Psalm 56:1 Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me; all day long they press their attack. 2 My slanderers pursue me all day long; many are attacking me in their pride. 3 When I am afraid, I will trust in you. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? 5 All day long they twist my words; they are always plotting to harm me. 6 They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps, eager to take my life. 7 On no account let them escape; in your anger, O God, bring down the nations. 8 Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll–are they not in your record? 9 Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help. By this I will know that God is for me. 10 In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise– 11 in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? 12 I am under vows to you, O God; I will present my thank offerings to you. 13 For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.

In the Bible, the “light of life” is a phrase meaning the fullness of life.  Life on full display.  On the big screen, not just the hand-held device. 

How do we have that fullness of life, that “light of life”?

You may have heard the phrase “Seeing is believing” but in the case of God and us, “Believing is seeing.”  We know Him by more than just sight.  We know Him by His act of Creation that we can see and continue to know Him by trusting in His Word.  That’s how we’ll have fullness of life, the light of life. 

In today’s psalm, David is being pursued by people he can see and hear.  He knows what they’re plotting.  He turns instead to the One he cannot see or audibly hear except by faith.  Look over the psalm and note how sight and sound dominate man’s approach. 

How easy it would be to rely only upon what he can see and hear! 

But look at the response of David: praise, trust, confidence in the fullness of life.  Trusting in God’s Word, David had spiritual sight to overcome opposition that was both audible and visible.  Sometimes we just have to stick with what we know, and by faith, see.

Fun fact of light:  According to the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL), it is “not possible to have thunder without lightning. Thunder is a direct result of lightning. However, it IS possible that you might see lightning and not hear the thunder because it was too far away. Sometimes this is called “heat lightning” because it occurs most often in the summer.” 

Thunder is produced when lightning–a giant flash of electricity from charges in the atmosphere– break from the natural insulation of clouds, air, etc.  The result is a rapid discharge of electricity which equalizes the charges in the atmosphere.  What makes the sound? 

According to NSSL, “Thunder is caused by lightning. The bright light of the lightning flash … represents a great deal of energy. This energy heats the air in the channel to above 50,000 degrees F in only a few millionths of a second! The air that is now heated to such a high temperature had no time to expand, so it is now at a very high pressure. The high pressure air then expands outward into the surrounding air compressing it and causing a disturbance that propagates in all directions away from the stroke. The disturbance is a shock wave for the first 10 yards, after which it becomes an ordinary sound wave, or thunder.” 

We see the lightning before hearing the thunder because light waves travel faster than sound waves.  Yet, we can see “heat lightning” without hearing thunder and sometimes, depending on where we are, we can hear rumbles of thunder but not see the lightning.  Yet we know it’s there.  Believing is seeing in the light of life.

For further study:

• Read John 20:29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 
• In this story about Thomas, one of Jesus’ disciples, physical light led to physical vision.  But how does spiritual light lead to spiritual vision? 
• Which one, physical light or spiritual light, leads to the fullness, the light of life?

Have you ever thought about your life in terms of degrees of magnitude … how abundant, how vast are your life characteristics of love, faithfulness, righteousness, and justice? 

For God, they’re so big they can’t be measured and moreover, so amazing they can’t be contained.  It is as a fountain of life, the magnitude of God’s light.

Psalm 36:5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. 6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O LORD, you preserve both man and beast. 7 How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find 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. 

This psalm is all about abundance and magnitude.  In its totality, Psalm 36 is a study contrasting the most evil and the greatest good.  The evil unrepentant ones in this world—whether great or small–end up in ruin.  The ones with faith as small as a mustard seed have life. 

What’s the point in giving it your all if even the tiniest faith can save?  Does God value economy of effort or magnitude of love?  

There’s a greater reward in heaven for giving it our all. 

When we shine and reflect God’s love and faithfulness, righteousness and justice to other people, is it on again off again like an SOS to the world?  Is it bright enough, light abundant enough to be truly read as the magnitude of love or is it just some light flashing on and off dimly in the night, hoping that someone can decode the message before disaster strikes? 

Fun fact of light:  Light intensity can be a matter of magnitude, vastness or quantity of light rays, plus how close they are to the source.  The distance from the Earth to the Sun is not dramatically different even from season to season, let alone hour by hour.  Of course, the Earth’s orbit is not a perfect circle, but more of an ellipse.  Earth’s closest point of orbit is called the perihelion and in the Earth’s revolution, it happens in early January.  At that point it is about 91 million miles from the Sun.  At some point in early July, the Earth will be at its farthest from the Sun at approximately 94.5 million miles a mere 3.8% difference from its closest point.

