My Dad was an avid coon hunter. As far back as I can remember, there were always 2 or 3, or 10, or 12, coon dogs in pens in our backyard. During the Fall and Winter, on most Friday and Saturday nights [and sometimes other nights during the week], Dad and his hunting buddies would load their dogs and head to the woods. After I became about 10 years old, I was allowed to join them some nights.

We would get to the hunting area, turn the dogs loose, and begin to follow them. When I went, it seems we were always slogging through the muck and mire of a swamp. struggling through briar patches, or pushing through thickets. As a kid I usually walked a few steps behind. Once in a while the man in front of me would bend a limb in order to get past a bush. As he stepped forward, that limb would spring back and slap me upside the head. Imagine how much fun that was!!!!

From time-to -time, a dog that was not fully trained to only chase raccoons, would get after a deer. That dog would not be back at the truck when the hunt was over. We would wait a reasonable amount of time and then go home. After it became daylight the next morning, we would go back to find that dog. Usually, he or she would be sprawled out on the ground near where the truck was parked the night before.

Those daylight trips were a revelation. I would see plowed fields, logging roads, and wide-open spaces under the trees. I would mutter to myself,” where was all this open space last night when I was struggling to get through the muck and mire, and briars, and thickets?”

This week, as I thought of these long-ago memories, the Holy Spirit reminded me that my memories were a picture of how folks live. Some people struggle in darkness because they do not know any better. They are still waiting on a Missionary Ambassador to tell them the good news. Others have deliberately rejected Jesus. They laugh and scoff at God’s Word, the Bible, and the wise instruction it gives for living. They struggle through life using their puny flashlights of human knowledge and reasoning.

There are others that Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 4:6: “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ”. These folks walk in the glorious sunlight of Jesus, the Light of the world. They live in the same fallen world as those who walk in darkness, but because of Jesus, they see more clearly. Often, they are able to see a way around the miry place ahead. Even if they do have to go through a moment of trouble, the light of Jesus shows the best way to navigate the difficulty.

Personally, to me, it seems that walking in the light of Jesus is the much wiser choice. Even on cloudy days Jesus gives us more light than the pale light created by the little flashlight of human reasoning. If you are walking in the light of Jesus, be thankful and praise Him. If you are walking in darkness, I encourage you to allow the Holy Spirit to lead you to Jesus. Jesus is the True Light that has come to bring light to your path of daily living.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS

1. Sunday School is at 9:00 am
2. Morning Worship and Children’s Church is at 10:00 am. Also available in the parking lot at 10 on 99.1 FM and on the website after 12:30 pm
3. Prayer and Bible Study is Wednesday at 6:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall
4. $ 965–Updated total for our State Missions Offering. Thank you for caring. One more Sunday to give.
5. Golden Agers Mountain Trip–Wednesday, October 11. Leave the church at 8:00 am.
   Stops to buy apples and a late lunch at the Moose Cafe
   Back at the church–Late afternoon
6. HOMECOMING–SEPTEMBER 24
   Morning services as normal–Pastor Ed preaching
   5:30 pm–Fellowship Meal
   7:00 pm–The Towers in worship concert. Please invite others to attend.
7. Deacons for this year
   Chairman–Leonard Harvell
   Vice-Chairman–Grant Hartsell
   Secretary–Lionel Hahn

Let’s choose Light over darkness.

Pastor Ed and Deacons of Barbee’s Grove Baptist Church