Day 8 - “Let Your Light Shine"
For Christians: Rededicating Ourselves to Being the Light of Christ
The last day of Hanukkah has arrived. We hope that you have enjoyed this past week of reflection and that this time blessed you.
When I celebrate Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, I celebrate Jesus and His light burning with me. Just as the middle candle on the Menorah, the Shammash, is used to light the other eight, so too is Yeshua, Jesus. He is the light of men, a consuming fire, who has “lit” us in order that we become “supernatural lights” to the world! In other words - YOU are the lampstand of God, the Menorah.
In the first chapter of the gospel of John it says that, ‘In Him (Jesus) was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.' Through Christ “in you,” you are now able to bring His light wherever there is darkness.
Hanukkah is a story about finding faith in dark times. It is a time to examine ourselves to make sure that nothing is hindering the light of Christ within us, making Hanukkah a ‘season of reminder’ to rededicate ourselves to the rekindling of Christ’s light within.
Do not quench the Holy Spirit inside of you, for it is the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of the Father. When you allow the Holy Spirit to work unhindered in your life, you are allowing the Anointed One (Messiah) to flow through you and do miraculous things.
Just as Hanukkah became a celebration of cleansing and rededicating the Holy Jewish Temple back to God, Christians can also use this as a time to do the same to our own temples: Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 1 Cor. 6:19. Choose this time to enter into a new season committed to using your temple in such a way that magnifies and glorifies our Lord Jesus Christ and our heavenly Father.
As Paul encourages believers in Romans 12:1, By the mercies of God...present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Be a holy offering to the Lord every day and don’t forget to tend to your lampstand. An oil lamp goes out when the oil is empty. A flashlight grows dim when the battery loses its charge. Tend to your lampstand. Trim your wick (set your life in order) to ensure the brightest flame, and then keep your lampstand (temple) filled with consecrated oil (the Holy Spirit).
Every day asked the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any hinderances to your walk with Christ, blockages that prevent your light from giving the brightest flame. Ask Him to fill you to the full every day so that you are prepared for all that God has for you. Unlike the Maccabees, when legend says there was only enough oil for one days worth of light, as believers, when we tend to our life with Christ, we never have to worry about not having enough oil to make it to the end of all things.
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lamp-stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:14-16)!
Just as the God of Israel was on full display through the Maccabees, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ should be on full display through all believers.
People are looking for light in the darkness. They are looking for hope in dark times. Be prepared to give them an answer for the hope that is within you. Go now as out His light into darkness, for His light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot comprehend it. The darkness cannot seize it. The darkness cannot snatch it away. May His anointing be with you, the fragrance of the knowledge of God diffused through you everywhere you go.
May the blessing, favor, love, and kindness of Almighty God the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ be with you now and every day.
Thank you for joining us. God Bless You.
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