The Treasure of a Light

Alright, so it is a fact, I love Light houses !! And I have really enjoyed reading and hearing about the history of the lighthouses. Each lighthouse has a different light pattern and a different foghorn pattern so that ships can look at navigational charts and know where they are. Some light houses are there to guide the ships up the coast and to show them the entrance to a harbor. Some are there to keep the ship from running aground on dangerous shoals or sandbars. And lighthouses can also be used to triangulate where a ship is, if lost.

Do any of these statements seem to be a sharp parallel to what the scripture has to say about Light. Maybe we can take a look at it together and see how closely they parallel.

First, the Lighthouses on the shore often mark the path to the safe harbor….to guide the ships And in the Beginning God made light and used it to serve as a sign and later used the light as a guide


Genesis 1:14
And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years


Exodus 13:21

By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.

The light houses ran their lamps at all times and many times if the keeper was sick or could not “keep” the lights, his family would do it

Leviticus 24:2
"Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning continually.

They show the way to those who need a light to guide them and are willing to follow that light as directed.

Nehemiah 9:12
By day you led them with a pillar of cloud, and by night with a pillar of fire to give them light on the way they were to take


Psalm 43:3
Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me;


Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path


The Lighthouses show where the shoals, the sandbars and such dangers are located....their light brings these dangers out into the open

Job 28:11
He searches the sources of the rivers and brings hidden things to light.

Isaiah 9:2
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;

John 8:12
"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."


1 Corinthians 4:5
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts

Lighthouses can be used to show us where we are when we are lost…they guide us to the safety of the Harbor


Isaiah 60:19b
for the LORD will be your everlasting light,


Ephesians 5:8,13
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light…For everything exposed by the light becomes visible


Revelation 22:5
There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.


The Lord is our LIGHT and our Salvation…..What a Traceable Trustable Treasure

The Treasure of a Child's Smile

It is such a joy to see my grandchildren smile…..their smile comes from the inside out, unlike ours (as a grownup) which often comes from the outside in….a forced smile I would say. Children cause you to smile right back at them because their smile is just soooo genuine. You see their shining face and you can’t help but smile right back.


I was also thinking about Chad’s words concerning the Light Shine children. How in their pictures, they were smiling a genuine smile….one he couldn’t have made them smile just for a picture…it was a realistic and “from the inside out” smile. One that showed true JOY !

In Job 9:27 we read
“ If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression, and smile”

First he tells us to forget our complaints…not an easy thing to do on any given day! BUT that is our instruction so it must be possible to do it!! So, we need to put our problems aside and quit complaining Then change our expression…. be of good cheer…then put on a happy face…and…Smile ! Is that the most appropriate way? The most genuine way?? Probably not…..the best way is to have the Joy of the Lord in your heart and have that joy (His Joy) come flowing out! Then I think our smiles will look more like the smile on a child’s face~sincere and radiant !

Psalm 118:24
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.


Ps 144:15b
Happy are the people whose God is the Lord


Psalm 146:5
Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the LORD

 Philippians 4:8
[ Meditate on These Things ] Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Think on these things and you will have the  traceable, trustable treasure of the JOY of the Lord and a child's smile.