Tag Archives: be the light

March 17, 2023 · 5:30 AM

People Of Light

In the beginning, the first thing God spoke into existence was light. All life and growth are dependent on light. It’s no wonder that John compared Jesus to light and said that His light was the life of men. Jesus didn’t wait very long into His ministry before He called us to be light. Not only are we to dispel the darkness wherever we go, we are to bring life and growth. Don’t hide your light. There are too many people who need you to shine it into their lives. Be a person of light!

Here are some Bible verses on being people of light.

1. The light of the righteous [within him—grows brighter and] rejoices, But the lamp of the wicked [is a temporary light and] goes out.


‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭13‬:‭9‬ ‭AMP‬‬

2. For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!


‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

3. “Believe in the light, then, while you have it, so that you will be the people of the light.” After Jesus said this, he went off and hid himself from them.


‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭36‬ ‭GNT‬‬

4. For you are all sons of light and sons of day. We do not belong to the night nor to darkness. So then let us not sleep [in spiritual indifference] as the rest [of the world does], but let us keep wide awake [alert and cautious] and let us be sober [self-controlled, calm, and wise].


‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭AMP‬‬

5. So don’t hide your light! Let it shine brightly before others, so that your commendable works will shine as light upon them, and then they will give their praise to your Father in heaven.


‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Thanks to Chris Moore for making this photo available on unsplash

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December 9, 2022 · 5:40 AM

Using Your Light

In the beginning, things were dark and the world was without form. Then God said, “Let there be light!” He created the light to dispel the darkness and to bring life. He still uses it for those purposes. When Jesus came, He carried that light with Him. He then said that you and I were the light and we were to let it shine. God gave us His light to dispel darkness in this fallen world. We’re to bring light and life wherever we go. Many times God takes us through some of the darkest times so that our light can shine even brighter. Don’t hide your light. This world needs that light as much as it did in the beginning. Use your light to give life to someone today.

Here are some Bible verses on using your light.

1. Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12 ESV

2. For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of Light [live as those who are native-born to the Light].

Ephesians 5:8 AMP

3. The righteous are like a light shining brightly; the wicked are like a lamp flickering out.

Proverbs 13:9 GNT

4. The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand.

Psalms 119:130 NLT

5. So don’t hide your light! Let it shine brightly before others, so that your commendable works will shine as light upon them, and then they will give their praise to your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:16 TPT

Photo by Isaac Davis on Unsplash

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August 4, 2022 · 5:30 AM

Giving Off Light

Our cell phones are becoming like Swiss Army knives. You can talk, text, search for answers, use as your Bible, play music, take pictures and record videos. They do all of that, yet one of the things I’m most thankful for is that someone figured out that you can turn the camera’s flash into a flashlight. I’m getting to the age where I have to use my phone’s flashlight to read the menu in a nice restaurant or walk through a dimly lit place. I never thought I would use the flashlight as much as I do, but having a readily accessible light whenever I need it comes in quite handy. There’s more times than I can count that I’ve needed it’s light to help me see a message or to help me get where I’m going.

I don’t know if Jesus would have used a cell phone as His example if He were to give the Sermon on the Mount today, but it’s possible. As He stood on a hill beside the Sea of Galilee teaching the people, I’m sure He looked out across it and saw little towns on the sides of the other hills as He said, “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house” (Matthew 5:14-15 NLT). Are you and I lighting the way for others to find God? Do our lives give enough light for them to see His message written on our hearts?

When Jesus gave this sermon, the lights in these cities He was pointing at came from lamps that held oil. I was given one on my last trip to Israel. I came home, put oil in it and lit the wick. They give off decent light, but I’ve found that you have to keep filling it with oil if you want it to keep working. You and I can’t be the light He’s called us to be unless we are continually refilling our lives with the oil of His presence and His Word. The power of the light doesn’t come from the clay lamp, but the oil. In the same way, our flesh is simply the holder of the oil, but we must be on fire for Him and continually do the things that puts oil in our lamps. There is a world full of people stumbling around in the darkness who are depending on you and me to be the light God has called us to be. Make sure you’re living for Him in the open where all can see.

