Is your marriage satisfying?  Talk to someone who will come alongside you.

Jesus said “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5). Jesus also said that “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).

Imagine a lamp. God is like the light bulb, the source of light, and we are like the lampshade. While it may seem strange to compare God to a light bulb, we’re told in scripture that “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). And while I admit it may be difficult to imagine yourself as a lampshade, stay with me.

“You know him [the Holy Spirit],” Jesus tells us, “for he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:17). God dwells within you. While no one who looks directly at God’s face and His absolute holiness and power could possibly survive (Exodus 33:20), His glory can manifest itself in many ways, including through His children, you and I. Therefore, as much as you are able to allow God’s light to shine through you, His glory will be revealed to the world.

This is why John the Baptist said, regarding Jesus, “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30). John recognized that for Jesus’ interests to shine, John’s own self-interest must decrease. We are like the lampshade to God’s light; the thinner the lampshade is, the more the light will shine through. So let yourself become thinner, weaker, and more transparent, so that God’s light will shine more brightly into the world, and so the world will not be able to ignore it!

The apostle Peter has some excellent practical advice on how to let God’s light shine through your life:

“Be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen” (1 Peter 4:7b -11, NLT).

Questions: What are some ways that you can allow others to see God in you? Do you have the gift of helping others? How does that play out in real life?

Are you experiencing financial concerns? We are here to listen.

Join us for our Daily Devotional Chat today in our Women’s Chatroom at 10:30 am EDT.

“I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.” (Isaiah 45:3)

Throughout this last summer a small grey squirrel relentlessly burrowed into the flowers and herbs on my small patio. With upright bushy tail and cocked head, he seemed to almost gleefully resist my shouts and hand clapping, scurrying away to the security of nearby trees, only sneaking back when he sensed I was absent.

Now that the days are growing cooler, however, this neighborhood resident isn’t visiting as often. Has he buried his findings under fallen leaves in someone else’s larger garden where he can peacefully uncover his store when the cold of winter arrives?

Squirrels and other animals know they must prepare for the harsh realities that lie ahead. They work hard to store up what they will need when they can no longer find nutrients in my small garden.

The Apostle Peter told early Christians not to be surprised when difficulties—even severe persecution—arrived in their lives. He told them to be alert and always forward looking, trusting that the one who provided their salvation would see them through the difficulties.

Like those first century Christians, we have the responsibility and privilege to prepare ourselves by always digging into the truths of the Bible, discovering the food that will sustain us not only in the present but in the wintry days of increasing darkness. Peter understood the prophet Isaiah’s words that God could be depended upon to release the treasures, the riches of God when we need them most.

Oh, that we would be as persistent in the discovery endeavor as the squirrel!

Questions: How are you preparing yourself for the winter, spiritually? How do you respond when difficulties arise? Are you prepared?

TAKE THE NEXT STEP: Persistence – finding the strength to stand

About the Author Marilyn J. Ehle

“Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything,” Peter  said. “But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” (Luke 5:4,5)

Peter was an excellent fisherman. He’d been at his profession for a very long time. After all, he made his living that way. One morning, after a long night of fishing and catching nothing, he was ready to hang up the nets and go home for a good sleep. But Jesus had other plans,  “Put out into the deep water, and let down the nets for a catch,” he told  Peter.

“Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything,” Peter  said. “But because you say so, I will let down the nets” (Luke 5:4,5).  Peter could have argued, “I’m the fisherman around here. You do the preaching and I’ll do the fishing, okay.”  But he surrendered his pride and his tiredness to Jesus.

“Because you say so, I will let down the nets,” he said. The end result? “They caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in another boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.” (Luke 5:6,7)

Sometimes what God wants us to do doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t seem to be the right timing or the right thing to do. Still, if God is speaking to us, we don’t need to understand, obedience is what counts.

One note of caution: Make sure it’s God’ voice you are hearing. How can you tell? God will never tell you something that goes contrary to His character or His word.

Dear God, I want to listen well and to obey promptly. Amen

Question: How can you tell, how can you be sure, that you are hearing God’s voice?

About this Author: Helen Grace Lescheid

Do you feel overwhelming stress, fear or anxiety? Can we pray for you?

Yes, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is God, knows our every trouble and heartache. He hears our cries in the night. He knows the anguished unuttered cry in our hearts. He knows all our doubts and fears. He knows our stumbling and bewilderment.

Jesus Cares

Oh, yes, He cares! The Apostle Peter says you should be “casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7, NKJV). Peter knew what he was talking about—for even after he had denied his Lord, Jesus still cared for him!

When Jesus walked upon the earth, He often showed His heartfelt compassion for people in many ways. “Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick” (Matthew 14:14, NKJV).

His compassion extended to individuals too: “When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said to her, ‘Don’t cry’” (Luke 7:13, NKJV). These words were spoken to the widow when He raised her only son from the dead.

Jesus Understands

How precious it is to know that we have a Saviour who became obedient to the Father and took upon Himself the likeness of sinful flesh. “We have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted  as we are yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15, NKJV).

Our high priest, Jesus Christ, understands our weaknesses; He understands our temptations; He understands our broken hearts. He partook of our humanity. He walked the path that we are walking. He is touched—yes, touched!— with the feeling of our weaknesses. He sympathizes with us in them.