So why do the rays of the Sun seem most intense in the early afternoon irrespective of season, but markedly so in the summer? 

Well, there is the Earth’s shape—round—and therefore the Sun’s rays don’t fall on all parts of the planet equally. Places that face the Sun directly get sunlight from directly overhead, while places off to the side get sunlight at an angle.  Therefore, the density of rays is less and the more atmosphere each ray must pass through before it reaches our eyes.  The Earth’s axial tilt, rotation, and distance from the Sun all play a part in our light intensity at dawn, mid-day and dusk, hour by hour, and season by season.

For further thought:

• Why have increasing faith when even faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains?
• How can we expect the world to see the magnitude of love that God has for us if our faith is only expressed as an SOS when we want God to bail us out?
• Thinking about light hitting the Earth, how can we orient ourselves to best receive God’s light and to display it with the greatest magnitude and consistency?

Thank you, Lord Jesus that You gave Your life so we might know the magnitude of the Father’s love.  Help us to have faith that grows and not to settle for tiny faith on our timetable and kept in a drawer for when we think we need it.  Help us to shine as Your light and be a city on a hill.  We praise You for Your love!  Amen.

Psalm 27:1 Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation– whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life– of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. 3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. 4

One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.

5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. 6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD. 7 Hear my voice when I call, O LORD; be merciful to me and answer me. 8

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek.

9 Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior. 10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. 11 Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. 12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence. 13

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

The connection between light and sight is undeniable.  If darkness and blindness lead us to feelings of uncertainty and even fear, it shouldn’t surprise us that both light and sight can lead us to confidence. 

Reading through this psalm of David, the connection of light to sight to confident hope repeats in a rhythm from verse to verse. 

What do you do when you face great opposition like David did? Do you retreat or hide? 

Or do you consult your GPS (God Positioning System) to orient yourself?  Do you press into the light so you can see the face of God and have confidence to face a new day? 

Light has a way of providing orientation of our lives and in that same way, God’s light leads us to life, even salvation.

Fun fact of light:   Did you know that sea turtles and moths use the light of the moon and the stars to help navigate at night?  When baby sea turtles are born, they must move from the relative safety of the buried nest of eggs as they hatch and make their way to the greater safety of the sea.  Their migration is rather remarkable.  It has been known for a while that street lights can create enough light to mask any turtle’s natural means of orientation and lead to its death, but now educational efforts are paying off with “darkened beaches” so that nature’s light can orient the little hatchlings to safety.

For further thought: 

• How can the light of God help to orient our lives? 
• What other distractions can lead us astray and lure us to death? 
• Read Psalm 27 again and see how clearly the psalmist encourages a focus upon God to bring us light and salvation.

Thank You, Father, for the way Your light guides us and orients our lives.  Thank You, Jesus for being our light and our salvation.  Shine, Jesus, shine in our lives!  May we reflect Your glory and always be confident in sharing You with a watching world.  Amen.

Acknowledging this is poetry, yet there are things we can learn about light.  Yes, light declares things about God…even at night. 

Day and night, God’s creative work is visible because of light (shining forth from the sun, moon, planets, and stars).  There’s even “Earthshine.”

Outside of Earth, God created all those heavenly bodies to give off light either as a source like the sun and stars, or to reflect it like the moon.

And God’s purposes were at least two-fold:

1. to separate the day from the night
2. and to mark time (Genesis 1:14-19) on the fourth day.

In reading this passage, note how many references there are to sight and knowledge and how light declares these things to creation. 

Psalm 19:1 For the director of music. A psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. 3 There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. 4 Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, 5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. 6 It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat. 7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. 10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. 11 By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. 12 Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. 13 Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression. 14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. 

Why would the psalmist, David, have such an abrupt topic break between verses 6 and 7?

Could it be that light declares in visual form what the Bible teaches in word form?  Both make sight possible.

Fun fact of light: The sun produces both light and heat.  The moon produces heat from decay of radioactive material but not enough to produce truly significant heat, unlike the stars.  The moon reflects light because it has no atmosphere and when the sun shines on the moon, the moon can get very hot, but the areas of the moon where the sun has set, the moon is frigid. Technically there is no dark side of the moon unless you’re listening to Pink Floyd.  From Universe Today:

“Every second, the Sun is converting 600 million tons of hydrogen into helium. This reaction lets out a tremendous amount of energy. Most of this energy heads off into space, but some of it falls on the planets and the moons in the Solar System. This is why we can see them at all… When there’s a new moon, however, there’s no light from the Sun falling on the Moon, and yet we can still see the surface of the Moon. Where’s the light coming from? The Earth. Astronomers call this reflected light “Earthshine”, and it helps them calculate how much sunlight is falling on the Earth.

