You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16
Be the light
God’s people are important to His process of calling others to Himself. Consider the words of Paul to the Romans, in chapter 10:13-14 – where he writes, “How are they to call on one they have not believed in? And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them?” And don’t forget the “great commission” of the [church] to be His hands and feet and the mouth pieces though whom He speaks.
Like a light in a dark room we are meant to help others see their way out of the darkness to God. So what we say and do is meant to draw attention, not to us, but to our deeds and words – which should reflect God in us and in return reflect honor and glory back to Him.
Response to God’s Word
Father let the words of our mouths and the actions we take or the countenances and responses we have reflect Your love in us and our love for You – so that in all things You receive the glory – Forever Amen+
Above all keep your love for one another fervent, because love covers a multitude of sins.9 Show hospitality to one another without complaining. 10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of the varied grace of God.
1 Peter 4:8-10
Today’s SOAP From My Journal
How Deep Is Your Love?
How fervent [intense] is your love for others? Is it like a fountain flowing deep and wide? Is it boundless and free? Is it sincere, selfless, considerate, and forgiving? Does it readily make allowance for other’s faults – covering a multitude of sins? To be clear, as Bibleref.com explains, “This doesn’t mean that our acts of love for each other can earn God’s forgiveness. Nor does Peter mean to imply that we are paying our sins off through good works. – Rather, the idea that our love for each other covers a multitude of sins relates to our imperfection. Christians are not yet sinless. We are not perfect. We have set the course of our lives away from sin, but we still fail to obey sometimes. We make mistakes, even when we mean well. Love for each other includes forgiving each other, overlooking past hurts, and building each other up when we fall. It is difficult for sin and resentment to flourish in a communityrich in Christ-like love.
This is the kind of love Peter is talking about here in 1 Peter chapter 4. Actually he isn’t just talking about love, he is commanding them to love one another and to work hard at it. Keep in mind that Peter is writing to believers who have been suffering for Jesus’ sake. They have taken on the attitude of Christ and accepted the hardships as part of their purpose as His people.” (BibleRef.com) Here in the fourth chapter he is offering a more encouraging perspective by telling them their suffering is almost over. Loving like this won’t be easy – it includes being self-controlled and sober-minded. It means showing hospitality even when you’re tired and don’t want to, or using your gifts to serve others. I don’t know about you but this one is stepping all over my toes. But don’t run away yet – because Peter knows it’s going to be hard and he gives them the ‘secret’ weapon. Look at verse 11, after telling them to use their gifts to serve one another, he goes on to tell them to rely on God’s Word and the strength that He supplies. He knows when they do this that God will be glorified. But don’t miss verse 7 – and his encouragement to stay self-controlled and sober-minded because they are going to need to pray. Prayer is a big part of the church community.
7So be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of prayer. … 11Whoever speaks, let it be with God’s words. Whoever servers, do so with the strength that God supplies, so that in everything God will be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 4:11
So, how deep is your love? Is it a love that honors God? Is it selfless or self-focused? Is it unshakable even in times of suffering? Peter knew the believers would need God and each other in order to stand strong and not fall. His words are still true for us today because, like them, we are made for community and we are meant to love one another fervently. Because, as the earlier quote said, “Love for each other includes forgiving each other, overlooking past hurts, and building each other up when we fall.” In other words, our love for one another, is meant to cover a multitude of sins.
“It is difficult for sin and resentment to flourish in a communityrich in Christ-like love.”
18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
2 Corinthians 3:18
Father, You are good! You are Holy and glorious to behold – whether in Your creation, Your works, or Your Word – 💜 – O Lord, You are beautiful to me! May the light of Your Presence and the counsel of Your Word daily transform me – more and more – into the image of Your Son – by the power of Your Spirit in me 💙 So that I reflect Jesus to the world around me – Amen+
But do you know there are some scriptural beauty treatments? Peter said that true beauty comes from “the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit” (1 Peter 3:4). Solomon said, “A happy heart makes the face cheerful” (Proverbs 15:13, NIV). Ecclesiastes 8:1 says, “A man’s wisdom makes his face shine.”
As we absorb God’s light, we’ll reflect Jesus to the world around us. We must constantly behold the glory of the Lord and be transformed into His image by the Holy Spirit. People will notice how different we are. Take a look in the mirror. Is your face reflecting Christ?
Character in a saint means the disposition of Jesus Christ persistently manifested. Oswald Chambers
Commentary by David Jeremiah, as posted on Turning Point – May 15, 2023
Hope you enjoy this beautiful song that came to mind as I was writing the above prayer – May it lead you into deeper worship of Him – who is worthy of our adoration 💗
This song does not belong to me, but is shared from a link found on Youtube
As believers we are God’s children, this means we can rest in these words that He spoke to Israel through Moses. Read and re-read verses 10 and 13. I memorized verse 10 years ago and I cannot tell you the number of times I have lay awake at night or walked through a storm of life claiming this verse – praying it – thanking Him for it – writing it … and finding it to put my mind and heart at rest. It is the essence of standing on God’s promises.
As you see noted in the above SOAP, living in community with God has great benefits – namely hope, joy, and strength- and to reiterate yesterday’s focus the assurance of His promises – ones like He will never abandon us, or fail us … and He will help us, and when we are in danger or afraid – He will hold our hand like a father and hold us up with His victorious right hand – and we will know with certainty the truth of the observations you see below – we have nothing to fear when we live in community with our God – because He is with us, He takes hold of our right hand, He speaks ‘peace’ to us, and He reminds us He is helping us. This is a true picture of a stronghold – this is our GOD!
For years I would get caught up in the fearful circumstances of life and fixate on the fear rather than God – It was this verse and the promise it proclaims – that taught me and helped me to remember it every time fear encroached. When we make it a habit to remember the things God has promised or the things He has done we will be strengthened in our Spirit, we will sense His victorious right hand holding us up and helping us. We will begin to trust Him as our Protector and stand on/rest in His promises.
I don’t always read the devos from the LGG Journals – and never before I do my own journaling because I don’t want their take on the Word to influence what God might want to show me. However, as I was looking over my soap journal for today, an entry I made days ago, I was curious to see if they included any thoughts about – “apart from Him I can do nothing”, and boy did they! While this first one wasn’t the first one I read – it seems to highlight this week’s theme, “Created for Community With God”.
“The fruitfulness of our lives is a direct result of our connection to Jesus, not anything we can do. The love that we show to others, the joy we experience, the peace in our hearts, and the kindness that we share, it is all because of what God is doing in our lives, and He deserves the credit.“
Not Made To Be Alone, an LGG Study – p42
Nuggets of Gold
The following are more quotes from the LGG devotional for day 3, week 1 of Not Made To Be Alone. I encourage you to read these slowly and then read them again. May the truth of them penetrate and influence our minds and hearts as we proceed not only through this study but through life and living in community with God and others
“Community is not one-sided. … God is with us, not because He is obligated to do so as our Creator, but because He loves us.”
Ok, so this next one is my favorite and may become my new tag-line on my blog page as it highlights the reason I chose the name of the blog –
*** “When we live in community with God, we are changed from the inside out.”
This last one is some wonderful and encouraging advice – that I pray the Spirit will help us to recall every day. Check out what happens when we remain with Him and depend on Him –> out of a close relationship with Him flows life. 🦋
“As long as we remain in Christ, we will bear much fruit. We must choose, each day, to remain with Him and depend on Him. And when we do, He is there for us. We choose, through [love and obedience], to grow close to Him, and out of that relationship flows life. Being in community with God helps us rely less on ourselves and more on Him.”
This song was shared by a Journey Through the Word group member yesterday – seemed fitting for today’s post as well – may it lead you to worship and seek and reciprocate God’s abiding presence –
26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth and over all the creatures that move on the earth.” 27 God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:26-27 NET
Not Made To Be Alone
Re-read the Scripture passage today, paying special attention to all of the plural pronouns. As He begins this portion of the creation process – the creation of man – He converses with the other parts of the trinity, saying – “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air … God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.” Note – God makes it clear that the full trinity is present – He is not alone, the creatures are not alone, and man is not alone for it says, “he created ‘them’ in his image, male and female he created ‘them’.
