Out of Darkness and Into His Marvelous Light

I ought to begin by telling you why I chose the name Captivating Light.

John 1:4 speaks of Jesus, saying, "In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men." Jesus says of Himself later in the book, "I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness." As a Christ-follower, a child of light, I am captivated by Him - by the Light. Throughout my adventures these next months, I shall endeavor to share with you, my dear readers, the many ways I continue to be captivated by Christ. :)

"Awake, thou that sleepest,
And arise from the dead,
And Christ shall shine on thee." (Eph 5:14)

One of the many wonderful parts of being home with my family these last few months is that I have again enjoyed the winter sunshine which comes and rests on my bed each day (unless it rains, obviously). I remember the good old days in high school and the beginning of college, when I would walk into my room, yank up the blinds, and sprawl myself across my bed. There in the sunshine, I basked, read dozens of books, napped, learned, daydreamed, pondered eternity; and it was glorious. Those days, to me, were filled with growth in Jesus Christ. Placing my trust in Jesus when I was seven-years-old brought me to life, awakened me from my slumber. And yet, as I know Him more fully, those old clumsy dreams of slumber fall off as I walk more fully awakened in the newness of His life.

Okay, that was kind of a tangent... but I really love thinking about that, so I went ahead and included it. The other real reason for this first blog is to describe what I am doing these next months and why. :)

If any of you have read my Europe journal (it's available upon request), you may remember a part where I mentioned that I desired to do a sort of ministry of encouragement. This ministry ought to be mutually beneficial, refreshing to all. It ought to encourage and strengthen and build up missionaries and ministry workers. After all, people in ministry need encouragement! (And in more ways than just, "Hey brother, I'll be prayin' for ya," which is typically the kind they get.) I am reminded of Hebrews 3:13, "But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called 'Today,' so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." We need to be reminded daily of the truth! We are to encourage one another daily to enter His rest! Today IS, after all, still called "Today."

Since the initial idea, God has provided me with a laptop, families to visit, and a short term part-time job. Now, almost a year since the idea took root, I'm about to head out to visit and serve my first family - the Vancils - in Dallas, TX. I understand that there are challenges I will face as I serve, and I look forward to them with confidence, knowing that I have been given all I need for life and godliness in Christ Jesus (2 Peter 1:3). Regardless of any trials or hardships or challenges, I pray that my eyes may remain firmly fixed on Jesus Christ.

Regarding the Vancils themselves (and any other family I visit), Romans 1:11-12 pretty much sums up my desire for my visit. "For I am yearning to see you, that I may impart and share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen and establish you; that is, that we may be mutually strengthened and encouraged and comforted by each other's faith, both yours and mine."

Along with spending time with families, I shall also spend lots of time in airports and coffee shops these next months. For the last few years I have bumped into people everywhere who are somehow open to talking about the deeper things of life - morality, world views, religion, Jesus Christ... During the course of the conversation they usually would ask me where I worked and I would answered, "I'm the registrar for a one-year Bible School in Estes Park." There are two ways that someone can take the conversation from there. 1. "Oh really? A Bible School? Tell me more about that," or 2. "Oh, Estes Park? That's a beautiful area! Do you like to hike?" The interesting thing is that I hardly ever ran into people who decided to avoid the Bible School topic. They usually asked me about it, and at some point in the conversation, they'd open a door for me to talk about Jesus... so I'd walk through it. (As a side note, I'm SO glad that they open the door, because I can hardly help myself. So perfectly put in Acts 4:20, "But we ourselves cannot help telling what we have seen and heard." I am fairly bursting to talk about life in Christ!) These were never forceful, in-your-face conversations. Doors simply opened and people invited me to share. My hope and prayer is that while I spend hours upon hours in airports over the next months that the Lord will continue to open doors, and that broken and searching people will see the Light - HIS Light - abiding in me.

When reading through Acts recently, this verse encouraged me with regards to the people I run into so often - "Now when they saw the boldness and unfettered eloquence of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and untrained in the schools [common men with no educational advantages], they marveled; and they recognized that they had been with Jesus." (Acts 4:13 AMP) It is  true that conversations with people in airplanes are often brief, but I pray that they may recognize that I have been with Jesus.

"For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of Light." (Eph 5:8)