Statements of Faith - I Am The Light of The World

 

 

MATTHEW 5:14

You are the light of the world. A city lying on a hill is unable to be hidden.

    A Christian's life is more visible in the darkness of this world than any other. When we declare our differentness, we open ourselves up to be more carefully observed to see if we truly are living a different life than everyone else around us. 

    Are we living John 8:12 by faithfully following Jesus? In John 9:5 and John 12:36 Jesus told those who followed Him that He is the Light of the world BUT only while He was in the world. Before leaving He designated to His followers that if they really were following Him, they (the born again (John 3:3, 6) would become sons of light. We are filled with His Light because we have our Christ living in us! Wherever Jesus is, His Light is! 

    If we have Christ living in us and The Holy Spirit of God guiding us, then it will be impossible not to live a changed life, for our hearts have been changed and our mindset is being transformed day by day. When we remain in Him, breathing in and taking in His Word when we read it, change is inevitable. And change for the better, at that. 

    They who still live in darkness are changing, too. Except by refusing to see the Light of Christ, they sink ever deeper into the darkness of their comfort zones. It's scary becoming a Christian. Suddenly everyone you ever knew looks at you different. They know how you used to be, how you used to behave, how you used to dress, how you used to talk. The places you used to hang out you don't go to any more. You have a new hang out: the congregation of the saints. Wherever God's people are, you, the new Christian, are going to be found. 

    Your light is impacting their darkness. Some will be drawn to the light, like butterflies to nectar. Others will withdraw from the light that is in you, like shadows seeking the dark alleyways. Your light and The Holy Spirit within you reveals sin to them and convicts their sinful ways. All of a sudden, you are "persona non grata": unwanted and not welcome. 

    With such a Light burning in you and I it is impossible to not shine. A lighthouse on a clifftop is there to warn ships trying to sail into safe harbor that dangers lurks just ahead: hidden shoals, bulky rocks jutting out of the water or hidden just beneath it; reefs and cliffsides. In the thickness of fog or the darkness of night the lighthouse sends its brilliant beams of light constantly to prevent ships from crashing. So, too, does the faithful Christian. 

    We are the lighthouses of this world. Our Light is Christ Jesus. As long as we stand on The Word, our Lights will continue to shine. Even when we falter, and our light gets wobbly, we get back up again and raise our Light even higher that it may shine farther and wider. Our Lights travel all over this globe. And we will continue to shine until God either calls us home via death or raises us in the air via being caught up with Christ. 

NO OTHER NAME Planetshakers

WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE LORD Christ For The Nations

FIRE Eddie James 

FIRST THINGS FIRST  Consumed By Fire

 DRAW ME CLOSE TO YOU Michael W. Smith

GOD FOLLOWER  Steven Curtis Chapman

I Am Christian's Body

I am the body of Christ. I am the church, the bride of the Bridegroom. My body is being washed and purified through the power of God in His Holy Spirit: my Comforter, my Companion: The Friend of The Bridegroom, who prepares the body, the church, to receive her King. 

    I am the body of Christ. I have known pain and I have known sorrow. I have known delight and I have known sadness. My eyes weep over the lost and dying souls who refuse to believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. I see the lonely, the forgotten and the ignored. I am a Friend to them all: I raise them up and they rejoice with me. 

    I hear the cries of the lost souls and I bring them the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ, for He is the only way out, the only One Who can save anyone and everyone who believes. I speak under the anointing of God's Holy Spirit: The One Who is preparing this body of death to be raised in newness of life. 

    With my hands I touch the lame, the ill and the faint of heart. I encourage, uplift, mentor and counsel with my words: my mouth speaks truth and love. My feet walk on the high mountains delivering the gospel to faraway places. Through my actions and my offerings I send Bibles, whether printed or spoken, in other languages that all may hear and know and be set free from their sins. I am the embodiment of Love and I spread the Love of God where He sends me. 

    With The Holy Spirit this body consistently moves forward. Though I may fall I rise again and again until the day that I will fall no more; on that day I will see Him face to face. For this body of death longs to be clothed with life eternal. It groans inwardly to be with its God and Lord. I am Christian's body and I am being changed from glory to glory: day by day, moment by moment. 

IN HIM WE LIVE AND MOVE - Kent Henry

MY LIFE IS IN YOU LORD - Hosanna Music

JUST AS I AM, I COME BROKEN - Travis Cottrell 

Given A Changed Heart

The Spiritual Transplant

Ezekiel 36:26

 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 

    Every time we try to change ourselves to be a better person our attempts fall short and many times we fall back into our old ways. We have not changed one bit.But when God changes us, we begin to be a changed person: from the inside-out. That's the only way we can begin to heal, begin to grow, begin to love.

The Christ-Filled Change

Romans 10:8-10

But what does it say? “The Word is near you; It is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved. 

