Carol McClain

Are You, Christian, Lurking in the Dark?

Carol McClain

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Isaiah 60:1

As a Christian for over forty years, I’ve seen some truly glorious and godly believers. Sadly, so many, while saved and loving the Lord do things we condemn in the unsaved.

How many have divorced a spouse while still being “best friends” with their ex? How many babies arrived eight months after a marriage? How many have skirted the edges of the law and bragged about their exploits?

Of course, the list of things we ought not  do stretches far beyond these three examples. (And I’m included among the people who lurk near the dark.)

I love the book of Isaiah. The sixty-six chapters contains some of the most glorious Scriptures I’ve read. This morning, I studied Isaiah 60. It was hard though to get past the first verse and not ask, “Do we shine?” From my examples above, and the better ones you can think of, the answer is a resounding no. Perhaps popular media has a reason to lambast us at times. Perhaps, if we paid more attention to the second part of verse one, we’d change our ways.

The glory of the Lord has risen upon you

What does the glory of the Lord look like?

1. Look at the mountains. I live in the foothills of the Smokies. I’ve lived near the Adirondacks. Mountains more beautiful than these exist. Yet, God’s glory makes these wonders pale in comparison. We can view the Rockies or Everest at sunset, and still not imagine the real glory of God. Do you want to profane this with your own desires?
2. He’s forgiven all our sins. Diamonds lose value with flaws. Yet these are the people Jesus has chosen–flawed diamonds. Fortunately, we were wise at one point in our foolish lives. We saw our sins. We repented. We accepted Christ’s death on the cross. He now calls us sons and daughters. (1 John 3:1) Why do you want to lose this?
3. Despite our shortcomings as Christians, our Abba Father will redeem us. He’s given us tasks/talents to tend. Being faithful to this, in our death and resurrection he’s going to say, “Well done …welcome into the joy of the Lord.” (Matt. 15:21)
4. He’s eternal, just, sovereign, holy, perfect, infinite. We pale in comparison.

How can we not rise and shine and reflect the sun of our salvation?

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Choices We Make

How does a woman who knows God hates divorce survive a marriage that unexpectedly turns abusive? Can she stay true to her faith and stay true to the one man she can love?  Can her light shine?

Choices We Make shows how love can look different than the way we imagined. 1 Corinthians 13:7 states: ” Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”