​I don’t want to take this new beginning for granted. I don’t want to allow this fresh opportunity to be buried beneath a stack of goals and resolutions that never make a lasting change. So often my goals are based on my own shallow thoughts and understanding, rather than God’s more profound desires for me.
 
There is a stirring in my heart that urges me to go deeper this year. What lasting changes does the Lord want to form in me this year?
 
The other day I was reading about Nehemiah as he rebuilt the temple and led the people in repentance and renewed commitment to follow the Lord. He discovered that Eliashib, the priest in charge of the storerooms of the temple of the Lord, had allowed enemies of Israel to live within the temple walls.
 
“(Eliashib) was closely associated with Tobiah, and he had provided him with a large room formerly used to store the grain offerings and incense and temple articles, and also the tithes of grain, new wine and oil…” (Nehemiah 13:4-5 NIV) Tobiah was one of the enemies who had mocked, ridiculed, and hindered God’s work of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and the priest had offered him residence within the sacred temple itself!
 
How was that possible? Not only had Eliashib opened the doors of the Temple to allow an evil enemy of God to take up residence in the sacred storeroom, but he had also pushed out the instruments of worship, the incense (a symbol of prayer), and the oil (representing the anointing of Holy Spirit) that had previously filled the room.

Yet, how often have I done the same thing? I have allowed “other things” to take up residence in me, the temple of the Holy Spirit, that have crowded out worship and prayer and hindered more of the Holy Spirit’s filling in my life. It isn’t necessarily sin that displaces God’s presence (though it most assuredly does), but also clutter and distractions. I need to repent from every sin and surrender every hindrance.

What clutters my heart? What distracts my thoughts? What voices from the news or social media are crowding out the voice of the Lord? How does my phone distract me from more time with Jesus? What needs to go so that I can restore more worship, prayer, and the Word into my daily rhythms and be more full of the Holy Spirit?

These aren’t questions I can answer on my own. I need to allow the Lord to reveal the answers to me and to guide me in taking steps to make lasting changes. I realize this will not be a one-day exercise, but rather a deepening day-to-day journey into greater communion with Jesus.
 
My friend told me recently that she had asked the Lord, “Give me more of You.” His answer was like an arrow to the heart, “How about you give Me more of you?” That’s exactly what I need this year—more of Jesus and less of me.
 
Will you join me on this journey to go deeper with Jesus? Together we can experience more of His life in us, deep changes in our hearts, and a growing in-filling of the Holy Spirit that will transform us, our families, our churches, and our world for His glory.

As the sun’s rays shined upon their lackluster surfaces, beautiful hidden colors were revealed in varying shades of pink, white, and amber. No two were the same. To me, each was a treasure. 

A shelf in our garage was lined with quart jars. To most viewers, they appeared to be filled with common gravel, but in fact, they were a proud display of my most cherished finds. These were no ordinary rocks. These were special stones specifically chosen. 

Just as the colored stones of my childhood came alive in sunlight, so a dirty, spiritually dull, and light-deficient soul will come alive when bathed in the light of God’s Word. His Word is truth, and truth dispels darkness. Like a hidden precious stone unveiled, its beauty--that of an unspoiled creation--begins to shine with color. In this redeeming, cleansing light, the heart and mind are gradually transformed. The new creation is cleansed, and with each new exposure to this wondrous light, fresh new colors of His glory emerge. 

Sitting in my gravel driveway, I noticed a different kind of stone among the pink, white, and amber stones. This stone commanded my attention. It was clean and pure, multi-faceted, and clear as crystal. It eagerly drank in the light. It was not the source of light, but it generously reflected the light in a wondrous display of prismatic color. This stone sparkled like a diamond, like a precious stone. It was not a precious stone, but it shined with the brilliance of a precious stone.

Jesus shone for all to see. Isaiah tells us Jesus was a precious stone. Isaiah 28:16 NKJV He was filled with light and was the source of that light. The apostle John confirmed this when he said, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5 NKJV Jesus was God in human flesh, so He could rightly claim, “I am the light of the world.” John 8:12 NKJV John explained by divine revelation that it was through Jesus that all living things were made. He said in John 1:4, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” NKJV

Jesus, the source of light and of life, shined gloriously as He ministered the Word of God, healed the sick, cast out demons, and set captives free. He was the way, the truth, and the life for those who would believe and follow Him. Jesus Christ called His followers to carry the light to a world without light and without eternal life in Him.

Those who regularly soak in His light will continue to reflect His light. Souls with a genuine hunger and thirst to know God, who press into the deep things of God, who enjoy daily relationship with Him, who feast upon His Word to understand, digest and absorb—these will sparkle with light and with life--like diamonds--like lively stones in Christ.

As a lively stone of the living God, you are a special stone, precious and specifically chosen by God to shine forth His glory. When you reflect the light and life of Jesus to those around you, you have quietly yet powerfully spoken of God’s promises and the glory of the Holy Spirit of God and of Christ who lives within you.

A geode resides on my desk. The outside of this stone looks like any ordinary rock, but this stone has been cut in half, broken. Inside is a sparkling, light catching, light reflecting core of royal beauty. The engraved brass plaque below it reads, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7 NKJV

So, dear children of Light, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 NKJV