I saw that!

Occasionally I receive notes from people thanking me for helping them find their way. They usually go something like this - "Your teaching has changed me. I value the example I see in you."  I am encouraged by notes like that. But honestly, those notes are also like a cup of cold water in my face. They bring a sober reminder that someone is always watching.  Can I stand that pressure? I make no secret of my desire to be an authentic disciple of Christ. I’ll never pretend perfection. There are moments when my sinful nature rises up in all its ugliness. Thank God for His faithfulness! I am able to stand only when I realize that it is not me, but Christ IN ME, that makes the difference.

Disciple, have you gone public with your faith? We must, but when we do, we must know that others will be watching.   Jesus said our influence in the world is like the quiet life locked in a seed. "What is God's kingdom like? What story can I use to explain it? It is like what happens when a mustard seed is planted in the ground. It is the smallest seed in all the world. But once it is planted, it grows larger than any garden plant. It even puts out branches that are big enough for birds to nest in its shade." (Mark 4:30-32, CEV) 

God’s Spirit works in us with life like a growing seed!  Jesus spoke of a tiny seed that grew into a huge plant; quietly, persistently, over time, drawing energy from sources outside of itself.  Are you drawing on the power of the Spirit, growing in Christ and His character, so that there will be fruit and shade offered to others through you?  We have a tremendous privilege, disciples:  we are called and equipped to be world-changers!   We fulfill this high calling in quietly influential ways; loving someone, praying with and for someone, being a person of integrity consistently.... and so much more.   What a calling.

Are you fearful of declaring, “Jesus is Lord” because you worry about falling down? 

Here is a great passage, one of my favorites from Paul. He writes of his assurance and he reminds us that it is not all up to us. Jesus is working through with the Holy Spirit.  Be encouraged to say, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”   "But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ's triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?" (2 Corinthians 2:14-16, NLT)  

Who is up to the job? Here is a word from the Word that gives the answer!  "We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life." (2 Corinthians 3:4-6, NLT)

____________

Change my heart, O God.Make it ever true.Change my heart, O God.May I be like You.

 You are the Potter, I am the clay,Mold me and make me,This is what I pray. 

• Copied

 CoffeeBreak will be back next Monday. 
Taking a break to renew and refresh. Thanks for your prayers.

Let it SHINE!

A beautiful young woman in the prime of her life was murdered by a predator, her death brutal and ugly. To that horrible man, she was not a person, she was a ‘thing’ to be used and discarded in the most evil sense! The words of a young man on social media tore at me as he referred to women in language far too raw to repeat here. He did not see people, he saw objects. The news reported more bombings and attacks with dry statistics that objectified the actions obscuring the fact that people died, horribly.  And, I found myself in a moment of anger, thinking of another with less than blessed thoughts. In the moment, I forgot that he was a person to be loved.  

Oh the darkness that sin brings which hides the image of the Creator. Genesis tells the story of the jealous rage of Cain who killed his brother, Abel. And, so it has been since the dawn of human history and will be until the Kingdom of God is fully revealed. Fighting, killing, warfare, making people in objects; it’s what humans do and the demons dance! Christian we cannot shrug it off, excuse it away, or accept these things as ‘just the way the world is right now.’   We must be changed by our God into people that love, in the most profound way, and work to change the world by restoring what evil stole- value to each and every person. Jesus said “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." (Matthew 5:14-15, NIV)

Light always dispels darkness! The oppressive gloom of a large room can be broken by the flicker of a candle. The fear that comes with the blackness of midnight gives way when the switch is thrown and light shows the way ahead. Are you, Christian, a light in this world? Are you committed to living the truth, bringing people together, resisting the prejudice and hatred that diminish the value of people God loves? We are people of the Light, filled with Light, and that Light spills from us. Ours is a high calling with powerful results. The light of just one can change the direction of an entire family, the tone of a whole workplace, the atmosphere in a school classroom.  Remember a humble little woman who served the dying in the streets of Calcutta? Mother Theresa started with a few people doing work in a place where her efforts were like a raindrop in the ocean. But, her witness shed light and her influence spread across the globe. 

Be a light. Will all admire you? (good place for a knowing chuckle) Of course not. Darkness hates light. Jesus said, “Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure.” (John 3:20, Message)  Admired or reviled, His call remains - "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." (Ephesians 5:8-11, NIV)

Here is the word from the Word. Claim the promise and go let the light shine. 
"The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, 
which shines ever brighter until the full light of day. 
But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. 
They have no idea what they are stumbling over." (Proverbs 4:18-19, NLT)

______________

This little light of mine 
I'm gonna let it shineThis little light of mine 
I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine 
I'm gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

Hide it under a bushel, no
I'm gonna let it shine
Hide it under a bushel, no
I'm gonna let it shine
Hide it under a bushel, no
I'm gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

Public domain