    Neither our good deeds, acts of kindness, nor our charitable donations will grant us access to the heavenly places where God's eternalness is. Only this in Romans 10:8-10>Believe with our hearts and Speak our belief out loud. Justification takes place in the heart; Salvation takes place in the mouth. 

    If, when we come to Christ for our salvation, but do not shout it from the rooftops nor whisper it in someone's ear nor speak what we believe aloud, are we then not saved? Have you told someone about the change God has wrought in you? And how God is still changing you? Does your life reflect your belief?

The Holy Spirit Changed Lifestyle

1 Peter 1:14-16

As obedient children, do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance. But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Isaiah 35:8

And there will be a highway called The Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it--only those who walk in the Way--and fools will not stray onto it.

2 Corinthians 7:1

Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

    Holiness is a process. Like the seed that becomes a full grown plant (flower, tree, grain), time is essential to become holy. Patience is not only a virtue, it is required. Contentment with the portion of faith in God's ability to keep His promises to us is part of the process. 

    Holiness is a necessity. Without holiness no one can see God. And who doesn't want to see God? I want to see God and live with Him eternally. I believe that JESUS CHRIST IS LORD. And I want The Holy Spirit to continue to work in me, on me, and through me to perfect me in holiness. I will raise in life triumphant. Will you rise with me? 

LORD I OFFER MY LIFE TO YOU 
CHANGE MY HEART O GOD 

CREATE IN ME A CLEAN HEART

GIVE ME JESUS

WELCOME HOLY SPIRIT

The Lord Looks On The Heart

 

1 Samuel 16:7

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

Psalm 139:23,24

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 

And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 119:80

Let my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes, That I may not be ashamed.

    The heart of mankind is naturally deceitful, even deceiving itself. For the eyes look upon what a person wants, desires even, and sets in motion the steps required to attain the thing that is sought after; at times without even thinking of the consequences. 

    But the heart that has given itself to God has won the struggle for survival: it has chosen eternal life and everything else that God has promised to His faithful followers. However the opposite is also true: those whose hearts are against God and God's Word have opted for eternal death and every curse God has promised to the wicked heart. 

    A heart that is focused on self-serving desires instead of God-serving desires will not be able to obtain that which is needed most to survive: God-given forgiveness for sins. The self sees only the immediate and demands immediate gratification. But the person who has surrendered their will to God's will has chosen the better way: the way to Grace, Mercy, Peace, Hope, Sustainability. 

    A heart that beats for Jesus collaborates with its Savior. He is, after all, working all things together for my good. All things: the good that happens in life, the tragic that happens in life, the awful that happens in life = God uses all these to make me a better person with a strong testimony that I might be a faithful witness and lift JESUS up for all the world to see. 

    A heart that beats for Jesus beats in unison. For Christ is in me and I am in Him. He is mine and I am His. When The Father says, "Go", we go. When The Father says, "Stop", we stop. When The Father speaks, we hear His voice, listen to His words and obey His instructions. As you know, "Faith comes by hearing, hearing by The Word of God" [Romans 10:17]. 

    A heart that is broken for God is mended by God in God's time according to God's Ways. This heart is surrendered to God and longs to be near to Him. So close that His breath is in my ear and His Spirit is visible and His Son is by my side. Oh, how the believer's heart yearns to be in God's eternal presence! 

    Come and go with me. Walk with me as I walk with Jesus. Let us walk in God's Word together. The journey is nearly over, the race is nearly finished. Soon, the faithful servants shall hear their Father say to them, "Well done, My good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of The Lord." [Matthew 25:21]. 

    We can't see inside each other's hearts. But God knows who are His and who are not. However, we can see each other's actions. If you say you are a Christian, then you should be Christ-like. That's what being Christian means: the believer lives in Christ. He is our Promised Land, our everything good that comes for God residence. When the term 'Christian' was first used, it was an epithet, an insult. But it was received as an acknowledgement of the change which Christ had wrought in the hearts of those who believe Him and received Him. Being called Christian was a reason to rejoice then and now. 

    I am a Christian. I live in Christ. And He lives in me. Can you see the changes God has wrought in me? 

    MAGNIFY - We Are Messengers

YOUR LOVE NEVER FAILS - Jesus Culture 

MY PORTION - Isla Vista Worship 

MY SOUL LONGS FOR YOU - Jesus Culture

Heart & Soul - - Germination

 

Colossians 3:1

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 4891

Raised: to raise together 

From the Greek word 'sunegeiró' (pronounced soon-eg-i'-ro) meaning " I raise along with".

"To raise up together from moral death to a new and blessed life devoted to God."

RAISED WITH HIM

    We are risen from the dead with Christ when we believe in His Name for our salvation (Romans 10:13). For His very Name is Savior (Matthew 1:21; Luke 1:31). 

    Colossians 2:12 "And having been buried with Him in baptism, you were raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead." Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

    ALIVE TO GOD THROUGH THE CROSS

    Romans 6:3-5    

(3) Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? (4) We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life. (5) For if we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection.

    Galatians 5:24

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 

    Galatians 6:14

But as for me, may I never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 

    I am alive to God through the cross, through the crucifixion of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, who died for me, to save me from the punishment of my sins. He died for you, too. And those who believe, who call on His Name to save them, have died with Him; for we are now in Him and He is in us, as He prayed in the garden in John 17:20-26. It's a lovely prayer. 

    If a person hasn't come to the cross to lay their burden of sins down there, then they need to do so soon, very soon. Christ is returning soon and very soon. It will be near impossible to come to Christ when God calls His church into His presence. (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17). I'm so excited! Aren't you? 

    SEEK THE THINGS ABOVE

    What are the things above that we, as citizens (Philippians 3:20) of heaven, should be seeking? What are we looking for, searching out? Matthew 6:20-21 tells us "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust corrupts, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

>ETERNAL LIFE is our greatest treasure. But to have it there we must first claim it here. For it is both our now reward for we live in Him now and our later treasure up there. We will get new bodies, changed bodies . As a seed that is planted in the ground does not remain a seed but changes and grows into whatever the seed was destined to become, we, too, will be changed. 

    The seed goes through a transformative process to become what will be seen. In science it is called germination. In Scripture it is called 'from glory to glory' (2 Corinthians 3:18). 

ROOTS AND SHOOTS

• The seed's first stage is getting water to begin the process. For the Christian that water is the Holy Spirit. Before anything else worthwhile can happen in a Christian's life, the Holy Spirit must be present in us. The seed first grows roots to reach into the ground and find water. The Christian's roots are in the Word of God, we dig deep into His Word to find our resources for growth. 
• The seed's second stage is oxygen. It needs to breathe. For the Christian that oxygen is the presence of God, for He gives us breath. 
• The seed's third stage is the right temperature in which to flourish. For the Christian the right temperature is persecution. For the church grew when the Word spread through the Christians who fled the cities where they were being hunted and killed for the Name of Jesus. Hard to believe that we require such uncivilities to grow in our faith, isn't it? But in the Christian life this requirement is akin to the dirt in which the seed has been buried. It must push through, up and out in order to reach the sun and become a seedling, a young plant. During this stage of development the seed, the Christian, breaks through the hard shell surrounding it; we tear down walls and the new life that is growing us shoots upward to break through the ground (the fears, doubts and ponderings) in which it is buried and become a sprout, a new life, which will grow and become stronger in the light of God's love and mercy. Grace Like Rain.
• The seed's fourth requirement is light: it requires sunshine and warmth. So, too, the Christian requires Sonlight. We strive, persevere, and push through the obstacles to reach the Christ in Whom our lives shine. 
• The seed's fifth and final stage is the transformation into what it was created to be. Its roots have driven deep into the ground, its shoots have made their final push through and up, its leaves are releasing oxygen and its purpose is made known when its fruit (plant type) is visible to everyone who sees it. So, too, is the Christian's life. They who see us know we are Christians even before we open our mouth to speak. For the glory of the Lord shines in our faces. 

    CHRIST AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD

How wonderful to be a seed in the garden of God, to be the planting of the Lord! Rise up, O Christian, and be who the Lord is calling you to be! See Him in all His glory, where He is seated at the right hand of His Father. Ask you how we know He is there? The Word states this is so. He has been seen there. 

    Acts 7:55-56

55) But he (Stephen) being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. (56) And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

    Mark 16:19

After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

    Daniel 7:13

In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence.

    Someday soon we, too, will see Christ at the right hand of God. For God's Word is True & Faithful. God never lies. God is Love, not chaos. All will see Him but not all will remain with Him. Only the ones who have believed on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation and turned their backs on the temptations of this world, choosing to live for Him. 

    Have you said, Yes, Lord, I am Yours? Have you surrendered your heart and your life to Him? Hurry, hurry; come to the altar and give God your heart, that He may plant Himself in your heart. changing you according to His will and purpose for  you. Like He did me. 

    Every day is a new challenge, a new opportunity to serve Him and be of use to Him in His kingdom. Every day is a day of growth, a day of spreading the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ, in the hopes that the hearer would receive it into their own hearts. 

    We pray, Lord, be my Lord. I am a wretched sinner and I have transgressed against You. I have broken Your laws and I need Your Savior. I need Jesus Christ to wash my sins away in the blood He shed for me on the cross. I need His resurrection power to become the Christian You want me to be. I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. As I commit myself to You, Father, strengthen me in Your Word and  Your Love. Guide me, lead me, guard my tongue, that I may speak only the words You give me. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit that I may walk in this new life which You have given me. I praise You and thank You for saving me, filling me and leading me. In Jesus' Name, we pray, Amen. 

FEARLESS