Georgia Visit & New Apartment

This September we had the privilege of visiting our family in Georgia for two weeks. It was a sweet time of refreshment and encouragement. We were able to visit two churches and give them a ministry update and ways to be praying for us.  We made many sweet memories of Luca meeting so many loved ones.  It was good for us also to go on a few dates while he stayed with his grandparents.  We are so grateful to have such a supportive family.  On days when ministry is tough and goodbyes are tearful we are so thankful that the Lord has given us family that share our vision that heaven is our home.  That being said please pray for our hearts as well as our family's hearts as "see you laters" are not fun and emotionally tiring. Pray for us in this time to draw closer to God and be grateful for the time we got to spend together.

Justin is currently fixing up our new apartment and we will be moving in on October 1st. We are so excited about the location of this apartment. It is in the city center of Budrio which means we will be right in the middle of everything. Our prayer is that the Lord will use our home for His glory. We have seen God work from the beginning of this apartment buying process all the way through to the end. Thank you for those of you who have prayed for us during this process. Please continue to pray for our hearts, that we would never find our ultimate source of comfort from the roof over our head, but that God would be our first source of peace and comfort.

Love to you all,
The Mcghins

Hope for Italy

One of our colleagues, JD, wrote this today explaining some background and prayer points for Italy during the aftermath of the earthquake. Please join us in praying for our country.

"As news comes through, it appears evident that the earthquake that struck a remote, yet beautiful area of central Italy, is a devastating one. By the hour there are more reports of missing and of deceased. Old people and young children. Seven years ago the nearby city of L’Aquila, 60 kms away, was hit by a similar earthquake. As then, so now, we face the tragedy of lives lost and the anguish of devastated families and communities.

One of my first thoughts early this morning, however, regarded an even greater tragedy.
Recently I have been researching the presence of Evangelical churches throughout Italy. The province of Rieti is one of the least reached areas of Italy. Rieti province has an overall population of 160,000 people; 50,000 people live in the city of Rieti (60kms distant from the earthquake area), the rest of the province’s population live in small towns and villages. In the whole of the province of Rieti there are no more than half a dozen Evangelical churches (of any denomination) and they are almost all in the city of Rieti. A simple conclusion: the area affected by the earthquake has, as far as we can tell, no witness to the gospel! That is a great tragedy.
Two important elements:
- vast areas of Italy still have NO local witness
- the challenge of reaching not only the cities, but the small towns and villages as well, is great; research indicates that over half of the Italian population lives in locations with less than 50,000 inhabitants, 35% with less than 15,000 inhabitants and 15% with less than 5000.
How will they hear?
There is need of the same passion of God for mission.
Please pray for Christians throughout the country: that they might make much of the opportunity to present the gospel of hope in the midst of darkness and desperation and that there might be opportunities to reach into the destroyed communities with hope and light. And that a radically different narrative can be proclaimed about what is happening, with the gospel at the centre that redefines all."

-JD Gilmore

Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching...

This summer our church is going through Paul's first letter to Timothy. It is been challenging to study God's word on a daily basis and to reflect on the implications of this letter to the church in Ephesus.
This week, we are looking at chapter 4 where Paul warns Timothy of false teachers and doctrines that will lead people astray. What I find really interesting though is where Paul encourages Timothy not to be discouraged by older folks looking down on his leadership because of his age.

Paul writes, "Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." Later Paul adds, "Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching." (1 Timothy 4: 12,16) Now, the main point that Paul wants to communicate here is that Timothy needs to set the example for all Christians whereby encouraging them to follow in his footsteps no matter his age. Then Paul instructs Timothy to watch himself and the teaching that he gives the church. This is an important part of the text. Paul somehow is convinced that the way in which Timothy saves his testimony as well as the testimony of those in the church is by Timothy keeping watch or paying attention to his own spiritual state with Christ and as well as what he communicates and lives out to those around him. This truth echoes in my own life and ministry. As a leader in our church, my responsability is not just to make sure that others around me have a vibrant and deep relationship with Christ but that I too, am in the intimacy of walking in the presence of my Saviour so that I do not lead people astray in both testimony and teaching.

This has convicted me greatly and I want to encourage those of you who read this blog of a couple things.

