In a crooked and depraved generation ... shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the Word of life. Philippians 2:15-16
Christians fail more often than they succeed in being lights in this world because they are still sinful human beings. They often display a remarkable talent for wasting time, for squandering their talents, and for overlooking their opportunities. It must take a great deal of patience on God's part to use such weak and frail instruments. It seems to be such a contradiction that the perfect God should choose to use such imperfect people as His children, as His lights.
No matter how often we fail to shine or how frequently we displease our Lord with our words and deeds, the assignment itself does not change: Believers are lights in this world. It is always time to remember that God did not choose us because of our ability or strength but only out of love. He prefers to kindle the light in our hearts and lives.
God is fully aware of our weakness and frailty, our need for strength and encouragement. To that end He has provided the Word of life. Herein is the message of forgiveness when we fail, the dynamic inspiration to try again, and the standard by which to determine our conduct and direction. The times we do shine as lights will be achieved by His grace and will serve as an expression of thanks.
PRAYER: Let Your Word, O Lord, be a lamp to my feet and a light to my path; for Jesus' sake. Amen.
(Devotions from "The Abundant Life" copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: Amos 1-3 Acts 15:22-41
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