ALL Y’ALL ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

“You are the light of the world. A town built 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 others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”  (Matthew 5:14-16)

Jesus is speaking to His gathered disciples and reveals what life in the Kingdom should look like… It’s important first to note that the “you” in verse 14 is plural and would better be translated as “all y’all”. So while there are places where the Scripture speaks of us individually reflecting God’s glory in our unique way, here Jesus tells His disciples: “All Y’all” (collectively) are the light of the world.

Think of it this way. People who get lost in a dark cave have a greater chance of finding their way out if someone lights and holds a single candle. However, they have a much greater chance of finding their way out if a thousand people who are spread all over the cave light and hold candles…

So if we are interpreting Jesus’ words correctly, God’s plan to light up the dark world is to send His disciples into the world to shine His glory through good works done from a heart full of love.

A plain reading of Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” indicates that God handcrafted you intending to use your life to share a unique part of His glory with the world through you… So we show God’s glory to the world as we express and reflect the goodness of God to the world through the good works He commands us to do in His name.

To return to the dark cave illustration, it’s as if God deploys a thousand people all holding their single candles spread into the different parts of the cave people are lost in and collectively uses those candles to draw an arrow of light to point to the way of escape and rescue. The creativity and wonder of it all takes my breath away.

May you let Christ shine through you as you do His work in the world. 

-- Rev. Tim Carson, former pastor at Estero Church, Florida

#6082

STRUGGLING TO DO GOOD - Part 2 of 2

God did not save us because of our goodness but because of His own kindness and mercy, Thanks to the saving work of Jesus Christ our Savior, God can declare us good. Our goodness is a gift from God. We cannot work for it. We cannot earn it. We do not deserve it.

The Bible calls this work of Christ justification. That’s a big word that simply means God says you are okay because of what Jesus did for you. When you put your trust in Christ, God gives you a new nature (2 Corinthians 5:17). (It is like starting over; that is why it is called being “born again.”) Then God not only gives you the desire to do good. but also gives you the power to do good.  Philippians 2:13 says, “It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (NKJV, emphasis added). He gives you the desire and the power to do what is right…

By God’s grace and power we are re-created as good people, and then we are given the ability to do good deeds. God works from the inside out, not from the outside in… God solved the problem of my old selfish nature by giving me a new Christlike nature. 

-- Excerpts from “God’s Power to Change Your Life” by Rick Warren

#6055

UNMASKING MYSELF

Many years ago I read an article in a denominational newsletter that referred to "the Masking Disciples 2000 Leadership Team." While "Masking" was a typo and should have read "Making," it made me wonder if that isn't what we in the church might be doing sometimes.

We go out as good people doing good things in the community to make it a good place to live so that we can make good people feel good. That is masking, or covering up, what we really should be about. We are followers of Jesus Christ who are called by Christ to "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you." (Matthew 28:19-20a NLT)

What I need to be about is unmasking myself and letting the world know that the good that I do is because of my relationship with Jesus Christ, not because I'm a good person. Jesus said, " Let your light shine before [others] in such a way that they may see your good deeds and moral excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16 AMP)

-- Rev. David T. Wilkinson, SOUND BITES Ministry

#6031

IT REFLECTS ON JESUS

“People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, 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 in heaven.”  (Matthew 5:15-16 NRSV)

In coming to know Jesus, you have come to know yourself, too: naturally, this is more pleasant for some than for others, but to see yourself as you really are can never be entirely pleasant.  And when a Christian fails at something he ought to have done, it isn't just the failure that hurts -- there is also the knowledge that he has let Jesus down.  And those little shortcomings of ours, that used to matter so little, compared with the glaring faults of others: we know now that our temper, or our gloom, or our selfishness, reflects on Jesus; and knowing that people are judging your Lord by you is not always a joyous thought to live with. 

-- Robert MacColl Adams (1913-1985) in “Of Rice and Men” 

#5967

WALK THE TALK, TALK THE WALK

“People do not light a lamp and put it under the bushel basket; rather, they put it on the lampstand, 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 in heaven.”  (Matthew 5:15-16 NRSV)

It is important that our walk matches our talk -- that the way we live our life is consistent with the way we say we should. Too many people talk the right stuff but don't live it.

I see another problem, as well. It is just as important that our talk matches our walk -- that what we say explains what we do. I see many people in churches doing marvelous deeds and good works in the community because they are Christian. But they don't tell people why they are doing it. Are they just nice people? Or is it really more than that? Are they doing it because of the difference Christ has made in their life and because they want to share that love of Christ with others?

Let's walk the talk AND talk the walk. 

-- Rev. David T. Wilkinson, SOUND BITES Ministry

#5949

INTENTIONAL ABOUT THE WAY WE LIVE

“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”  (Titus 3:4-5 NRSV)

Following Christ comes naturally to no one. As Christians, we are all on a journey under the guidance of the Holy Spirit who is forming and molding us to look increasingly like our Savior. That said, it can be easy for us to slip back into behaviors that do not represent Christ, which is why we must be intentional about the way we live…

Good works are necessary for the Christian life -- not to achieve our salvation, but to display it to the world. Our behaviors reveal what we truly believe, but we often discount the influence of our environment upon the ways in which we live.

