Frankly Speaking—“Light”

You are the light of the world.
A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Matthew 5:14

In our home I have a library. I must say that I’m rather proud of it! I have books, books, books! I love them. I have read most of them and the rest I hope to read sometime in the future.

The other morning, as I was entering my library to have my devotions, it was dark outside the library window and it was dark in the library. Before I turned on the light, this thought struck me—these books are useless unless there is light to read them by! Hmm.

These books contain words of history, psychology, humor, biographies, theology, and many more subjects, but if there is no light to read them by, then they are useless.

My books also contain words of hope, encouragement, admonishment, teaching, etc., but if I can’t read them because I can’t see the words, then those books are useless to me. I must have light in order for those words to help me.

This has me thinking about what Jesus once said—“I am the Light of the world.” Hmm. Why is He the Light? How is that Light to be used? What did He mean—Light of the world? Why does the world need light since we have the sun, moon, and stars? And electricity?

I think He means He gives Light to the darkness of men’s hearts. Why is this so important? It is important because all of us are born into darkness when we entered this world. We lost the Light of our life when Adam and Eve gave it away in the Garden by believing Satan’s lie! They ‘lost’ the ‘Light’ of the Garden which was God Himself. Therefore, Jesus came to show men and women and boys and girls how to see God once again by His life/Light! In so doing, that Light reveals how they can have a relationship with Him. Does this make sense?

Here’s another observation—if man’s heart remain dark then it breeds all kinds of evil, wickedness, harm, war, unrest, and death. And the only way to stop this awfulness is the cleansing Light of Jesus!

But Jesus goes on by saying that once we have met Him, we can be a light for Him as well. He wants to use us as ‘lights’ to take the Light of His Gospel to the whole dark world. Our light is the talents and gifts He has given us to witness to those around us. Because His Light is in us, it draws people to us, which allows us to share about Him! Oh friends, just as assuredly as an outside house light draws bugs to it in the night, the warmth and glow of Jesus in us will draw people who are in their dark like nothing else can!

So is the Light of the world shining in you today? Is the Light of the world shining through you today? If not, let Him ‘trim’ your wick or ‘clean’ your reflecting mirror and lenses so you are able to do so! Then shine, Friends! Shine! Let His LIGHT reach those around you with hope, love, and peace.

Motivational Monday: Make it Count

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

Have you ever heard anyone say, “You have one shot; make it count”?

My husband will tell our boys this when he is out hunting with them. When they have shot and missed and have one bullet left, he will tell them, “You have one shot; make it count.” When we would take the kids fishing and the day was winding down, the kids would say, “Can I cast one more time?” and of course we would tell them,”Sure, you have one more shot; make it count.”

This phrase came to my mind when I woke up this morning. I have been thinking about today and how differently we may do things if we knew that it was our last shot.

What if today was your last shot?

What if today was the last chance you had to make a difference?

What if today was your last day to live for the Lord?

Would you do anything different?

Would you change anything about the way you are living?

I always try to write on Mondays about something that will motivate us. I want us to think for just a moment about the question that I have given. I pray that it will motivate us to think throughout our day about how we are living.

Are you doing everything you can to live for God?

Are you sharing God’s love with those around you?

Are you taking the time to show your family that you love them?

As we ponder this thought I pray that God will speak to us about our lives. I pray that if there are things we need to change that we will listen. I pray that if in examining our hearts we find that there are areas we need to turn over to God that we will not put those things off for one more day. We do not know when it may be our last shot. We do not know when our time may be up and God will call us into eternity.

I pray that these words have motivated you today. I pray that this has given you a little food for thought today.

If thinking about your “last shot” causes you some concern, if there are things that you know you need to change, I encourage you to take the time to do that. It is not too late.

God has blessed us with another day. I pray that we will use it to bring honor and glory to His name.

I ask you again in closing: What if today was your last shot? Would you make it count?