LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE

People celebrate all kinds of accomplishments - some truly worthy, some extremely crazy and bizarre, and some quite mundane indeed. Consequently there is no end to the array of celebrities, many of which one will be hard pressed to identify any worthy basis for.

What should people celebrate about you? What is the true worth of your life? The true worth of one's life cannot be estimated by the extent of the wealth amassed. Having the wherewithal is important - “money answers all things” (Eccl.10:19b), but not an end in itself. Its importance must be defined strictly as a means to an end; a lesson which the man in Luke 12:20-21 failed to learn when he chose to build larger storage for his wealth, rather than be rich toward God.

Jesus identified true life’s worth and that which is worthy of celebrating when He said:
"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)

Your true worth is in manifestation when you let your light shine through your good works in such a way that people are compelled to “glorify your Father”. Our light shines when we get on board with God’s agenda, dream the dreams that God has for this world, and become co-workers with Him in touching lives. That is a massive challenge - the challenge to live a worthwhile life!

The love of Christ in our hearts ought to constrain us and compel us to let our light shine. That’s the main thing!

The life to be celebrated is captured in the words of George H. Morrison who wrote in one of his devotionals: “All life is service. We must serve to live”. If you are not serving, you are dying. The good that we do with this life which God has been gracious to bless us with is the main thing. So then, we must learn to serve, for to serve is to live; or as the Apostle Paul put it, “To live is Christ...”!

Let God celebrate you! Let your light keep on shining! And don’t become tired of doing good! This appears to be the thought behind a prose that was inscribed on the wall of Mother Theresa’s room at her Home for Children in Calcutta, which reads:

People are often unreasonable, irrational and self-centred. Forgive anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

Light has come but some people will chose darkness. Be a blessing and let your light shine anyway!

IT IS WRITTEN...

"And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." (Luke 4:3-4)

Not once, not twice, but three times the devil made a deceptive proposition to our Lord Jesus, and on each occasion the Lord countered with a disarming answer that was prefaced with the words “it is written...” Not being ignorant of the devices and the wiles of the devil, the Lord unhinged his evil strategy with “it is written”! Satan is a liar, a thief and a murderer who has had a long practice in deceiving and destroying lives: your natural wisdom and intelligence is no match. But God has given you a spiritual weapon: His Word! And in accepting the finality of the written Word of God and living in that reality, you set yourself up for a victorious Christian life.

Jesus lived his natural life on earth totally focused on that which is written of Him in the law and prophets (Luke 24:44). He overcame adversities and contradictions, confronted His detractors and doubters, and disarmed the devil by insisting & standing firm on that which is written. Let us do likewise and insist on that which is written. Let us do likewise and stand on that which is written to disarm today's secular gods! It is not so much that we have to say the words "it is written", as knowing that the written Word of God is both our spiritual food and sword. The Word of God is the source of nourishment for your spirit and your secret weapon against the enemy of your soul and against all his strategies, deceptions and tricks. Don’t ignore it!

Let the Word dwell in you richly. Do not let the devil run your life or define your identity neither let people’s opinion and estimation of you determine who you are or should be. God has uniquely and wonderfully made you; He has given you an identity and an inheritance in Christ Jesus. The word that God has spoken concerning you, and “written” in the Holy Scripture is settled in heaven forever. No devil and no man can add to it or take away from it.
Not only do you have a revelation of God's plans and promises for your life through the Word, but by it you also learn about your enemy, his agenda and wicked plans, and about the world you live in. And guess what? It is written “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). The Word of God is true and final, and nothing can change it. Live in the reality of the Word! Don’t be ashamed to be who God says you are (Romans 1:16). Don’t let anyone make you feel ashamed of your life in Christ: it is an overcoming life, a victorious life.

Our Lord Jesus successfully used the written Word to triumph over the devil. The Lord simply stayed within the confines of the word of God and never gave up this high ground through compromise! He said, “Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God” (Hebrews 10:7).

