BE IN CHRIST

Jesus Christ is light to the eye, honey to the taste, music to the ear, joy to the heart. -Spurgeon

2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

My brother-in-law and I have a funny song we sing after we get finished eating a meal. Sung to the hymn, “I hear my Saviour Calling”, we sing, “I hear my recliner calling.” It’s a joke that we have been singing for years to put a smile on one another’s face and others when they hear. You know how it is after Sunday lunch, you eat and then you want to go stretch out and take a nap. Getting in that recliner is the first step to that rest that you so eagerly desire.

            Friend, if you’re going to get any rest in this life you better be in Christ. Jesus gives light in the dark times of this life. Jesus is the one that can make the bitterness of life better. Jesus is the one that can give you a song in the midst of trouble. Jesus is the one that brings joy unspeakable and full of glory! Do you know Him as your Saviour? Are you in Christ?

A LITTLE MORE LIGHT

            Give us clear vision that we may know where to stand and what to stand for, because unless we stand for something, we shall fall for anything. --Peter Marshall

Psalm 119:105, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

            Have you ever been in your living room and lost electricity? Normally you can turn the lights out and the room is still lit up by the flashing lights form the router, TV, and the clock on the DVR. But when you lose the juice, it’s pitch-black! You can’t see anything! All you want is a little light to get you to the bedroom so you can make it under the covers!

            Hey friend, in this very dark world we live in, we need the Light of God’s Word to guide us! When we open the Word of God, we get Light. Light for Salvation, Light for where to Serve, and Light for Sanctification! Every time you open it up, you get a little more Light! Will you open it today, so that you will have a little light to make it through?

Shine On

Where one man reads the Bible, a hundred read you and me. -D.L. Moody

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:16

If we were to write a book of your life, every aspect of it, how would it read? Would it be like a horror story—every turn you make there is uncertainty and fear? Would it be like a comedy—you don’t take anything too serious, so your Christianity doesn’t get in your way of a good laugh? Would it be a love story—where you love God so much that you are willing to do whatever it takes to honor and glorify your Saviour?

Know this, someone is reading your life right now. What are they reading about the Saviour?

LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE!

The people of God ought to be the happiest people in all the wide world. People should be coming to us constantly and asking the source of our joy and delight. –Tozer

Mathew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

I was once told, “You wear your Christianity on your shoulders.” I think it was meant to be an insult but to me it was a huge compliment! Praise the Lord when someone sees Christ in me!

How bright is the light of your life? How far will it shine? Do you hide it under a bush? Do you put it on the hillside so that everyone can see it?

BE THE LIGHT!

            A Christian should be a lamp, and not a damp.  He should cheer and enlighten his brethren, and never act as a wet blanket to their zeal. -Spurgeon

For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: Ephesians 5:8

            God didn’t take us to Heaven when He saved us so we could be light in the Lord for this world! If we have sin in our life, our light will not shine bright! We will not be someone who the lost will find spiritual guidance in. We will not be the example to this lost, dying, and hurting world we need to be!

            Do you want to be a dim light or a bright shining light for you Saviour? Clean the lens of your heart by confessing sin and be the light God wants you to be!

A LITTLE LIGHT

            I believe in Christ like I believe in the sun, not just because I see it, but because by it I can see everything else. --C.S. Lewis

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Colossians 2:6-7

            Though we live in a very dark world of sin, God has given us all light in which to see Jesus. What we do with that light is up to us. Like the poorest, having the light of creation, to the preacher’s kid who has been drug to church their entire life, without repentance and saving faith in Jesus Christ we are all bound for hell.

            What light has God given you? Whatever light you have, you need to let it light up your path to faith in the only hope any of us have—Jesus Christ! A little light can take you a long way! In this case, all the way to Heaven!

NEVER TOO MUCH LIGHT

There is not darkness enough in all the world to put out the light of one little candle. –Epitaph

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Matthew 5:14

            I was watching an informational video yesterday and the lecturer was talking about things to do when you are getting ready to sell your house. He said, “There is never too much light. Light makes rooms look big and darkness makes rooms look small.” There is a lot of practical wisdom in that statement concerning the ascetics of a house ready for the sell.

