SEASONS - CELEBRATING A CHRISTIAN HANUKKAH IN 2016 - BLESSINGS AND MEDITATIONS FOR THE EIGHTH DAY

PRAYERS:

Blessed art thou O Lord Our God, King of The Universe Who has given to us holidays, customs, and seasons for gladness. For the glory of The Lord Yeshua, Our Messiah, The Light Of The World.

Blessed art Thou, Lord Our God, Master of the Universe, Who performed miracles for our fathers in those days at this time.

We kindle these lights to commemorate the wonders and the miracles and the saving acts that You have performed for our forefathers, in those days at this time, by Your Holy Priests.  And all throughout the eight days of Hanukkah, these lights are holy and we are not permitted to make use of them, but only to behold them, in order to offer thanks and praise to Your great Name, for Your miracles, for Your wonder, and for Your salvation.

MEDITATION:

Phil. 2:14-16:  Do all things without murmuring and disputing that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.  Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. 

 (Comments by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Once again the Apostle Paul is giving us good instructions on how to be light-bearers.  Are you cheerfully going about your destiny as a light bearer?

Funny thing about lamps; they are mostly seen and not heard.  Paul says we should not murmur and we should not be getting into disputes.  He advises us to remain blameless and harmless even if we are living among crooked and perverse people.  We are simply to be like a light post - and just stand still and shine!    

Why would a person who has been given the life and light of Christ to dwell in ever have a complaint?  

How could we possibly murmer?  

Let us go about the work of God with cheerful uplifted hearts and not consider the things that he called us to as work, but of a joy unspeakable.

For now we DO live in a crooked and perverse world, but He is coming again and we will behold Him.  What a glorious day that will be!  

Has the reality of this sunk into your spirit and appeared on your face today?  Are you living in the light?

Do not hold back the joy that God has blessed you with.  Share it with the world.  

Let His light beam out from your face and spill over into your smile.  

Let your light shine before men that they may see Christ living in you.  

May the beautiful light of Hanukkah stay in our hearts all through the coming year and may the light be a blessing through every day that we live. 

Do not run your race or do your labor in vain!  Let the light of Christ help you to

Love.  

and

Live.  

May His light ever shine down on the path before you showing you the way home.

Share these blessings along the way.  Give the Light of The World to everyone that you meet. 

Shine!

SEASONS PRAYER AND MEDITATION FOR THE SECOND FULL DAY OF HANUKKAH 2016

Strange photo for Hanukkah?  Not really, I'm trying to get you to notice the light in everything this season.  Ironically enough this building that reflects the light so beautifully is called "The Peace Center."  Nothing could be more appropriate when we think of The Light of The World.  

PRAYERS:

Blessed art thou O Lord Our God, King of The Universe Who has given to us holidays, customs, and seasons for gladness. For the glory of The Lord Yeshua, Our Messiah, The Light Of The World.

Blessed art Thou, Lord Our God, Master of the Universe, Who performed miracles for our fathers in those days at this time.

We kindle these lights to commemorate the wonders and the miracles and the saving acts that You have performed for our forefathers, in those days at this time, by Your Holy Priests.  And all throughout the eight days of Chanukkah, these lights are holy and we are not permitted to make use of them, but only to behold them, in order to offer thanks and praise to Your great Name, for Your miracles, for Your wonder, and for Your salvation.

Have you ever considered scattering the light of your Hanukkah table all over the table with the servant candle standing tallest in the center?  Not to take away from the sacredness of the Menorah (which I love) but to make the point of how little beacons of light scattered here and there are capable of lighting up the whole world when you are looking from a distance?  Something to ponder as you set the table and begin to think about how important the light of Christ is to all of us, whether near or far or scattered.  The next day with the Menorah in tact we notice with great significance how of beautifully and perfect God brings all those who have been scattered into one body forming unity and peace.

MEDITATIONS:

(By Nelson Mandela)

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves:  Who am I to be 

brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small doesn't serve the world.

There is nothing enlightening about shrinking

So that other people won't feel insecure around you.

(By Martin Luther King, Jr.)

When people are placed in darkness,

Crimes will be committed.

The guilty are not just those who commit the crimes,

But those who cause the darkness.

