60 “Jerusalem, ·get up [arise] and shine, because your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord shines on you.
2 [L Look; T Behold] Darkness ·now covers [or will cover] the earth;
deep darkness covers ·her people [the nations].
But the Lord shines on you,
and people see his glory [C his manifest presence] ·around [upon] you.
3 Nations will come to your light;
kings will come to ·the brightness of your sunrise [or your radiance].
Isaiah had a powerful message to give to the people of God which I believe stands even more today! There are messages all through the bible telling us to shine and I think we read it and at the moment think how powerful but never light the fire. If we do light the fire most of the time we have the shade over the light. I believe this happens for many reasons. First I think most Christians do not really know what it means to SHINE! How do we SHINE?
shine
v. shone or shined, shin·ing, shines
To emit light.
To reflect light; glint or glisten.
To distinguish oneself in an activity or a field; excel.
To be immediately apparent: Delight shone in her eyes.
To aim or cast the beam or glow of (a light).
past tense and past participle shined To make glossy or bright by polishing.
Brightness from a source of light; radiance.
Brightness from reflected light; luster.
Excellence in quality or appearance; splendor.
To reflect light! We are to reflect the light of Christ. Again how do we do it? First we have to understand what we are using to reflect the light. We use our hearts to reflect the light of Christ. We must position our hearts in such a way that His light reflects from our heart. So first our hearts have to be positioned towards Him. Getting our hearts into focus, think about it, have you ever tried to reflect the sun with a magnify glass to burn a piece of paper? You have to get it into perfect focus and then it begins to smoke and then burn. His word is the magnify glass, our hearts are the paper. We need to get our hearts smoking in Gods word. Do you remember the two men that were walking on the road when Jesus resurrected? After Jesus left them, one of them said, didn’t His words burn in our hearts? His word needs to smoke in our hearts to begin to burn.
1. To aim or cast the beam or glow of (a light). Once you have your heart smoking and burning in His love and truth, you have to refocus the light. Intentionally aim the light. How do we aim the light? Wherever the light is shinning on your heart you aim it. So for example the word of God brings conviction in a certain area in your life, you intentionally refocus the light on that area bringing even more light to it, which can be done by confessing your sin and acknowledging it. Repenting causing the sin to burn away by Gods truth. Then casting the beam or glow from your spirit that is now free from the heavy burden. Now shown on your face from your smile and the sparkling of your eyes because His spirit will emanate from your eyes the more you reflect His light (His Truth).
Removing the shade from your light is very important. Many people struggle doing this. Removing the shade means you have to share your light (His Light). Sharing can be difficult for many of us. Sharing is the greatest act of love and love is light. I have found that giving simple testimony to people causes my light to reflect Him. I aim His light towards others especially if I have walked through something very difficult with God and through that time God did so many things inside my heart that I now have something to give. What I now have to give is a talent and the word of God says not to bury our talents. If you overcome a stronghold you now have a talent in that area that reflects Gods light and Glory. Give your light away by reflecting His love to others.
This can also be done in your marriage, for example lets say your marriage is struggling and Gods light ( Gods Word) Causes the pride in your heart to burn. You refocus His light to your spouse with Humility and you aim His light ( His Love) at your spouse and once again your marriage begins to SHINE! Isaiah was and is telling us to emit light. Excellence in quality or appearance; splendor.
God bless you and may your heart smoke and burn the light and love of Christ. May God bless you and SHINE upon you!
Isaiah 60
FULL OF ROSES INSPIRATIONALS 