To the degree you are filled with Jesus will be the degree your light will shine.
Just as Jesus is a beacon of hope for all, we are lights shining hope in a hopelessly dark world.
Have you ever been to a candle light service? One person shares their lighted candle with the next person and it continues until all have their candles lit and a once dark room is then filled with light!
Your light makes a difference!You may be the only light some people will ever see up close and personal!You can make a difference in someone’s eternity!
Be ready to share freely the Good News of the Gospel with others.You have hope that others need.Your life is a light and it’s up to you how dimly or how brightly your light shines.
Sharing your testimony is something you can do and no one can ever take that from you!
When possible, join with others in prayer for our country, its leaders, its future.Proclaim and declare the word of God over our nation.Pray with your church families and with your own families.
How do you let your light shine?
Your light shines when you are living your life following Jesus.He is lifted up in your heart and life.It’s not only what you say, but especially what you do. Your light will be seen in your actions and Christ like attitudes.
Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV) “You are the light of the world.A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
John 8:12 (NIV) When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world.Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
John 12:46 (NIV) “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”
Ephesians 5:8 (NIV) “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.Live as children of light.”
Psalm 27:1 (NKJV) “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Isaiah 60:1 (NKJV) “Arise, shine; For your light has come!And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.”
Is all you see darkness?Then let the Lord turn on the light!
God’s word is a beacon of light shining brightly dispelling all darkness in our hearts and lives.
Light dispels darkness.It also uncovers what has been hidden in the darkness.
When God speaks, by his glorious word that is the light into our lives, he breaks the power of darkness and we are changed.
His words are full of light!There is peace, love, hope, and life.There is no place for fear, doubt, confusion, torment, or turmoil.
Let the word of God dwell in you richly.Be full of the word of life.
Jesus is the word made flesh.It is in, through and by Him that we have our being.We are complete and whole in Him.
How do you turn the light on?
Pray.Read the word of God.Personally, ask the Lord to shine his light into every hidden area of your heart and life to dispel all darkness.Repent of what is exposed.Turn and go the other way in following Jesus.
The entrance of His words bring light!
Genesis 1:3 (AMP) And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Psalm 119:105 (KJV) “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
John 1:1 (NIV) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Colossians 3:16 (KJV) “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
No matter what you are going through I encourage you to set your heart and mind on the Lord.Trust wholly in Him.He is the peace in your heart, mind, and life!
I woke up with Isaiah 26:3 on my heart this morning and the Lord ministered peace to my whole being! I pray this devotion brings encouraging hope and peace to you in your life!
Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV) “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
When you focus on the waves, you may get sea-sick or just sink in the situations you’re facing.When your mind is focusing on Jesus, who is the Lord of the waves, then you’ll have peace because you are trusting in Him!
Does this mean you have a la la la attitude and don’t deal with real life?No!It means as you are walking through life, you trust the Lord with your whole heart and your mind is set on Him.
I’m at a time in my life when many my age are retiring. It seems my life, in the contrary, has picked up its pace. Although it’s very exciting, I’ve felt discombobulated because so much is happening at once.Being in the middle of transition can be very challenging.
Thank the Lord for the Holy Spirit who empowers us to walk the walk He has for us! He’s right there every step of the way in our Life’s journeys!We are in need of our blessed Savior every step of every day and He is our Peace!
Trust in the Lord with your whole heart!Set your mind on Him!He is your perfect peace!
When we say “Jesus is Lord,” we may not always consider the far-ranging dynamics of His Lordship in our daily lives. God spoke to my heart recently that “whatever you surrender to God comes under His covering, blessing, and protection; and whatever you do not surrender, does not.”
What we surrender to Christ comes under His covering, blessing, protection. What we don't surrender does not. pic.twitter.com/CwGs4tp2At
I have been meditating on that thought for days because of its profound implications. I felt it was a Word of wisdom to me personally, so I didn’t want to let it “fall to the ground” unexplored.
Various stories in the Bible that affirm the joy of divine surrender began to emerge in my thoughts, such as Jesus in the Garden before the passion of the Cross. He asked His Father if there was another way to accomplish salvation, His humanity bearing heavily on the moment as real as ours. Then He transitions His prayer to complete surrender with one word, “NEVERTHELESS.”
Surrender is always an act of worship, a giving of oneself fully and completely to another. Jesus set the example for us. He could have called 10,000 angels to rescue Him, but He chose the Father’s plan over His personal desire. Just has John the Baptist had decreased so Christ could increase, so too now we find Jesus choosing to decrease so that the Father’s plan could continue.
“O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Matthew 26:39
But let us not forget the example of faith that Jesus Christ set for us, and that we can continually look to for strength and courage, to say no to self, and yes to the Father’s plan. Jesus saw beyond the moment of temptation through the eyes of faith. He looked to the reward.
“looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2
Surrender has it’s own rewards. For instance, when I surrender my life to follow Christ, I may not always do it perfectly, but it means that I am now looking to Him for His wisdom, guidance, etc. My faith and surrender place a demand on God that He responds to by perfectly covering me, blessing me, and protecting me.
In particular, when I surrender my body to Christ as a living sacrifice, this means that it is now His body, and that I want to follow His plan for it. This means using it for His purposes, taking care of it according to the clear teaching of Scripture, exercising it, feeding it good things, resting it, and fasting it as He directs.