(By Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Let us go about our day today shinning like the lights on the candles of the Menorah.  Let us be a beacon of Christ the King to those living within a dark world.  Let our lives reflect the Messiah that the hope of the miracle of the oil on the first Hanukkah prophesied to us.  Let the light of Christ shine out from you as another great miracle and go change the world from the inside out today.

SEASONS - PRAYER AND MEDITATIONS FOR HANUKKAH ON THE NIGHT OF CHRISTMAS EVE IN 2016 EXPERIENCING GOD IN THE FIRST FULL DAY OF HANUKKAH

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

It isn't required that you read meditations each day as you light the Menorah for Hanukkah; but we enjoy the exercise and feel it helps to give the season more fulfillment inside our hearts; so we chose to do so at our house; and invite you to join in with us.  

If you are reading these meditations each day as you are lighting the Hanukkah candles on your Menorah, I hope that you are keeping one very important question in mind.  Are you experiencing Hanukkah within your heart and in your own days, or is it just an ancient story to you?   

Is The One and Only True God being daily renewed in your life, replacing all the false and untrue things that the world tries to force upon us?  God's Holy Days and the two occasions of Mosaic Holidays each year help us, remind us, and teach us to do just that.  

There are no set rules or prayers for making this meditation each year; it is simply about remembering the Presence of God among His people in times of hardship and struggle.  

In the world that we live in now; what could be more timely?  Every newscast is full of false prophets proclaiming there is no more hope.  We need the truth to fall on our ears and find its way into our hearts again this year.  

So many seem to have lost the way to hope; yet these days hold out pictures of our hope like a perfect gift wrapped in gold.  They are free to all who want to believe and understand.  They are reminders of our greatest gifts; those sent down from our heavenly Father!

The fact that the first day of Hannukah  falls during and on Christmas Eve in 2016 makes it even more significant.  Do we remember Christ in EVERY celebration EVERY year?  He IS the light of Hanukkah.  He IS the miracle!  What we celebrate as Emmanuel on Christmas Eve is what the miracle of Hannukah foretold.  It was a prophesy of the coming Messiah!  The miracle of the light spoke of the coming miracle of The Light Of The World.  

 He is the Christ Child we look for at Advent.  He is the Savior we honor with Christmas Day.  He is the fulfillment of all of God's Holy Days.  He is what the Mosaic Holidays point to.  The Hanukkah story just points to more of the miracles that happened because of Him.    

It is all about remembering that God gives us the hope and a promise of a good and everlasting future, no matter how dark or bleak the winter we are living through may seem.  

For so many of us Christmas Eve brings disappointment.  This is not intended disappointment; it happens when we put our faith in the things of the world and not on the things of God.  

If your focus is straight, your heart will celebrate in all circumstances; just like that very first Hanukkah when the great miracle happened.  When we ponder the miracles of God during this time, our own selfish and human complaints seem to disappear and they are replaced with God's joy in our hearts at the things that He has done for us, and not the things that the world has done to us.  

This MUST have been the way that Mary was able to get through such an unexpected change in her life; a miracle from God that did not look like a miracle.  From the worldly view, it seemed like trouble.  Mary's focus was straight, and so was the focus of those who cleansed the temple on that very first Hannukah when God gave the miracle of light as a sign that Messiah would come!  

These ancient worshipers celebrated in spite of their lack; and God provided more than they needed!  He brought forth a symbol of the Light that we now know as Messiah.  

In this season that occurs during the darkest and shortest days of winter we are reminded that spring is coming again, and with spring comes new life from God.  The things that will grow into spring lay hidden in the ground right now; but they are still there; just like hope that is always ever growing but not always visible to the eye.  There ARE hidden miracles at work and God still has control of everything!  

It all starts in the darkness of winter and silently grows in God’s ever abiding Presence when we remember that He Alone is the God of great miracles.  So make your prayer and light your candles in a gesture of faith, and please remember and experience the moments. 

Religion is not merely to be observed, but in its highest state it must be expressed!

Do you not feel an existential awareness of God’s Presence as you observe the things that honor Him in your life?  

Are you not being totally honest about your relationship with God as you light the candles that point to the hope that reveals The Light of The World?  

