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.