The written word of God is our only source of knowledge of the will of God and this knowledge is empowering. Christianity without revelation knowledge is a very dangerous proposition and has been responsible for much unhappiness and defeat among believers (See Eph 1:16-23). Let the Word be a present reality to you, equipping you to boldly and successfully handle life’s issues. The next time you come up against situations and circumstances that challenge you and seek to put you under pressure don't fret; be still and remind yourself again: it is written...!

Rejoice Child of God, your victory story is “written” and sure. The inability of the gates of hell to prevail over you is written! That “No weapon formed against you shall prosper” is also written! Speak to your situation from the standpoint of your union with Christ and declare: “It is written...!” Use the written Word. It is a spiritual weapon of offence; it is the perfect law of liberty and it is a more sure word of prophecy!

Gracious Father, I thank You for the victory You always give through our Lord Jesus Christ. May your Holy Spirit fill me with the light of Your Word and help me to walk in its fullness daily. Amen!

HOLD ON!

Grace and peace to you by Christ Jesus our Lord!

September, the ninth month of the calendar year, is a month of great spiritual significance. It marks the start of the third and final period of the year and signals a shift in focus from beginning and intermediate periods to ending period.

In this period more than others we are preoccupied with questions about of how the year is progressing with regards to whether we are on track to attaining our expectations and goals. With the shrinking time available to the end of the year an inevitably increasing sense of urgency ensues in our hearts, we can sometimes easily succumb to panic and make costly mistakes which then throws us further off course or we may simply resign helplessly to doing nothing and murmur about how time flies. However, neither panic nor doing nothing is God’s design for the time.

God who we serve and whose we are is a God of time and purpose. I would like to encourage your heart and indeed challenge you with two words the Lord inspired in my heart as I waited on Him concerning this month. It is simply this: “Hold On”! Hold on to God trusting Him, hold on to that which you believed from the beginning concerning 2009, hold on to hope which is the anchor for you life.

I believe that God is releasing a special anointing upon His people at this “time” to see us through this third period of 2009, a year that has so far proven to be the most testing year most of us have ever known. It is a finishing anointing, a consolidating anointing to finish what you started and achieve your goals for this year. "Hold On: you will yet see the goodness of Jehovah"!

Believe God to walk in this fresh anointing that enables you to go the rest of the year with a sound mind, a renewed strength and determination, and precise steps that are ordered by God unto fulfilling purpose.

Let me commend to you a beautifully inspiring passage of scripture in Psalm 27 which says, “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living”(NIV).

It is my heartfelt and fervent pray that the LORD will teach you His ways and guide your every step this month. May your faith, the key that unlocks the grace of God, be strengthened to obtain every grace and wisdom you need in this third and final period of 2009, so that you are able to get to where you desire to be in every area of your life by the end of the year.

“Hold On”, the Lord will reward your confidence richly!

TAKE THE LIMITS OFF

"...they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy Oneof Israel" (Psalm 78:41).

God can do anything! He is powerful and His Word will never fail to produce result, yet He will never impose on you. He has given you a free will to choose (Deut 30:19): either to keep Him in mind and permit Him to be involved in your life or to turn away from His plan and purpose and so limit Him.

Sadly, when we limit God we also limit ourselves. Without Him we can never attain our full potential. You may achieve some success but never make the difference you are capable of when you permit God to "work in you both to will and do His good pleasure" (Phil 2:13).

God created you in His own image and He says: "without me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). To the person who believes this, He says: "nothing shall be impossible". Daniel made this connection when he spoke of those "who know their God": they will “be strong and do exploits" (Dan 11:32). And, declaring "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me", Paul reminds us how significant it is that we sustain this powerful relationship in Christ in which God is free both to work in us, for us and through us.

As you make your way through life there will be times of trials (Psa 77:7-12) or even prosperity (Hos 13:6) when you are tempted through fear or pride to ignore God and limit Him in your life. The challenge for you today is to constantly think right and speak right about God, so that by His unlimited grace you will always be the best you can be no matter what..!

Take the limits off!