Perspective - Sunrise? or Sunset?

Many posts back I shared that two people had prophesied over me that change was coming, and it was going to be good.  I had my own candy-coated idea of what that meant - that there would be some new way for me to reach people in my current role, but God had his own idea.  Yesterday we announced that I would be stepping off the LifeChurch.tv team effective March 31.  I'm not sure what the next chapter will be, but God shared with me a lesson on perspective that I'd like to share with you.

Think about a picture of the sun on the horizon - a bright yellow ball hovering slightly above the earth.  Its rays are piercing the expanse of sky all around creating hues of radiant color.  Is the sun rising?  Is the sun setting?  We don't really know - all we see is beauty, power and radiance.  It's a matter of our perspective as to whether we see it as a sunrise or a sunset. Sunrise means the dawn of a new day.  Sunset means the day has come to an end. 

While I was thinking about the visual that God created for me in this mind picture, I began to think about the significance of the sun itself.  Because it gives us light during the day, we tend to "measure" things by its brightness, "it shines as bright as the sun" is an example.  I began searching through scripture to see what God said about the sun.  Of course, He created the sun when He said "Let there be light" in Genesis 1:3, but I wanted to find more on its significance.  I was stopped by two passages:

"The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory."  Isaiah 60:19

"There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever." Revelation 22:5 

My perspective about the sun on the horizon totally changed.  It's not about the sun, or the horizon, it's about faith.  Faith that my God is my everlasting light, that He will be my glory, that it will not matter whether the sun is setting or whether it is rising - that God will give me the light necessary to shine no matter what the future brings.

Although the sun is setting on my ministry through LifeChurch.tv, it is rising on a new season of life.  And through it all, God will shine and the light will never go out.  I love a good sunrise, and I equally love a brilliant sunset, but I will now look at them through the lens of faith.

What about you?  Are you facing uncertainty?  If so, do not focus on your perspective but instead turn to God.  Allow Him to shine through you and He will give you all you need.  After all, He created the sun...

Lent - What?

Today is the first day of Lent.  Some of you have been practicing the tradition of lent all of your lives, some of you, like me, only recently learned what Lent was all about.  When I was growing up in the Baptist church, the only thing I knew about Lent was: (1) that my Catholic friends couldn't eat meat on Fridays so the school cafeteria prepared some awful looking (and smelling) fish, and (2) said Catholic friends had to give up something they enjoyed - like candy or soda pop.  I didn't understand, and frankly, I don't think many of my young friends understand what they were doing either.  It was tradition - something handed down to them from generation to generation - so they particiapted as well.

Lent is actually a period of 40 days (plus Sundays) prior to Easter where we observe the ministry of Jesus Christ, his death, and end on the celebration of his resurrection. 

Easter! No matter what your religious background, if you are a Christ-follower, Easter is the day you set aside to celebrate the foundation upon which we build our faith - the fulfillment of God's saving grace - "...while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:8

The purpose of today's blog isn't to tell you to fast something for the next 47 days, or to suggest you only eat fish on Fridays.  The purpose is to ask you to set aside some time between now and Easter to reflect on what God did for us by sending His son, Jesus Christ, to this earth to live, minister, die and be raised from the dead.  This isn't just a good story - it is the miracle that happened so that each of us has the opportunity to be saved from our sin and spend life eternal with the creator of the universe.

To help you, YouVersion has added a couple of Reading Plans for Lent.  My favorite is Lent for Everyone.  Grab your tea (or coffee, if you must), sit back and read how God redeemed us through His son Jesus Christ.  Enjoy!