Red sky at night? Shepherd's delight

Dust snatched from the Sahara and wild fires in Portugal, turned British skies red as storm Ophelia unleashed her fury on Ireland, Wales and parts of England, earlier this month. The light picked up the dust and carried it away. The light was not overcome --- or extinguished by the dust, and by the afternoon the sun shone brightly in a clear blue sky.

I remember evenings in the Congo Africa, when the light presented a quality which was quite theatrical, and which local people knew as ' the light of the leopard,' The unusual clarity of that light made it difficult for the leopard to hunt, unseen by its prey.

Light reveals danger and promotes safety.

Someone sent me an account of a holiday in Alaska, from which I quote. 'The flowers in Alaska are huge! Even the Dandelions stood 2 feet above the grass, and the blooms were 6 inches across.' Why were the flowers so big? Answer--- nearly 20 hours of sunlight. Such is the potential of light.

Light is silent, but its presence speaks louder than words! Light was the first presentation when the world was created. The Bible explains that the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And God said, "Let there be light" --- and there was light.

Someone said that the most frightening words that they ever heard were during the 1939 - 1945 war, when an Air Raid Warden in the street outside their house said, 'Put that light out!' And when they did, it was completely dark. Our enemies in 2017 are doubt, despair, distrust, dismay, difficult decisions, double dealing, debt, disease, discontent, dark thoughts, deep loneliness, and disbelief. Without the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, fear might over come us.

BUT! God's light is inextinguishable. A prayer which always prevails uses these words.

Lighten our darkness, we beseech thee, o Lord,

and by thy great mercy,

defend us from all perils and dangers of this night.

Amen to that. Walk well, my friends.