There are many things contending for priority in our hearts -- culture, relationships, career, money, and so on -- and when we devote ourselves to anything other than Christ, we will live in ways that discredit the good news He desires for all to embrace.

We all have blind spots, which is why we need deep relationships within the body of Christ… Take the courageous step of asking whether or not your behavior reflects what you claim to believe. Doing so might require you to make some changes about the way you live, but they will lead you to a deeper intimacy with Christ, which is worth even the greatest of sacrifices. 

-- Excerpted from the study guide to “The Book of Titus” by Chip Ingram

#5840

GRACE MATTERS

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for Himself a people of His own who are zealous for good deeds.”  (Titus 2:11-14 NRSV)

Grace is the voice that calls us to change and then enables us to yield to its transforming power. Grace matters because Jesus matters, and it works because He does. Amazing hope and anticipation are in this for each of us; imagine how different our lives can be when entrusted to the hands of grace…

Heavenly Father, Holy God, thank You so very much for Your gift of grace. Not a day passes that I don’t need more of Your unending supply of grace. Remind me of Your goodness over and over so that I may live in the fullness of Your grace. Grant that I may be a model of Your goodness in all I do, every day, so others will be compelled to see and accept Your incomparable gift of grace. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen. 

-- Max Lucado in “Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine”

#5730

BY WORD AND DEED

“Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”  (Colossians 3:17 ESV)

Two primary means of spreading the gospel are word and deed. The gospel must be made both visible and verbal. To employ one means without the other is to truncate the gospel. In biblical literature word and deed are held together in an unbroken rhythm. In creation God spoke and creation happened. In the evangelization of Jesus there is no polarization between proclamation and action…. In Jesus word and deed do not fall apart. Jesus has integrity. His words ring true to His lifestyle and His life supports His words. Each illumines the other. Thus, by word and deed Jesus brings the claim and the power of the righteous reign of God (the kingdom of God) to bear on the whole of humankind.

We discover this same wholeness of word and deed in the evangelization of the early church. In the Acts of the Apostles, proclamation and good works are inextricably tied. There is a fusion of preaching and serving….

The biblical rhythm demands that verbalization of the gospel must take place in the midst of doing it. The ministry of kerygma (proclamation) must run concurrently with ministries of healing, serving, nurturing, liberating, reforming, and empowering. Announcement of the kingdom must be both verbal and visible, and one never asks which is more important. That would be like asking which is more important, breathing in or breathing out. It depends upon which one was done last! Obviously, proclamation and lifestyle must buttress one another. 

-- H. Eddie Fox and George E. Morris in “Faith-Sharing: Dynamic Christian Witnessing by Invitation”

#5594

GOD'S WORK OF ART

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10)

While on a trip to Paris, I visited the Louvre Museum.  I stood speechless in the presence of so many priceless paintings.  I saw the Mona Lisa, up close and personal.  My mother and I stood in awe, whispering in hushed tones, "Can you believe we're looking at her?  She's the real thing, not a cheap imitation!"  Leonardo da Vinci had no idea when he painted the portrait that it would be a gift to the entire world -- a gift that inspires generation after generation.

God is the Master artist; all of the creation declares His handiwork.  Each sunset is a stroke of the Master's brush.  And you are His living masterpiece.  Mona Lisa can't hold a candle to you.  As God's work of art, you are not intended to hang on a wall in a museum, gathering dust.  He created you with a purpose -- His purpose -- to do good works that reflect His artistry. 

-- Lenya Heitzig and Penny Pierce Rose in “Pathway to God's Treasure: Ephesians”

#5449

GOD’S UNEARNED GRACE

“God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”  (Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT)

Thank God that He doesn't make us finish some sort of spiritual ["to do"] list before He accepts us. As the old hymn title summarizes so well, He accepts me "just as I am."

That's the uniquely Christian message of grace. Unlike other faith traditions where a person must do good works to earn God's favor, we as Christians understand that we do good works precisely because God favors us in spite of ourselves and our sin. 

-- Matt Donnelly, ChristianityToday.com

#5398 

FAITH AND WORKS

"But someone will say, 'You have faith and I have works.' Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works."  (James 2:18 ESV)

Faith and works should travel side by side, step answering to step, like the legs of men walking. First faith, and then works; and then faith again, and then works again -- until they can scarcely distinguish which is the one and which is the other.  

-- William Booth in “The Founder’s Messages to Soldiers” 

#5362

PRACTICAL FAITH

“If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”  (James 2:15-17 NKJV)

We must remember that it's possible to affirm the existence of God with your lips and to deny the existence of God with your life. The most dangerous form of atheism is not theoretical atheism but practical atheism. 

-- Martin Luther King, Jr. in a sermon titled “Rediscovering Lost Values” (1954) 

#5266

GOD'S WORK OF ART

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”  (Ephesians 2:10 NLT)

One of the great works of art in the Western world is Michelangelo's Pietà, a marble statue of an anguished Mary holding the crucified Christ. Some years ago a fanatic nationalist rushed upon the masterpiece and began smashing it with a sledgehammer. Although the damage was significant, Vatican artists were able to restore the statue to near-perfect condition.

