New Visions of Light
Allow me to (re)introduce the Light Point
If you’re reading this I want you to know that The Light Point is more than a book or a blog or a podcast. It is a ministry that exists to empower, encourage, and equip people to live whole and holy for the Glory of God. if you didn’t know this, don’t worry, you’re in good company because until very recently, neither did I.
Considering the fact that we’ve been existing in one form or another for over 3 years, you’d think that this vision would have been clearly established a long time ago and in a way it was, but God works in mysterious way. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve had vision statements, missions statements, and purpose statements written in attempts to lay hold of that for which God had laid hold of me (Philippians 3:12-14). They were prayerfully discerned and God was in all of them, but like Joseph who dreamt of his family bowing before him right before that very same family sold him into slavery, sometimes God requires you to go to process before he unveils the full revelation of his word. A wise woman once told me that if you wait until you know everything before you go into ministry, you’ll never start (thanks Simi :)).
Since I became a believer I knew my purpose, like all believers, was to share the gospel and draw all nations unto God. The Light Point has always been the platform God has given me to that because it was anchored in my personal testimony, however, in this season God is clarifying how that looks and doing something new. The journey ahead is still long but The Light Point is in a season of unveiling and revealing, God has opened my eyes to what he’s been preparing us for in service of his Kingdom. By the grace of God The Light Point is here to empower, encourage, and equip people to live whole and holy for the glory of God and I am excited for the future holds as we bring this vision to life. There’s so much in store for us but before I go forward, I wanted to share a bit about how we got here.
The Evolution of The Light Point
God gave me the name for the The Light Point before I knew what it would become. When I finally got the courage to write my first book, I knew that God was moving in my life in a powerful way and I wanted to write about it so I created a website and made a blog to document what God was revealing to me during that season. I had no idea what to call this thing that I was sending out into the world (it wasn’t a ministry at this time, just a girl and her thoughts). I knew that it would be connected to light in some way because that was the only way I could describe what God was doing in my life compared to the darkness of secrecy I’d come out of. God was calling me to be radically transparent and when I came face to face with the shame, fear, and insecurity that I’d kept bottled up for so long, felt like God was quite literally dragging me into the light.
In Ephesians 3:17 Paul prays for the church, asking that Christ would make his home in their hearts as they trust him so that they would be firmly rooted and deeply grounded in love. That sounds really lovely until you realize that those who are not firmly rooted in Christ inevitably have their roots in some other toxic ground so the process of digging up the soil, ripping the roots from the ground they’d grown accustomed to, and moving the entire tree to a new location where it can grow and flourish is not cute. In fact, it can feel violent and disorienting. That place of uprooting where God was making the necessary renovations to establish his home in my heart was where the Light Point was birthed. I think it is important to understand that you can be saved but rooted in ground that is sucking the life out of you instead of allowing you to flourish. You can serve Jesus but be fundamentally established on the wrong foundation, after all, in Ephesians 3, Paul was praying for the church. When I say this ministry came from a season when I was uprooted I mean that in 2020, everything familiar was shaken up and I was forced to face myself and my God. I was already saved but there was a deeper level of intimacy and establishment that God wanted to introduce me to.
In the summer 2020, while incubating a book that God was still giving me the courage to write, I focused my energy on documenting the scary but beautiful journey I was on but I had no idea what to call the platform. I knew that as transparent as I was going to be, the name should have something to do with light but the name “The Light House” was taken so was “The Light Room”, “the Light Place”, and “In The Light ”. Domain name after domain name kept failing until finally the Holy Spirit dropped “The Light Point” on my heart. Now… I’m not going to hold you, I thought the name was ugly and I wasn’t quite sure what it meant but I could’t get it out of my head and of course the domain name was still available.
At the time I had no idea what The Light Point would become, I just knew I was in a time of deep self discovery and I needed to write, so I leaned into the light and the Light Point was born. The social media page bore the same name, then the book, and finally the podcast. As I grew, the light point grew with me, truly like a child it expanded and evolved as I did. Very simply, it was created to point to the gospel using storytelling—mine and others. In many ways its still that, however, in 2022, I came to a deeper revelation of what the light point means. The term “point” is defined as
the action of pointing to something or someone
an end or object to be achieved aka a PURPOSE
a particular place
an exact moment
I discovered that the Light Point exists because, as believers we use our lives to point people to the light of Christ Jesus, the son of God. In him we discover the point of living in a world that is filled with so much darkness. Therefore at the point in our lives where the Gospel becomes real to us, we reach the point of no return. Although none of our points are the same, we can have joy because we know that they lead us out of the darkness to the light. That year I received a powerful clarification of the name God gave me but there was still more that God wanted to reveal.
Now we are in 2023 and what I’ve come to realize is that God was preparing me to understand the purpose that this ministry was always created to carry into the earth. Sometimes God will introduce you to a calling in seed form and have both you and the calling walk alongside each other, growing together until you’ve matured enough for him to introduce the fullness of the calling to you. He requires that initial yes to the small portion of the picture that is revealed but he is very intentional about unfolding the complete vision over time. The ultimate form of a thing is never hidden from God, after all he created it. I hope that encourages anyone who feels scared to move until they’re certain of their destination, the Kingdom of God doesn’t work like that, its built on trust. The lamp is designed to illuminate your next step and the light is the there to give you vision on the path (Proverbs 3:5) but the details are not all within your control. Its like that by design. The point is not you knowing everything so you can feel prepared for what’s coming. The point is trusting in the Lord. This is easier said than done but that’s why we have the Holy Spirit to help. If we trust in his timing, the spirit of God will transform us into the kind of people we need to be to walk in each level of God’s calling upon our lives that he reveals. I believe he does it this way so that we learn to seek him and depend on him, not just the promises he’s given us. He does things in this way for his glory.
This is something that I am actively learning in the season. The Light Point was birthed from a place of pain and rediscovery. In many ways the season I’m in mirrors that one. This year I’ve experienced so much pain and rediscovery but once again, God is doing something new. It is not exactly a rebirth, but it is a revelation of what this platform and ministry was always meant to be. Unsurprisingly this new version and new vision is also being birthed from a season of suffering (its funny how that works. It reminds me of a certain savior) This year, God has given me a deeper revelation about the purpose of The Light Point because while light can represent a place of encounter and and revelation of God, its primary purpose is to reveal glory. God is the light (John 1:5) and his presence carries glory, (2 Cor 4:6) therefore, there is no light without the Glory.
If it hasn't been explicitly clear before. This platform is here for the glory of God. Every post I make, every story I share on the podcast, every word I write is and will always be to reveal the glory of God and show others how to do the same by being the light because the light of God IS the glory of God. There's something that happens when you see the glory, when you catch a glimpse of the living God and recognize him as beautiful. There's a way beholding the glory of God changes you, causes you to become something new, something that the world has never seen before, something that establishes the kingdom of God here on earth as it is in heaven, something that carries light. There is no light without the glory, there is no Light Point without the glory.
Despite what this year has thrown at me, there's one thing that I know in the depths of my soul: whatever the circumstance, God will always get the Glory. He is the incomprehensible Word that shines in the darkness. Just because you can’t see the glory doesn’t mean its not there. Just because you can’t comprehend the light of Christ in the midst of darkness, doesn’t mean he isn’t shining. It just means we must draw nearer to see. This is the new vision that God has given so from now until the end of the year we are embarking on a journey to become a people that carry the glory of God in every area of our lives. We will learn exactly what it means to walk in the light.
Seeing God in the Light:
In the month of October, Our theme at the at The Light Point will be “Seeing God in the Light” The Light Point community will be taking the time to seek the face of God to see his glory in the place of intimacy. We will create time to dwell in his presence because that is where we will find glory in this season if we can just be patient enough to search it out. We've seen glimpses but there are deeper dimensions to be discovered.
To see is to not only perceive but to understand, it is to get a revelation of something that you we’re previously unaware of. We become more like God by beholding him but what does it really means to behold God? What does it mean to not just see the works of God but view his face— his character, his heart for us, and the truth of who he has called us to be that is revealed in his word. That is what we will be exploring this month. I don’t know what this season looks like for you or what you may be going through but the only way to not just survive but overcome and thrive is to fix our eyes on God, the author and finisher of our faith. His heart is that we see him but I cannot see what I will not seek. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of the roller coster of being on a high with God because of a word or a conference or a challenge and then when it ends finding myself in a low because I lack the revelation to stoke the fire. God is calling us to a place of sustainable and ever increasing intimacy. He’s building us into a people who are so filled with the light of his Glory that we are grounded in it irrespective of how busy, tired, or overwhelming life gets. Therefore, I want us to embark on a journey to strengthen our spiritual live and discover intimacy with God, not just for a season, but a lifetime. We are starting in October but this is just the beginning, in this community we will learn to not only spark but sustain the revival through intimacy with God. This month through prayer, bible study, and devotion, we will get intentional about seeking the face of God for a deeper revelation of who he is and how he has called us to live in the Light.
By the grace of Our wholeness is connected to his glory. Our freedom is found in his glory. Our healing takes place through his glory. Our stories are written in the light of his glory. I'm trusting God to remove the veil so that we can be transformed as we see the glory of God. I can't wait to see how God moves. This October we begin by seeking. Stay plugged in to the blog and The Light Point instagram for bible study notes, prayer points and resources. I know this month will be powerful. I hope you'll join me.
Scripture of the Week:
Isaiah 26:3
You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character], Because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation].
Please take some time to study and meditate on this scripture this week. I will be sending out devotional notes, prayer points, and resources to help us fix our gaze on God and behold him this week