ever feel like your life is caught in a fog?

Sure you do…we all do at times. Whether its that “morning fog” before your first coffee, or the fog that exists when we are utterly exhausted and not quite sure where to turn. There is fog in life, plenty of it, but I really think it has a purpose.

At those times when we face the fog, it can be beautiful or just down right aggravating…this really depends upon our circumstances. For example, when at the lake on a cool spring morning and a fog rises off the lake as the sun is rising…there isn’t a more beautiful site. There is no hurry, no place to be, just time to relax and enjoy. Take that same fog but you are late for work, its aggravating because everyone seems to be “putsing” along and the fog is just slowing things down. Then comes the dense fog. WOW…you can’t see anything. It is so thick that it’s just not safe to drive. You begin to lose all sense of direction, you have no idea what is lurking just beyond your sight.

The fog we face in life is much the same, and I believe God has a purpose for it. Just as when we face the fog rolling in, we need to slow down and concentrate harder on what we are doing. We have to focus on what is in front of us. Then, when the dense fog rolls in, we need to just stop and wait. If you think back to the last time you walked outside in the dense fog…there is a stillness…a silence that envelops everything. It’s in this silence, we just listen. We may start to feel lonely in the fog…but if we stop and rest, look around there is a surreal beauty, we can sense there is something bigger around us. God wants our trust, our faith, our obedience, He is there to meet us when the fog rolls in.

When we are caught in the fog, just as in life, there are two things which will remove the fog in our life and restore clarity to the world around us. Either the sun will burn off the fog or the wind will blow it away…did you get that…either the Son will burn away the fog, or the Holy Spirit will blow it away…

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Reflections of a Year Gone By…

What do you think of when you hear the word reflection? A mirror? Sun or scenery on the water? The moon?

As we reflect back on 2008 the question must be asked…what did I reflect, what did you reflect? This picture above speaks volumes about what we are to be like. The moon simply reflects the sun. The moon has no light in and of itself. The entire brilliance of the moon comes from its alignment with the sun. The more in line with the sun, the bigger and brighter it shines. The moon is a light in the darkness…a light that everyone knows when they see it. This sounds a lot like what we are called to do as believers…a light in the darkness that is a reflection of the Son.

Ephesians 5:8
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light

1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Determine now what you are going to reflect in 2009…we are called to make a difference.

Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.