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Friday, October 28, 2016

Ephesians 5:8

"Living As Children Of Light"


Message Summary: The radiant light of God's Holy Word exposes and dispels darkness. When God's servants live as children of light, darkness is dissipated and that's a great spiritual reality to consider today. All of us, in one way or another, are exposed to darkness though some far more than others. We are called to let our light shine and, by God's grace and through His might, we want to shine ours brightly to expose and then dispel the darkness!

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"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them" (Ephesians 5:8-11).

Light your world, let the love of God shine through
In the little things you do, light your world
And though your light may be
Reaching only two or three, light your world

We had some interesting ministry experiences when we lived in New England in the nineties. Brooksyne was teaching a group of children about this time of the year and a little girl who was visiting her class proudly declared that her aunt was a witch. Brooksyne sought to deal with the situation with sensitivity since the "witch" was a family member. And yet she did not want to miss an opportunity God provided for her to give proper instruction to this impressionable child.

Appealing to the Holy Spirit to help her "speak the truth in love" she carefully disclosed the Biblical teaching on this subject. Interestingly, the little girl was insistent that her aunt was a "good" witch.

Such are the fruits of the Biblical illiteracy and moral confusion that abounds in our land with children and adults. The celebration of Halloween has grown in our lifetime and by some accounts is second only to Christmas for retail sales. Some yards have eerie displays rivaling the Christmas themes.

Regarding this matter the Bible is very clear: "Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead" (Deuteronomy 18:10,11). There are no "good" witches. Evil and good are not compatible friends but rather contrasting foes. We cannot dabble in darkness and still live in the light.

One of the most familiar statements by Jesus was in the Sermon on the Mount, "You are the light of the world" which prompted the children's song "This little light of mine".

The radiant light of God's Holy Word exposes and dispels darkness. When God's servants live as children of light, darkness is dissipated and that's a great spiritual reality to consider today. All of us, in one way or another, are exposed to darkness though some far more than others. We are called to let our light shine and, by God's grace and through His might, we want to shine ours brightly to expose and then dispel the darkness!

The daily text says we were once darkness but are now light in the Lord and thus we are to live (or walk in some versions) as children of light. We are to have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. At this time when crusaders of darkness are especially applauded, let us hear the resounding call God has placed upon our lives to "live as children of light!"

It only takes a little time
To show someone how much you care
It only takes a little time
To answer someone's biggest prayer


Be encouraged today,


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Praying manDaily prayer: Jesus, You are the Light of the world. And because You reside in our hearts we are a reflection of Your holy light. The world we live in is dark and growing even darker as Satan's sinister and deceitful schemes are being played out. Help us not to look the other way when darkness is spreading lest the darkness overshadow us in time. Instead would You empower us, through the light of Your Holy Spirit, to shine in a wicked and decadent society. We come against the darkness by speaking against wickedness in all forms. And, Lord, help us to be consistent not only in what we speak but the manner in which we live. May the fruit of light be evident in all we do. In Your name, we pray. Amen.



Additional thought to ponder: One single year is made up of 31,536,000 seconds. Every tick of the clock records the ever-lessening opportunities of life. Time is in perpetual motion. Like a strong, ever-flowing river, it is bearing away everything into the boundless ocean of eternity. We never know the value of time till we know the value of the fragments into which it is broken up. To make the most of a single hour we must make the most of every minute of which it is composed. The most dangerous moments of a man's life are those when time hangs heavily on his hands. He who has nothing to do but kill time is in danger of being killed himself. It is a miracle of divine goodness if he is preserved from serious folly, or something worse; and such miracles rarely occur. The man who has learnt the value of time can learn any lesson this world may have to teach him. Time is the opportunity for the exercise of Christian wisdom, and should be the more sedulously used when the days are evil ”when evil is in power. Oh for wisdom to number our days (Psalm 90:12), to grasp the meaning of present opportunity! Here come the moments that can never be had again; some few may yet be filled with imperishable good. Let us apply our hearts ”all our powers” unto wisdom. (Source unknown but found on Precept Austin website)



Some more photos from our visit to the San Diego Zoo. Today's photos were all taken by Ester.

Correction: Yesterday we showed a photo of a dog and Cheetah that had been raised together and were playing. Several alert readers corrected me since I stated yesterday it was a tiger. Not sure how I made that obvious mistake and my editing wife also missed it! Thanks for the correction, friends. Also I found a photo of a lion in Ester's collection resting under a rock.

San Diego Zoo Orangutan 10/24/16
An Orangutan has a face only a mother can love (at least from our perspective!) But the eyes certainly have a contemplative look, don't they!

San Diego Zoo Hippo 10/24/16
The Hippopotamus is not in great demand as a family pet.

San Diego Zoo Giraffe 10/24/16
Did you know giraffes have dark tongues? We didn't before seeing Ester's photos of this giraffe scooping in the straw with his or her tongue.

San Diego Zoo Kangaroo 10/24/16
Kangaroo taking a little break from his chow before the next mouth full.

San Diego Zoo Panda Bear 10/24/16
Another photo of the Panda Bear.

San Diego Zoo Polar Bear 10/24/16
We would have preferred to see the Polar Bear playing in the water but are pleased to see this one resting.

San Diego Zoo black and white monkeys 10/24/16
These black and white monkeys get along just fine. Do you suppose they even see their differences?

San Diego Zoo Meercat 10/24/16
The sentry Meercat
was on faithful guard duty even in the protected zoo setting.



Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources

"Light Your World"  Video  NewSong

"Pass It On"  Video 

I heard a funny illustration about communications yesterday from one of the radio preachers (I can't recall which one, may have been Chuck Swindoll or James MacDonald) I found the joke online here.

Finally today: I never know what I might experience when I visit with the guys at various companies, this one being at Smucker Laser. But this was a first for me!

J Diesel 10/27/16

J Diesel 10/27/16
We meet many interesting people in the course of our chaplaincy work. J. Diesel (Joey Daddiego photo) is a wrestler with the Ring of Honor Wrestling and told me yesterday he could pick me up in a wrestling move. He was confident he could pick me up although I weigh over 100 pounds and then some. After he lifted me up he gently placed me back down (I'm sure glad he didn't body slam me like you see on TV!). He then told me he had picked up another pro wrestler named Shane Taylor, who is listed at 350 pounds, which for the record, is considerably more than me! After my experience
yesterday I have determined I will not be pursuing a career in pro wrestling.


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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.

Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."

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