Lighting Experience – Day 1

It’s the first day of the second month of the year 2021. This 21 Days reflection titled – “Lighting Experience” is geared towards helping us retrace our steps and revisit our commitments to make a better journey in life.

Nothing good comes easy! Our plans to start off better in 2021 may not be turning out brilliantly as planned. Not to worry – Our hope is in God! Let’s turn to Him for help for a new beginning.

Turning to God is important because God is forever faithful, He is forever sure! He alone can guarantee our journey. In turning to God, we must seek God’s light for the journey. We must acknowledge our frailty: our weakness and wickedness. And seek for cleansing through God’s grace, through God’s love, through God’s light to dispell the darkness from our lives. We must search for a lighting experience… we must not stumble and fumble in the dark… God please take our hands!

Our guiding bible text for the 21 day’s reflection is taken from Psalm 36 and the first 21 chapters of the Gospel according to John. Click below to read Psalm 36.

21 Day Lighting Experience – Psalm 36

1 I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:[b] There is no fear of God before their eyes. 2 In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin. 3 The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful; they fail to act wisely or do good. 4 Even on their beds they plot evil; they commit themselves to a sinful course and do not reject what is wrong. 5 Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. 6 Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals. 7 How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. 9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. 10 Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart. 11 May the foot of the proud not come against me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. 12 See how the evildoers lie fallen— thrown down, not able to rise! Holy Bible, New International Version® from Biblegateway.com

The psalm is key to this reflection for many reasons. But we would briefly take just two points.
1st point
We can’t rely on our heart to guide us.
We are often selfish and seek to go for whatever serves our pleasures even if it is at the detriment of others.
We are proud and stubborn about our choices, and we only seek a choice that doesn’t bruise our ego.
We don’t know it all. We don’t see the end of the journey… all we have are expectations… and our anxiety may lead us to make the wrong decisions in the heat of challenges.


2nd point
We rely on God’s compassion and must desire his light to give us light, always.
God’s choices is for the good of all.
God is Almighty… what are we that he has us in mind… God’s love for us is a show of simplicity.
God knows it all; God knows the way and can make a way where there seems to be no way.
God is not under pressure to make decisions…God is sure of what he has in store for us.

“For with you is the fountain of life;

    in your light we see light.”

Psalm 36:9

Psalm 36 is a call to repentance. We have acknowledged our frailty and dependence on God. We must empty ourselves of pride and the empty and fruitless desires of our heart. In all, we must seek the will of God, which is Love! Love for us, love for our neighbour, love for God!

Our second text is from John’s Gospel. John’s gospel is written differently from the other gospels and in a way it reveals us to a nature of God that reminds man of himself and his union with God. Click below to read John Chapter 1

21 Day Lighting Experience – John Chapter 1

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it. 6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and[b] is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. 19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders[c] in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” 21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” 22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”[d] 24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 “I baptize with[e] water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” 28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing. John Testifies About Jesus 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”[f] 35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” 39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. 40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter[g]). 43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip. 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” 48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” 50 Jesus said, “You believe[h] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you,[i] you[j] will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’[k] the Son of Man.” Holy Bible, New International Version® from Biblegateway.com

What did you learn from this gospel passage? Kindly share your views on what the passage means to you.

For our reflection we would be delving into the lighting experience. Jesus as the word made flesh and a biblical allusion to Psalm 119:105 tells us that the word of God sheds light into our lives and unto our path. Jesus the word made flesh, has come to dispell darkness from our lives, only if we allow him to. John 1:12-13. The question here is have your received him? And how much of this light do you allow into your live?

“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet; and a light unto my path.”

Psalm 119:105

What more can we take from the passage? Unlike the wicked man described in Psalm 36, we see the humility of John the Baptist. He desires the will of God; He desires that God’s light should increase and he leads others to Jesus. It is often said that lighting another person’s candle does not diminish your light. Rather it brightens up the room the more. Yes, that is part of the lighting experience we are called to be part of.

We are called to lead others to God. We are called to share the word of God (the light in other people’s lives) and make the room brighter. We are called to ensure that God’s will be done.

The call of Phillip is the same call we receive. God does not need to say much to us. If we trust God, then “Follow Me” is enough message for us to turn to God. Are we still waiting for a fantastic preacher and several signs and wonders before we follow Jesus? And when we follow Jesus, do we draw others to Jesus? Or we allow the light to remain in our lives alone? We must share a lighting experience. The light of God has come to dispell darkness. We must ensure that our surrounding is lit with the fire of God.

We cannot be discouraged by others, like Nathaniel, many feel that good cannot come from some person, tribe, or location; they limit the grace and power of God. May we not limit God and may we be given the grace to “see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on’[k] the Son of Man.” Amen!

“Follow Me…

Follow the Light”

Remember, without light we stumble in the dark. The sun gives off light for the day but people still stumble, while the moon and stars gives off light for the night and people are still lost. But what gives off light to truly brighten our lives? What kind of light can ensure we do not stumble or get lost? Life’s journey is neither day or night; it is the journey of our soul. What light is fit for our soul? That light that is a lamp unto our feet and a light to our path for life’s journey.

Follow us tomorrow 2nd February for Lighting Experience – Day 2

Speechlesswaters

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *