The Light Of Life
Friday, July 30, 2021
Good Morning, Lord
Verse of the Day: Matthew 5:14,16
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Memory of the month: Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Today's reading: PSALM 51-53 ROMANS 2
The Light Of Life
Psalm 54: 12 I am under vows to you, my God;
I will present my thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered me from death
and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life.
How often have you stumbled and failed in your spiritual walk? We have all stumbled over and over. The Lord delivers us from that when we confess it. But how do we move on? The world around us is slow to ever forgive and sometimes the Christian community is slower. We must say right away that not forgiving someone is sinful. No matter what one has done, forgiveness is a mandate from Jesus Himself.
When a personal attack on you is ongoing, how can there be forgiveness? Ask Jesus. He went through these almost all His earthly ministry. Look at what He did with Peter. Peter denied Jesus not just once-not twice-three times while Jesus was under attach and being accused. What did Jesus do?
Read Matthew 26:69-75 and then read John 21:15-17. Peter denied Jesus three times and three times Jesus asked Peter, "Peter, do you love me?" Jesus did not ask, "Peter, do you understand what you have done?". He did not say, "Are you sorry?". Jesus did not say, "I told you so." Jesus did not tell Peter to roam the earth for years with his sins in a bag on his back.
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs". He did not give Peter a long speech on the virtues of a consistent spiritual life of piety. He did not give Peter a list of five things to do daily to draw closer to God. Jesus said, "Feed my lambs".
Jesus implied it all but did not say it. Peter knew from that day on that his life would be about feeding the sheep of the kingdom. Whatever it meant for Peter to maintain a close relationship to God he knew he would do. Jesus had forgiven Peter of his failure and Peter felt that all the way through his being.
We should hear the words of Jesus ring in our ears when we fail and go back to Him in repentance. "Do you love me? Feed My lambs".
We should hear His words every time we see someone who fails. "Do you love me? Feed My lambs".
It is our life to forgive. It is our life to encourage. It is our life to hear the words of Jesus and to live the words of Jesus. It is our life to keep in mind how Peter never looked back and let his past failures stop him from loving Jesus and doing the ministry of Christ's kingdom.
Jesus is the light of life-the light of our lives. Every time we find ourselves in the shadows of sin and discouragement, we must hear, "Do you love me? Feed My lambs". Every time we confess we must hear, "Do you love me? Feed My lambs".
We must move on-we must-we have to. We must encourage others to move on. We must move on in the Light of Life.
...because He loves us...
Father in Heaven,
You know all things and know how much more I can love you. Build my desire for you into a fire.
Great God of refreshing and renewal!
In the name of Jesus,
Amen
