Light Detector

I love when the Lord randomly talks to me using visual aids.

I was with my new boss Melissa, an amazing woman I might add, and we were at a lighting company she does business with. The place had such cool display rooms but one caught my attention right away. It was a room filled with chandeliers that were barely lit. I love chandeliers so I went into the room wondering why it was so dark.

As I entered all the lights in the room slowly got brighter and brighter. As if my presence some how made the lights engage, it was magical. When they were all lit it was so beautiful.

The Holy Spirit said “this is what it should be like with believers. We should bring light into a dark world.”

Light should begin just because the presence of the Lord has entered.

For example, one time I went with some friends to eat and we were sitting at the bar waiting for a table. A man walked up and starting talking to us. He then did the strangest thing, he put his back to me and started telling a joke to my friends. He looked over his shoulder as he started and said to me “you won't like this joke.”

He didn't know any of us yet “something” told him I wouldn't appreciate his joke. I think that something was the presence of the Lord.

Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

Some times we do nothing but show up, other times our actions cause the light.

Another visual.

I was in the ladies room and a woman walked to the sink the same time as I did. We were both washing our hands, she then turned to the paper towel dispenser to dry her hands. 

She stood there for a few seconds waving her hands underneath the dispenser waiting for a paper towel to come down.

She looked at me and I smiled and said I think your going to have to pull the towel out yourself.
She obviously thought it was one of those automatic ones. We both laughed and I again thought about our being the light. Sometimes we have to apply ourselves and not just wait for something to happen.

The next story is another example of doing something to cause light for someone in darkness.

My daughter and I were at the Sam's Club Saturday doing a bake sale to help raise money for missions. 

That in itself is funny because I don't bake. I showed up with a huge baking dish and the only thing in it was a paper towel. I figured I would buy something from Sam's to fill it but thank God other people did bake and there were plenty of yummy things to sell.
There were 4 shifts and I was on the second shift. I knew my daughter of course but the rest of the people volunteering I was meeting for the first time. 
While we were there a young man showed up on a bicycle who apparently had been drinking. He started off talking with my daughter then I spent an hour or so listening to his story and sharing the love of God with him.

At the end of our conversation he asked if I was going to church that night and I initially said no and asked why. Sometimes the Holy Spirit has to hit me with a 2 x 4.  

 My new friend asked if I would meet him at church that evening and I of course said yes. I also told him if he stood me up I would kick his butt (probably not "light" talk.)

Later that evening I went to church and waited outside about 40 minutes for him but he didn't come. I was disappointed but I knew I said some things that were hard to hear. I figured he was either processing or passed out.

Either way I prayed for him over the weekend and hoped I had shed some light into his world.

My son Anthony leads a class at his home on Sunday nights and was going to be late getting home so he asked if I could go to his house to let the group in. As they came in I recognized one of the women from the bake sale. When she saw me her face lit up and she seemed so excited to see me. She said to her husband “that's her, I can't believe that's her!”

I thought she was pointing me out because she couldn't believe I showed up to the bake sale with an empty pan but that wasn't it.

She told me Sunday morning her husband was volunteering at the Connect 2 station which is the information center for new people at the church. A man walked up to him and said “ I need to find Amanda and her mother. I can't remember her name but I have to find her.” The volunteer explained there are a couple thousand people that go to Grace and there are multiple services so he had no idea who Amanda or her mother were.

The visitor explained that he promised this woman (me) that he would meet her at church but something came up and he didn't make it. He wanted to make sure I knew he didn't stand me up. His urgency may or may not have had something to do with the butt kicking :)

The volunteer apologized again that he couldn't help and then my new friend said “I met her at a back sale.” The volunteer said “a bake sale! Wait a minute my wife was at a bake sale.” Only God....

He got his wife and sure enough they recognized each other. He explained to her what he told her husband about not being able to meet me and really wanted me to know he didn't stand me up. She told him she didn't know my last name but would be happy to take a note and give it to me at the next months mission meeting. He said that was too far away, he wanted me to know now, but gave her a note and made her promise to give it to me.

She had no idea Anthony was my son and she would see me the very next day. She and her husband made some motion and were part of the light process.

Gems I think if we had a spiritual camera and took a a spiritual picture this is what we should see.

The family of God lighting up a dark world.  Being light detectors the Holy Spirit can use to turn people onto Jesus.