Devotional Song: Go to this link … Please go to this video link to hear Chris Rice singing his classic song Go Light Your World, … reminding us that God desires that we go, carrying our candle, which is our Sprit-imparted gifts, to shine our light into this darkened world.
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11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ….
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Highlight Passage [Context] – NKJV: Ephesians 4: 11-16 [NKJV] Go to this link …
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Reference Passage #1: Romans 12: 1-8 [NKJV] … GO TO THIS LINK …
Reference Passage #2: 1st Corinthians, Chapter 12 [NKJV] … GO TO THIS LINK …
Reference Passage #3: Matthew 5: 14-16 [NKJV] …
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. … “
My Journal for Today: Today in meditating on the Our Daily Bread devotional entry from RBC Ministries, the question or challenge it posed to its readers was obvious. The devotional took me to the Pauline passages in Ephesians 4 and Romans 12 and 1st Corinthians 12 which give us insight as Christians into the reality of our Spirit-given giftedness. Then God’s Spirit, as I dwelt on these passages raised in my consciousness the words of Jesus from Matthew 5: 14-16 as He preached on that mountainside in what we call His “Sermon on the Mount,” where He challenged those of us who believe that He is the Messiah to go out into this dark world and shine our light for all to see the Glory of God in what we say and do.
Yes, fellow Christian reading here, when we were born-again as Christians, God’s Spirit was sealed into our hearts (i.e., our character), imparting special gifting for us to use in surrender to the Spirit for the Body of Christ (i.e., His church) to shine God’s light into the world. That’s what’s represented by the photo imaged which I’m using today to illustrate my journal entry. Our gifts when used in the unity of the Church becomes the flame of God’s candlelight shining in our darken – and every darkening – world.
So, the challenge question becomes, are we using the gift or gifts which God has given us to go out and shine His light for all to see our Father’s glory? I’ll leave that one for you to wrestle with today; but I pray that God is using my gifts of teaching and exhortation even right here in this blog to shine His light in at least this little portion of the world.
My Prayer for Today … Lord, I pray that you use what You’ve given me to instruct and encourage others … for Your glory!! … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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