God Notes
Revelations and insights about God from the bible, others and the world around me.
God Notes
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Who said anything about safe? ’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” — The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Stop Trying to Be the Sun
The moon has no light of its own.
It only glows because it stays close enough to catch the sun’s rays.
Drift too far, and it becomes just another cold rock in space.
Your soul works the same way.
You don’t have to manufacture brilliance.
You just have to stay in Christ’s orbit — close enough to catch His light and turn it toward
"Let your light shine"
Express what’s already been given, not to create something new
The verb in “let your light shine” (Matt 5:16) is λαμψάτω (lampsatō), an imperative: “cause to shine,” “shine forth.”
It isn’t passive permission (like “allow it if it wants to”), but it’s not “manufacture light” either. It’s closer to:
“Shine!” / “Be shining!” —
... See moreThe layers of God's creativity
Reading through Matt 5:16, Jesus says You are the light. To let our light shine. It's interesting that this is how the sun and moon work. The sun is the source as Jesus is the source of light (John 8:12). The moon reflects the sun's light as we are to reflect Jesus' light. God gave us the principle in creation. Like
... See moreGood works are not the light. They are illuminated because of the light
The words "so that" are important here in this verse. If we blur “light” = “works,” we slip into “do impressive deeds to get noticed.”
It’s about radiance before performance. The works themselves aren’t the beam; the beam makes them visible.
Source: Matthew 5:14-16
Where have you been trying to be the light by hustling to do more good works, instead of simply staying close to Jesus so His life naturally illuminates what you do? What might change if you focused more on shining (being) than on proving (doing)?
“Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!””
Mark 9:24 ESV
Delight and Meditation
Psalm 1 keeps pulling me back. Our modern idea of “meditation” is almost the opposite of what the psalmist had in mind. We picture silent stillness, but the Hebrew word here — hāgâ — is about softly speaking, murmuring, repeating the words until they soak in.
And there’s this other piece I hadn’t paid much attention to: delight
... See moreI never want to approach Scripture like a song I already know by heart.
A wise person, Proverbs says, “will listen and keep adding learning.”
Eugene Peterson calls it “fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate.”
Solomon asked for a listening heart — not once, but continually.
I want that too: to keep my inner ear open, to hear the subtle chord I’ve missed
... See more