{"id":22993,"date":"2025-01-06T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/urc\/daily-devotion-for-6th-january-2025"},"modified":"2025-01-06T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T06:00:00","slug":"daily-devotion-for-6th-january-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/daily-devotion-for-6th-january-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Daily Devotion for 6th January 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

St Luke 8: 16 – 18<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light.  For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light.  Then pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given; and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.\u2019<\/p>\n

Reflection<\/strong><\/p>\n

God\u2019s light\u2026 God\u2019s love is what I consider this passage to be about. The lighting of a lamp, for me, represents the igniting of God\u2019s love within us; once we receive God\u2019s love, it never dims and never really goes away, always shining brightly.  God\u2019s light reflects HIS love in a way that nothing else can match. By speaking words of faith, positivity and joy, we shine and radiate God\u2019s light in how we live and how we behave.   <\/p>\n

It is this same light that is powerful enough for people to turn their lives to Christ when a person is ready to receive HIM.  It is this same light that regardless of what we go through, doesn\u2019t leave us bitter or resentful in the long term, but helps us forgive and move forward, despite the impact of devastating news or sad events.  <\/p>\n

This wonderful light can\u2019t be hidden and it will be disclosed. People will discern by our actions and \u2018shine\u2019 that we are actually different (not better than anyone else) but are kind, loving, generous and forgiving.  <\/p>\n

The final part of the passage \u2018for those who have, more will be given\u2019 calls to mind, that those who turn towards the light, will keep growing and getting to new depths of faith. However, in some circumstances and for those who do not open their hearts to the light or are closed off to God\u2019s love, teaching and guidance.. sadness and darkness can take over as can doubt and cynicism i.e. the less than positive parts of our world; this can engulf us. It can lead us to a different path altogether, one that serves us little good.. only to draw more negativity towards us; the consequences of this can lead to a spiral that is difficult to come back from and that affects us mentally, emotionally and physically.<\/p>\n

So the lesson is that we must let our light and love shine\u2026. always.<\/p>\n

Prayer <\/strong><\/p>\n

God of light; God of love
Help us; guide us when life is hard and cruel, 
to face into your light and focus on our blessings.. 
as this is the only way to radiate your love.
Teach us to grow and to glow 
and in this way to always ensure 
we are a blessing to the many who live in darkness.
So that they too can be a blessing to others. Amen <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

St Luke 8: 16 – 18 \u2018No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light.  For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Daily Devotion for 6th January 2025”<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22993\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}