Radiance.

Some of you may be aware of an upcoming bible study at Second Baptist church called Radiance. The study is taught by Marian Jordan and there will also be time for praise and worship by G Poveromo and Katie Warren, such a treat!

For those of you who are not familiar with this study, its about, well, radiance. As, "A guide to becoming and remaining Radiant women, Lights in the darkness, in a world that seeks to mask our light, and beckons us with the glitter of culture toward the looming shadow of worldliness…" We are going to meet on Wednesday evenings for the next 6 weeks.

This past Wednesday, a group of us got together to pray for the study in the very room where the study will be held. We prayed for the Holy Spirit to be present; for God's grace and love to flow through the room; we prayed for the Holy Spirit to flow through Marian and for the teaching flowing through her be supernatural; we prayed for God to be in charge of the seating arrangements - placing each girl where she needs to be; we prayed for the details in the microphones and lights and any little thing to run smoothly; we also prayed for the hearts of all the women attending be prepared to receive His truth and to clearly hear His voice; the list goes on.

After this prayer night, I kept thinking about the word: radiance. I looked up some verses with the word "radiance" in them and this is what I found:

Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell face down, and I heard the voice of one speaking. - Ezekiel 1:28, NIV

Then the glory of the LORD rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the LORD. - Ezekiel 10:4, NIV

{His} radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays {flashing} from His hand, And there is the hiding of His power. - Habakkuk 3:4, NASB

The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. - Hebrews 1:3, NIV

After reading that, it became so clear. Radiance, the kind of light our Savior and King has, is so bright and so noticeable that it is radiant. We are being called to be radiant, to have radiance like our dear Savior. And we are also called to live our lives out as Jesus did.

Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. - 1 John 2:6, NIV

The kind of light we are to exude in darkness isn't just a flicker my friends, it isn't just a dull glimmer, it is radiant light. Jesus was the Light of the world (You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. - Matthew 5:14, NIV), and we are called to have that kind of light. To light up the world, you need a lot of light - so much light, you have to get rid of the darkness trying to cover the flame. In order to stamp out the darkness, you must come into the light and find yourself in His light.

But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. - John 3:21, NIV

So let go of the darkness, so that you may become His radiant light for all to see. If you truly humble yourself and seek to follow Jesus in all that you do, Jesus says you will never walk in darkness. If there is any way in you hanging on to darkness, let it go. Let the Lord's light overtake the darkness in your life by seeking Him in every area of your life, not just some, or not just the areas of life that everyone sees - but ALL areas of your life. We are not called to live in "grey area" but to be black and white. There is light and there is darkness, and why would you choose darkness when you have been given light? A life without Light will cause you to stumble.

It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light. - John 11:10, NIV

I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. - John 12:46, NIV

The word "Light" is in the NIV bible 232 times. The Lord is serious about us knowing what true Light is and how to live in it. He is clear that it isn't just any average light, it is radiant light. Let's look at the definition of radiance according to http://www.dictionary.com/:

ra·di·ance
Show Spelled Pronunciation [rey-dee-uhns]
–noun
1. radiant brightness or light
2. warm, cheerful brightness
3. Rare

What does this tell us? We are called to be so bright with radiance that it is rare. Without disrespect to the dictionary, we do not have to be rare. Living as anything less than a radiant light for Christ just isn't living our lives to the fullest. Living life as flicker in the wind isn't what God has called us to do, and He knows us better than we know ourselves. We, who live for the Light of Christ, can be anything but rare if we all choose to live in His light, His radiant light.

Let's choose to glorify Him in all we do, and follow Him. In that, we will be closer to living as radiant lights! I look at the synonyms for radiance, and I find: glitter, glow, brilliance, luster, shine. As a woman, I have a deep desire to walk in the room and be described as one of those words. To be a woman who glows, who has brilliance, who shines - ALL with His light, and because OF His Light in me. Who wouldn't want that? My dear friends, His radiant Light is there for you, and it is in you, just cut off the darkness. You can do it. Don't let the enemy entice you with the false "fun" of darkness, or comfort. Get out of the gray, get out of the darkness, get out of anything that is not pure light and embrace the fullness of radiant light that God wants to shine through you.

I love you and I am so excited for you on this journey to become His radiant lights! How much joy would you get in being His radiant light, than being squashed in darkness. Let's encourage each other on His path to exuding His true radiance!

Praying for you!

<><
Kay

PS - For those of you in the bible study, I'll see you there! If you are interested in coming, please just contact me and we can get you the details! :-)