Tag Archives: light of the world

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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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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January 28, 2022 · 5:48 AM

Let Your Light Shine

The Bible starts off with the story of creation. It describes that the earth was full of darkness. Then God said, “Let there be light.” All throughout the Bible God is associated with light. In John 1, Jesus is described as the Light of men. Then it says that His light shines in the darkness of this world, alluding to the darkness of sin. On the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5, Jesus tell us that we are now the light of the world. We are still surrounded by darkness and our light is just as necessary as it was in the beginning. Wherever you go today, let your light shine bright so that others can find hope and salvation.

Here are some Bible verses on being the light.

1. The people who live in darkness will see a great light. On those who live in the dark land of death the light will shine.

Matthew 4:16 GNT

2. Jesus once again addressed them: “I am the world’s Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in.”

John 8:12 MSG

3. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.

Ephesians 5:8 NIV

4. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

1 Peter 2:9 NLT

5. You are the light of [Christ to] the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

Matthew 5:14 AMP

Photo by Martin Sattler on Unsplash

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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 18, 2019 · 5:00 AM

Being Visible

One of the consistent things I’ve heard in recent years is how many Muslims are having dreams of Jesus. An Arab pastor in Israel was telling us that he went to a conference in the Middle East and people were given the opportunity to share their testimony. One after one stood up and shared the same thing. They were each visited in a dream by Jesus and gave their heart to Him. He said after several of the same testimonies, he prayed and said, “Why are you visiting them in their dreams?” He heard God say, “Because the Church has disappeared.” He knew then that he needed to do something to be visible in the Middle East.

One of the things I talk to leaders about is the importance of visibility. When leaders are not visible, people don’t know who to follow or start following someone who is. When the Church quits being visible in the market place, in the arts, in public, in communities or wherever, people lose the ability to follow Christ. The Early Church was great at being visible, and they knew the price of that visibility. It’s time now more than ever for us to be visible once again. Without our light, it’s the blind leading the blind. We are to be the light of the world so that the invisible God will be made visible for people to come to.

Colossians 1:15 says, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God” (NLT). You and I bear His image and are even named for having that image as Christians. When we hide our relationship with Him from others or pull out of the market place, we hide Christ, the visible image of God, from them. It’s time for us to let our light shine so bright that others may see the visible image of Christ in us. We can no longer afford to be invisible in the world. We know the Way, it’s time for us to show the Way. Seek God today and ask Him to show you where and to whom you need to be more visible to. You may be the only Jesus someone sees. Make sure He’s visible in your life, in your actions and your words.

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December 8, 2017 · 5:00 AM

The Light Of Life

John 1 starts out by saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (KJV). It’s always been curious to me that John described Jesus as “The Word”. When you go back to the Genesis account of creation, the very first words attributed to God are, “Let there be light.” I believe John called Jesus “The Word” in this context, because Jesus is light, and the light God created that day is still shining.

After God spoke light into existence, He sent His light into our world with the birth of His Son. Jesus is not just The Word Of God, He’s the Light of the World. You and I don’t have to walk in darkness, nor is there any darkness that can overpower the light He has put inside of you. We were meant to live in the light with The Light. Chase away whatever darkness is coming against you with the name of Jesus who is The Word Of God full of light.

Here are some Bible verses about Jesus being the Light.

1. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. They lived in a land of shadows, but now light is shining on them… A child is born to us! A son is given to us! And he will be our ruler. He will be called, “Wonderful Counselor,” “Mighty God,” “Eternal Father,” “Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 9:2, 6 GNT

2. The Word was the source of life, and this life brought light to people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.

John 1:4-5 GNT

3. Arise [from spiritual depression to a new life], shine [be radiant with the glory and brilliance of the LORD ]; for your light has come, And the glory and brilliance of the LORD has risen upon you.

ISAIAH 60:1 AMP

4. Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, “ I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

JOHN 8:12 AMP

5. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband… And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light.

Revelation 21:2, 23 NLT

Photo by Kristine Weilert on Unsplash

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May 22, 2017 · 5:30 AM

Finding God


Have you ever had to find your way around in the dark? Even if you’re in a familiar place, when the electricity goes out, you still bump into things. When it’s pitch black, and you can’t see your hand in front of your face, you have to feel your way around so you don’t get hurt or break anything. I usually do the zombie walk. You know the one where your hands are out front of you. I’m hoping that I feel something familiar and can follow it to my destination. I know I’m not far away, but there are obstacles along my path.

This world is a dark place, but you and I have been called to be light like a city set on a hill that can’t be hidden. Even though this world is familiar to all of us who live on it, many are wandering around it in spiritual darkness. Some choose to stay where they are, while others are feeling their way around. It’s up to us to help them find their way to God. We are the ones who are to lead them to their destination. God is not far from any one of us.

That was Paul’s message to the Greeks. They were a people who were feeling around looking for God, but in the process created many gods. Paul saw their longing to find the one true God and spoke to them in Acts 17:27. He said, “His (God’s) purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him – though He is not far from any one of us” (NLT). Man has always had a need to look beyond himself to find God.

Even today, according to the Washington Post, more than 8 in 10 people worldwide worship a god. That’s because God created all of us with a desire to search beyond ourselves for significance and purpose. As Christians, we’ve got to step out of our churches, our homes and places of comfort to be the light God has called us to be so we can help people who are feeling their way around find God. He is not far from any of us. We just have to be willing to be used in helping the lost find Him.

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August 27, 2013 · 8:03 AM

Heading For The Moon

20130827-080215.jpg

I went to visit my brother and his family to talk about their vacation to Cancun. One of the cool things they got to do was to watch sea turtles come to shore and lay their eggs. Not only did they get to witness that, they also got to watch baby sea turtles hatch and leave the nest. I watched a video of 140 baby turtles come out of a hole in the ground. There were so many, it looked like ants coming out of their mound. As they came out, a guardian captured them and put them in a box for release that night.

They went back down to the beach for the release of the turtles into the ocean that night. As they went to release them, a swarm of birds showed up thinking they were going to get a turtle buffet. The guardian called off the release until the next night. When they showed up the next night for the release, they asked if their son could release one. They said, “Yes, but make sure the turtle sees the moon and not the lights from the hotel. He will go toward the light and we need him to go to the right one to be safe.”

I began to think how much we are like those turtles. We need a guardian to protect us. Jesus said that the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy just like those birds. Our Heavenly Father watches over us to protect us from the things in this life that would keep us from growing up spiritually. Jesus finished that sentence by saying that He came to bring life. I’m sure those turtles got excited to hear the freedom of the ocean and may have been upset when they were put back in that box instead being released. Their guardian knew their freedom would only be temporary if he had released them that night.

I also thought of the two lights that the turtles had to choose between. The true light of the moon that would lead to life and freedom and the manufactured lights that would lead to captivity and possibly death. Im reminded that Jesus said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” Jesus is like the moon, His light is the true life that leads to our freedom. We get easily distracted by the manufactured lights of this world and want to turn to follow them.

We have to be careful what light we follow. The light this world offers is temporary and leads us away from the one who gives life. I’ve been distracted by them on my life and started heading towards them. The birds of prey were flying overhead circling me, waiting for me to get just far enough away from the Guardian of my soul. Thankfully, He saw me going the wrong way, captured me and pointed me in the right direction. I know He’s looking for you too if you’re headed to the wrong light. Let Him capture you with His love and point you in the right direction today.

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