You were created to be a masterpiece of God. Paul writes, "For we are God's poiēma" -- a word that can mean God's "workmanship," or even God's "work of art." God made you to know oneness with Him and with other human beings. God made you to be co-regent with Him -- to "fill the earth and subdue it," to "have dominion" over creation under His reign and with His help. It is the goodness of God's work in creating us that makes our fallenness so tragic. This is why my disappointment in myself runs so deep.

But God is determined to overcome the defacing of His image in us. His plan is not simply to repair most of our brokenness. He wants to make us new creatures. So the story of the human race is not just one of universal disappointment, but one of inextinguishable hope.

-- John Ortberg in “The Life You've Always Wanted”

#5197

ONLY THROUGH FAITH

“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.”  (Galatians 2:20-21 NLT)

Trying to get right with God by keeping a bunch of religious rules is a formula for frustration and failure. First problem, whose rules? Such requirements vary from religion to religion, person to person, and generation to generation. What if you’re working from the wrong list? Second problem, how do we define what it mean to “keep” those rules? Do we have to follow them perfectly? Or are we allowed a reasonable number of mistakes and missteps? And what is considered “reasonable”? The gospel of Christ eliminates all this confusion by stating categorically that no one but Christ is good enough. Only through faith in Him, only by relying on His efforts on our behalf, do we qualify for heaven.

Father, we are not made right with You by human efforts, and we do not stay right with You by works. Remaining “in Your good graces” means counting on Christ alone to live in us. Amen. 

– Max Lucado in “Life Lessons: Galatians – Free in Christ”

#5124

THE STORY OF OUR LIVES - Part 3 of 3

When we are passing through those awful chapters and difficult seasons [of life], we sometimes cannot see God or imagine how things will work out. But when we look back over our lives, in hindsight, we see how God moved the plot forward, enfolding it into the story of God’s redemption in our lives.

Here is what I know -- God can and will transform our pain, redeem our suffering, and lift us out of the darkest pits. Out of our dark moments, God writes a story of triumph. With God as our co-author, the dark times are never the end of the story…

Your story is not complete; the remaining chapters are yet to be written. God’s plan for your life is not yet set in stone; you have a chance to shape the story. As you do, this is God’s will: that you “lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1:10) 

-- Adam Hamilton in “Why? - Making Sense of God’s Will”

#5014

GOOD WORKS VERSUS GOD’S WORK

Most people embrace the assumption that God saves good people. So be good! Be moral. Be honest. Be decent. Pray the rosary. Keep the Sabbath. Keep your promises. Pray five times a day facing east. Stay sober. Pay taxes. Earn merit badges.

Yet for all the talk about being good, still no one can answer the fundamental question: What level of good is good enough? Bizarre. At stake is our eternal destination, yet we are more confident about lasagna recipes than the entrance requirements for heaven.

God has a better idea: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God -- not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NRSV)

We contribute nothing. Zilch. As opposed to the merit badge of the Scout, salvation of the soul is unearned. A gift. Our merits merit nothing. God’s work merits everything.

-- Max Lucado in “Grace: More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine”


#4796

YOU ARE GOD’S MASTERPIECE

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.”  (Ephesians 2:10)

The Bible does not say you are God’s appliance; it says you are His masterpiece.  Appliances get mass-produced.  Masterpieces get hand-crafted.  God did not make you exactly like anyone else.  Therefore His plan for shaping you will not look like His plan for shaping anyone else.  If you try to follow a generic plan for spiritual growth, it will only frustrate you.  Paul said, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (2 Corinthians 3:17)

– John Ortberg in “The Me I Want To Be” 


#4626

SERVING GOD

"Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”  (1 Corinthians 9:6-8 NIV)

One of the principal rules of religion is, to lose no occasion of serving God. And, since He is invisible to our eyes, we are to serve Him in our neighbor; which He receives as if done to Himself in person, standing visibly before us.

-- John Wesley in “A Plain Account of Christian Perfection"

#4593

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  (Ephesians 2:8-10)

The Christian life begins as our hearts are drawn to God through God’s prevenient grace. It progresses as we hear the good news and choose to trust in Jesus Christ and receive His justifying grace and a new birth. However, this birth is not the end of our faith; it is when the real journey begins. As we experience the means of grace, we’re restored by the Spirit to become what God has made us to be: created in God’s image, loving God with all that is within us, and blessing our neighbor with a love not merely of words or affection but also of deeds expressing compassion, mercy, and justice. 

-- Adam Hamilton in “Revival: Faith as Wesley Lived It”


#4464

THE VALUE OF SMALL GROUPS

“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”  (2 Peter 3:18)

As we shared together our feelings about the study groups, we realized that we were not meeting together each week for an intellectual exercise: something very real and significant was taking place.  We were coming to know that the Christian faith is not primarily an ethic; it is not the struggle to do good or be good, but an encounter with Christ, of which morality and ethical living are by-products.

-- Harold R. Fray, Jr. in “The Spirit Making New” 

#4340