First, do not think that just because you may be young or may not hold an official role in the leadership of your church, that somehow you cannot set the example for believers around you. Christ has called you to live for His name and this means that all that you do, you do for the sake of God's name which is the glory of Christ in the Gospel. This means that if you work a normal job by the world's standards, you are to work in that capacity as if you are working to bring about the praise of Christ for the sake of the Gospel.

Second, by saturating yourself in the word of God and by walking daily with your Savior in prayer and serving others you will help to keep others in the faith as well. People watch us whether they be in the church or outside. We are to be the light of Christ and this means that folks should see the truth of the cross in our everyday lives. By keeping ourselves in the midst of Christ we also protect the spiritual welfare of others and their relationships with Jesus.

Another Day, Another Attack...

This morning as I write this update the verse of the day that pops up on my phone is from Romans 11:33. Paul writes, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements and how inscrutable his ways."
This verse comes after many in our city are asking us questions like, "Where is God when tragedy strikes? How can a good God allow so much evil?" Maybe many of you are feeling the effects of fear and anxiety in a world where police brutality and muslim extremism are on the front page of your daily newspaper. It seems that almost weekly we hear of more death, injustice, and despair throughout the world and we wonder if it will ever cease. Carli and I have tried to talk through what is happening around us and how we want to raise our children in the face a society of extremism and polarization where Christ is not treasured.

I write this because I don't think that any political contestant or protest can risolve what is happening. I don't believe that one country will be able to fix terrorism and that the problem is deeper than just racist rants and the demonization of others. The problem in the world, no matter what you hear on Fox or on MSNBC, is much worse than we think. The reality is that we need redeeming. Yes, mankind needs a redeemer. We need someone who can make all things right and bring justice for not just Nice, France but for all of us.

The apostle Paul writes in the same letter to the Romans, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." (Romans 3:23) Now, I know that many of us know that verse by heart but do we really understand the implications of it? Do we understand that our eternal state is the same eternal state as ISIS without Jesus? Those who would condemn rape, violence and death brought about by terrorists are condemned themselves when they hate their brother or sister or have lust in their hearts. So you see that by condemning what sinners do as a result of their nature you condemn yourself and your love ones who don't have Christ. We all have fallen short of God's glory. Both democrat and republican.

The verse that I mentioned above sheds light on our state as humans. Paul says that God's judgements are unsearchable and his ways are inscrutable. We cannot know as fallen beings the exact purposes for why God allows and permits evil in the world. However, I am confident that the knowledge of God in permitting evil is deeper and more profound than I can ever imagine and his daily patience and grace toward us is bringing about an outcome that doesn't just fix our problem with terrorism, it fixes the problem of ourselves. Yes, we fall short of the glory of God. In our marriages, families, relationships, work, we fall short. Although, our future as mankind may look bleak right now, the Word of God promises something much different is coming.

Our king Jesus promises us that he will redeem us. The picture is clear from the revelation of John when Christ says, "I make all things new...I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end... To the thirsty I will give from the fountain of the water of life without payment. He who conquers shall have this heritage, and I will be his God and he shall by my son." (Rev. 21:5-7)

This is the promise and hope that I want to teach my children about. This is the outcome that I want for my family. My prayer is that my wife and kids don't see me condemn others without first realizing my own condemnation. That we as the church can rise above the back and forth of political and false moral banter and proclaim Jesus in his death and ressurection. So, there will be other days and other attacks and more grace and more patience so that God's people from all over the world come to see Christ as their true treasure.


This is my prayer for you and for me.

Youth Summer Camp

For those of you who have been reading our newsletter, you have seen that this past month we were preparing for our annual youth camp here in Budrio. Overall, we had a great turn out and were able on a daily basis share the Gospel with 42 kids from 12 to 18 years old. Even though it was tiring, we were able to make new contacts with parents and families who are interested to know what we believe as a church and want to visit a Sunday gathering. We are praying for these parents who have contacted us. We are asking the Lord to give guidance and truth to them and that we can show them the love of Christ. We were please to see our Mayor Gulio come again to thank those who served during camp. We are praying for him and those who work in the city hall of Budrio. We are asking the Lord to give us wisdom and grace as we work alongside the leaders of our community and be the light of Christ to them.

