Thursday, February 7, 2013

The Light Of The World

In Matthew 5:14-16 it is recorded that Jesus said to his followers: You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

Huh? Me? Too often those of us who sincerely believe in Christ want to just be silent. We fear introducing Christ into a discussion because if we do ... we think we have to have all the answers.

Jesus says, "You are the light of the world." If you believe in Jesus as your Savior, you represent Christ here on earth ... until He comes OR at least until your days here are finished. You may be trying to avoid being a witness ... but that doesn't change the fact that you are His light.

The question is ... Are you trying to shine brightly or as dimly as possible? I really believe if you’re trying to be as dim as possible you may still need heart change.

Can you imagine that the mission of the body of Christ would rely on us? Is that a big enough task for you? It’s a monumental task.

Think! What if the people who saw the risen Savior ceased to talk about it rather than risk their own lives? If they did, how would we know about Jesus? Perhaps, you and I would never have learned about Christ. I am so thankful for those who came before me and told me about Jesus.

Basically the story is this ... someone saw Jesus alive! And that story has cost them their lives but that story continued to reach to you. Do you really believe?

But, ... Am I thankful enough to be that same kind of torch of light that is being passed to the next generation? May it be so! I pray that we would be a faithful people to let His light shine. I pray that you hear the words "Well done" from the Savior.

Some of us shine more brightly the older we get. The darker the world becomes … the brighter our lights ought to shine.

You are a light for the world to see. Jesus said these things knowing very well that we would not be perfect nor would we have all the answers for our faith. Jesus knew that the light within us would shine brighter as we yield to His control in our lives.

Dear Lord, I pray for all who read these words. I pray that you would reveal Yourself to them. I pray that You would use us to be that light in the world. I pray that You would provide peace, love, grace and mercy in all of our lives. Lord, I pray that I might be a better witness for You in everything that I do. Amen.

I hope you all have a great day.
NikonSniper Steve

8 comments:

Maria-Thérèse ~ www.afiori.com said...

Oops - I thought you were writing about Earth Hour!!!! :D

Montanagirl said...

Once again - so well said. Pray for me.

Judy said...

Amen. Thanks, Steve.

T.D. said...

You, my friend, are an amazing encouragement. Thank you and Lord bless.

child of God said...

Wonderful and I too pray for all of my blog followers. You are a great inspiration; keep it coming!

Blessings,
<><

Flutterby said...

Thank you for sharing with such courage. Your words have encouraged me to share more often.
Ruth

Gabby said...

Catching up on my blog reading, and it was great reading this today...of all days! Today it's Good Friday, and this blog is a great reminder that I should not be afraid, because on this day the Lord already took the punishment that I deserved.

Thanks for posting!

- Gabriel (in Miami)

Patrinas Pencil said...

Shine on Brother...Your sincere words and heart renderings here...are appreciated... well done thou good and faithful servant...


God must be turning up the heat in blog villa... I'm working on a post about what it mean to 'occupy' until He comes... & i just used a scripture on my camera blog this week about Jesus being the Light of the World... using a playful camera shoot with reflective LIGHT...and I just commented on another blog that wrote about the same thing... Jesus being the LIGHT within us... and this week, we talked about God's Glory in the Bible Study I'm leading... One of the ways God's Glory is seen as a tangible thing is through us... because Jesus.. the Light of the WORLD lives in every true believer. We can light up the darkness...without even saying a word.

Jesus "is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word" (Heb 1:3) ....

AND... if He lives inside of those who know and believe He is the Son of God...then we are to radiate that same GLORY.. to make Him KNOWN...a sobering thot... do I radiate God's GLORY. Can the world see the LIGHT of JESUS in and through me?

We have this TREASURE - "this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves." ( 2 Cor 4:7)

God chose our fragile jars of clay... to house His Glory! That is humbling!

Shine Jesus Shine... May the whole world see your Glory in us.

Blessings to you, brother Steve...
Patrina <")>><

Remember?..
This little LIGHT of mine
I'm goin to let it shine...
let it shine let it shine
let it shine!

Hide it under a bushel
NO!
I'm goin to let it shine
let it shine let it shine
let it shine!