“Be the light,” a young mother said as she sent her children off to school. “Be what you are! You are light—now walk that way!” It’s a simple charge, yet it reaches into every corner of life. In an age where relative truth and moral confusion pull the world deeper into spiritual darkness, the call to live as children of light has never been more urgent. In Ephesians 5, the apostle Paul shows us what it looks like to walk in a way that reflects who we are in Christ. Walk in Love Read: Ephesians 5:1–2 “Therefore be imitators of…
God invites us to participate in the process of discovering and developing the dreams He has placed within our hearts. If you sense God stirring holy desires in you, consider walking through these four phases on the path to possibility. Seek “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10, ESV). God gave you His capacity to dream. When He created you in His image, He placed within you a reflection of His own ability to imagine, create, and bring life from possibility. The inspiration, ability, and power to accomplish your unique purpose all originate with Him. Take time to intentionally awaken the divine DNA God has placed inside you. Cultivate honest conversations with Him about your desires and longings. Bring those dreams into the light of Scripture and wise counsel, allowing God to confirm, refine, or redirect your steps. Speak truth over yourself daily: “I am becoming who God has created me to be.” Shape “Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1, ESV).…
“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” John 15:16 This week, we have been talking about choices. We have considered different stories from the Bible where decisions had to be made and the lessons we can learn from them. It is important to remember that Jesus chose us first. Ephesians 1:4 “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.” John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” He loved us when we did not deserve His love. He looked beyond our faults and failures and saw what we could be. His blood cleanses us from all sin. His Holy Spirit abides in our hearts. His Word gives us strength and guidance in the right paths. What a privilege it is to know Him and to serve Him. In a world filled…
“And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:39-43 hThree crosses on the hillside. Jesus, the one on…
“And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king’s seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.” Daniel 1:3-4 At fifteen years of age, I enrolled in Vocational School in Saint John to take Business classes. A couple of months later, my parents moved to pastor a different church, so I had to board away from home for the next three years. Fortunately, I was able to live with a Christian family and mostly went home on the weekends. Life certainly changed for me, and I had to grow up in a hurry. In Daniel, we read about four teenagers who suddenly found themselves in a strange country, living a completely different life from what they had known. First, their names were changed, which would mean adjustments for them. Then they were told that they had to eat food to which…
“And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey. For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.” Jeremiah 21:8-10 The Jewish people had rebelled against the Lord through the years. God had promised that they would be punished and taken into captivity. Jeremiah was sent to them with a message. Destruction of the city was inevitable, but they could make a choice. Those who willingly submitted would be taken to Babylon, and those who chose to resist would be destroyed with the city. It had already been prophesied that captivity would last for seventy years. The prophets told them to settle in Babylon, build homes, and plant gardens. When the time was…