Randomness in the morning.

Cold air. Darkness. Christmas lights. Barking dogs. Hot tea. What do all these have to do with each other? As I sit here this morning, all of those things are tied together. Here in December, it is dark outside. The sun comes up later and later. It goes down earlier and earlier. For many, these are difficult days. There is not enough hours of daylight. And for most folks, those hours of daylight are spent at work, where they cannot experience them. If they are lucky enough to have windows to see the short hours of daylight, they rejoice. Darkness - into this darkness comes a Savior, the Light of the world. He comes to lighten the darkness of sin that encompasses each heart. He comes to break the grip of darkness on the hearts and lives of all people. The Light is Christ, the Child born in Bethlehem.

Cold air. It is December. It is supposed to be cold, at least here in Illinois. This cold blast has reached all the way to the gulf coast. They are probably grumbling about the cold more than we are here in the central part of the country. But I tell you what, I sure seem to be affected by the cold more now than when I was younger. That is part of life. It reminds me that I am living in a world affected by sin. It is fallen. I am fallen. My very nature is sinful. As the years go on, as more things seem to pop up in my life, like the less than pleasing effect cold has upon me especially in the morning, it reminds me that I need a Savior. Yes, once again such a thing points that out. Each time I grumble about the cold, it reminds me that I am not able to change anything, including the weather. I can't even change my spiritual situation. Without a Savior, my heart remains cold and lifeless. Without a Savior, my heart will grow colder as I grow older. Only through the new life given by Christ Jesus can my heart grow warm (metaphorically speaking). He comes into this cold person that I am and gives me a new life that is filled with the warmth of His love and forgiveness.

Darkness, cold air. What next? Christmas lights and barking dogs. Hmmmm. What about these two things? Well, the Christmas lights make things brighter. They brighten up a dark neighborhood. They are meant to remind us of the Light of Christ that has come into this world. We have a neighbor down the road who decorates greatly. He has more lights out than one can imagine. It really brightens the neighborhood up. He leaves them on all night. As such, they remind us of Christ shining in the dark world. As joyous as that is, it leads to barking dogs. My dogs. Sorry neighbors. I get onto them in the early morning hours and don't let them stay outside barking. But they are able to see things they wouldn't normally see/ Why? Christmas lights brighten things up and cast strange shadows in places there have not been shadows. They causes "concern" in the dogs minds and they bark. Yep, they bark because of the extra light that is not normally there. Barking dogs and Christmas lights - go together. Christ brings light into the world and Satan doesn't like it. Satan would prefer that it remained dark. He would be silent (not really but he wants us to think that he would). If Christ didn't bring light into the world, then Satan would be content to let the darkness continue. Christ's light exposes those works of sin, the works of darkness. Turn the lights out, then those works would not be seen and there would be no problem. What to do? Light up the world! Make it shine brightly, not with Christmas lights, but with the Light of Christ. Show sin for sin. And bring Christ to all who are struggling.

Hot tea? I threw that in because I like to sit here and drink my hot tea in the morning. It warms me up. I enjoy it. I like to drink my tea while I read my Bible, do my devotions and prepare for the day. So hot tea is part of my daily routine. So is the Word. One is desired and one is needed. I will let you decide which is which.

Cold air. Darkness. Christmas lights. Barking dogs. Hot tea. Random thoughts brought together in the rambling mind of this preacher. All of them point me to one thing - Christ Jesus. Yes, living in the Light of Christ sure ties everything together.