Purposeful Light

Matt Miles • June 11, 2020

     We are in the midst of a dark time in our nation and around the world. The pandemic has caused a crisis the likes of which we have not seen in many decades. Our nation is in a battle for its very soul as we confront very difficult issues, aka sin. It seems as though the darkness is all around us and winning. I personally don’t see this as the darkest of times, unless we fail to see the light. I believe there is only one Light that will dispel and drive this darkness away, Jesus Christ, and we must be FOCUSED on the purpose of this Light.

     “Let there be light.” In Genesis 1, on that first day when physical light was created, it had a purpose. When it was revealed, it was separated from darkness. Light is what defines darkness, as darkness is the absence of light. We also see in Scripture that, by His power and glory, the Lord is the Light, and the light shows what the darkness cannot – truth. The Light is truth and righteousness, the absolute standard by which all is referenced. The Lord defines light by His very eternal existence. The same is true in our lives; without light there is no defining line of law from lawlessness. All we measure around us in this world should be in view of His Light.

     As we are surrounded by darkness we must appeal to the Light. He is the only source of goodness and healing. Any ideas, opinions, solutions and legislations apart from the Light may contain some truth (as also many of Satan’s deceptions do), but they cannot be emblazoned with truth. The purpose of the initial light of creation has not changed and will never change. We, however, are a fickle creation that changes often with our selfish desires that are dark or, at best, faint representations of light. We must seek the Light and not our own desires that, as righteous as we may feel or think they are, leave too much room for darkness. I am reminded of 1 John 1:5-10 where it speaks to this truth and reminds us of the Light’s purpose in our lives, to have fellowship with one another and be cleansed from our sins. “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin….” When we reside in the Light of Life, our standing with the Lord is impacted in a way that in turn directly impacts our relationships with our fellow man. Blessings to you as we strive for the eternal Light in the midst of finite darkness.

By Bob Dugas May 23, 2025
NS-29 Launch
By Matt Miles May 22, 2025
As many of you may know, I appreciate space. Not space around me, although the older I get the more I appreciate that as well. The things in the heavens fascinate me and have for a large chunk of my life. I love working with our telescopes, allowing people to see for themselves objects that the Lord made on the 4th day of history. When I was younger I followed our Space Shuttle program, and over the years I have had the opportunity to see a couple of those shuttles around the country. Now it is great to see all the renewed interest in exploring the heavenly creation. I know most of it is for evolutionary reasons, yet over and over again something is discovered that points to the trustworthiness of God’s Word. After all, we are to study His creation as Genesis 1:28 states. On a recent trip to El Paso, it occurred to me that Blue Origin’s launch facility is in west Texas somewhere. After some quick searching I realized we were within an hour and half of it, and there was a rescheduled launch window during the time of our meeting. So, with some persuading of my colleagues, we arose early one morning to make the launch. We made it with just minutes to spare. It was spectacular! The whole launch to just beyond the Karman Line (space boundary, 62 miles/100km) and return of the rocket and capsule is about ten minutes total. While Blue Origin is best known for its New Shepherd rocket that carries paying customers to space and back with the biggest windows ever in a capsule, this NS-29 launch was purely experimental with a payload of instruments to measure simulated lunar gravity. Even though it was not a Saturn V, Space Shuttle, Starship or Falcon launch, it was great to hear and feel a launch for the first time, from blast off to the sonic boom return. It has piqued my desire to see a bigger launch now. As I began to reflect on what I experienced, the Lord reminded me of His design. Earth, our home planet, is so well designed for life. There is literally nowhere in all the universe like it. Yet He gave us the ability to discover creation beyond it. The only reason we can launch rockets and do space exploration is because He set it up in an orderly way. Physics works because He established it to work in a predictable fashion. As much as we may never understand everything in the universe from our position here, it works on an ordered reality that is reinforced by God’s Word. This is what drove Sir Isaac Newton in his understanding of physics. He wrote, “The motions which the planets now have could not spring from any natural cause alone but were by an intelligent Agent.” Evolutionists may come up with theories about the origin of things in the heavens, but over and over again they are being shown through experimentation and observation to be wrong. The Lord set the order of everything in the beginning and sustains it by His Word (Hebrews 1:3). So as you look to the heavens tonight, gaze into the depths of space and observe the different facets the Lord placed up there for our eyes (Genesis 1:17). Peer through a telescope at the lesser light of the moon with marvel and anticipation of further human study in the coming years. Check out the amazing observations being made by the James Webb telescope from deep in space. All of these place a perspective of how awesome our Creator is and how much we depend on Him. Our design becomes more and more obvious with every discovery, yet in our universe we appear so minuscule and fragile. Thanks be to God that His infinite focus has, is and always will be here on us! Blessings.
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