In His Image
It is clear by this passage that we are created by God. It is also clear and important to understand that we are made in His image. If we look back at verse 26 – which I think is necessary to fully understand and appreciate verse 27 – we see that God doesn’t just say “let us make man in our image, but He goes on to say – “after our likeness,” – why? He immediately makes this clear, “So they may rule overthe fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth and over all the creatures that move on the earth.” I found the clearest explanation for being made in His image at bibleref.com, which says –
“…this verse raises the question of what it means to be made in God’s image, or in His likeness. Without question, this statement does not mean that God created humans to resemble Him physically (John 4:24 [where we read that God is Spirit]). Rather, this seems to support the idea that God endowed humans with a certain kind of awareness, one which animals and birds and fish were not given. In other words, humans would possess the capacity for reason, morality, language, personality, and purpose. In particular, the ability to use morality and spirituality are unique to human beings among God’s creations on earth. Like God, we would possess the capacity to experience and understand love, truth, and beauty.
Humans are made in God’s image in another way: as a model, or a representative. God is the Maker, and all of creation belongs to Him. He is Lord over it. However, in the moment of creation, God gives mankind the responsibility to rule over all other life He has made on the earth. In that sense, humans would stand as God’s image, God’s representatives, on earth as we rule over and manage all the rest of His creation.
So, how in the world do we apply the knowledge that we are made in His image?
We embrace it, allowing ourselves – even applying ourselves to experience and understand love, truth, and beauty in the relationships, and various places and positions God has placed us in.
And, we bear His image, living as His representatives here on earth. Perhaps this is best explained by what Paul told the Colossians – “.whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus,…” He had just explained what this looked like – namely, ”
“clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.”
Response to God’s Word
Father, help us to live out Your plan for us to bear Your image – to somehow serve as Your representatives here on earth, to rule over and manage all the rest of Your creation. Your image is larger than life but You have created us in that image and to bear it. You have empowered us to do so by Your Spirit in us. May we rise daily to do so in Jesus’ name. For, as Paul wrote, we have been crucified with Christ – we no longer live but He lives in us. The life we now live in the flesh we live by faith in Your Son, who loved us and gave Himself for us. Help us to love like Him, to serve like Him, to obey like Him – laying down our will for Yours – that You might be well pleased with us as You were with Him. It is in His name that I pray and for Your eternal glory and praise – amen and amen.
Memos
If you missed yesterday’s introduction to the new study I encourage you to take a minute to look back and read through it. It is both informative and encouraging as it gives us a glimpse of what we will be striving for.
Don’t forget every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday you can dive a little deeper by reading the blogs by the Love God Greatly Team. You’ll find them at https://lovegodgreatly.com/lgg-blog/
He says, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46:10
The day I gave birth to Annie, my first daughter, was filled with excitement. Seventeen days past her April Fools due date we were finally going to meet this child I had waited on and prayed for, for eight long years. From the early morning ultra-sound to the late-afternoon delivery the day was filled with excitement and wonderment, and the room and hallway filled with family and a posse of friends from our new church. After the excitement of the day – when the room stood empty – friends and family gone …new dad home to rest … baby girl wheeled back to the nursery for TLC from the nurses ..and me – alone. Alone to absorb all that had happened, to embrace the reality that I was a mother, that God – after all these years – had not only heard my prayers for a child but had answered them. I reached for my Bible on the nightstand beside me and there was peace in the stillness of the room – peace in the knowledge that I was not alone. While there isn’t time or space here to explain all that transpired between me and God in the beauty of the stillness – I can tell you that it was in those still and quiet moments that He awakened my soul; and while I didn’t know it at the time – He started me on a path that would lead me to understand the truest meaning of ‘Be still and know that I Am God’. A statement which is best defined in the context of our verse today as “cease striving”.
