Good morning! Today is Sunday and I am so excited to gather with my church family this morning! There is something special when different people come together with one purpose! Whatever you are doing this morning, I encourage you to get to church!
I have recently been taking time each day to consider all the works of God. As I look back through my life, God has been reminding me of so many things throughout the years that have made an imprint in my life. The way He has taken ordinary things that have happened and used them to remind me of the deeper meanings of His Word.
This morning I am reminded of a time when I was a Youth Leader in New Jersey. Back in the day, we “loved” to do lock-ins or all-nighters. We would meet around 7pm at night and lock ourselves into the church where we would spend the next 12 to 16 hours driving each other crazy! LOL! We would do many things throughout the course of the night – worship, Bible study, prayer, devotionals – but most of the night was dedicated to playing games and trying to keep the kids awake!
Our favorite game to play was called, “Shark in the Dark” – basically Hide and Seek in a pitch black room. We would turn out the lights only to find that we could still see people in the room. There were little openings in the curtains allowing in moon light, there was an exit sign lit up for emergencies, and standby power lights on some of the electronics in the room. We probably spent more time trying to cover up the light in the room than we did actually playing the game. In this moment, I was reminded about the huge opportunity we have to be an impact on the people around us!
It didn’t take much light at all to disrupt the darkness in the room and the same is true for our lives! The light that we shine for Jesus by living for Him, has the opportunity to make a BIG difference. I know what some of you are thinking.
I don’t know how to share my faith /// I have nothing to offer other people /// I don’t know how to answer the questions they might ask /// I’m afraid of what people might think…
And the list could go on and on! But one thing I see in that list of concerns is, “I.” Be encouraged, it is not about you but all about Jesus! All you have to do is share what He has done in your life and let Him do the rest! We never know what someone else needs to see or hear to be drawn to Jesus, but as long as we are living obedient to His Word, people will notice.
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible – and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.
Ephesians 5:8-13
Think about that this morning – everything that is illuminated becomes a light. Any place where light shines, darkness is dispelled and becomes light. When the Good News of the gospel is revealed to the people around us by the things we do and say, it has the power to TRANSFORM their lives – replacing the darkness (sin, shame, guilt, perversion, selfishness) with the light (love, joy, peace, purity, selflessness).
Take a moment today to think about who you once were and the transformation that has taken place because you accepted the Good News about Jesus! Give Him all the glory!
If you have yet to experience this transformative power, it’s not too late! Say yes to Jesus! Accept the fact that we are sinners that have been given the gift of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus! Read His Word and allow it to TRANSFORM your life!
Heavenly Father, thank You for how You use ordinary things everyday to remind us about the truths in Your Word. Holy Spirit, continue to speak to us and help us to use every opportunity to be a lighthouse for the people around us – pointing them to Jesus! Thank You for the transformative power of the gospel and help us to share our testimony to encourage others to surrender their hearts to You!
Be Transformed 