Shine, People, Shine

It's been awhile since I've heard the song, Shine, Jesus, Shine, by Hillsong. The chorus says, "Shine, Jesus, Shine, fill this land with the Father's glory. Blaze, Spirit, Blaze, set our hearts on fire. Flow, river, flow, flood the nations with grace and mercy. Send forth your Word, Lord, and let there be light."

This morning as I went for an early walk and looked up at the moon and the stars, the Lord reminded me, "Let your (our) light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matt. 5:16). So when I got home I looked up the passage again:

You are the salt of the earth... You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden... In the same way, let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise (glorify) your Father in heaven. (Matt. 5:13-16)

"A city on a hill cannot be hidden... in the same way, let your light shine..." People are looking at us. I recently saw an interview on ABC, I think it was, where the Victoria Secret Model for 2011 resigned because the Holy Spirit was convicting her about the conflicting message she was portraying as Christian baring her body before the world in such a sexy role. She gave glory to God in her interview by unashamedly telling the world that she  increasingly felt she was not being a good example to young girls as a Christian and the Lord convicted her to step down.

I think of some of the recent headlines of Christians coming under public attack and standing up for Christ. Again, I thought of this passage, "...A city on a hill cannot be hid...let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and praise (glorify) your Father in heaven." Now back to that classic song, Shine, Jesus, Shine; Jesus shines through us. Our lives are the ones on display. The light of Christ has to shine through us. It shines through us when we love our brothers, our neighbors, our co-workers and our enemies. The light of our lives shine when we live for Christ in our day to day relationships.

Jesus said, "...let your light shine before MEN, that they may SEE your good deeds and praise (glorify) your Father in heaven." I don't believe it's so much the work, ministry or "good deeds" you do within the church walls that He speaks of, but rather, the good deeds you do at home, at work, at the grocery store or shopping mall. It's the work done at the homeless shelter or soup kitchen, the work done at the prison or hospital visiting the sick. The work done shoveling snow for your neighbor who needs assistance or the good deed of patiently allowing the car at the stop sign or on your left to get in front of you. It's smiling at the check out cashier who might be disgruntled or tired. It's being patient with the waitress or waiter in the restaurant and leaving them a tip and a tract if you feel led.

My brother, who is not saved yet (it's coming), left a Christmas card in our mailbox for the mail woman. She was so grateful, she couldn't stop thanking me. I realized it must have been my brother. I wouldn't be surprised if he put a little monetary gift in there for her as well. If unbelievers can regularly do good deeds how much more should we? There are many unbelievers who serve at soup kitchens, homeless shelters and the like. What about the body of Christ? We all have different gifts and callings. Even if you don't feel as though you have any special gift or calling, you do. You have Christ. Open up your life and your eyes. Stop thinking about just you and yours as you go about your day. Smile, pray, be patient, be generous. Give yourself away. Don't just sing the song, live it. You are the light of the world.

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One of today's popular worship songs is, I Give Myself Away. Please read the lyrics below, but let's not just sing the words on Sunday or in our cars as we drive along, or at a conference, let's really live them.


Chorus:
I give myself away
I give myself away
So You can use me
I give myself away
I give myself away
So You can use me

Verse 1:
Here I am
Here I stand
Lord, my life is in your hands
Lord, I'm longing to see
Your desires revealed in me
I give myself away

Verse 2:
Take my heart
Take my life
As a living sacrifice
All my dreams all my plans
Lord I place them in your hands

Bridge:
My life is not my own
To you I belong
I give myself, I give myself to you

Prayer:
Father, Help us as your people to live for you, to die to self and shine for you. Help us to be one, even as Jesus prayed so that the world may believe that You sent Him.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen

www.celebratingmen.blogspot.com.

What Matters Most to You?

"Do not love the world or anything in the world.
If anyone loves the world,
the love of the Father is not in him..
For everything in the world-
the cravings of sinful man,
the lust of his eyes and
the boasting of what he has and does-
comes not from the Father but from the world."
- 1 John 2:15,16 (NIV)

The Christian walk is pretty radical. If we were to honestly exam ourselves in light of the above passage, what would our children, our friends, our God say matters most to us? What are our conversations filled with? What do we have our heart set on? What do we crave?

What do you hold onto so tightly? How would you feel or what would you do if God said, "Give it up" or "Let it go"? Think of Abraham. As crazy as it sounded, God told Abraham to give up - sacrifice to God, the son that God himself gave him and Sarah in their old age. It simply didn't make any earthly sense! It didn't make sense from any perspective I supposed except from God's. It didn't even sound like God himself who opposed human sacrifices! But Abraham obeyed the incongruous command of God. We who know the end of the story accept the outcome. However, it was credited as righteousness to Abraham because he believed and obeyed. He "saw" the outcome in his heart and mind - though he didn't have any evidence that it would turn out the way it did. He was being tested. His belief and faith in God was being tested. What mattered most to Abraham was his son, Isaac, and he was willing to give him up, sacrifice him for God.


Jesus said it this way, "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Matt. 10:37-39 (NIV)

Please don't misunderstand. We are expected to love and honor our parents and family or in 1 Tim. 5:8, Paul wouldn't have said, "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." Or tell children in Eph. 6:1,2 to Honor your mother and father." We just aren't to love or honor them above God or in place of God.

The references to Abraham and Jesus' instruction were on the extreme or more radical end of the pole. The passage and thought at the beginning of the blog, however, connotes something slightly different, I believe. "Do not love the world or anything in the world..." correlates with Paul's instruction in Romans 12, "Don't be conformed to the pattern of this world..."

Our passions, should not be for the things this world is passionate about. Our expectations, our vision, our mindset, our energy shouldn't be consumed by a lust for the things this world or those who don't know Christ, pursue and value above God. I think the key word is "Love," not that we can't enjoy all of the good things of this world, since God has given us senses, taste buds, desires to be able to enjoy the things of this world. (He even gave us dominion over the things of the world, to conquer, master, rule over it.) However, we must put the things of the world in their proper place and that's in subjection to Christ. Nothing should have such a hold on us more than our passion for Christ and to wins souls for Christ -Nothing.

Our pursuit of degrees, our pursuit of a career, our pursuit of a mate, our pursuit of recreation, our hobbies, whatever gives us pleasure and a sense of fulfillment or accomplishment should pale in comparison to our being in Christ. As Paul said, he counted everything before Christ as dung, rubbish (Phil. 3:8). Church, it's time to get radical. It's time to get real. It's time we looked more like Christ and less like the world. It won't be popular either, but then, we're not called to be popular, we're called to be holy - set apart.

Exercise:
Write down what matters most to you and compare it to your love for Christ. Which matters more?