Tag: Rejoice

distinction between those who serve God and those who do not

Psalms 89:5  Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!  For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,  a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him? O LORD God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O LORD, with your faithfulness all around you?  You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them.  You crushed Rahab like a carcass; you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.  The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.

Daniel 7:10    A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.

Psalms 96:11     Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it;  let the field exult, and everything in it! Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy  before the LORD, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Malachi 3:16     Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.  “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.  Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

Revelation 20:11     Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.  And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.  Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.  And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Isaiah 30:27    Behold, the name of the LORD comes from afar, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke; his lips are full of fury, and his tongue is like a devouring fire;

Isaiah 66:15     “For behold, the LORD will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.  For by fire will the LORD enter into judgment, and by his sword, with all flesh; and those slain by the LORD shall be many.

Nahum 1:5    The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it.  Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.

John 3:18  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

There are times we just don’t feel good enough to be considered worthy, fruitful, or for that matter saved. For some reason the redemptive work of Christ does not seem real and effective for our life.  We believe but do not have a victorious heart and mind. Why is that?  We are in battle(s) – the battle with our conscious where we are self convicted – the battle with what others tell us and we are convicted by others – the battle where satan convicts us by telling us we are worthless and not good enough for God – the battle where we do think we are good enough on our own – the battle our sinful nature has with the Holy Spirit when we are convicted on our actions and thoughts in light of God’s word.  Our conscious and others conviction may or may not be true.   Satan is the father of all lies and will continually convict us with these lies and half truths.  However, the Holy Spirit will convict us with absolute truth.  It is easy to fall into the trap of unworthiness or good enough and end up ineffectual in our Christian walk.  Both of these end in either complacency or neglect.  When we catch of glimpse of God’s Holiness and our sinfulness it is easy to feel unworthy and you are right.  We are unworthy.  That is all the more reason to shout for joy and give thanks to Jesus Christ who, though we were sinners and have a sinful nature, went to the cross and died for our sins.  He did this to redeem us and make our sin as white as snow to all who believe in Him.  At the moment of believe and trust in Jesus Christ our sins were no more.  Some may feel they are not worthy of this redemption, believing they are not good enough or they are too bad to be forgiven.  God’s word is true!

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

We are never good enough to be saved.  Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners.  He takes us as we are, right where we are at in life – full of guilt and shame. Are we sinless, no but they are forgiven.  Do we stop sinning, no but if we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive our sin.  God is truth and His word is true.  If our sins are forgiven they are no more before God’s eyes.  We can be certain of His word of truth.  We can be victorious.  We can have joy and peace.  Satan would have us believe it is a lie.  It is not a lie.  How can we know?  Stay in His word and live to honor, glorify, serve and obey Him.  You are whiter than snow, confessed sin to God is forgiven. Stop living defeated, complacent, and neglectful.  You can live victorious for God through His word.

Tell you plainly

John 16:25  “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father.  In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf;  for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.  I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

Acts 1:9     And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.  And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes,  and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Luke 24:51     While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.

Hebrews 1:1  Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,  but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Zephaniah 3:17    The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Can you imagine what it would have been like to have been there with Christ at the time of His ascension .  Many scriptures come to my mind when I think about His last minutes on earth; “I have come to give you life more abundantly,  I have come to set the captive free,  I have come to give sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, I have come to give light unto the world, I am the way the truth and the life, I do what the Father tells me, I free the demon possessed, I love you, I give my life freely, I forgive you, I am the spring of living water,  I go prepare a place for you so that where I am there you will be also, I am coming again, You have believed in the Father believe also in me, Father forgive them they know not what they do,  I will send a helper to you…..  Being mindful of His death, and resurrection for salvation to all who trust in this redemptive sacrifice but, there is more to life than salvation.  Salvation is the corner stone of our faith and from this we grow (or at least we should.  Our purpose on earth is to humbly serve, honor, follow, and obey Him.  Growing needs the flow of living water found in His word.  Apart from it we are prone to wonder and follow diluted truth.  Our culture tries to pull and direct our efforts towards things of this world that certainly do not last.  The only thing that lasts is that which is given and done in honor and glory of Him alone.  There is not room for complacency and neglect in our walk with God.  His word is a light to our soul and a beacon to lead our way through this life.  Leave no room for Satans lies to filter in and essentially make your life meaningless in God’s work this side of eternity.  There is not much spoken of anymore about sin and a Holy God.  God’s word is able to divide our thoughts and intents.  It convicts us of sin and leads us into His arms.  It gives us peace, strength, power, courage, hope, joy, and assurance of eternal life.  Commit to spending time in His word and growing in understanding and knowledge of Him and His plan and purposes.  He speaks whispers of guidance through it.  Give time each day into His word and speak of His work in your life.  Bring Hope to the lost and dark world.  Be a light shinning in the darkness.  He is coming again.