So now you know that the light of the Moon actually comes from the Sun, unless it’s coming from the Earth.”   

For further thought: 

• Is it just pretty poetry to say that the commands of the LORD are radiant and they give light to the eyes?  Or do they tell us something that light declares?  Is there a connection between light and sight, and between the law and its resulting in knowledge and fear the LORD? 
• Is there something significant in the moon not creating its own light at night, but merely reflecting the sun’s light back to earth?  What can Christians do to reflect God’s glory, God’s light declared?  Do we produce it or reflect it? 
• How does Psalm 19 act as a cherry on the top of a Psalm 18 sundae of praise to the Lawgiver, our God?

Thank You, Father, for the many ways You reveal Yourself to us!  Thank You for the beauty of Creation.  May we never take for granted this treasure You have given us.  Help us, LORD, to reflect Your beauty and Your glory to a watching world.  Grant that we would never forget the privilege You have given humanity in Your creating light and mankind with the ability to see.  May we always be grateful and respond to You by reflecting Your glory.  Amen.

About the watchful light of God’s countenance, His face shining upon us, the psalmist turns from lament and plea to trust as he writes Psalm 4:1 Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer. 2 How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? Selah 3 Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to him. 4 In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Selah 5 Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD. 6 Many are asking, “Who can show us any good?” Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD. 7 You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. 8 I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Ever had a nightmare?  As an adult, they can be just as scary as when you were a child. 

It’s why I can’t watch horror movies or even realistic blood and guts movies or TV shows anymore.  How often does the violence depicted as realistic fiction—even in video games—get reenacted for real on the streets?  So I have a rule: No news after 8:30 pm because both reality and fiction follow me into my dreams.

In fact, the more horrific the carnage, the more frightening real life becomes to where it seems like a living nightmare.  A quick look at the headlines of Syria or areas of Chicago can make people afraid to leave their homes and afraid to stay.  They feel trapped like there’s nowhere to go, nowhere to hide.  Fear that is amplified under cover of darkness.

I don’t know about you, but nightmares mean one thing: I want light.  I turn on the light if I’m alone or I get out of bed and go into another room to have the light on so I don’t wake my husband up.  Light somehow makes everything seem better.  Less frightening. There’s just something comforting in being able to see and be seen.

Now, God’s face isn’t like the sun as a great big ball of combustion and sun spots.  But His face and the watchful light of His countenance are profoundly reassuring.  Knowing that He’s watching.  Knowing that He sees.  Knowing that He cares, and then we can sleep peacefully.  He makes us dwell in safety because in His light… and in His hands…well, that’s the safest place around.

Fun fact of light from the Physics Classroom:  Without light, there is no sight.  Imagine being in a dark room…  “If you were to turn off the room lights for a moment and then cover all the windows with black construction paper to prevent any entry of light into the room, then you would notice that nothing in the room would be visible. There would be objects present that were capable of being seen. There would be eyes present that would be capable of detecting light from those objects. There would be a brain present that would be capable of deciphering the information sent to it. But there would be no light! The room and everything in it would look black. The appearance of black is merely a sign of the absence of light. When a room full of objects (or a table, a shirt or a sky) looks black, then the objects are not generating nor reflecting light to your eyes. And without light, there would be no sight.”

For further thought: 

• When God’s watchful light shines on us spiritually, we can see His goodness and His perfect love drives away all fear.  (1 John 4:18)
• If light doesn’t make objects disappear and it’s just a function of light allowing us to see, what might be some reasons light is so comforting?
• What might be some ways to bring ourselves into God’s watchful light?
• In the Sunday School song “This Little Light of Mine” what blows out the light?  How does that match up with what extinguishes our light in real life?

From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised. (Psalm 113:3)

You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light. (2 Samuel 22:29)

God isn’t really a lamp.  It’s poetic language to paint a picture of what God does: turning human darkness into light of life in His grace. 

Unlike a created lamp, we can’t turn God off and on.  We can’t control Him.  We can’t place limits on the distance His light can travel.  We can’t extinguish Him and we certainly wouldn’t want to.  The whole universe falls apart without Him (Colossians 1:15-20).  With God as our source, our lamp can always be burning.  No matter what, we can’t use Him up or exhaust Him.  He turns our spiritual darkness into light of life.