As the days are building, one candle after another and they increase in light as the time goes by, is your soul too expanding wider in order to incorporate all the things that God is showing you and teaching you in this life?  Are you living out your days as if each day were the lighting of yet another candle and another way to worship the God you love?  

If you are not content that you are constantly dwelling in the light of God; do you have a dream and a vision of coming closer and closer in the future?  

Are you taking those small steps every day that open the door wider and wider to the work of God within your heart?  Babies take small steps in the beginning before they are able to run.  We come to God with the heart of a child if we come honestly and willingly.  As we take small baby steps of faith; our hearts grow wider and fuller of The Light of The World we know as Messiah.

It is hoped by the end of Hanukkah, when all eight candles have been lit and set back into their place, that the room will fill up and glow with the Spirit of God and we all will feel His Presence as close as the flames of the candles and as warm as the love that lasts through all of eternity.  

The smoke of the candles send up our prayers.  

God sees our hearts and knows. 

This year at Hanukkah please make a point of invoking God’s Presence each time you light the candles.  It is as easy as saying a heart-felt prayer and believing that He who has promised will be faithful.  

As a matter of fact; I think those very words may be the words we speak this year with each day of our candle lighting:   "HE WHO HAS PROMISED WILL BE FAITHFUL!"  It will be a reminding prayer that the light lasting for eight days was a glorious shadow of The Light Of The World called Christ who first came as a child and will soon come again as a King.  Each lighting will remind us of these three miracles of past, present and future in God's Kingdom!    

On the first full Day of Hanukkah as you see the new light, be prepared to not only observe God in your life, but to experience Him with each new breath that you take.

He will speak to your heart if you are only prepared to listen!

SEASONS - QUESTIONS FROM A FRIEND AT CHRISTMAS

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

I was asked by my friend to explain what Jesus means to me at Christmas time.  She had no idea what a loaded question she was asking.   I don't think my answer would be very typical.  Sometimes people find my beliefs a bit too complicated, but to me it is all really quite simple.  I just like to get in all the facts.  I mean if Jesus went to all the trouble to be born of a virgin, to live in the flesh and to leave the throne of heaven for you and me, then why shouldn’t I want to get the facts right?  After all, Jesus stands for truth and I’ve come to appreciate that very much.  My truth may sound a little different at first, because the world has twisted the truth a great deal.  I’m not telling the exact same word for word canned story as a lot of others that you hear, but I AM telling the story, I’m just telling it the way I feel Jesus has shown it to me; so here is my answer to the loaded question:

My first thought on all of this is that knowing and having a relationship with Jesus actually makes the whole year feel like Christmas.  Every day; all the time!

Of course, to be honest with you, I must tell you that I think Jesus was born in a Sukkah during the Feast of Tabernacles sometime around late Fall, most likely in September.  All evidence from scripture points that way.  But don’t let that make you think I do not celebrate Christmas!  I do indeed!   I see no reason not to celebrate His birth all year long, and to be more specific, I have my reasons for believing that Jesus was CONCEIVED sometime in December.  Just do the math.  It confirms a lot for me.  If Christ was conceived in Mary's womb around the end of December, about nine months later would have put his birth during the time of The Feast of Tabernacles in late September.  So I celebrate the conception of Christ (the Annunciation and Incarnation) in December and the birth of Christ in early fall.

When most people are celebrating the birth of Christ at Christmas in the month of December, I am actually celebrating  The Conception of Christ, which I perceive to be even more of a miracle than His birth into our world.  

It is truly a major miracle that a virgin gave birth to a child/God who came to save the world and become our greatest King of Kings!  What a reason to be celebrating!  

I can surely join in on that.  

I love the time and enjoy contemplating what must have been going on in Mary's heart during those days.  It teaches me so much about how to love Jesus.

When a child is conceived you begin to prepare for the child to come, just as we do when we contemplate and celebrate Advent, therefore; I join in with pure joy in celebrating the season of Advent and I rejoice in the fact that Jesus became our greatest Gift From God.  

So I guess you could say lighting the Advent candles is my first contemplation of Jesus during the Christmas season.   It makes me think of the child Jesus who was coming to earth; and the man Jesus who will one day return to earth.

