Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Today we’ll focus on being shining lights for God.

In today’s scripture, Matthew 5:16 (ERV),
Jesus said…
In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.

And Romans 13:11‭-‬14 (NLT) exhorts…
This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.

Consider…
Lights need power to shine. Jesus knew that, which is why right before His accession He told His disciples…
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” – Acts 1:8 NLT

Three things stand out in Jesus’ promise…

• You will receive power. That means we must have open hearts and willing spirit’s.
• When the Holy Spirit comes upon you. Which could be interpreted as when the Holy Spirit takes control of your life.
• You will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere.

The Holy Spirit connected Jesus’ last statement to what He also told His disciples in John 15:26‭-‬27 (ERV)…
“I will send you the Helper from the Father. The Helper is the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father. When he comes, he will tell about me. And you will tell people about me too, because you have been with me from the beginning.

Once again notice God’s order of things, the Holy Spirit tells us, then we tell others.

For example Apostle Paul explained his empowerment this way…
You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. – 2 Corinthians 4:5‭-‬7 NLT

Now that we have properly emphasized the need to wait on the Holy Spirit’s empowerment to be directional lights for Jesus, let’s pivot to today’s scriptures that implore us to shine.

The first scripture explains shining for God is simply living in a way that glorifies Him in front of others. Said another way, when others see the things you do, they should see Christ’s light shining through you. That means our lives must be transparent, which requires us to be transformed in order for them to see the Spirit of God living in us. Practically speaking, that looks like Romans 8:9 (NLT), which says…
But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)

The Holy Spirit is emphasizing we shine for God, when others see that He’s in charge of our lives. 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

Today’s second scripture emphasizes the urgency of our shining brightly for God. Paul said…

• You know how late it is
• Time is running out
• Wake up!
• Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

All of these statements put Ephesians 5:15‭-‬17 (ERV)
on replay in my ear…
So be very careful how you live. Live wisely, not like fools. I mean that you should use every opportunity you have for doing good, because these are evil times. So don’t be foolish with your lives, but learn what the Lord wants you to do.

The Holy Spirit is emphasizing that tomorrow is not promised, we must live each day as if it will be our last. (James 4:14)

In light of that truth, the Lord sent me to His exhortation in 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NLT)…
So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

This transitions us nicely to the latter half of our second scripture given to us today. God is saying, since we know that our move out date from these old decaying bodies, to the new imperishable one He’s prepared for us, is near, we ought to urgently…

• Remove our dark deeds like dirty clothes
• Put on the shining armor of right living.
• Live decent lives for all to see
• Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy.
• Clothe ourselves with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Notice all of these actions are things we must do.

The Holy Spirit is emphasizing that He will help us, but we must do our part and let Him. It’s like a lifeguard trying to save a drowning victim, their instructions are to relax and trust. That’s what the Holy Spirit is saying to us who are drowning in sin, relax and trust Me. Galatians 5:16 (NLT) explains it this way…
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.

God is saying you can only shine for me by relaxing and letting My Spirit shine in and through you.

The Holy Spirit just flashed the message, that when we relax and trust Him, we’ll stop struggling to do right, and truly allow Jesus to make us right. (Galatians 2:16)

Lastly, the Lord gave me a final reminder…
So I am not the one living now—it is Christ living in me. I still live in my body, but I live by faith in the Son of God. He is the one who loved me and gave himself to save me. – Galatians 2:20 ERV

We are God’s shining lights, when His Light lives in us. (John 8:12)

The Holy Spirit says, “if Christ lives in you, shine accordingly.” 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

God also emphasized, “you can’t wallow in sin and shine brightly for Him.”

Today’s Song…
Hold Up The Light

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)