Photo by Gadiel Lazcano on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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November 11, 2019 · 5:59 AM

Giving Off Light

Our cell phones are becoming like Swiss Army knives. You can talk, text, search for answers, use as your Bible, play music, take pictures and record videos. They do all of that, yet one of the things I’m most thankful for is that someone figured out that you can turn the camera’s flash into a flashlight. I’m getting to the age where I have to use my phone’s flashlight to read the menu in a nice restaurant or walk through a dimly lit place. I never thought I would use the flashlight as much as I do, but having a readily accessible light whenever I need it comes in quite handy. There’s more times than I can count that I’ve needed it’s light to help me see a message or to help me get where I’m going.

I don’t know if Jesus would have used a cell phone as His example if He were to give the Sermon on the Mount today, but it’s possible. As He stood on a hill beside the Sea of Galilee teaching the people, I’m sure He looked out across it and saw little towns on the sides of the other hills as He said, “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house” (Matthew 5:14-15 NLT). Are you and I lighting the way for others to find God? Do our lives give enough light for them to see His message written on our hearts?

When Jesus gave this sermon, the lights in these cities He was pointing at came from lamps that held oil. I was given one on my last trip to Israel. I came home, put oil in it and lit the wick. They give off decent light, but I’ve found that you have to keep filling it with oil if you want it to keep working. You and i can’t be the light He’s called us to be unless we are continually refilling our lives with the oil of His presence and His Word. The power of the light doesn’t come from the clay lamp, but the oil. In the same way, our flesh is simply the holder of the oil, but we must be on fire for Him and continually do the things that puts oil in our lamps. There is a world full of people stumbling around in the darkness who are depending on you and me to be the light God has called us to be. Make sure you’re living for Him in the open where all can see.

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June 25, 2019 · 6:01 AM

Light Seeds

In the beginning, after God created the heavens and the earth, the first thing He spoke into existence was light. That light pierced the darkness of the void that was there. It was the first thing because light is necessary for us to see and for life to begin. In fact, the light that is visible to our eyes is only a fraction of the light spectrum. It’s incredible to think that only a portion of what God spoke that day is visible to us. It’s even more incredible that those words are still creating light as the universe expands. When God speaks something into existence, it’s not just temporary and we can’t see the whole thing.

I love how John 1 starts out. “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God” (NLT). We know from reading more that the Word was Jesus. But if we keep going, He was more than the Word. Verses 4-5 say, “The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” As physical light gives light and pierced the darkness, Jesus does the same thing. He was sent here to give us that light and to make us the light of the world.

Psalm 97:11 says, “Light-seeds are planted in the souls of God’s people” (MSG). He has spoken light into your life and planted it deep within you. It’s up to you to cultivate those seeds of light and grow them so that your light is visible to others. It’s our responsibility to use that light to give life wherever we go and to pierce the darkness around us. The first thing that God spoke into existence has been planted in you through Jesus. It’s a great responsibility to have as well. What are you doing with those seeds? Are they laying dormant in you? Have they sprung up to illuminate your life and those around you? Are they reproducing? Are they increasing in their brightness? Let’s not waste the light seeds we’ve been given.

Photo by Rhett Wesley on Unsplash

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May 5, 2017 · 5:46 AM

Be The Light

When we go camping, I love to go to remote places where there’s little to no light pollution. After the sun sets, it gets so dark that you can see more stars than you dreamed of. It’s amazing to be out there unless you’ve forgotten your flashlight. It’s happened before. Walking around at night with no light is very difficult. It’s easy to step into a hole or trip. The other issue is that when there isn’t any light, you’re susceptible to animal attacks. Without light, the tone of the camping trip changes. 

Over and over in the Bible, it uses light as an example of who we are, who Jesus was and what God’s Word is. This world is a dark place, and without the light we bring to it, people stumble and are open to attacks. You and I have no light on our own. It’s important to have Jesus, the true light, living in us and to put God’s Word in our hearts. That way our lives are full of light and we can show the way to God to others.