Then there is Hanukkah, which I have come to know as a shadow of the coming of The Messiah.   It usually falls right in December too.   Everything in the telling of the story of the miracle of the oil and the seven more days of light that we see in Hanukkah is a type of Christ coming as the miracle that becomes the light of the world.   How appropriate to celebrate the fact of the miracle of His coming close to the time of celebrating the Conception of His life on earth.   

This time is yet another glorious reason to discover  more of Jesus inside the times of my year.

You might just make this summary pretty simple by saying:  I love Christmas so much that I celebrate it four times a year;   1) Advent  (anticipating the prophetic birth of Jesus, and anticipating His future return as Messiah and King),  2) Hanukkah (thinking of the prophetic miracle of His coming to be The Light of The World),  3) Christmas Day (celebrating His Conception by The Holy Spirit and recalling the Annunciation of Mary and  The Incarnation and all of the things that happened when Mary first learned the Christ Child was living within her) and  4) The Feast of Tabernacles (celebrating the actual birth of Christ.)   Now that’s a lot of Jesus and a whole year of celebrating Christmas!  That is a lot of celebrating!  Why not?  We have SO MUCH to celebrate!  

I love each part of the season and the way we celebrate His coming to earth in the flesh, and the recognition of  Jesus actually stooping down to be like us in order to save us.   All of these four celebrations during the year just build on top of each other and reinforce my further celebration of his physical birth at The Feast of Tabernacles, also called Sukkot; the fourth and last time of the year when I celebrate his  actual birth.   On top of that - I like to celebrate the Epiphany later!  We can't leave out the coming of the wise men; but that was probably two years after the birth of Christ and not necessarily in December and they may not have met Jesus in a three sided shelter; but possibly a house in Bethlehem, (and that may be yet another blog post.)  

I LOVE stretching out the significance of God's grace, and remembering some phase of this miracle of Christ all four times each year.  When you think of all the little details; there are actually two times to look back AND forward and realize much of the symbolism in some days was given as a shadow of what was to come, and a telling of what IS to come.  We see these things with Advent and Hanukkah; then on Christmas Day we enjoy celebrating His conception at Christmas time; and then in the next Fall (nine months later) we will be celebrating His actual physical birth at The Feast of Tabernacles.   What fun it was to me when I first learned that the manger was actually a sukkah, and the Christ Child was God's festival gift to us!  When Mary and Joseph could not find a place in the inn, they found a sukkah that had been used to shelter the animals.  It was next to a cave.  If you want to read how I've told that story to my grandchildren, look at this link: http://dancinginseason.blogspot.com/2016_10_12_archive.html.

So the time after Christmas for me is comparable to waiting on a baby in real life!  It is nine months of anticipiating Jesus and the Festival of The Feast of Tabernacles.  All year long I'm anticipating the coming of Christ into the world and celebrating it with my family inside our little sukkah.   All four celebrations are spread out time-wise, but all are very timely and significant.

Another amazing fact I find in these seasons of time is that the longer I walk with Christ through these different aspects of Christmas, the more He teaches me about how to live a more glorious life every other day of the year.   

I have come to cherish so many traditions that remind me of Who Jesus Is, and what He has done for this world.  I feel grateful for each reason that comes in each season.  This keeps a healthy balance in our home of  more Jesus and less of the world.  

So this year, and every year:  the first reminder of Jesus for me is seen in lighting of the Advent candles around the Advent Wreath, then the Menorah at Hanukkah.  

One thing I remember during Hanukkah is that even though I was not born of a Jewish nationality, I have been adopted and made a blood relative through the blood of Christ.  So, you might say I’m basically an adopted member of a Jewish family; but loved just as much as if I were born Jewish.  So I feel no guilt at all about celebrating the Hanukkah story along with my adopted brothers and sisters.  The same Father loves us all.   The beautiful story of Hannukah tells us about how God always sends miracles right on time, just the way they need to be delivered, in just the right packaging, and they always come just when they are most needed.  You know, that was what happened when He sent the package of Jesus into the world in the simple form of little child.  The miracle of Hannukah expresses the prophecy of Jesus.

I’ve read the Gospel of John, and I know Jesus celebrated Hanukkah; so why wouldn’t I?

It happened long before His birth, but He kept the Family Traditions going.  So why shouldn't I?  

