Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube of images and lyrics from Joy Williams singing her song … Do They See Jesus In Me … poignantly singing of the hope that others see Christlikeness in us, twinkling like the stars in the heavens to draw others to Jesus in this dark world.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Philippians 2:15-16 [NLT] … 15 … that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, <among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain
… Paul exhorts fellow Christians to be a source of Christlike light in the midst of the darkness in this world.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Philippians 2:14-16 [NLT]… USE THIS LINK …
… God, thru Paul, exhorts us, as disciples of King Jesus, to shine His light into this dark world.
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Reference Passage : … Genesis 1:3 [NLT] … 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
… God created light as His first creation to be separate from the darkness; and He created mankind to be HIs light in this darkened world.
Reference Passage : … John 1:1-4 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… God came into the world in His living word and light, … Jesus … to shine His light thru the light of mankind.
Reference Passage : … 1st Corinthians 15:58 [NLT] … 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
… Nothing we do to shine Jesus’ light is very in vain. The question is … DO WE?
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Elisa Morgan, used a reference to an old, familiar poem, to illustrate how we, as Christians should be shining Christ’s light into this ever darkening world. The ODB author writes … “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” is an English lullaby. Its lyrics, originally a poem by Jane Taylor, capture the wonder of God’s universe where stars hang “up above the world so high.” In the rarely published later stanzas, the star acts as a guide: “As your bright and tiny spark lights the traveler in the dark.”
The scriptures provided by the ODB entry for today are convicting to me, which bring forth God’s desire, thru His word, to be - or become - lights of Christlikeness, shining bright enough to reflect God’s living light source, Christ, the King, into an ever darkening world.
And the song by Joy Williams, linked above, I often use to remind me (and exhort other fellow Christians) to see if I am (or we are) reflecting Christ’s light into the world, by the way we live, so that others see Him rather than seeing the darkness which lurks in our sin nature.
And we are reminded by Paul in the highlight passage (and in 1Cor. 15:58) that anything we do to be - or become - like Christ will never be in vain; … but will shine His light to dispel the darkness in this world as do the stars in the heavens (see photo).
So, how can we live, or act, today to reflect the light of Christ for others to see His light?
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for sending us the ultimate light source in Your Son to give us Your light to shine into this dark world.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that any of us here will consciously go forth to shine Your light, thru the way we live, for others to find their way out of the darkness, being drawn to Your light. … 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,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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