Jody Burks - 50 Shades of Light

50 Shades of Light

By

Jody Burks and Susan Neese

50 Shades of Light

CrossLink Publishing www.crosslinkpublishing.com

Copyright, 2013 Jody Burks and Susan Neese

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in reviews, without the written permission of the author.

Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law.

ISBN 978-1-936746-53-8

Scripture quotations marked Amplified Bible, OT are taken from The Amplified Bible, Old Testament. Copyright 1965, 1987, by the Zondervan Corporation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked Amplified Bible, NT are taken from The Amplified Bible, New Testament. Copyright 1954, 1958, 1987,, by the Zondervan Corporation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked GNT are from the Good News TranslationSecond Edition. 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked RSV are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked The Voice are taken from The Voice. Copyright 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This book is dedicated to:

Casey, Mandy, Michelle, and Tif

Preface

In the midst of the darkness in our world we are so certain of, and so thankful for, Gods brilliant light.

We lift up our Lord and Savior and thank Him for lighting our path. We pray that these Scriptures and thoughts bring comfort to you and a desire to pick up the torch and carry Gods light into the world.

May God richly bless you,

~ Jody and Susan

Contents

And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.

Genesis 1:3 (NASB)

T he very first command of God in the word of God is Let there be light. (Gen. 1:3) And after He saw that it was good, the next thing He did was to separate it from the darkness. The fact that He saw that it was good and separated it from the darkness somehow indicates the darkness was not desirable. Things can go unnoticed in the dark. The dark can hide secrets. It is interesting that light can dispel darkness, but not the other way around.

Some things never change; it is still Gods desire that the light be separated from the darkness. We, as Christians, are to walk in the light as He is in the light. We are to be juxtaposed to the dark in order to show the radiance of God. As His light shines in us we, too, should expel the darkness.

There is no prettier or healthier place to be than walking in the light of the Lord. His word promises us that He will walk with us and whisper in our ear which way to go. He has an eternal path for us on which to walk that leads to the light found in His glory.

We might say, how can we spread the gospel if we separate ourselves from the darkness? There is a huge difference between walking in the dark and ministering to the dark. God expects us to reach out to the lost, to help the lost, to pray for the lost, but not to become one of the lost in order to spread the gospel. The best way to minister to others is by letting Gods glorious light shine through us in our everyday lives. Just as the light draws the moth, Gods light in us will draw the hardest of hearts to Him.

And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. Genesis 1:3 (NASB)

As we pray how others might see us, let us agree with God and say, Let there be light.

And the Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.

Exodus 13:21 (NASB)

T he opening lines of a famous hymn go like this: All the way my Savior leads me; What have I to ask beside? Can I doubt His tender mercy, Who thro life has been my guide? These lines were penned by Fanny Crosby, a woman known to have written thousands of hymns. Many of those hymns speak of Gods loving guidance in her life, with her faith showing through them, one after another.

When Fanny was just a few weeks old, she was stricken with an eye infection. Never fully recovering from it, she went through life blind. She could only discern the dark from the light. When we reflect on some of her hymns like Blessed Assurance, Rescue the Perishing, and Safe in the Arms of Jesus, we can see that hers was no little faith. When asked by others about her blindness, she considered it a true blessing from God. Isnt it interesting that perhaps her vision was clearer than many of ours?

I have been thinking that we would be better off if we could clearly discern the dark from the light. Maybe that is all we really need to get along in this life. I know I have always struggled with poor eyesight, yearning to see more clearly. Having gone through several pairs of glasses and Lasik eye surgery, I still find that I dont always see matters very clearly.

I recently spent hours pouring over some of Fanny Crosbys beautiful hymns and have decided her physical blindness made her spiritual vision all the more acute. Oh to see the things of God so clearly. Rather than focusing on the clarity of the situation, perhaps it would behoove us to just discern the dark from the light. If we follow the One who called Himself the Light of the World, we will never be led astray.

And the Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.

Exodus 13:21 (NASB)

Light of the World, as Fanny asked in her hymn How can I doubt Your tender mercy, when through life You have been my guide? What a mercy it is to know that You still lead us by Your light day and night. Lord, I pray that you would help me see the things that have eternal value more clearly. May I follow the Light all the days of my life. Amen.