Obedience to the Truth

“The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness”

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

John 15:11  These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.  “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Isaiah 53:11     Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

Jeremiah 33:9    And this city shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.

1 John 1:4     And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

1 Peter 1:8     Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,

Romans 12:10     Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

Ephesians 5:2    And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

1 Peter 1:22     Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,

1 Peter 3:8     Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.

“But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?  Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

Obedience to the truth is fundamental for us to continue on a path that honors God.  Where do we find truth and once you find it what good is it?  Jesus Christ is truth – “I am the way, the truth, and the life”. “No one comes to the Father except through me.” Through Christ we are saved and not of our own works  but by His grace, mercy and love.  When this truth is believed redemption, salvation and new life are born.  – “you are a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.  All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself ” – “He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age.” – “he will guide them to springs of living water and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” – “my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation” – “You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word. … You are my shelter and my shield” – “I will be glad in the Lord, my joy will be in the God of my salvation” – “And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”  spend time in His word and learn of His love, purpose and plan for your life.  Humbly serve, honor, glorify, rely on, cling to, trust in, follow and obey. 

 

 

Living God, Steadfast love

Psalms 86:1    Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.  Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.  Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day.  Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.  For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.  Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace.  In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me.  There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours.  All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.  For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.

Isaiah 61:3     to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.

Isaiah 66:13     As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.  You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bones shall flourish like the grass; and the hand of the LORD shall be known to his servants, and he shall show his indignation against his enemies.

Psalms 62:8    Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.

Psalms 143:8     Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

Exodus 15:11     “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

Daniel 6:26     I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end.  He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.”

There is a peace that comes to mind when reading these verses.  They speak of God’s dominion, rescuing power, signs, wonders, comfort, holiness, refuge, deliverance, grace, and steadfast love.  These words speak of our LIVING GOD.  They were spoke in during times of trouble or immediately after being delivered.  The depth of the heart cry speaks of the hope and trust they had in God.  The out pouring of praise and worship during their time of trouble reveals their heart and soul reliance in God.  God’s signs and wonders are  around us if our eyes, ears, heart and mind desire to seek, hear, and see His work.  We might see the change of heart at work in people.  We may see joy in someones life.  We may see deliverance from sin.  We may see conviction, confessing and true forgiveness.  We may see peace that passes all understanding.  We may find hope when it appears there is none.  We may have victory over a besetting sin.  We have understanding and knowledge from His word.  We may have success over a difficult task.  Spend time in His word.  Seek to know and understand the depths of His power, might, and steadfast love.  Choose to be a humble servant, ever thankful, ever seeking to honor, ever wanting to follow, and heart set on obedience.

Restore us, O LORD God

“For in a very little while my fury will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction.”

“Restore us, O LORD God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved!”

You will say in that day: “I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.”

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Psalms 85:1   LORD, you were favorable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.  You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin.  You withdrew all your wrath; you turned from your hot anger.  Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your indignation toward us!  Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations?  Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?  Show us your steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation.

Jeremiah 31:18     I have heard Ephraim grieving, ‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like an untrained calf; bring me back that I may be restored, for you are the LORD my God.

Lamentations 5:21    Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored!

Micah 7:18    Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.

Acts 13:39     and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.

Colossians 2:13     And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

Isaiah 54:7     For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you.  In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the LORD, your Redeemer.

Psalms 78:38     Yet he, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath.

How do you know if God is angry with you?  How do you know if you are being disciplined?  How do you know if you are right with God? How do you know if your life is on the straight and narrow path of God?   There are many examples in scripture that speak of generations of people who lived in a way that was apart from God.  There was a choice made in their life to neglect Him and His statutes.  This choice, I have to think, was not all at once but was the result of many small steps on a path that did not honor, serve, follow, or obey God.   Taking many small steps or fewer large ones in the wrong direction on the wrong path will always end up further and further away from God.  Soon you are lost and forget what the path of God for your life looked liked.  The light on His path for your life becomes totally dimmed, if not dark and deserted.  Everyday we battle our sinful desires that want to direct our heart, mind and soul.  Neglecting Him and being complacent in service and obedience to Him is what Satan desires and uses to light a path away from God.  The only way to win this battle is to stay in His word, desiring to stay close to Him, and wanting to be led by Him.  Do not wait until you are totally lost before turning back to Him.  Call out and seek to be rescued and restored.  Seek Him and He will be found.  Humbly serve Him and He will guide you.