Psalm 18 presents a song of David after being delivered from the hand of Saul.  In it, David praises God as a fortress, a shield, a refuge and his protector.  It is no surprise that given God’s actions in David’s life as a deliverer, David would begin the psalm with “I love you, O LORD, my strength” which is missing from the same song also recorded in 2 Samuel 22.  Psalms are like that, evoking strong emotions in poetic language.

Psalm 18:28 You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. 

Poetic or spiritual (or poetic and spiritual), God gives us sight and keeps us from stumbling in the darkness by keeping our lamps burning.  What’s not to love about that?

Fun fact of light from Live Science: 

The Earth’s surface curves out of sight at a distance of 3.1 miles, or 5 kilometers. But our visual acuity extends far beyond the horizon. If Earth were flat, or if you were standing atop a mountain surveying a larger-than-usual patch of the planet, you could perceive bright lights hundreds of miles distant. On a dark night, you could even see a candle flame flickering up to 30 mi. (48 km) away.

How far the human eye can see depends on how many particles of light, or photons, a distant object emits. The farthest object visible with the naked eye is the Andromeda galaxy, located an astonishing 2.6 million light-years from Earth. The galaxy’s 1 trillion stars collectively emit enough light for a few thousand photons to hit each square centimeter of Earth every second; on a dark night, that’s plenty to excite our retinas.

For further thought: 

• How is witness like a shining light? 
• 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
• And how does the Church collectively look like stars in the universe?
• Philippians 2: 14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life.

Lord Jesus, help us to shine like stars in the universe, holding out the word of life to a world in darkness.  During this Lenten season as we examine our lives and rediscover what You have done for us, please help Your Church to be the witness You desire her to be, a light for the Gentiles, reflecting the light of Yeshua that cannot be hidden.  Inspire us toward good works that shine forth to all nations and bring praise and glory to You!  Amen.

* * *

Light: There’s Nothing Like It, the Seminary Gal 2017 Lenten Devotional Series began March 1, 2017 and will be archived in the sidebar for you.

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2017 Lent Devotionals automatically.  Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed.  If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so.  Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings.  You don’t want to miss this great way to learn about light to prepare your heart for Easter!

Come join me in the Light. There’s absolutely nothing like it!

===

Acknowledging that former years’ devotional series remain popular:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• And ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.

Light Moves.  That all by itself is quite remarkable.  Unlike much of physical creation, it’s never stationary.  It’s always moving, never sleeping, never stopped unless something extinguishes its source, blocks it from our view, or could absorb it completely.  Not even black bodies as imagined by Gustav Kirchhoff or observable black holes do that.  Some light has traveled 13.7 billion years to reach us.

Now think about what Jesus said in Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither 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. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Light is meant to be on the move and so are we.  Our good deeds are meant to radiate from our Source (the Holy Spirit) as evidence of God to a watching world.  As the light of the world, we are meant to radiate His light and His love.  After all, He is the Light of the World and God is love!

John 9:4 “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Fun fact of light:  Regarding the movement of light, it radiates within the electro-magnetic field but it’s not electric or magnetic all by itself.

Physicist Matt Calhoun explains,

According to the theory of Electricity and Magnetism, charged particles which are stationary are “electric”, charged particles which move at a constant velocity are “magnetic”, and charged particles which accelerate will emit “electro-magnetic radiation” which travels at the speed of light…In other words, “light” is the transportation of energy from one part of the electromagnetic field to another, and it facilitates the interaction between electric and magnetic objects, but is neither electric nor magnetic itself.

For further thought:

• John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
• How does following Christ suggest we should always be on the move?  
• How does following Christ give us the light of life?
• How can spiritual darkness be understood as spiritually dying, leading to spiritual death?
• Do dead things move?  What happens when we display no movement of light?

Our Father in heaven, help us to follow our Lord Jesus and radiate His light and His goodness wherever we go.  His light moves and so may ours.  May we always be about Your work so long as there is Day for us to be sharing the Gospel and bringing Christ’s light to those in darkness so they might have the light of life.  Amen.

* * *

Light: There’s Nothing Like It, the Seminary Gal 2017 Lenten Devotional Series began March 1, 2017 and will be archived in the sidebar for you.

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2017 Lent Devotionals automatically.  Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed.  If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so.  Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings.  You don’t want to miss this great way to learn about light to prepare your heart for Easter!

Come join me in the Light. There’s absolutely nothing like it!

===

Acknowledging that former years’ devotional series remain popular:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• And ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.

One of the interesting things about God’s creating light is His doing it for our benefit.  He did it knowing He would be creating plants and creatures that required light to grow and produce.  And creating people who would have the ability to see.  He didn’t have to create us with sight, but He did!

