December 9

2 Corinthians 4:6-7 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;

God's light is to shine in us. And yet, God, in His wisdom, gave us a free will and free choice and we humans mucked it up and sin entered the picture. And so daily we have to fight ourselves: fight ourselves to let His light shine in spite of the flaws of our earthen vessels. When we do something Christlike, the surpassing greatness is obviously God in us. People notice and God can be credited. Our trials and our natural sinful bents can be used to glorify God in that we can become more Christlike in our responses.

James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded

When we blow it, and we all will, we can draw near to God to cleanse and purify us. Then once again the Light of the world will shine through us. This Light arrived at Christmas, and we proclaim His birth in our everyday lives through the way we reflect Him.

In this busiest of seasons, we likely need to draw near more than ever so that once we are cleansed and purified we reflect Him even in the hustle and bustle. It's a catch 22: we need Him most in the busyness, and in the busyness we feel we don't have the time to draw near.

God's word is truth: you need to draw near. Take the time, and the rest will fall into place. God is the author of time and efficiency. Do things HIS way and He will order your steps.