The Blacklight Truth
Our New Office
A couple months ago, we turned a former music room in our house to a new home office for my husband. Even after ten years of being in our house, because it was a room that we treated with care it looked brand new. The carpet was as beige colored as the day it was put down, the paint looked fresh and the office furniture fit like a glove. Our cat Jordan liked this new arrangement too – she’d plop herself down on the floor next to his desk and bask in the sunlight that shone through the window. Weeks passed and my hubbies business venture took him on the road….a lot. There would be weeks where the office door was closed and no one would go in (or so I thought). As I’d glance in every now and again, everything seemed to be in order – a quick dusting, swipe with the vacuum and all was good.
Home Again
Well, last week my fearless traveler came home for a relatively long stint so the office would be put to good use again. It wasn’t too long after he had settled in that he noticed an unusual odor in the office – okay, I say unusual to put it mildly…we’ve had animals the entire time we’ve known each other so by now, we know what it smells like. And we knew who the culprit was – Jordan, mad because her office companion left her all alone in this sunlit room decided she’d let him have it. But, the odd thing was that when we looked around the room, there was no sign of anything – the carpet still had the new look to it – there was just that slight odor that if you were standing in the right spot…there it was.
The Blacklight Plan
On to our plan – we’d take everything out of the room and find ‘the spot’. Having been a frequent visitor of Petsmart, I remembered seeing this nifty little tool called a blacklight- it’s purpose is to detect things undetectable to the human eye. That’s what we needed! Off to the store I trotted and came home with our new detector. With everything out of the room and the shades drawn, we pulled out the blacklight. I held it in the middle of the room thinking the spot would just jump right out – didn’t happen. So I brought the light as close to the carpet as possible and ran it over the entire room. Sure enough – once directly under the light, the spot stood out like someone had poured out a neon highlighter on the floor. Moving the light away just inches made the spot disappear – bring the light back and there it was again.
So we treated the spot with the cleaner making sure every bit of it was eradicated, brought the light back and what we saw in the light was exactly the same as what we saw without the light – no neon offender staring back at us. I couldn’t help but think that this is how my life is. From the naked eye – it all looks good – no glaring sin problems that would send folks running, I’m not out chopping people’s heads off or cursing them on the streets. But, when the blacklight is pulled out and brought close to my life – the sins stand out like a 6 foot man in a room of preschoolers. Of course, the blacklight I’m referring to is the Word. The Word can detect every single stain or blemish in our lives that doesn’t mirror the image of Jesus. And the second you take the Word away without eradicating the problem, it can look okay again from the naked eye, but the stink of it, and the reality is that the problem is still there.
What’s the Big Deal?
Well, we say, it’s just a small stain or problem…what’s the harm. No one is hurt by it, you can’t even really see it. The problem with leaving sin in your life is the same thing that happens when you leave a pet stain on the carpet. Where do you think the first place Jordan is going to go when she wants to get back at us? The same room she already left her mark – it’s attractive to her, it already has her scent and she knows she can get away with it. So it is with sin – it keeps spawning itself off into other little sins – it starts to feel comfortable – we start to think, nothing happened the last time it must not be that big of a deal. And it grows and grows and continues to draw us further away from the likeness of Christ.
The Miracle Solution
So what’s the solution? First you need the blacklight – the Bible. We need to see what our lives look like from God’s perspective – not our warped and sinful flesh. If we bring the truth of scripture close to our lives the sin will make itself so clear that we will HAVE to get rid of it. Then we repent and pray for the strength and help of the Holy Spirit to eradicate it from our lives completely. It will be a never-ending battle – as soon as one stain is caught and eradicated we’ll turn around and find another. Friends, that’s the Christian life. So let’s get our blacklights out and start finding those ‘hard to see’ sins in our lives and get rid of them once and for all.
5am club is HARD!!
So I read a book called ‘Shopping for Time’ – a great book by a Godly woman and her daughters. The premise behind it is to figure out ways to make the best use of what we all would say is ‘limited time’ in our lives. Between working, raising kids, managing a household, being a Proverbs 31 wife, a friend, a daughter, a sister, a dog and cat trainer, a cleaner, cook, chauffeur (the list goes on), we could all agree time is precious! One of the, what I would consider, outrageous suggestions in the book is to join the…hold on to your hats…5 am club.
I know, I’ve lost some of you already…but please amuse me by reading a little more. The idea behind this CRAZY club is to get up early, before anyone else in your household and spend time with God. A worthy calling, but really I thought, so NOT FOR ME. I can’t even tell you how much I love to sleep. Up until this point, my husband and two youngsters knew this about me and would not disturb me until after 7. They graciously occupied themselves with reading, playing, etc. until the 7am sun broke through my windows. Then the demands of the day would begin.
