Mirroring the Light of the World

As God laid this Bible Study on my heart, and I began to really dig into Scripture and life to be able to somehow convey the truths God was giving me, my friend, Robin, and I were eating lunch in a beautifully decorated Mexican restaurant, which also had some quite yummy food. Piles of notes were lying in front of us -- and God was pouring out more ideas as we shared. Trying to find the place to start was very difficult and tedious and in need of much more prayer. We agreed to do that, and I would begin to write the first draft of the study as God would have me teach it at that time.

We finished our meal, and while waiting for the check, I looked up and really noticed the light fixtures for the first time. The shades over each table were gorgeous Mexican pottery pieces with bright colored glazes and awesome designs.

The bulbs were round and appeared, at first, to be clear. They were reflecting and shining with the design of the shade above them. Closer examination revealed that the bottom half of the bulb had a mirror coating that was allowing the bulb to reflect what was surrounding it from above. How like us. We will reflect what is surrounding us. The more intimate we are with Jesus the more we will, like a mirror, reflect the true "Light of the World" that lives inside each Christian heart. If we surround ourselves with junk, we will likewise reflect the junk. On this side of eternity each of us has lots of that junk that gets in the way of the Light of Jesus within us, the Light which we desire to shine so bright and clear others can't help but see.

(Sadly, those bulbs have since been replaced by those twisted corkscrew looking energy efficient bulbs. But that day the observation we made was the starting point I needed for this study. God answered that prayer so quickly!!!)

The Apostle Paul (I Corinthians 3:16) makes it quite clear that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit today. God resides within us. Who or what is on the throne of our temples? When we're honest with ourselves, we must admit that there are idols that come into our heart and knock Jesus off His rightful throne in our temples. In our world of gluttony in every form, we need to see Jesus, high and lifted up, and recognize (Hebrews 12:1) the depravity of sin in which the kingdom of self becomes entangled. This allows idols to set up residence where the King should reside. Is our focus on Him or on the stuff: TV, internet, facebook, electronic connectivity of all kinds, food, clothes, cars, shopping, hanging out, sports, drink, drugs, easy credit, etc. We become obsessed with so many things. WE even become obsessed with trying to change these things about ourselves in our own power, which means we focus on them even more, and we fail. The battle is ongoing.

In the next post we will focus on the specific thing God has his finger on in your life. I'm very excited to be making this trip with you, and I'm praying for each of you even though I may not know your name. God does.


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All other content Copyright, Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011

A Vision of His Glory

Isaiah 6:1-8 paints a most articulate word picture of God's glory as Isaiah beheld it filling the temple in Jerusalem. I had been drawn to and absorbed in this passage for quite some time. Seriously contemplating this vision reinforced in super-mega sized reality the microscopic size of man and his lack of power to do or be anything without the magnificent true God of Heaven.

In the year of King Uzziah's death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory." And the foundations of the threshholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. 

Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."


Then one of the seraphim flew to me, with a burning coal in his hand which he had taken from the altar with tongs. And he touched my mouth with it and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is forgiven."


Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!"      

                                                                                                  ~~Isaiah 6:1-8 (NASB)

Totally blown away by the vision, Isaiah saw his unclean lips and those of his neighbors magnified to astronomical proportions. When we see God for Who He really is and realize we can't even comprehend His size, like Isaiah we are just as overwhelmed by our shortcomings. We would feel helpless to even think we could speak His name. We would be at the end of self, ready for our own sin/idols to be burned from our hearts, and ready to serve, reflecting the God colors of the light of His glory in our every day lives!!! (See Matthew 5:14, The Message)

I am excited to be sharing with you so much of the ways I have glimpsed God's glory, and how it has changed my life. Like Isaiah, I choose to say: "Here am I. Send me."

The words of a popular song by Mercy Me come to mind: "I Can Only Imagine." For those not familiar with the song, please visit YouTube. You'll find several videos featuring this inspiring song of worship and praise.

Copyright, Lynn U. Watson, 2004, 2011