"After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James,
and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before
them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the
light." (Matt 17:1-2, NIV2)
"About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed
around me.
I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, 'Saul! Saul! Why do you
persecute me?' (Acts 22:6-7, NIV)
Something happens when we leave darkness behind. We get a revelation that the
real light is way beyond the light we know. As long as we don't experience it
fully and embrace it, it will remain but a concept, not a reality.
Sooner or later, when we perceive that light, we will be hit by a revelation
that no light is brighter than the light that led us out of our darkness. Once
that revelation hits us head on, our perception of reality changes radically.
Instead of our ordinary day-to-day pursuits, we begin to rely on the One who
loves us so much that He saved us from our hopeless bondage. His light becomes
our reality: "This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in
God's reality." (1John 3:19, MSG); "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows
me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12b,
NIV2). Peter, James, John and Saul all experienced this directly, and so did
numerous others, me included. There is no other light for me than the light of
Jesus, the Christ, my reality.
Imagine facing the trials of life when our reality is solely our Heavenly
Father. Would we ever be left wanting? Would we continue to focus on our
worries? Would we perhaps even tremble with fear? Those concerns were the
realities of our past life, but not anymore. Our light is not provided by the
wiles of this world, but by our Father Himself. He is in control, and we are
welcome to bathe in His reality. All will be well. He is in control! We can
truly trust Him! There is no longer any fear, only trust. He will come through,
as He is now our reality.
We were in for a nasty, wet camping trip to Northern Michigan. It was predicted
by numerous weather stations that we would have 35 mm of rain at times, and on
other days, 5 to 10 mm. We decided to go ahead with our trip. After all, the
weather man was not in control of the weather, but rather, our Heavenly Dad
Himself! We would be fine!
Our 9 day excursion was exceptional. Whenever we were exploring by foot, no rain
fell. Whenever we had to drive for more than a couple of hours, it usually
rained, and sometimes it rained at night, when we were soundly asleep. Our
Father always comes through for to those who love Him. One sunny day we visited
the Windmill Island Gardens, in Holland, Michigan. Just as we decided to go into
a building to watch a movie about the history of the place, it started to rain:
quite hard in fact! When we were finished and stepped back outside, the downpour
had stopped completely and the sun was once again shining.
Our reality is quite different when we encounter the real Light of the world. We
have truly nothing to worry about anymore.
Who is your reality?
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.