Last week the moon here was truly amazing. 
It was big, bright, and full. I’m certainly not a guru on scientific matters, but I do remember from my childhood science class that the moon absorbs the light from the sun and reflects it back. This is why the moon shines at night. It’s more of a glow or reflection than shining its own light.
As I was driving home the other night, I started thinking about this whole reflection business. The moon has nothing to offer but simply reflects everything that the sun shines on it. It got me thinking about my life as a pastor, and if you’re not a pastor just as a follower of Jesus. How much of my life is spent trying to shine my own light? How much of my time is devoted to casting some light of my own?
I find it all too often the case that well-meaning followers of Jesus try to be the best at something so as to make a name for themselves. It’s disheartening to listen to pastors and churchgoers talk about my church and our focus is on growing our own church by any means possible.
I honestly think we can learn something from the moon. It does exactly what it was created to do – reflect the light of the sun. It does exactly what Jesus did in His ministry – it only reflects what’s given to it. Jesus taught a lot of powerful things. He was put in some pretty tricky situations and even was bombarded by temptations from a very powerful enemy. But in the midst of all of this He never did anything on His own. He only reflected what the Father gave him. It says in John 5:19 the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing.
What a powerful thought! Jesus, the very Son of God who had all the power of God at his disposal didn’t do anything that wasn’t a reflection of the Father’s will and action. This means that Jesus’ death and resurrection were a reflection of the Father’s love for us.
Now as followers of Jesus we’re not called to come up with some bright and witty statement of faith or some great tactic to share who Jesus is with those around us. We’re just called to be a reflection of his presence where we live, work and play. This is the Jesus in me. We’re called to reflect the presence of the Son of God into our everyday situations.
Today don’t try to be your own light. Don’t push to come up with your own presence and power. Instead, today try reflecting the Son into your daily relationships. As you reflect Jesus’ love, people will get a glimpse of the power of God in normal, everyday situations.
In the movie Men of Honor a young diver goes through intense pressure to become a Naval Diving Officer. After an accident, he loses his leg and needs a prosthetic to allow him to walk. After a period of recovery, he attempts to finish his officer training only to find out that the regulations have changed and the armor is now heavier. The climax of the movie comes when he is called to walk 12 steps carrying this new armor’s weight using his prosthetic limb. 
man named Jonah. He’s probably most well-known for his failure to follow God’s command. He was supposed to go to a place called Nineveh, but he really didn’t want to. As a matter of fact, when he was called to Arise and go to Nineveh, he decided to board a boat going in the opposite direction. Eventually the captain of the boat finds Jonah, realizes that he’s the reason the storm is so bad, and throws him overboard. God then sends a fish to swallow him whole! 
your life referring to something called Epiphany lately. Maybe you are a little cloudy on its meaning. Don’t worry you’re definitely not alone. I would venture to guess that many followers of Jesus don’t even know what it really is all about.
Twas the night before Christmas, when Mary and Jo
just had the opportunity to meet with two wonderful ladies of faith. They were both in assisted living homes and were semi-mobile. These two women were able to get around to their therapy but not much more than that. They were very reliant on people to come and visit with them. 
family loves to go to Disney world for vacation. I’ve been going there since I was a small child. While the Disney corporation is constantly trying to be on the cutting edge of technology and products, there is something about their Orlando-based park that is a staple to say the least. Every time we go to the Magic Kingdom theme park we absolutely have to ride It’s a Small World. That ride has been there for as long as I’ve been going and it hasn’t changed in all those years. But why? Why is it a staple, and why hasn’t it changed?
No one likes to wait. We’ve established businesses and systems to prevent us from having to wait in long lines. Amusement parks fill your wait time with fun activities to distract you from the long wait time.