Hot and Happy

Even though Summer is here and we have been suffering from the heat we are so happy to be a part of a church that does life together. This summer we are going through 1 Timothy together while meeting in different homes throughout the Budrio area. This time is so important for us because it allows us to spend more time with our church family and get to know them. It is such a priviledge for us to serve Christ alongside folks who are sold out for Jesus! Our prayer for this summer is that our church grows ever more closer together as we live out our vision for this city and the Kingdom of God.

Your word satisfies me...

The Psalmist writes, "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Psalms 119:103)

Lately, I have been convicted about the time that I put into studying the word of God. It can be difficult for us to find time to spend with the Lord in the middle of all of our responsabilties. Day by day goes by and we realize that almost all of our time with the exception of a few prayers was taken up by things we thought were worth doing. Then, at the end day, we fight the temptation to feel guilty over the lost and wasted time of what could have been our time in the Word.

My prayer that I pray today for both you and my family is that we would be people of the Word. We would not be influenced by the stresses and distractions of life, but that we would hope in the anchor of the Word of God and seek it more than anything else in life. Earlier in Psalm 119 the writer says, "Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day." (Psalm 119:97) The question I ask is, do we love to meditate on the Scriptures all day? Is this something that we love to do or is it something we feel we must do in order to balance our sin and lack of intimacy with God? I for one have struggled with this. My prayer is that we fight as Christians the temptation to put the Bible off and not just go to it with our flesh in mind but our spirit. It is through the spirit that we discover the beauty and excellencies of Christ.

Prayer Life

Hello Everyone,

As May is coming to a close we are asking that you pray for our prayer life. We both have felt a lull in our prayer life lately. Our body here is currently going through a weekly sermon series on the Lord's Prayer. It has been both convicting and challenging to think about the Lord's Prayer line by line. Last week we focused on the line "thy will be done". After the sermon we as a couple talked about how we can remember certain times in our lives that we specifically remember praying for God's will to be done. We usually pray that part of the Lord's Prayer when we are in the middle of making a big decision or waiting on the outcome of a big life event. We remember praying for His will to be done when Justin left to serve in Romania or when we were engaged and waiting to be married. We asked for His will to be done when we were praying about moving to Italy. These are all big life events that we did genuinely yearn for the Lord's will to be done.  In reality praying for His will to be done should be a part of our daily supplication. Our prayer in the coming weeks is that the desires of our hearts and our daily lives would be aligned with the desires of God's will for us.

We ask that you please be in prayer for two men. Marco and Luca (not our son). Marco is in his forties.  He has been seeking the Lord and growing in his love for the Lord. Please pray that he would continue to seek after Him and that we as a body would be able to love him and serve him well. Luca is a young man in his mid-twenties. He was a former student of Justin's. He lives in our city and Justin ran into him about a month ago at one of the festivals. Justin explained that we are serving in a local evangelical church and that is the main reason why we moved to Budrio.  He has come to some of our Sunday gatherings as well as our Thursday night bible study. We are asking that the Lord draws Luca to himself and that his heart would be open to the Gospel.

Thank you for praying for us,

Justin, Carli, & Luca

May Update

Hello Everyone,

We feel like we blinked and we are already well into May. The weather is finally starting to warm up here. One of our favorite parts about spring in Italy is all of the festivals that happen. Lately there has been one almost every weekend. We have found that it is a great Gospel opportunity to get out and talk to people...while also trying some delicious food. So far we have had a chocolate festival, fish festival and a spring produce festival.

With the weather being so nice we have also gone on many walks in the evening. Sometimes we just walk and talk about how God is working in our lives. It is so refreshing to take a step back daily and talk about our struggles and our joy. Often times we see new contacts we have made or we meet new people out walking. You would be surprised how many people stop and ask us about Luca. Italians love babies!  We are making new contacts daily which gives us opportunities to share God's love with others daily. That's one of the great parts about living in a small town. We are thankful for God opening new doors with people and we pray that He would cultivate those contacts for His kingdom.

