I Took Your Place...

   One Sunday morning there was a vistitor at the local church. He pulled into a parking spot and got out of his car. Another car pulled up behind him and the church member behind the wheel spoke, " That's where I park. You took my place." This was disappointing to the guest, but he continued on inside. Upon entering the sanctuary, the guest found a spot near the front of the room and took a seat. A woman approached him a few minutes later, " That's where I sit. You took my place." The guest said not a word, but looked back to the front and awaited for the preacher. After the sermon, this guest stood and walked to the front of the congregation. He held his hands out away from his body and slowly wounds appeared in his hands and upon his sandaled feet. Someone asked, "What happened to you?". It was about this time that the hat he wore began to turn into a crown of thorns and finally the guest spoke, " I took your place.".

There is a light in the Darkness

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. -1Peter 2:9 NKJV

Have you ever seen a night so dark you thought you could sleep with your eyes open? While in a weekend retreat, a friend and I experienced such a night as we walked through the woods on our way to a bonfire. I was holding a feeble excuse for a flashlight. With almost every step along our path we were tripping over limbs and rocks and potholes! As a result, the limited light we had was bouncing uselessly off our path, into the trees and the total blackness surrounding us. Finally, at a turn in the path we stopped to try and compose ourselves. Suddenly, a great light illuminated the area around us. Other friends had caught up to us and their light source was like a truck's high beam!

There is a light greater than I can describe. The light of the Cross.

There, continually shining, Christ illuminates the limbs, rocks, and potholes as we walk with Him in a dark world.

- From "Because of the Cross" by Beverly Courrege

Thank you Lord for being the light in the darkness of this world. I pray, Father, that Your light would shine forth through me, that I may be like a lighthouse showing the way to You. I thank You that You illuminate the things in our lives that would trip us and knock us down. You are the Light of the World, holy and perfect. In Jesus' name, Amen.

The Cherokee Indian Rite of Passage Legend

The youth's father takes him out to the forest, blindfolds him an leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is a MAN. He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own. The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him . Maybe even some human might do him harm.

The wind blew the grass and earth, and shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could become a man! Finally, after a horrific night the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump next to him. He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm.

We, too, are never alone. Even when we don't know it, God is watching over us, Sitting on the stump beside us. When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him.

Moral of the story: Just because you can't see God, Doesn't mean He is not there. "For we walk by faith, not by sight."