Here are several verses in the Bible on living in and being light. 

1. For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light!
Ephesians 5:8 NLT

2. “While you have the Light, believe and trust in the Light [have faith in it, hold on to it, rely on it], so that you may become sons of Light [being filled with Light as followers of God].” Jesus said these things, and then He left and hid Himself from them.
JOHN 12:36 AMP

3. In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16 GNT

4. But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.
1 Thessalonians 5:8 NLT

5. But you are the chosen race, the King’s priests, the holy nation, God’s own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his own marvelous light.
1 Peter 2:9 GNT

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September 22, 2016 · 5:00 AM

This Little Light Of Mine


© International Space Station / Facebook

When you were little, I bet you sang this, “This little light of mine. I’m going to let it shine. This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Don’t let Satan blow it out. I’m going to let it shine. Don’t let Satan blow it out. Im going to let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let us shine.” Good times right? I hope this song gets stuck in your head today because it carries a simple, but powerful truth: You have God’s light in you! Think about that. In the midst of any dark situation, you are filled with God’s light. Don’t hide it under a bushel.

Speaking of the light God placed in us, John 1:5 says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it” (NLT). As a kid, I was worried that Satan could blow it out, but now I know that darkness can’t extinguish it. That means that there’s nothing the enemy can bring against you that will put out the light God put in you. You can walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and not gave your light put out. You can be in a hole that either you dug or that life has thrown you in, and your light will still shine.

Today, I was looking at some pictures from the International Space Station (shown above). It had pictures of Italy, Spain, and several other countries at night. All throughout those photos, there were spots of light. It’s a great visual example of what God is doing. He knows that where there is light, darkness has to flee. Darkness is simply the absence of light. It can’t put out light. It can only exist where there is no light. Just like those photos showed lit up areas in the middle of the night, so should our lives light up the darkness around us.

When we accept Christ, we have the true light living in us. Therefore, wherever we go, darkness has to flee. Whether your light is small and dim or big and bright, it chases darkness away. I know there are days when my light doesn’t feel very powerful, but even on my weakest days, the light in me is stronger than any darkness. In Matthew 5, Jesus said we are like a city set on a hill that can’t be hidden. If you’ve ever seen a city on a hill at night, you know what He’s talking about. Go be that light to someone today – God knows someone needs your light in their life.

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July 14, 2015 · 7:02 AM

You Are The Light

My son has recently started saying he is afraid of the dark. As an adult, I try to explain to him that there is no need to be afraid of it, but I get no where with him. To help him out, we installed a night light and a lamp with a timer on it. Some nights he wants the bathroom lights on too. Having more light makes him feel more secure and allows him to rest. Later, when he matures, he will see there’s no reason to be afraid of the dark. It reminds me of the darkness that this world has and the light that you and I are called to be.

This world has been a dark place for a very long time. In fact, John wrote about it in the first chapter of his Gospel. He wrote, “The Word (Jesus) gave life to everything that was created, and His life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it.” The darkness of this world cannot extinguish the light of Jesus. It has tried for two thousand years to put it out, but it can’t because Jesus didn’t take the light with Him to Heaven. Instead, He gave it to us.

In Matthew 5:14, Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.” He put His light in us so that we could spread light everywhere we go. Why then would we be afraid of the darkness of this world? Why wouldn’t we go to those who are in darkness and bring light into their world? Jesus said in the next verse, “No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket.” It wouldn’t make sense for me to put a cover on the night light in my son’s room and it doesn’t make sense for us to hide our light.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, “Let your good deeds shine for all to see, so that everyone will praise your Heavenly Father.” Just as He came into the world and brought the light of Heaven down, so He is asking us to share our light with others. He wants us to do good to those we meet. You don’t know what darkness they’re living in. It doesn’t matter really because the light you have inside can chase it away and ignite the light in them. You just have to decide if you are going to hide your light under a basket or to allow God to place you on a lamp stand for all to see.

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