The Good Shepherd

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

“For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. “

“Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.“

Isaiah 53:6    All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

John 10:9  I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved

John 10:11  I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

John 10:14  I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,  just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.  No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

Micah 5:4    And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.

Romans 5:1    Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Ephesians 2:18     For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

1 Peter 2:24     He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Our shepherd, Jesus Christ, is the good shepherd that calls, leads and protects His sheep. These sheep hear His voice calling.  They come running to Him because their heart desire wants to hear His voice because the Spirit of God has opened their heart to hear.  Of course there are those who choose to shut God out and reject this calling.  The sheep also hear His leading.  They trust in Him and come running to Him and where He leads they follow.  They choose to stay close to Him for with Him they find comfort in His guidance.  They stay close to hear His voice.  These sheep know He protects them and in His care they are safe and secure.  They choose to stay near.  If only we would be like sheep and follow the Good Shepard.

Planting and harvesting

“To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.  I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”

John 4:34  Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.  Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.  Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.  For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’   I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

Proverbs 11:30    The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.

Daniel 12:3    And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

Romans 6:22   But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

Philippians 2:15-16    that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,  holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

1 Timothy 4:16    Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

James 5:19    My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back,  let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Sometimes we are the planters of the Gospel seed and other times we are the harvesters of all the work of someone else.   Being in God’s fields has satisfying purpose and meaning.  We are able to see seeds being planted and fruit being produced and as well harvest of the fruit.  The point is we need to be in the same field with God – Working in His field rather than just watching His field from the side of the road.  Be in His word, read it, think about it, believe it, speak of it, follow, and obey it. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth”

Known God and unknown god

“O sons of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.”

John 4:19  The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”  Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.

Isaiah 2:3     and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

2 Kings 17:27   Then the king of Assyria commanded, “Send there one of the priests whom you carried away from there, and let him go and dwell there and teach them the law of the god of the land.”  So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the LORD.  But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the shrines of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived.

Acts 17:23    For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.

Zephaniah 3:16     On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak.  The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Do you see the words of Jesus “You worship what you do not know”;  and those of Paul “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.”  Do you ever think about how you perceive God?  It is a direct reflection of what you know about Him.  The words of Jesus and Paul are easy to understand for us and we would tend to interpret this is speaking to others who worship false gods and false religions.  Is it possible that we may fall into this same category because we neglect knowledge of God.  We hold on to a few verses and do not spend time in His word to know Him more. We give little to no time thinking about Him.  We only seek Him for help rather than seeking to know how we might better worship, serve, honor, and obey Him.  In essence worshiping a God we do not know.  God gave us a precious recorded history so that by this and with a heart, mind, and soul, we might continually grow in knowing Him more and more each day.

Darkness to Light

Psalms 82:5  They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

Proverbs 1:29   Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD,

Romans 1:28    And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

Proverbs 4:19    The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.

Ecclesiastes 2:14   The wise person has his eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness

John 3:19    And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

John 12:35    So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.

1 John 2:11    But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Proverbs 2:6  For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;  he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,  guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.  Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path;  for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;  discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you,  delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech,  who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness,   who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil,   men whose paths are crooked, and who are devious in their ways.

Ecclesiastes 3:16    Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness.

2 Timothy 2:19    But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

There is one thing that keeps coming to mind from these scriptures.  People without Christ walk in darkness and they have no clue they are.  In fact they do not even know what the light is or how it will help or where to find it.  We are to be a reflection of this light, able to tell them of the light, and where it can be found.  Being a reflection means our way of light ought to be easily recognized as different from the world we live in.  The way we talk, react, think, and respond.  Our lives should reflect joy, peace, wisdom, understanding, hope, love, generosity, strength, courage, and concern all in the help and name of Jesus Christ.  Is it possible, as christians, that we too choose to live in darkness or with the light set to very dim.  Are we drifting away to a life of complacency, neglecting our calling to be light unto a lost generation.  Do we set our expectations so low for being a follower of Christ that there is no visible differences between us and those lost other than going to church on Sunday?  I think we have fallen into and follow a lie.  That lie is “it is up to the pastor, preacher to tell the gospel and up to me to go hear him teach and preach”  rather than being a reflection of Christ and telling others of His great love, hope, joy, peace …….  Out of the abundance of our heart the mouth will speak.  If nothing is coming out and nothing can be seen differently in our lives then we certainly need to look at what is filling our heart.  Living to be a humble servant, honoring, following, and obeying God requires us to choose to be in His word with the desire and intent to know Him and how to serve Him and be able to discern His leading each day.  Our reflection of the light of Christ will grow brighter and brighter as we choose to be in His word and be used by Him.