Holes in the dark

Do you feel a sense of darkness overpowering so much of the good in this world? What is happening in your country? How about at your wedding? Can’t seem to see any light at the end of a long tunnel of marriage problems that have caused a separation between you and your spouse?

Sometimes the darkness comes and goes, but other times it overwhelms all the good you had (or maybe even the good you would have had). But no matter how dark it gets, remember:

“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven.“ (Matthew 4:14-16)

Holes in the dark

As followers of Jesus Christ, we have before us the mission of being lamplighters. We must poke holes in the darkness that the enemy of our faith is trying to perpetuate. May we constantly remember this mission. We do not want to help dim the light of God or “hidden” because:

“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we preach not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.

“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” caused his light to shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.“ (2 Corinthians 4:4-6)

Throughout the year, each of us will have many opportunities to make choices that could affect whether we challenge God”light” to “she shines before men” or if we diminish or obscure His light in some way. We encourage you to pray that each of us will make wise choices as God would make us.

Holes in the dark?

Listed below are just a few opportunities to shine God’s light in the darkness before others:

• Be a “light“ within your marriage and home.

As you saw above from the Bible verses in Matthew 4, we are called to live in such a way that we give “light for everyone in the house.“Is this how you live your life? Does the light of the Lord come through in the way you interact with your spouse and family members? Or is the way you live distracting you from LIVING CHRIST? “Don’t just listen to the word and thus deceive yourself. Do what he says.” (James 1:22)

• Live your faith with increasing measure.

“Make every effort to add kindness to your faith. And hey, add knowledge. To knowledge, add self-control. And to self-control, add persistence. To perseverance, add godliness. And to piety, add brotherly kindness. To brotherly kindness, add love.

“For if you possess these qualities to an increasing degree, they will prevent you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if one does not have them, he is short-sighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.“ (2 Peter 1:5-9)

Note:

Notice that we are going to add “kindnessHow do we live our faith? Please note that if we are too busy to be kind, we are TOO BUSY. All of us will go through times of busy work. But when our schedules are so full that we feel “crammed” and lash out at our spouse and family, it’s time to make some adjustments in our attitudes and/or schedule.

Talk to the Lord about the pressure you are feeling. Ask Him to show you what can be done for goodness to shine again. To help you in this mission, we have a few articles on our website that you may find useful. One is titled “Martha Syndrome: Confessions of a Woman in Trouble”, was posted on the topic “For married women”. Another article we suggest you read is titled When a job steals time from marriage and familyPosted in “Parallel Marriage Issues”.

• Let the light of Christ shine in you and in you pierce the darkness.

Whether you’re someone who celebrates Christmas as a holiday (we’ve heard from some of you who don’t), this is a time when many around the world, who don’t know Christ personally, are more open to Biblical issues. Ask the Lord to show you how you can join Him in extending His love and grace to those He brings you.

“Be wise in the way you act towards strangers. Let your conversation always be full of grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how to answer everyone.“ (Colossians 3:11)

Many of you will go to family gatherings and parties with those you associate with and work with and go to church with. Do not forget that you are ambassadors of Christ wherever you go.

“Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. Bear with one another and forgive whatever grievance you have against one another. Forgive as the Lord has forgiven you. And above all this put love, which unites all together in perfect harmony. …And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.“ (See Colossians 3:12-17)

“Whatever happens, conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.“ (Philippians 1:27)

“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without mistakes in a crooked and corrupt generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.“ (Philippians 2:14-15)

• Do not hide the light of Christ and do not “put it under a bowl”.

This can be especially related to having a bad attitude. Holes in the dark. Make sure your words as well as your actions communicate the gospel at all times. And look for opportunities to bless others with God’s love and grace.

“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we shall reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of believers.“ (Galatians 6:9-10)

• Pray for each other and poke holes in the dark.

There are problems all over the world. That’s why we NEED TO PRAY FOR EACH OTHER! Pray that God will help His followers to bring light and positive change to those around them.

Jesus prayed, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one.“ (John 17:15) Let us unite with Him by praying this.

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and petitions. With this in mind, be alert and always continue to pray for all the saints.“ (Ephesians 6:18)

It would be good to pray on behalf of other believers in the same way that the apostle Paul asked:

“Pray for me too, whenever I open my mouth, that I may be given words to fearlessly communicate the mystery of the gospel, for which I am a chained ambassador. Pray state it fearlessly, as I ought.”

Let us never forget to pray for one another so that God’s light may shine in us! May he use each of us to fearlessly poke holes in the dark!

Cindy and Steve Wright

– ADDITIONALLY –

To help you further, we give many personal stories, humor and more practical advice in our book, 7 ESSENTIALS to grow your marriage. We hope you’ll pick up a copy for yourself. (It’s available both online and in print.) Plus, it makes a great gift for someone else. It gives you an opportunity to help them grow their marriage. And who doesn’t need that? Just click on the linked title or image below:

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