We are doing well as a family. Luca is eating lots and growing quickly. We are learning so much through parenthood. In the tough times of little sleep and not always knowing how to comfort him, God's grace and love have been so sweet. We were so thankful to have Carli's parents the first two weeks home with Luca. They were a great encouragement and a tremendous help.  It has also been very sweet to see our church family here love on us and Luca.  We are looking forward to reinforcements coming next week with Justin's parents coming for a visit. When we were choosing a name for our baby one of the reasons we liked Luca so much was because it means 'bearer of light'. Our prayer is that through his life he would bring joy and the light of the Gospel wherever he is.  We have already seen ways that he is pointing us to God in just the three weeks we have held him in our arms.

Please be praying for us as the busy season of summer is quickly approaching. We have lots to prepare and look forward to. Please be praying for Justin as he is preaching and leading worship this Sunday. Pray for him to have a clear mind with the language and that the Lord would give him the words to share. Pray for our ongoing contacts here. As always please feel free to email us with ways we can pray for you or with an update in your life. We really enjoy staying connected with our brothers and sisters.

Love you all,
Carli, Justin, & Luca

Our Son is Here

Hello Everyone,

We are so thankful to you all for your prayers for us this past week. Our son Luca was born last Tuesday at 4:51pm weighing 8lbs 3 oz. Even though labor was tough for Carli we could not have asked for a better experience. The doctors and midwives who took care of her were by far the most helpful we have ever encountered. We are now looking ahead with this amazing blessing that God has given us and ask that you pray with us to always hold our blessings like Luca with open arms to God knowing that Luca is the Lord's.

During this week we have learned much in finding patience with eachother and especially Luca. These past nights have been difficult for us as he wakes up every 2 hours to eat. We know that sleep deprivation will not last forever and we want to take in every moment that we have with him during this time.

Please pray that the Lord molds us to the type of parents He wants us to be for Luca and that our hearts are always more satisfied in being loved by our heavenly father than with the love of being earthly parents.

We love you all!

Carli, Justin and Luca

Our Apartment

Hello Everyone,

The goal of this post is to give a peek into not only the obvious ways we are sharing God's love, but also how we hope that in the practical day to day things we display the light of Christ. Some of the prayer requests we had before our return in February was for ease in finding a doctor, renewing our visas, and finding an apartment. For this post I am going to focus on how God has provided an apartment for us and the friendships that have already started from living there.

Our new landlord is named Anna Maria. She is a very sweet women in her 70's who lives in the same building as us with her cat.  From what we have learned about her so far we know that she loves to joke, really enjoys life and art.  She along with everyone else in the apartment building are eagerly waiting with us for our son to arrive. It has been over 50 years since this apartment building has had a child in it. So you could say that Luca will have no shortage of people loving him.  Our first week in the apartment we met another one of our neighbors, Fausta. She too is a women in her 70's and also a bit of a spitfire.  One day when we were moving boxes they were both outside the building talking. They invited us to sit and chat for a while.  This quickly turned into pulling out the lawn chairs, a bottle of coca-cola, and talking for two hours.  I mentioned to Fausta that tulips were my favorite flower and that the ones growing near us were beautiful. She quickly went inside to get scissors and cut me four tulips. She said that her grandma planted them and that she loves when they bloom each spring. During this time with them we also got the share our desire to have a positive impact on the youth of our city as well as serve in the local evangelical church. They were both interested to know more about this as the see the need for our youth to have positive influences.

Our prayer is that as our friendship with them continues to develop, that they would see the joy of Christ in us. Please be praying for their hearts to be open to the Gospel and for our lives to display it.  We hope to meet more of our neighbors soon, but in the mean time we are so thankful for the warm welcome we feel with these two ladies.

We also welcome good old fashioned snail mail to our new apartment.
Our address is
Via Antonio Gramsci 34
Budrio, Italia (BO)
40054

Thank you for praying with us,
Carli & Justin

Easter Weekend

Last weekend the Muslim community of Budrio called all faith leaders together to speak about the condemnation of the Brussels attacks last week. It was a good oppurtunity for our church family to be represented and to speak about the problem of sin in the world and how we need a Savior in Jesus. Please pray for our city and for our muslim, catholic and athiest neighbours. Our pray is that they see the love of Christ in us and the way we live. Also, that we may speak the truth in our public circles as many times as we get.

Love you all and Happy Easter.