I read in John of Jesus walking on Solomon's porch at the Temple during the Festival of Lights.  This was a Hanukkah being celebrated long after that first one when the oil lasted for eight days.  At the time that John wrote, Jesus was about to bring an even more significant oil into the world, and an even more significant miracle of light.   

That first Hanukkah when the Jews were able to finally return to the restored temple to worship God; God made one day's worth of oil last for eight days.  Now I look at the candles of the Menorah as we light them during Hanukah, and I think about the oil.  I note how the oil of the Holy Spirit fills me up and makes me shine as a reflection of the love of Christ.  

I only have enough love in me to last possibly for one day, but with the oil of the Holy Spirit and the Light of Christ, I can keep my light shinning long enough to last for many more days!  By some great miracle, it is actually enough to last until Christ returns again in the Second Advent.  And I can always go back and get more of this miraculous oil!  It is never used up! Jesus made it all possible. That same Jesus, who was the little child that grew into the Savior of The World. 

As I keep looking at the candles, and I keep thinking of how Christ is the light of the world, I can see Him shinning in all of our faces as we gather together to celebrate whether it is to light the candles at a special dinner table, or the candles of the Menorah, or the Advent Wreath, or even to light the Christmas Tree.  He is the true light that shines out, no matter where we chose to seek Him or look for Him, we can always find Him if we just keep on searching with all our hearts.



So; as I have already mentioned, the second tradition I usually see Jesus in on the way to Christmas is the lighting of the Advent Candles.  There is one candle for faith, hope, and joy, and the white one in the center that we light on Christmas Eve that means LOVE and stands for Christ.  These candles remind me that Jesus once came to live among us, to be like us, and that He will one day return again to save us from ourselves, and to help us learn to be more like Him.  

He is coming for us, the true Church to be His Bride; and we will live with Him forever!

The Advent candles always remind me of this, and every year they help me to renew my strong belief in Jesus as Messiah of the world.  So it is that sometimes when I light the candles, I'm actually thinking of weddings, remembering The Marriage Supper of The Lamb when my Beloved will come for me.  I pray that it will not be a long wait.

I know He is coming again, and I think of it every time I look up into a black velvet sky and see a star.  It makes me remember that star that shone over Bethlehem so long ago and pointed men in the right direction.

I think of Jesus as I put the lights on my tree, and many of the ornaments help to tell the shinning story.  I like to share a Jesse tree that tells not only His story, but also the stories of all those before and after Him that have passed all the stories on to us. 

I love remembering the way there was no place for Mary and Joseph, and the miracle of how God provided a place for them to stay, a type of "temporary dwelling" so very  similar to our earthly bodies as we think of our souls.  Also so very similar to the three-sided temporary dewellings (sukkahs) which we build at The Feast of Tabernacles.


I enjoy thinking of the humbleness of that little place and how it was changed in an instant when the child was born.  It became all lit up with the voices of the angels and the stars of heaven and suddenly became glorious with the precious gift of life that came down among so much humbleness and turned all the humble into the holy.   

I love thinking of how the shepherds heard the good news, and came to see the baby that would save the world.

I love remembering how the wise men followed the bright shinny star to Bethlehem. 
  
I love all of these stories because they have one common thread.  Every single story is about people searching for Jesus.  They kept seeking Him until they found Him, those shepherds and wise men and many, many others.  That is what I like to do most of all at Christmas time; seek Jesus with all of my heart until I find Him.  No amount of wrapping paper and tinsel can keep Him out of this day for me.  He is always there, just quietly waiting to teach us more of His story, always bringing light into the darkness, always making all things new.

I love that God made all of these things so perfect, so delightful, so right and so wonderful; with no contradictions and no complications, just a flood of pure genuine joy and love that arrives in perfect timing.

I cherish every Christmas thought about Jesus, and these thoughts bring me comfort as we move on through the year.  The stories stay in my heart way beyond Christmas Day.  Their light carries over into the ordinary days and makes them shine too.

I love Jesus! 

I love that we celebrate so much about Him at Christmas!

I love the story so beautiful that only God could have written it.  

His coming to earth is truly the greatest miracle of all, and the greatest gift ever given to mankind.   