            Child of God, you and I are the Light of the World and that Light is Jesus. Much more important than any house being prepared to be sold is the life needing so much Light it will convince a lost person to be saved! A lost person needs to see and hear a clear presentation of the Gospel. A lost person needs to hear without Jesus we are helplessly trapped in our sinful condition but if we repent of our sin and trust Christ as Saviour, we are redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb.

How much Light is your life reflecting today? Is there any?

LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE!

The Light of the church in this world is never out!

One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. Psalm 27:4

How do we keep the Light shining brightly, by GETTING UP, GETTING, READY, and GOING TO CHURCH this morning! Don’t put it off! Don’t make another excuse! Don’t lay in bed all day! Don’t binge on TV! Don’t go fishing, shopping, or to the park! No matter what’s due or what’s to do make it a point in going to church this morning!

YES, HELL IS REAL!

   It is shocking to reflect that a change in the weather has more effect on some men's lives than the dread alternative of heaven or hell. –Spurgeon

And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Luke 16:23

    One question that lingers in everyone’s mind is, “What’s after this life?” But those same people don’t believe it when you tell them about Heaven or Hell. They don’t believe God would send someone to a place of everlasting punishment. They don’t believe there is only One way to Heaven. Well, when the rich man lifted his eyes in Hell…he began to believe. Don’t be like the rich man—“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

DON’T FEAR! JESUS IS NEAR!

I fear God, and next to God I chiefly fear him who fears Him not. --Saadia Ben Joseph

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1

When I think of fear I think about darkness; the dark turn around a corner, the dark step of the unknown, the dark step of a dreaded trip to the doctor. But David says in Psalm 27, the LORD is his light, his salvation, his strength of his life! With the Lord David says, He fears nothing not even the dark!

Lord, help us today to view life in light of Your Word, to not fear the dark times of life, to gain strength from your Word as we walk in the darkness of this world!

THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE, I’M GONNA LET IT SHINE, LET IT SHINE, LET IT SHINE!

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it. –Wharton

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Some years ago a friend of mine started a new business, head light cleaning. He got on me about having my head light lenses cleaned worse than a hound dog on a hunt. Every time I saw him, “Jay, when you going to let me clean those lights? Jay, when you going let me hook you up?” Finally, I gave in. He did my wife’s car. I was like, WOW! What a difference! I didn’t realize how dirty those head lights had gotten over the years!

Many of us get dirty in this old world we live in. We go to work having to hear dirty jokes, foul language, and a host of other unholy comments throughout our day. After a while, we too get a coating of filth on our eyes and ears. We become calloused to the filth. Where once our light was clearly seen now it is just a flicker in a corner.

Child of God, what has dimmed the light God lit many years ago? Rekindle the Fire of your life sharing it to a lost, dying, and hurting world! Clean the mirror reflecting the Light of God. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!

ARE YOU LIVING IN THE LIGHT OF ETERNITY

He who has no vision of eternity has no hold on time. -Carlyle

            Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2

            Living in the light of eternity has the meaning of a great expectation of the imminent return of the Lord Jesus. It does not mean we sit back and do nothing. What we need to do is be patiently preparing for His return, patiently pondering His return, and patiently proclaiming His return. As we live in that light, we will see Him continuously working in the lives of the lost, hurting, and dying of this world!

Are you living in the light of eternity or are you living in your own light?

Read, Grow, Share

One taper lights a thousand, yet shines as it has shone; and the humblest light may kindle one brighter than its own.—Butterworth

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16

Let me challenge you with three basic things you will be doing if you are a Christian:

1. You will read your Bible.

            A constant reading of the Word of God will help you grow in the things of God. It will give you the Biblical foundation needed to survive in a sin stained world. It will help you discern right from wrong. And give you direction in your life. Psalm 119:105

2. You will be growing in Grace.

            Your growth will depend directly on your attendance to Sunday School and your attendance to the preaching. Forsaking these two will be a sure fired way to insure you will not produce any fruit. 1 Peter 2:2

3. You will want to share the Gospel with a lost and dying world.

            If you are saved then you will want others to know the truth as well. You will want them to know the peace that passes all understanding, the joy of having their sins washed away, and the joy of knowing hell will not be in their future but Heaven will be! 1 Peter 3:15