One of Them (Bringing Bold Faith to a Broken World)Sample

"YOU BETTER SHINE"

Pay attention to the connection. Jesus 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.” This is Jesus talking. He is the light of the world. Our God and Savior, Jesus! The Prince of Peace, Jesus! The Lord of lords and King of kings, Alpha and Omega, Jesus!

Wow! You should be super excited. The Bible says: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God… In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. (John 1:14) Do you get it? As “one of them,” you have a light, and the source of that light is Jesus Christ. And because your light comes from Christ, you shine differently. That fact should give you Godly confidence (Godfidence) and have your spiritual self-esteem on super high. It is through Jesus that we are reconciled to God; our sins are washed away. We are redeemed and we have become temples for the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. We are adopted as sons and daughters and no longer slaves. We are citizens of the kingdom of heaven because Jesus died for us. Jesus is the source of our light.

We were like those oppressed, neglected, hurting Jews sitting on that hill listening to Jesus when He said, You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world... so let your light shine so others see your good works and give glory to God (Matthew 5:14-16). This devotion is simply to remind you to shine. You are “one of them” who Jesus empowered to shine and when you do, He gets the glory.

When people talk bad about you, you better shine. When they attack your Christian walk, just shine. When they judge you, shine. When they don’t see your worth, just shine. When fake friends leave you, shine. When anxiety attacks your peace and depression tries to set in, you better shine. The peer pressure doesn’t win because you shine. When you feel the fear of failure, just shine. Erase the expectation of being perfect and simply shine. Walk away from the crowd and shine. When doing the right thing feels awkward and being good becomes boring, just remember that you are the light of the world and what you do brings glory to God, so shine and shine some more.

You are “one of them.” And you better shine.

PRAYER

Lord, it is my desire to shine brightly in every dark place. Never let me forget that my light should reflect Jesus in me. Remind me that I should shine my light with every word, every deed, and in every situation so that all I say and do will bring glory to Your name and Your kingdom. In Jesus’s name. Amen!

REFLECT

What do you hear God saying to you through this reading?

Change-Reaction Challenge

Your challenge is to fill your bedroom or bathroom mirror, locker, desk or car dashboard with sticky notes that have your hand-written affirmations that say how you shine.