SEASONS - PRAYER AND READING FOR THE EIGHTH DAY OF HANUKKAH

(Prayer and reading taken from "A Family Guide To Biblical Holidays" by Robin Sampson and Linda Pierce.  I use these for lighting the Menorah every year.)

PRAYER:

Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old, for this season.

READING:

We need to shine.

Do all things without murmurings and disputing:  That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;  Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. (Phil. 2:14-16)

J E S U S  I S  T H E  L I G H T   OF  THE  WORLD

May we always reflect Him!

HAPPY HANUKKAH EVERYONE

SEASONS: PRAYER AND READING FOR THE SEVENTH DAY OF HANUKKAH

(Prayer and reading taken from "A Family Guide To Biblical Holidays" by Robin Sampson and Linda Pierce.  I use these for lighting the Menorah every year.)

PRAYER:

Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the Universe who wrought miracles for our fathers in days of old, for this season.

READING:

If Christ Is Your Light You Are No Longer In The Darkness of This World

For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:  (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Providing what is acceptable unto The Lord.  And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.  (Eph. 5:8-11)

But ye brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.  Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness.  Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.  (I Thess. 5:4-6)

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9)

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.  For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.  But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light; for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.  Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.  See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise (Eph. 5:11-15).

This then is the message that we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all.  If we say we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth; but if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.  If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  

  

SEASONS - A PRAYER FOR HANUKKAH ON THE FOURTH DAY AND A PRAYER FOR ADVENT ON THE FIRST WEEK

PRAYER FOR THE FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT:



(Taken from Catholic Collect for The Mass on The First Week of Advent)

Bestir, O Lord, Thy might, we pray thee and come; that, defended by Thee, we may deserve rescue from approaching dangers brought on by our sins, and being set free by Thee, obtain our salvation. Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

READING FOR 
THE FOURTH DAY OF HANUKKAH:
(Shared from "Biblical Holidays" by Robin Sampson and Linda Pierce)

The Light of The Body is The Eye:

The light of the body is the eye; therefore when thine eye is single, they whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.  (Luke 11:34),

To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.  (Acts 26:18)

From Matthew Henry's Commentary:  

Having the light, their concern was to have the sight, or else to what purpose had they the light?  Be the object ever so clear, if the organ be not right, we are never the better.  The light of the body is the eye which received the light of the candle when it is brought into the room.  So the light of the soul is the understanding and judgement, and its power of discerning between good and evil, truth and falsehood.  Now according as this is, so the light of divine revelation is to us, and our benefit by it; it is a savour of life unto life, or of death unto death. 

If this eye of the soul is single, if it see clear, see things as they are, and judge impartially concerning them, if it aim at truth only, and seek it for its own sake, and have not any sinister by-looks and intentions, the whole body, that is, the whole soul, is full of light, it receives and entertains the gospel, which will bring along with it into the soul both knowledge and joy.  This denotes the same thing with that of the good ground, receiving the word and understanding it.  If our understanding admits the gospel in the full light, it fills the soul, and it has enough to fill it.  And if the soul be thus filled with the light of the gospel, having no part dark, - if all its powers and faculties be subject to the government and influence of the gospel and none left unsainctified, - then the whole soul shall be full of light, full of holiness and comfort.  It was darkness itself, but now light in The Lord, as when the bright shinning of a candle does give thee light.  

Note:  The gospel will come into those souls whose doors and windows are thrown open to receive it, and where ever it comes it will bring light with it.  But if the eyes of the soul be evil - if the judgement be bribed and biased by the corrupt and vicious dispositions of the mind, by pride and envy, by the love of the world and sensual pleasures - if the understanding be prejudiced against divine truths, and resolved not to admit them, though brought with ever so convincing an evidence, - it is no wonder that the whole body, the whole soul, should be full of darkness.  How can they have instruction, information, direction and comfort from the gospel, that wilfully shut their eyes against it?  And what hope is there of such?  And what remedy for them?  The inference hence therefore is:  Take heed that the light that is within thee be not darkness.  Take heed that the eye of the mind be not blinded by partiality and prejudice, and sinful aims.  Be sincere in your inquiries after truth, and ready to receive it in the light, and love, and power of it; and not as the men of this generation to whom Christ preached, who never sincerely desired to know God's will, nor designed to do it, and therefore no wonder that they walked on in darkness, wondered endlessly and perished eternally.