Great Palm Sunday

Today is Palm Sunday. We had a great time of worship and prayer for our community and for God's global church. For the last few days we have been working with a team from Little Rock Arkansas who have shared not just the game of baseball with the students of Budrio but the Gospel as well.

Please pray for many of our folks who were out sick today. The last few days the weather here seems to be bringing Spring, however sickness is going around as well. Also, there are a couple of people who are having issues and problems spiritually with family members. Please lift up Matteo and Maria specifically in these days. We are praying that the Lord can give them peace in sharing their love for Christ with their family and not be discouraged when their families don't respond in a positive way. We are praying for their families to be open to the good news of the Gospel and that Jesus is the only person who can meet all of their needs.

Justin and Carli

Baseball and the Gospel

This morning we had a great time sharing the Gospel as well as teaching baseball to around 300 students in the middle school of Budrio. So thankful to have this team from Arkansas and their expertise in sharing their testimony with students from Budrio. Please pray for the these kids which come from all faith backgrounds. Pray that our church, Impatto Budrio can continue to proclaim the Gospel and have an influence in both private and public life here. Our desire as always is to be obedient and faithful in the task of church planting and making disciples of Christ in Budrio.

Love you all!

Justin and Carli

Great Sunday

Some pictures from our Sunday gathering today. We had a great time celebrating Stefano's 40th birthday! Carli and I are so happy to be apart of Impatto Budrio. Please continue to pray for our people and their families.

Myspace/Freedom in Christ

Had a great event with the kids from Budrio last Friday. Got to speak about freedom and liberty in the world and what it means to have real freedom in Christ. Please pray for the 10-20 teenagers that we meet on a weekly basis. We are praying that we can develop friendships with them and be there for them when they have questions about the Gospel. Many of them may not have good influences in their homes so it is a real privilege to be light to them and to share the Gospel every week.  

                   

First Sunday back...

Hey Guys,

We were so blessed to be back with Impatto Budrio last Sunday. The Lord is blessing our family here with so many new contacts and families who want to know more about the Gospel and who Jesus really is. Carli and I are praying that through this time of transition we can still take rest in the work that Christ is doing amongst His people here in Budrio.

Please continue to pray for these relationships and for deeper conversations in the coming weeks.

Justin and Carli

Good evening with Family...

Tonight Carli and I had the chance to share with our church family the last 6 months of our lives in the US. It was refreshing to give them an idea of how much they are loved by our partners and that Budrio, even though it is small on the map of Italy, it is big on the hearts of Christian brothers and sister back in America. Carli and I are so thankful that we get to play a small part in the role of God bringing His people to Himself.

We love you all very much!

Justin and Carli

Resting in the midst of impatience...

Hello Everyone,

This past week as been full of joy and also frustration. As far as our return to Budrio, we couldn't have asked for a better welcoming from our church and loved ones. At the same time, we are having to jump through a lot of hoops in order to get our visa's in order as well as Carli's maternity leave.

We are currently staying in a temporary apartment for the next month as we are looking for a long term place where we can settle in. We have an appointment set for Monday afternoon with a real estate agency here to look at three apartments. Please pray that the Lord gives us peace with the upcoming decisions that we need to make as well a smooth transition with the baby's arrival 5 weeks out. We know the Lord's plan is the best plan so we want to make sure that we don't rush into anything in these next few weeks.

On a positive note, We both went to Sant Orsala Hospital in Bologna for Carli's checkup and everything is going great with the baby. We have to go back next week for another screening and then  a week after that. Once those appointments are completed we are on standby for going into labor.
The midwives and doctor were very nice and explained how the process works here in Italy. We both felt at home with them and are thankful that when our baby is born our environment should be just fine.

We love you all and ask that you continue praying for us.

Justin and Carli

Praise!

Hello Everyone,

Just wanted to share a something that we are grateful for this past week. For those of you who don’t know, we have been using Carli’s first car while we were living in Houston these past 6 months. During that time, the car has brought us everywhere that we needed to go. About a 2 weeks ago, we started to hear a sound in the suspension of the car but didn’t know why it was making that noise. I thought that we would take a look at the car and make sure all was ok once we got back to Georgia. Last week my dad and I took the car around the block to see if it was still making that noise. To my frustration, no sound could be heard from the under the car. When we got back to my dad’s house we thought about driving it around the yard to see if  the soft ground changed anything. At first nothing happened that wasn’t usual until we were coming back from behind the house and we heard something drop from under the car and the left wheel and tire of the car shifted to the left, permanetly motionless. I couldn’t believe the grace of God to let this happen in our yard and not the last 6 months that we drove the car on interstates through 5 states! Our friend Terry towed the car for us and fixed the car’s problems free of charge.

