Let It Shine

I have been going through a devotional recently from Catalyst on YouVersion. It was talking about humans being the image bearer of our Creator. This is one of the greatest qualities that humans have. We bear the image of our Creator. Nothing else in all of creation gets that privilege.

The devotion that I was reading tied two passages from the Bible together in a way that I have never seen. I was interested in how it would play out, and it did not disappoint.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, all the earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female. (‭Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭26-27‬ HCSB)

“You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. (‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭14-16‬ HCSB)

Did you see it?

The image of God is placed upon humans rather than any other part of creation for a purpose. I love purpose. It helps to know the "why" behind the "what." Nothing else in all of creation can reflect and display God like humans can.

This is why Jesus gives this statement in the Sermon on the Mount. He commands us to let the light within us shine clear and bright. Why? Because God deserves all the praise and glory. When we, as His image-bearers, allow our light to shine, that happens. There is nothing good within us naturally because of sin. But when Christ redeems us, He also clears the case for the Image to shine through.

Let us heed Jesus' words today and let our light (Christ in us) shine bright for all to see. Then God will receive the glory and praise that He is due.

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Not About Me?

As I was reading over my devotion for today, it had me in a familiar place: Exodus 3:1-14. This is where God comes to Moses in the form of a burning bush. God was setting into motion a plan to deliver His people from the bondage they were in in Egypt.

An interesting thing stood out to me this morning while reading this passage. Something I'm not sure that I had ever caught before. In the passage mentioned above, Moses asks two questions of God. More questions/excuses would come later, but these two questions are where everything comes to.

"Who am I? (verse 11)

"Who are You? (verse 13)

As I said before, everything hinges on these two questions. Everything. Then and now.

Moses was being called to a great task in leading a nation to freedom. It would call for a lot from him. He would be questioned himself. He would hear the complaints of the crowd. But when it came down to it all, the main thing was not Moses. Strangely enough, God never answered Moses' first question. When Moses asked "Who am I?" all he heard was that God would be there with him. When it comes to our value and significance, Christ is it. Without Christ in our life, we are nothing. With Christ in our life, we are everything. The key difference is not who we are, but who is with us.

Moses gets to the second question and God is happy to answer. It is here that we see the first mention of God's name: YHWH, the God of the Covenant. By God's quick answer we see that it was never about who this man that would lead these people out of slavery was, it was always about God. This is the story of history: the fame of the wonderful, amazing, holy, sovereign God of the universe.

Lord, help us to see that it is not about who we are, what talents/abilities we have or don't, or what we bring to the table. Help us to see that it is about You and only You.

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Have We Forgotten Faith?

Yesterday, I had the privilege of sharing a devotion in one of the seminary classes that I am taking. I felt that the Lord was wanting me to share about something that has been on my mind for some time now. It deals with the issue of faith and ministry. Do we (those who are in leadership positions in ministry) function and lead in ministry without using faith? On the surface, this would seem to be sacrilegious, but I would dare to say that there might just be many who attempt to function in ministry without using faith.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Colossians 2:6-7 NIV

As one reads the above passage, we see that every believer is urged to live their life with the same faith (total dependency upon God) as they did when they trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior. In our salvation, we had to come to a point where we realized that there was nothing that we could do to remedy our situation, but rather we were totally dependent upon God to deal with our sin (Ephesians 2:8-9). The rest of our lives from the point on should be marked by that same kind of total dependency upon God.

I am currently a student pastor at a local church. I have, in some form or fashion, been in student ministry for the past ten years. I can honestly say that student ministry can stretch one's faith. I can also honestly say that I have a pretty good idea of what student ministry "should" look like. I know where certain events would fall best on the calendar and what events would probably be a hit. The sad and scary part is that with the experience that God has allowed me to rack up, I can easily fall into a trap of doing ministry without depending on God. I can create messages and series for the youth service... I can set up service projects... plan retreats and camps... but the question that should be ringing through my mind constantly is "Lord, what do you want to do?"

The longer that one is in ministry, the greater the temptation can become to do ministry "the way it's always been done." When we just do the same ol' thing, we eliminate faith from the equation and set ourselves (and our people) up for a tragic conclusion...

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Hebrews 11:6 NIV

Without faith, it is impossible to please God. If we attempt ministry (the work that God wants to do through us) without exercising faith, it will not be pleasing to the Lord. When God calls us to ministry, He is calling us to something that is completely over our heads. Sure, He gifts us for the task, but the results and effects that He wants to see will come only when one steps out of the boat and allows God to do the God-sized task through us.

I would like to encourage any and all followers of Jesus (because if you're a follower/disciple of Jesus then there is a ministry He is calling you to) to make sure that the element of faith is at the forefront of what you are doing. I don't remember where I first heard this, but it was some great advice and really makes you think... if God were to completely step away from your ministry, what would change? Or to put it another way, what in your life/ministry are you attempting that if God doesn't come through in a mighty way as only He could would fail miserably?

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Classic Rock Devotion

I was driving back to the house today to enjoy some Subway lunch that I had picked up and was flipping through the radio stations when I came upon the classic rock station in town (yeah, baby).  Bon Jovi' s "You Give Love A Bad Name" was blaring from my speakers.  It has been a while since I heard that little tune.  As I listened along, my mind began to hang on the chorus of that song...

Shot through the heart and you're to blame
you give love a bad name.

It is times like this that I know that I am what the Bible calls a Christian because the Holy Spirit began speaking to me about how this chorus relates to God.  I know that Jon Bon Jovi had anything but God on his mind when he wrote/performed that song, but God was having a moment with me.

• 1 John 4:16 tells us that "God is love."


• Acts 11:26 says that the followers of Jesus were first called 'Christians' in Antioch.  This term means "little Christ" or "like Christ".

If God is love, and we are His representatives and supposed to look like Him, the question that arose in my mind is "are we giving LOVE a bad name?"  Whether we like it or not, a Christ-follower is the clearest picture of who God is on this earth at this time.  May it never be said of us that we are giving LOVE (our God) a bad name.

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Traditionalism

Naomi (my wonderful wife) and I were talking the other night about how traditionalism can kill anything that it attaches itself to.  Working in the "church world," you can see traditionalism creep in an cause all kinds of trouble.  Naomi forwarded me an article that I thought was just too good on this subject to pass up.  Check out this article from Charles Swindoll.  It is the devotion for February 5, 2009.

Click here for article.

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