‘Beaming for Jesus!’

Daily Devotional February 22nd

“No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5:15-16)

A lamp that stands in a corner of a room with no energy source remains dark and lifeless. No matter how beautifully crafted, it will remain useless until connected to an energy source. But a lamp—once the wick is lit, batteries inserted or plugged into the electrical socket—can give a tremendous amount of light and comfort to all those previously enclosed in the dark. And well it should. It is what lamps are created for. Jesus used the analogy of lamp to explain how His followers should live their lives. A good question for us then is whether or not we light up the room when we walk through the door? Does our presence bring comfort to those sitting in the ‘spiritual darkness?’ We should. Why? Because we are now connected to the power source.

But Jesus knew that His followers, those who lived during Jesus’ time on earth right on through to the present day, would need a reminder. He points out how inappropriate it is to cover up a lit lamp. What’s the point of turning it on if you’re just going to hide the light now emanating from it? Why profess faith in Jesus, unless you allow that new reality to be tangibly expressed in and through your life. We are not to simply keep the power source within us—unused and unseen. It should transform our lives! It should be visible to everyone.

God is the power source of each person who believes in the work of the Son on humanity’s behalf. Now that we have been given the amazing gift of the Holy Spirit within us, our energy source, it is up to us to ‘let our good deeds shine out.’ So that people can see how good we have now become? No! So that they will ‘praise your heavenly Father.’ Our lives are to be lived in such a way that there is to be absolutely no question about what motivates and inspires us to do good to others. God’s love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control should literally ‘beam’ from our lives, providing desperately needed light to those struggling to live life in the dark.
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So, again I ask, do you light up the room, with the very presence of God who lives within you, when you walk in the room? If not, you best check your energy source and remove anything that may be covering up the light that God wants to share in and through you to others. We ought to be ‘beaming for Jesus’ each and everyday!
~ Pastor Jane