Since that time, God uses light to produce food for us to eat and to lead us in the way we should go–to light our way!  In Exodus, the Israelites were on the move,  Exodus 13:21 By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.

In the daylight, they could see a pillar of cloud, but at night there was a pillar of fire which gave off light.  In both cases, light was used to light our way.

Fun fact of light: Humans have a “visible spectrum” of light, basically that rainbow of colors that white light separates into when it passes through a prism or raindrops.  But light also includes a spectrum we cannot see, but other animals can.  Bees, for example, can see ultraviolet light which attracts them to flowers which aren’t perhaps the showiest in our visible spectrum.  Reptiles can see infrared light which supplies heat to assist with maintaining body temperature and locating warm-blooded prey.  Fire is predominantly in the infrared range to the warm colors of our visible spectrum which is why it looks red, orange or yellow overall.

For further thought:

• Are there any ways in which God still uses light to lead us or to light our way?
• Why do you think God might have chosen a rainbow in the sky rather than one of those “God-beams” breaking through the clouds to accompany His promise of never again flooding the earth? Genesis 9:8-16
• In Numbers 22:21-40, there’s a very strange story that includes a talking donkey which saw the angel of the Lord standing in the path, but her rider, Balaam, did not. Could our visible spectrum have blinded Balaam to what was spiritually visible to his donkey?  The Bible doesn’t say, but it makes me wonder what other things we might not be seeing. How does spiritual light make things invisible to our naked eye, visible by faith?

Lord Jesus, during this season of Lent, give us spiritual sight so that we might see You for who You are. That we might see our own sinfulness clearly so that we might repent.  That we might recognize our need for Your forgiveness.  Give us Your light and lead us in Your ways for Your glory.  Amen.

* * *

Light: There’s Nothing Like It, the Seminary Gal 2017 Lenten Devotional Series began March 1, 2017 and will be archived in the sidebar for you.

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2017 Lent Devotionals automatically.  Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed.  If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so.  Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings.  You don’t want to miss this great way to learn about light to prepare your heart for Easter!

Come join me in the Light. There’s absolutely nothing like it!

===

Acknowledging that former years’ devotional series remain popular:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• And ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.

Why did God start Creation with saying “Let there be light?” 

Well, I don’t know exactly why He created light first, but I can tell you why not. 

It wasn’t because He couldn’t see in the dark, like Dad needing to turn on the shop light to work in the basement.  It wasn’t because light was needed for everything else to happen in a chain reaction: lights, camera, action!  It wasn’t for His benefit or as materials-and-methods for God or for us to repeat His science experiment. And it wasn’t so we’d argue about old earth, young earth, Big Bang, Creationism, Darwinism, or any other host of things Christians can find to argue about.  It wasn’t even to give scientists something to prove.  Such things evidence a misunderstanding of God, of Genesis, and of God’s act of Creation.

Probably the easiest explanation is that God started Creation with saying “Let there be light ” because He could.  It was an act of His will, His choice, and His sovereignty.  And He did it, not for His benefit, but for ours.

Even among cosmogonies (myths and theories of creation and ordering of the cosmos) from the Ancient Near East, the Bible stands alone in that light doesn’t emanate from God in creation as a divisible part of Himself to create things (divine, quasi-divine or not) or to create other gods (like a sun god, moon god, etc.).  Light was created at His command “Let there be light.”  And light and dark segments were necessary for time to exist as day and night.  To the ancient Hebrews, day and night had far more meaning than any concept of photons in explaining how the universe is ordered.  We do Scripture justice when we understand the ancient mindset even as we enjoy the mysteries of this creation.

Fun Fact of Light: Nothing travels faster than the speed of light.  Physicists have pondered this for centuries.  Summarizing an excellent explanation,

“The faster something travels, the more massive it gets, and the more time slows—until you finally reach the speed of light, at which point time stops altogether.”  This was theorized by Albert Einstein who “came up with a crazy solution: the motion of an object must somehow make time slow down. Time was no longer constant and so relativity was born.”

For further thought:

• In Genesis 1:5 God called the light Day. It has been argued that God didn’t just create photons of light.  He created time.  How do the days of creation (first, second, etc.) get anchored in God’s creation of time through alternating light and dark periods?
• Read Psalm 90.
• In regard to the return of Christ, Peter writes, 2 Peter 3:8 “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” How might God’s creation of light make that possible?  What is God’s relationship to time?

Lord, help us to appreciate you as our Creator.  Help us to make the most of the gift of time.  “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom…Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” Amen.