Posts Tagged ‘ Light ’
if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14, ESV
Our God enjoys forgiving and showing grace to us. Let us turn from sin, admit our need for Him, and seek His righteousness continually.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
Psalm 95:6 ESV
Our God created us. We rebelled, and He saved us by His grace and sacrifice we should have made.
Let us worship our Lord and Savior!
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5, ESV
The light of the world descended to us to overcome our evil and disobedience with His love, Grace, and forgiveness.
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son
Colossians 1:13, ESV
Being found in Christ is truly seeing, freed from the oppression of sin into the glorious light and life of Christ.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.
Isaiah 9:2, ESV
May you seek God and discover the blessings the light of His grace and forgiveness, the freedom of His love.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
James 1:17, ESV
God does not change, no matter what the world tries to say, and He has given us His grace, love, forgiveness, an life. Let the world see our trust in Him.
whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
1 John 2:6, ESV
Jesus lived a sacrificial life of service. May we walk humbly with grace, even when others are hostile, to shine the light of Christ.
What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:9, ESV
The world watches us to find hypocrisy. Younger Christians watch us to know what is okay.
Live a life honoring to Christ as He lives through us. Give everyone good reason to follow us as we follow Him, our good conduct reflecting Him.
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:7, ESV
We are the light of the world because of The Light. May we find fellowship with each other in Him as we celebrate His work.
I have started a small group series on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). I am sharing my notes in case anyone else wants to use them with their group.
Matthew 5:1-2:
Jesus wants to teach the crowds: Who are they? Jewish disciples: People who understand the
Scriptures (at least to a point). Notice from 7:28 the crowds still came along, but this teaching is for His disciples.
What does “blessed” mean?
Based on the first twelve verses, blessed means realizing our own wretchedness and need for a Savior. In other words, it is becoming/being a Christian.
Matthew 5:13:
Properties of salt:
• Made from stuff that can kill us (chloride, as in chlorine, which is poisonous to us; sodium is not very good for us by itself)
o No one can see God’s face and live (Exodus 33:20), yet we shall see God face to face through Christ (1 Corinthians 13:12)
• Enriches flavor
o 1 Peter 2:12 – We make life better as we point others to God’s Hugh standards.
• Preserves
o 2 Peter 3:9 – God withholds His wrath until all who will be saved are saved.
• Can melt ice
o Romans 10:13-14; Ezekiel 11:19 – The preaching of the gospel can change people’s hearts (via the Holy Spirit) from hardness to receptivity (see also Parable of the Sower/Seeds [Matthew 13:1-23], implying God may change the soil of the heart)
• Is used to make soap
o 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 – We help cleanse the world through defending and spreading truth over lies of evil spirits/demons/Satan
• Has a high melting point (it is not easily melted/burned: paradoxically lowering the boiling point of water while making it harder for water to boil)
o Isaiah 43:1b-3a – We hold back God’s wrath (see “Preserves” earlier) as the world gives more reason for His wrath to come. Further, we pull people from the fires of damnation (see Jude)
Can we lose our saltiness? (Refer, again, to Parable of the Sower – holding to the understanding that the first three refer to unsaved people [“churchians”?]) (Short answer: not really. Salt does not become not salt. It either is salt or is not.)
But how do “we” save them?
Matthew 5:14-16
• Firstly, v. 16: what does it mean to shine our light?
• It is there: “see your good works and glorify …”
• Secondly, What does it mean to glorify God?
• Mark 12:32-34; 1 Samuel 15:22; Hosea 6:6; Micah 6:8
• Glorifying God means obeying Him and showing love and mercy.
• We share the Gospel – Romans 10:13-17; Matthew 28:18-20
• Hebrews 11:6 – It is impossible to please God, to glorify God, if we do not believe in Him properly if at all. So we share the Gospel. Our greatest good work.
How we shine:
• Ephesians 5:1-21
• Philippians 2:12-16
• 1 Peter 4:1-11
a simple man of God 