The next time you say Jesus is Lord of your body, ask yourself, is He really? Have I really surrendered to His plan for health and a long life?
Whatever we surrender to God comes under his covering, blessing, and protection. I want to be an obedient disciple that brings glory to God. I also want the health and long life necessary to do it well, so I have to come to the place I say, “nevertheless, not as I will but as You will.”
Sometimes fasting is the hardest thing I do. When I can’t even skip a meal, that tells me who is really in charge…my flesh. But God’s grace is sufficient. It’s not about beating myself up about it, its about recognizing my need for surrender. When I surrender, grace flows to the low place. Grace is God’s ability to do His will. If I am willing to receive His grace, I can always do His will. Thank you Jesus!!!
What about surrendering our finance to Him as an act of worship? I find so many people driven by fear in this area, and fear is of the flesh. We must be good stewards by recognizing that it all belongs to Him in the first place. What a joy and privilege it is to surrender our finance to Him and ask for His wisdom and guidance on how to handle it. When you make God your financial partner, He becomes responsible for you. But we can’t say Jesus is Lord of finance, and not do the things He tells us to do.
“But why do you call Me ‘Lord,Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” Luke 6:46
I remember a life-lesson on surrendering my finance early in my ministry. Cathy and I had driven several hundred miles to preach for a rural church in Louisiana, both Sunday morning and evening. We had some great services and everyone was blessed. However, Cathy and I were in trouble financially. Our house mortgage was overdue, and we were already getting the notices and phone calls. I felt helpless as the provider of my family. I was sure God was going to use this weekend trip to bless us with a good love offering.
I was wrong. When the deacon of the church handed me a folded check at the end of the evening, I could hardly wait a few minutes to open it and see what the church had given us. I was desperate.
When I opened the check, it was for $100.00. Needless to say, my heart just sank. We needed over $900.00 just to pull even with our bills, and would still not have anything for food or utilities.
Suddenly God spoke to me and said “sow it.” I heard Him as clear as day, but my flesh did not want to say “nevertheless.” So I argued with Him. I said, “God you know our situation. We spent more money than that check on gas and other expenses just making this trip. If I sow this money, we will have nothing to go home with, and I don’t know how I could ever tell Cathy I had given it away.”
It’s kinda funny when we think we can argue with God. But we do. He asked me one question in response that put me in my place. He asked, “will that offering meet your need?” Slowly I admitted, “no Lord, it won’t meet my need.” Then He said again, “sow it.”
BAM! Faith came up in my heart and I suddenly realized what He was trying to get me to do. He was giving me seed to break the curse of lack off my life. Now I had the choice of either eating my seed or sowing my seed. I surrendered and finally said, “nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
There was a man in the service that night who had just gotten saved in prison, and was a new release. Right after God told me to sow that money, he came over and began to talk to me and share his vision of starting a prison ministry to go back in with Bible Studies and discipleship training. I asked him if $100.00 would help him get started, and he about shouted he was so excited. He said that $100.00 was exactly what he was praying for to get started. I reached into my pocket and pulled out that folded check, signed it over to him, and put it in his hand.
God heard his prayers and used me to meet the need. That $100.00 wouldn’t meet my needs, but it met his needs. What an amazing God we serve.
I felt the smile of God as I left that place, but then I had to tell Cathy on the way home. As we pulled onto the highway, I told her how much the offering was, and what God had instructed me to do with it. Cathy is a woman of great faith. I had underestimated her. She said “good; God will take care of us some other way.”
Within a week we received a special love offering in the mail from someone who did not know the situation we were facing. It was a check for $1,000.00 that completely covered our past-due mortgage and some other things. The note said that God had laid this donation on this persons heart, and it happened about the same time we had sown our offering. I cried.
Whatever we surrender to God will have His covering, blessing, and protection.
Surrender in every area of life has its own rewards. Why does God ask us to surrender to Him? Because He is a good, good Father who knows what is best for us.
“If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.” Isaiah 1:19
Being a Christian does not make you immune to life’s challenges, trials, and problems.
We are assured the Lord is with us every step of the way.
When your life’s journey becomes rocky, make sure you are secured to Jesus.
In real life, there aren’t signs saying Danger falling rocks ahead or sharp turn slow down.
While on a recent trip, it seemed there were not one or two, but continual bumps in the road and at times it felt like the rug was getting pulled out from under me.
I wondered, “What’s going on?”
There are times you rebuke the storms that rage and other times when you hold steady and plow right through. It can be challenging when the stormy waves continue to pound you while you’re trying to catch your breath from the last wave!
The good news is we are not alone.God is with us through every storm!We need to remind ourselves that His grace is sufficient.Underneath are His everlasting arms.
Has your life been turbulent?Buckle up with Jesus!He only is our rock, our peace our blessed hope through every storm we face.
We want every day to be perfectly wonderful!When it isn’t, we wonder why.It may be the devil, the fallen world we live in, or you may need to repent.
We need to trust God in the good times, when everything is wonderful, full of peace and joy as well as in the turbulent times, when times are hard, trying, and we face constant opposition.
Lift up your eyes and behold the Lord is with you even in the crazy turbulence!
Receive His perfect peace in your heart, soul, and mind no matter how rocky your road is.
Isaiah 43:1-3 (NKJV) “…Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.For I am the Lord your God…”
Lamentations 3:22,23 (ESV) “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Psalm 139:10 (NIV) “even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”
Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV) “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.
