With light and darkness men change, women change, and life changes.”
                    –James Oliver Curwood (The Valley of Silent Men a Story of the Three River Country)

       “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
                    –2 Corinthians 4:6 (NKJV)
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Darkness, in the middle of lights and celebration?  Absolutely!  The lights, the fanfare, the bells, chimes, and celebrations are often indications of darkness.  Men and women run to them to escape their dark souls, to rationalize the sin in their hearts.  Many will not even acknowledge that they are sinners.  Darkness!  St. John of the Cross wrote, “For the sensual part of a man has no capacity for that which is pure spirit, and thus, when it is the spirit that receives the pleasure, the flesh is left without savor and is too weak to perform any action.”  Man does not want the true light to shine on his spirit for he loves to live in darkness, in his evil thoughts, that is one reason he fights to the conviction that comes to him.  Therefore, he often seeks the pseudo-light thinking that it will ease his conscience.
     St. John of the Cross continues with the thought that man’s palate was accustomed to the tastes and flavors of Egypt.  He enjoys it, he savors it, and when he is removed he will complain that he wants and prefers the food of Egypt; he complains about the food of heaven.  Thus when the light shines he shuts his spiritual mind against what it represents.  Oh that we would see the true light!  Let the lights on your tree remind you of the One who sent the Light into the dark world; to remind you of the Light that flooded the darkness of your heart and spirit.  
     Isaiah reminds us, “There will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish.” (9:1, NASB)  The NLT translates it this way, “Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever.”  In verse 2, Isaiah writes, “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them.” (NASB)  At Christmas we think of the “star”, the light that led with wise men to the Child.  Light will cast out darkness, and in the spiritual realm so much more.  “The light of grace was breaking into the self-inflicted gloom of sin.” (Alistair Begg)  Begg continues his thought, “The good news of Christmas is that the God of the Bible is the God of grace, who comes into the darkness and emptiness of our hearts to bring His light, His joy, and His peace.”
     So don’t get into a frenzy with the lights of Christmas, as they represent the greater Light.  If there is darkness in your heart, don’t use the lights to try to brighten your soul, it will not work, and it will not last.  You, I, and all must come to the one Light, the Lord Jesus Christ.  The light of Christmas should not be seasonal, or even one day of the year.  “It is a Merry Christmas all the year round to a soul that has an unstaggering faith in the promises of the blessed God.” (Charles Spurgeon)  Live in the Light, live in it daily, hourly, and gaze at the wonder of the Light that has now come to your life.
     “May your Christmas be filled with grace over perfection, presence over pressure, and love over everything else.” (unknown)  In other words as the Light shines in your heart let it glow so that others may see and have hope.

When you brighten the day of someone else, you’ve given them about the best gift there is.”
                    –Donald L. Robertson  (The Hanging Star)

       “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
                    –John 3:16 (ESV)
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As the embers glow and glisten in the campfire I want to give you two thoughts to ponder.  The first came to me when I was reading a hymn by Charles Wesley, “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.”  I am not familiar with it, but there was something that caught my attention.  The second line of the first stanza:  “Joy of heaven, to earth came down…”  The thought came to me, what was heaven like with Jesus not there?
     Was there sadness in heaven?  Several years back there was a song, a good song with a good melody and was inspirational, but it had some faulty theology–“The Angels up in Heaven Must Have Cried.”  First of all, I have no proof from Scripture that angels cry, and secondly, there is no sadness or tears in heaven.  So there is the answer to that first question, no, there was no sadness.  Did the angels understand what was happening?  I don’t know, they are part of the supernatural world, part of the world where Satan battles and rebels, so do they know what is going on?  But they cannot know the fullness of grace–that is reserved for man.
     But that still does not answer my question.  The Joy of heaven, came to earth.  There must have been something missing, but I don’t understand the full meaning.  Jesus never laid aside His deity.  On earth He was still God, in His fullness.  What Paul seems to say, He “made Himself of no reputation,” or “He emptied Himself.”  He laid aside His “glory” (the “kenosis”).  The NKJV Study Bible states, “He did not empty Himself of any part of His essence as God.  Instead He gave up His privileges as God and took upon Himself existence as a man.”  Oh, what a wonderful mystery!  When the angels looked at the throne they did not see the Son of God, however, when they took notice of earth they saw Him walking as a man, coming to redeem mankind.  The thought is beyond me, it is too wonderful for me.
     The second thought that hit me this week in my reading came from the idea of gifts.  Christmas is a time noted for the giving of gifts.  It might be a good time to review Matthew 25:14-20, where the Master gave talents (gifts) to His servants.  “We’ve all been entrusted with something.” (Gary Wilkerson)  Get that in your mind.  If nothing else we’ve been entrusted with life itself, but even more, we’ve been entrusted with the great gift of the Father of His Son.  What will you and I do with that profound gift of Jesus?  What will you and I do with our lives?
     I do like what Wilkerson suggested regarding our wonderful gifts.  He said, “We were made with the design of serving and working out God’s purpose in the world.  In many ways, salvation is simply accepting this and allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us so that we can achieve God’s purpose for us.”  Think of that.  The Gift is there–accept it or reject it.  Make something of it, or bury it in the sand.  Remember, however, the Master is coming back to see what we have done with the gift of His Son.  
     We all, as believers, have been “entrusted with some capacity or ability to expand the kingdom of God….  Never say, ‘I have nothing to offer.’  God has given you a gift to move His kingdom forward in some way.” (Wilkerson)  Get with it this Christmas and use your gift, however insignificant you think it may be.  A smile or hug goes a long way, and it is amazing how the Holy Spirit can use such a gesture.  First, accept the Gift of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, that eternal gift.  “God’s gift of Himself has huge implications for our lives and how we move through the world.” (Wilkerson)  Then get on with life, that wonderful gift of breath and strength and I will say, time.  Use those gifts to the best of your ability knowing that they come from the Lord and that it is our responsibility, duty, and obligation to be giving them back to Him.  May we be about the process of preparing our hearts for Christ’s return, looking forward to the day when we “cast our crowns, before thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise!” (Wesley)

I have my problems. One of them is anger when I see a fool in action.”