jenessaorcherton - we'll be like torches together

Genesis 1:3,4
"And God said, "let there be light," and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the
darkness." The first of creation,
light.

Facts about light:

You cannot interact with light you can only
see it by what it touches, it doesn't have literal existence

Wherever it is darkness cannot be, if light
can find a way in darkness seizes to be present

It goes
forever and cannot be stopped-like stars, many are already dead yet their light
is still going

God says we are a light to the nations, we are
children of light consecrated for a holy purpose

A city on a hill cannot be hidden, wherever we
are darkness cannot be

We are sent to overcome darkness, that is what
we were made for, we have the ability to speak into darkness and bring light

We are called to go into dark places as
ambassadors of Christ

And "the Lord God
will be their light"

God is light

God is light and in Him there is no darkness
at all. In Him was life and life was the
light of men. The light shines in the
darkness and darkness cannot overcome it.
To all who receive Him, who believe in His name he gave the right to
become children of God (of light) and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us
and we have seen His glory.....now you are light in the Lord. Walk of children of light (for the fruit of
light is found in all that is good and right and true). When anything is exposed by the light it
becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says awake o sleeper and arise
from the dead and Christ will shine on you.
You are the light of the world. A
city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Let
your light shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory
to your Father who is in heaven. If we walk in the light we have true
fellowship with one another. The
darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining

October 31 2009- The Day of the Dead

I have no idea
what it would've been like to be a part of the underground church living below
the radar and meeting secretly in unsuspecting locations; however the other
night when a small group of us piled into the van with Bibles and headlamps in
tow my heart fluttered anticipating the evening events. We headed for Los India to meet with Pastor
Modesto and a few of their congregation for what looked to be a long night of
prayer. Not really knowing where to go
when we got there, our eyes began searching for a fish in the sand. Pastor Modesto had specifically said, "I will
have the fire going" so we drove unto we saw a flicker and when the front light
flashed three times we knew we had found
the right place. It was quickly
communicated to us what would be taking place in the community that night
however we could have no expectations about what would/could occur. Our reason for coming was to support our
brother in prayer against a very present darkness.

Those of us who
felt called to pray that night spent the day in preparation desiring to be in a
good spiritual posture before leaving. We prayed humility over one other that we
would not step up to this with selfish motives and pride and we prayed against fears
that aggravate and cause doubt. We suited
ourselves with the armor of God and clothed ourselves in light as if preparing
for some sort of battle. Though as we
continually made God our focus and not the war at hand God made a few things
plain to us. Sometimes in situations
like this we become swept away in excitement and anticipation, in fighting and
battling. We had to admit and surrender
the fact that we wanted to just be in the middle of something. He talked about David and how he was eager to
enter into battle though it was not because he was blood thirsty or thrill hungry
but rather that the world may know there is a God. The devil wants us to be focused on the
battle rather than the reason why we are fighting. That night was mysterious and not understood by
any of us but our response should simply be prayer. We have no need to shout, God's grace is
enough, His love is sufficient. Everyday,
every situation we fall to our knees in prayer. It is instinct, first reaction, instant. I want to be a light, and stand by your name
God; a mighty tower. This day is to be
dedicated to You and may the world know there is a God. May we worship You with all we have, our
hearts, our minds, our souls, in our purity.
Purify our hearts and arm us with scripture, may we utter every word of truth
and may your truths level the nations.

All night the sky
was clear and the moon reflected enough sun that we could see each other's
faces; we sang around the fire and spoke of light and victory. There are many details of our time in Los
India but there was one thing I noticed specifically. Every so often the fire would jump and
explode, not just popping and crackling I mean like embers flying. After a while I took note that it happened
every time someone said, "we say all these in order that the world may know
there is a God" At first I thought I was
just reading into it but, I really don't think so. Mysterious, yes but not coincidence. We are children of light and we are called,
yet we do not have to be warriors only willing believers. At one point Pastor Modesto expressed his
sadness to the fact that there were so few of his congregation who came to the
meeting when in previous years there were many.
But in the same breathe he said, "we are few, but we few are valiant at
heart. When God returns what a shame it
will be for those who are asleep. What if Christ was to return tonight? How many would he find? You are young but God asks for hearts that believe. He would find these young valiant hearts."