Jesus Hears

Hebrews 4:16 immediately follows the verse that says Jesus is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. It says, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” These two verses are beautifully related to one another. The one verse tells us that Jesus cares; the next verse urges us to go to Him for mercy and for grace to help in time of need.

Jesus will Meet Our Needs

Hebrews 4:16 does not promise that our troubles and trials will completely disappear. A loved one may already be gone; our illness may continue on; our situation may remain the same, for a time at least. But it does promise “grace to help in time of need.” And this grace can prove to be one of the sweetest experiences we have in life. It is ours to claim!

Questions: Can you think of a person that was helped when he cried out to the Lord? Did all his troubles disappear? How did God help?

About the Author Muriel Larson

“Mommy, my shadow follows me everywhere I go!” my younger daughter exclaimed on making this amazing discovery.

“That’s because it belongs to you, and you alone,” I answered.

Have you ever thought about that?  You have a shadow that belongs exclusively to you.  When a light is shining from somewhere, your shadow falls on something–the ground, a wall, a stairway…or maybe a child.

If you stand perfectly still, your shadow does too.  If you move, the shadow moves.  If the light moves, the shadow also moves.  And if there are two lights behind you, then you have two shadows.

After the Apostle Peter healed a lame man through the power of Jesus Christ, the people in Jerusalem were greatly impressed.  The Bible says, “Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number.  As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by” (Acts 5:14-15).

Since Peter was living and witnessing in the power of the Lord, he was thought to cast a beneficial, healing shadow.  Whether this was true or not, the Bible doesn’t say.  But it certainly is true that the shadow our lives cast on others affects them.

In some cases one’s shadow might fall on someone who is trying to read, and thus keep him from seeing.  In order for him to see, that person has to move and let the light flood in.

So it may be that the shadow of a professing Christian’s life is keeping people from seeing the light concerning salvation or living for Christ.  They may be blinded to the wonderful truths of God by the dark shadow that person casts.  How important then is it that we who are parents, church leaders, and among those who teach children and young people God’s Holy Word move the “I” part of ourselves out of the way so that all those who know us or are under our influence may see the light of Jesus Christ shine in and through us and all we do and say!

When we reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to Christ, then His Spirit can fill us and His love can shine forth in various ways to others, in kindness, compassion and sensitivity.  I can remember a Sunday School teacher who made that impression on me; she was a light to me and my young life.

My mother used to say about my younger brother, “I have a little shadow; it goes everywhere with me.”  Even so, at our church and in our families and neighborhoods we have young “shadows” who look up to us for an example, who may follow our way of life if it is a good one.

We are all just sojourners in this world; yet on the basis of our short earthly lives is decided the rewards we will enjoy for eternity, based in part on the shadows we cast.

Questions: How is your shadow affecting the lives of others around you? Is your shadow keeping someone from seeing the Light?

About the Author Muriel Larson

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, My Message is About Him, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

Join us for our Daily Devotional Chat today in our Women’s Chatroom at 10:30 am EDT.

“Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world” (1 Peter 2:12 New Living Translation).

The meeting was barely over when the woman who had been seated behind me asked, “Who cuts your hair?” I was momentarily stunned into silence by the unusual question, but then responded with the name of the person who had been my hairdresser for many years. “I thought so. It looks like her work,” was the reply.

It looks like her work. Those words flickered around my brain for much of the rest of the day as I contemplated God’s work in my life. Not only have I been created by God but He continues His work in me and asks me to replicate that work in the lives of others. Can people see His handiwork in me? Am I about my Father’s business in such a way that when individuals see my actions and reactions, they immediately recognize the hand of the Creator God?

The Apostle Peter was writing to Christians who lived in a time of increasing persecution. He did not tell them to preach about their faith (although many did), but to live properly and honorably among their unbelieving neighbors. By living in such a way God would be glorified – His work would be seen in their lives.

Father, I wonder how often Your work in me is hidden. Help me reveal Your work – Your life – in my actions and my words. Amen

Questions: How can others see God’s handiwork in you?  What changes do you need to make in your actions and reactions so others can immediately recognize the hand of the Creator God in your life?

About the Author Marilyn Ehle

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, Walking with God in Dark Times, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

Jesus said “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:5). Jesus also said that “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).

Imagine a lamp. God is like the light bulb, the source of light, and we are like the lampshade. While it may seem strange to compare God to a light bulb, we’re told in scripture that “God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). And while I admit it may be difficult to imagine yourself as a lampshade, stay with me.

“You know him [the Holy Spirit],” Jesus tells us, “for he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:17). God dwells within you. While no one who looks directly at God’s face and His absolute holiness and power could possibly survive (Exodus 33:20), His glory can manifest itself in many ways, including through His children, you and I. Therefore, as much as you are able to allow God’s light to shine through you, His glory will be revealed to the world.

This is why John the Baptist said, regarding Jesus, “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30). John recognized that for Jesus’ interests to shine, John’s own self-interest must decrease. We are like the lampshade to God’s light; the thinner the lampshade is, the more the light will shine through. So let yourself become thinner, weaker, and more transparent, so that God’s light will shine more brightly into the world, and so the world will not be able to ignore it!

The apostle Peter has some excellent practical advice on how to let God’s light shine through your life:

“Be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen” (1 Peter 4:7b -11, NLT).

Questions: What are some ways that you can allow God’s light to shine through you? What are some changes that you see in your life that need to happen in order for God’s light to shine through more clearly?

About this Author Darren Hewer

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, Sure Road to Faith, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog