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Good day friends, I hope you are all well today!
Today’s message
is simple; How we as Christians can become “lights of the world”, meaning I’m going
to share some simple ways that can help us all become shining examples of God’s
love, kindness, gentleness, forgiveness, and grace for all to see, in order to
bring glory and honor to His name.
This is
precisely what Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:14-16 when he was preaching to a
crowd on a mountainside by the Jordan River one day, that; “You are the light
of the world. A city 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 men, that
they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
Say what,
how can I go out in and amongst the world and be a “light” to others when my
lamp was just lit or because of sin my lamp doesn’t shine bright enough?
This is a
question many new Christians ask themselves and the question is usually the
result of fearing the unknown and also feelings of inadequacy as a result of
being new Christians.
Folks, God
is a loving motivating, uplifting God so please understand that those negative
thoughts of “I can’t do this” or “Who am I to be a good example” etc. is just
the Evil One doing what He does, e.g. doing all he can to keep us Christians (new
and old alike) in a perpetual state of feeling unworthy, inadequate, fearful,
lazy, etc. in order to prevent us from being “lights”.
When we’re
being lights we’re shining for all to see, just as God wants. But when we’re
not shining we’re dark and in Satan’s eyes this is victory.
But fear
not! You see once we accept Christ as our personal Lord and Savior we are
immediately covered in a blanket of God’s security and He will never, ever let anything
come upon us that He knows we can’t handle…
And being lights
of the world is one of them.
Looking at
Matthew 5:14-16 we can see it’s really not all that difficult at all, some
things just take effort and He tells us two ways we can shine; by doing “good
deeds” and praising our Father in heaven.
That doesn’t
sound so difficult does it, doing good deeds and giving praise to our Father?
Letting our lights shine
Doing good
deeds is pretty self-explanatory but here are some simple gestures of love and
kindness that can have a profound effect on others, like:
- Buying food or a meal for a family or person in need
- Donating food or clothes
- Offering your professional services for free to someone in need
- Giving blood
- Helping a stranded motorist
- Volunteering
I could go
on-and-on but in the end it’s pretty simple, our actions are one of the easiest
ways to let our lights shine bright.
Ah but those
I just mentioned are just the beginning, here are some real simple things we
can also do:
- Showing love to our fellow man, family, friends and strangers alike
- Speaking words of encouragement and not discouragement
- Hugging someone when they need it and not turning away
- Smiling always instead of frowning
- Giving those who deserve it a pat-on-the-back
- Holding your hand out to someone who needs to be lifted-up
- Writing a thoughtful letter (not send an email or text) to someone who’s feeling down or discouraged or to just let someone know they're loved and being thought of
- Not being afraid to show and tell people you love them (this is so important!)
- Giving a simple "God Bless You" to people you encounter; you'll be surprised by the response
Just
remember though that we’re giving to others so we should do so with smiles on our
faces and cheer in our hearts, otherwise we’re just going through the motions
and don’t think for one second that God and those on the receiving end won’t
see right through us.
For those
Christians who have been around the block a time or two will you please share with us ways you’ve become lights of the world by leaving a comment below?
Thanks all
and God Bless!
Dana
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