A Shining Light

Be a shining light in a dark world!

Matthew 5:14-16 NKJV

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Jesus was speaking to 1st century people when he delivered the Sermon on the Mount, however, what He said is still true today.

How we live effects the people around us.

As we go about our daily lives, let the light of God shine through you.

Be a blessing to others !

2 Corinthians 4:6 NKJV

⁶ For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Light swallows up darkness!

It Is Finished!

On the cross, Jesus said, "it is finished".

What Jesus was referring to was that the price of our sin was paid in full.

There would be no more need to sacrifice bulls and goats.

No scapegoat would ever be sent into the desert for the sins of man. Lev 16:10

Jesus sacrificed His life for man and His blood was the ultimate covering of sin.

He took ALL of man's sin, pain, and sickness on Himself.

Jesus knew before He allowed Himself to be arrested the pain He would endure 

and the loss of communion with God.

So full of anxiety that He cried tears of blood. Luke 22:24

And yet He did it anyway.
So great is His love for us!

Jesus accomplished what He set out to do and fulfilled prophecy.
Isaiah 53:4-5
Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken, 
Smitten by  God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.

Receive all that Jesus did for us on the cross and rejoice!

God's Hold Never Fails

As we hold on to God's hand our grip may fail,

But God, Who holds on to us never fails.

He is holding onto our wrist with a tight hold and His grip is strong.

John 10:28

And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish;

neither shall anyone snatch them out of My Hand.

Though we sin, there is no sin that God will not forgive or 

make Him relinquish His hold on us.

His grace is new every morning and He gives us an inexhaustible supply of His goodness!

Lamentations 3:22-23

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, 

His mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning.

Every Knee Will Bow

Philippians 2:9-11

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name 

which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The day will come when all Christians will stand before Christ at the judgment seat. 

We will have to give an account of our lives.

What will we have to say to Him?

Did we live for Him or for ourselves?

Did we produce fruit?

The judgment seat is not a place of wrath or meting out punishment for sin.

Christ already covered us with His blood for our sin.

Our salvation doesn't depend on our good works, we already 

received it by the work of the cross.

Rather it is a place to receive crowns for living for Christ 

and for our obedience to Him.

1 Corinthians 3:12-15

"Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he has built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Live life for Christ, not for rewards but because He loved us enough to endure the cross!

Do Not Harden Your Heart

There will come a time of no return.

Just as there was with Pharaoh against Moses.

Moses went to Pharaoh five times and each time Pharaoh hardened is own heart against Moses and the Israelite's.

Exodus 8:15  But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief,

he hardened his heart and did not heed them,

as the Lord had said.

On the six time, God hardened Pharaoh's heart.

Exodus 9:12  But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh;

and he did not heed them, just as the Lord had spoken to Moses.

God hardened Pharaoh's heart until there was no turning back.

When you hear Jesus calling you, do not harden your heart.

Hebrews 3:12-15  Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.  For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said: 

"Today, if you will hear His voice,

Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.

He wants to have a relationship with you.

He wants to live and make a home with us for eternity.

It's more than a religion, it's a relationship

Three Part Being

God is three persons in one.  

He is fully God. 

He is fully Jesus. 

He is fully the Holy Spirit.  

All three parts are one.

We are equally the same.  We also are three parts.

We are body.

We are soul.

We are spirit.

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While God is able to be separate yet be one, we can only be one with separate parts.

And we were created in His image.

Genesis 1:26  Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, 

according to Our likeness;

All three parts of "us" cannot separate and be in different places at the same time.

Unlike God.

Although He is one entity, God can be in different places at once.

As Father, He is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent.

In other words, God is all knowing, all powerful and everywhere at once.

As Father, He knows all things and can do all things.

Jesus in body form was and is able to walk among us.

The Holy Spirit was given to us and is always present and able to be everywhere all the time.

Sometimes we find this hard to comprehend, but in the book of Isaiah we learn that God is incomprehensible. 

Isaiah 55:9 Amplified For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are My ways higher than your ways

and My thought than your thoughts.

All Things Are Possible with God

Matthew 19:26 NIV  Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

When we stay in line with God's will, there is nothing too impossible for us. It is important to know God's will. To do that, we must spend time with Him, read the Bible, and pray. Start a relationship with Him. That is how we know His will.  

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.

Begin by learning what prayer we want answered is in line with God's will.  Once we learn that, pray for it.  Know that when we pray God hears us.  It is also important to know that if He hears us to believe we will receive when we pray and that it does not hurt others.  Be expectant! God's time is not our time. Wait patiently.  Abraham waited until he was an old man before God granted him a son.  

Expect great things from God. He wants to give them to you. 

Psalm 37:4  Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

We must also not have anything against anyone for God to grant our desires. This hinders Him in answering us. Forgive others for what they have done to you.

Matthew 5:44  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.