Nevertheless, the conviction by the Holy Spirit continued to press on my already sore heart to devote time to Him who sustains my life. As I looked at the rest of my day, I realized no other time in the day would allow me to have quiet, undisturbed time that He deserves. So, I gave in!
WEEK ONE
I began this craziness on a Sunday morning a few weeks back. One of the suggestions in the book was to deny the ever-so-appealing snooze button and jump out of bed. Well, I denied the button, but certainly was not able to JUMP out of bed. It was more like a loud tumble to the hard floor and eyes that just refused to open. I made my way downstairs to the kitchen…suggestion #2 was to immediately get a cup of something caffeinated into my hand, to which I wholeheartedly complied. With coffee in hand, I made my way to my designated area and plopped myself down for one hour of devoted time with Jesus. And I must say…it was WELL WORTH it. This went on for a few more days that first week…then came my run-in with the evil one. A head cold took over the rest of my week, and I gave up on my early morning ritual.
WEEK 2
After what I felt was a failure the first week, I gave it another whirl and thought the second time around I could make it through the entire week. This time it began on a Monday and a few days into it, I seemed to be getting a pretty good stride going. I even thought about my first attempt the week before and made a commitment that even if sickness overcame me…I’d still persevere! So can you guess what happened the next morning?? The STOMACH FLU! Ok, I thought this time I would endure. But one day into that dreaded illness I gave in and turned off my alarm for the rest of the week.
WEEK 3
And here I am, in week 3. I’ve gotten through the cold, the flu – there’s nothing that’s going to get the best of me this week…right? Hmm, think again. I can tell you this – the evil one does not like my morning routine, and is pulling out all the stops. But this time, regardless of the exhaustion I might feel in the morning – the strange pain I have seemed to develop this week behind my eyes that is causing some wicked headaches…. I WILL NOT RELENT!
That morning time with Jesus is more precious to me now, and my days without it feel, for lack of a better word, sad. I won’t beat myself up about the occasional failure, but I will beg God every night for the power to get up the next morning, no matter what it holds for me. He is worth it! So 5am club (ok, for me, it’s closer to 5:45am) – you’ve got me hooked. I pray that I can endure whatever is thrown my way, and that it would be something even my little youngsters who knew how I was about my precious sleep could see God’s work first-hand that precious time with JESUS is so much more valuable.
And if you’re on the fence about this, from a fellow covet-er of sleep…I’d encourage you to give it a try. Don’t get discouraged, it will be HARD. Pray and endure…it will be so worth it!
Jesus Coming Soon
On my first trip to Maui almost 7 years ago, I saw this sign – “Jesus Coming Soon”. Like so many folks driving past it several times during my vacation, as well during subsequent visits to the island, I didn’t think much of it. To me it was, well…just another cool looking sign, and not much more.
Separated, Now Forgiven
Almost three years ago I came face-to-face with the reality of my sin and the separation it caused between myself and the creator of the universe. I hadn’t ever really read the bible, didn’t even know the Gospel message in its entirety…but what the Holy Spirit did impress into my soul was that I was NOT right with God. If Jesus came back, as the sign said, I’d be in a big heap of trouble. I’d have to face the creator and answer to a life I lived not thinking once about Him, living only for myself. It brought me to my knees. Thankfully according to 1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” And that’s exactly what He did!
Anticipation
The reality of ‘Jesus Coming Soon’ doesn’t have to be something to drive past, and think nothing of, nor does it have to be something you are dreading. If you give your life to Jesus in true faith and repentance, you can look forward to His return with great anticipation. So whether it’s on the island of Maui or the streets of Paris…these words couldn’t be more true…“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothng about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” – Matthew 24: 36-39
So now the question…JESUS IS COMING SOON…ARE YOU READY?
In the eternal span of things, you may be thinking like me…yes, I’m ready. I’ve given my life over, put it in His capable hands…but, is your everyday life reflective of that readiness? As I ponder the things I spend my time doing, reading, thinking or talking about…I wonder if I’m really ready. Would Jesus be thrilled about how I spent my Saturday afternoon last weekend, or those few hours before bed on Tuesday. Some days yes, some days no. My prayer is that my life, every minute of every day would be Jesus-ready! Ready for that single moment in time that will change everything – for the day when that roadside sign in Maui could be changed to read “Jesus Came Back”.