Actually, He had started me on the path just about a year before Annie was born. Long story short, I had worked for years trying to make God happy enough with me that He would give me a child. When the prayer went unanswered despair and poor choices would inevitably follow and then the days of striving to be good enough would begin again. This was a cycle that continued for years – That is, until my mom shared Philippians 4:11-13 with me, a passage that teaches contentedness in whatever circumstances we are in. In need or in plenty, well-fed or hungry… and yes pregnant or not – God wanted me to be content – not just with my circumstances but with Him and His will for my life. Which is exactly what I committed to do. Don’t get me wrong, it did not stop the prayers for a child but it changed the way I prayed and the response to the monthly answer. And now here I sat, talking with God, in a hospital room waiting for the nurse to bring me my baby girl! I could have never seen then what would come through this child and the years ahead of us but through it all – and to this day – I have learned (and continue to learn) with much practice – to:
“be still and know that He is God”
rest, knowing He is in control
stop, and remember His will is always better than my desires
cease striving to get what I want … and instead
surrender to His will
let go of frustration and disappointment ~ and
trust His way and perfect timing
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Now it was during this time that Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and he spent all night in prayer to God.
Luke 6:12 NET
I hope you enjoy this bit of a different view today – straight from inside the pages of my journal, the heart (my heart) of the study. Whether you journal on the pages of your Bibles, or in a notebook, or an LGG Journal, or on post-it-notes it doesn’t matter. I believe what matters is that you journal. One word or 50 – more or less … the amount isn’t the point the journaling is. It’s a place to capture your thoughts or questions or even the title of a song that came to mind. When you look back in your journal it will tell a story of what God was teaching you and so much more. In the weeks ahead my goal is to share more of these pages and give some pointers on journaling for those who are interested.
But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralyzed man—“I tell you, stand up, take your stretcher and go home.”
Luke 5:24 NET
Luke packed a lot of information in these 15 verses …
You Can Make Me Clean
We see a man with leprosy, who comes to Jesus and is so moved that He bowed down at the very sight of Jesus. He begged Jesus for healing, saying: “Lord, if you are willing, You can make me clean.” His words were evidence of his heart that he firmly believed in the power and work of Jesus. So great was the man’s faith that Jesus healed him immediately.
His Need To Be Alone
Luke pauses between this miracle and the next to tell us two things
crowds were gathering “to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases”
and that, “Jesus Himself frequently withdrew to the wilderness and prayed.”
Don’t you love knowing that Jesus found the need to both withdraw from people and to pray? Please note, His need to withdraw was more than a need to be away from the people – He needed to be alone to talk with His Father (God).
Faith moves mountains and stirs the heart of Jesus
Then we meet a paralyzed man, unable to walk on his own, he is carried on a stretcher and finding no other way to get him past the crowd and into the house where Jesus was, those carrying him lowered him through the roof “right in front of Jesus”, and “when Jesus saw their faith,” He said to the paralyzed man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” Do you see it? It seems to me that their actions demonstrate how ‘faith moves mountains’. For when it seemed impossible to get through the crowd, instead of their faith being shaken it appears that their faith increased their determination bit it also moved the heart of Jesus. It’s important to note that the initial response wasn’t – “get up and walk” as I’m sure everyone expected. Instead, what they heard was – “your sins are forgiven’ – a pointed statement signifying to all listening that not only could Jesus heal but He could forgive sins. This was an important milestone in Jesus’ ministry. The response of forgiveness was also what prompted ‘the experts in the law’ and the Pharisees to begin wondering “to themselves”, who Jesus was and how he could so boldly speak such blasphemies, for they knew that only God could forgive sins. I’m sure they were surprised when Jesus, who knew what they were thinking to themselves, not only questioned them – saying, “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk?” but He also said to the paralyzed man – “I tell you, stand up, take your stretcher and go home.” Which he immediately did.
“God honors the faith of those who seek to bring others to Christ. When we pray, we orient our attention toward the issue and watch for God to work. God performs mighty deeds that no one realizes. When we are paying attention, however, we have the opportunity to be seized with amazement, filled with awe, and glorify God, declaring, “We have seen extraordinary things today” (Luke 5:26).
Father, thank You for instilling in me an ever deepening faith in You, the Holy-Three-In-One. Jesus, thank You for responding to my prayers and faith. May faith in You always move me toward You – moving the mountains that are in my way – and may I stand in the gap for others who need You – lifting them up and bringing them to where You are! – Amen! in Your Holy and powerful name!
Me From the Inside Out 