So thankful to the Lord for watching over us and our unborn son as we drove the car all of these miles. It is amazing for us to see His mercy in situations like these.

Finishing Our Time in Houston

These past 6 months have been an incredible journey. We never would have thought that there could be so much love and encouragement shown to us from all our family in Houston. When we first came to Houston in August, Carli and I were concerned with how the Lord was leading us. Houston was new and strange to us because of our time spent in Italy and there were times where we doubted the plan of God. We were dead wrong. During this time we have had the opportunity of a lifetime to get to know some of the most genuine people.  Folks who put the kingdom of God first and with grace live in their communities knowing that they themselves need the grace and mercy of Jesus every day.

When the apostle Paul wrote to the church in Phillipi, his sentiments and love for that church can speak into how we feel for those of you who have been with us during this time. Paul writes, "I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace..."(Philippians 1:3-7)

It is that same community that we have seen these past months, that inspire us to live out the Gospel in Budrio and not just "do" things for the kingdom. I myself have a problem with doing too much and trying to perform in the face of mission. This is not what we are called to do. We are called to love Jesus with our lives, families and finances. The love that we have for Him will show the world where our treasure is. The Lord has shown Carli and me that it doesn't matter where we live or what our job may be, our treasure is Jesus.

Thank you all who have showed us that your treasure is in heaven and not on earth.

Need for a Savior

Hello Everyone,

We hope that you are enjoying your New Year and that you are learning and growing in your faith and love for God. As many of you know we are expecting our first son in early April. We are so thrilled about the opportunity to love and raise our Son. As new parents we are both nervous and thankful for the changes that are taking place in our lives. In preparation for him coming we have been studying and reading about being parents. Which in turn can make you feel even more unprepared for parenthood. So as we are about 11 weeks away from his arrival we are beginning to focus our nervous thoughts into prayers. One of the prayers we have been praying of our son and any future children the Lord may give us is for them to see their need for a Savior.  This means that their lives will be full of challenges and that they will have to find their way through troubling seasons. They will have to venture through their own unique stories of sin and repentance. Through all of the seasons in their life that may bring them pain, our prayer is that they find their hope and their joy deeply rooted in their Savior.

As we pray this prayer for our children, we also pray it for our family and friends.  That we would all be like the woman in Luke 7:47, who washed his feet with her tears. She saw her need for a Savior and she loved much. Because she saw the depths of her sin, she could hope in his forgiveness and righteousness. We pray this same prayer for the people of Italy. That their eyes and hearts would be open to the Gospel and that they would see their need for a Savior. Our hope is that in seasons of hurt, but also in seasons of great joy that we would bring the light of the Gospel to those around us.

Three prayer requests:
-prayers for ease of transition back to Italy (renewing our visas, finding a home, & setting up doctor visits)
-prayers for our family as a whole as we learn what it means to be parents
-prayers for our family in the states that their faith would be refined and their love for God grown as we are far away


With love,
The Mcghins

New Year, New Light

This new year we have been looking at the Gospel of John with our church Sojourn Heights. Every year it is refreshing to take a look into this Gospel because it shows us the historic reality of what Christ accomplished and the implications that John is talking about for our daily lives. Look at this passage from John 1.

"The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him." (John 1:10-11)

The Scriptures say that Jesus, the true light came into the world. This historic fact has something to do with us whether we want it to or not. The lives that we live each and every day have been affected by this one event. This event has changed the world completely. This light that John speaks of is the "true" light of the world. Now, I don't know about you, but there are many "lights" out there that promise us hope, happiness and success. This is why the Jews did not recieve Christ because they put their hope in the Law and tradition for their light. John is calling us back to what and who the true light really is. John goes on by saying...

"But to all who did recieve him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."(John 1:12)
Will we recieve Jesus as the true light of the world this year or will we look to other lights for our joy?