Friday, June 24, 2016

Your statutes are wonderful, therefore I obey them. The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands. Turn to me and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name. Psalm 119:129-132

Thank God today for his word and ask him to bring light and understanding to your heart and mind today.

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do men light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:13-16

When I was a freshman in college I was rather quiet about my faith. I was a Christian, and I wanted to follow Christ, but I wasn’t anxious to be identified as such by my new classmates. I suppose, looking back, that I didn’t want to start off my new college life being identified as “weird” or “different.” But about two weeks into my first semester, a bunch of us were up just hanging out at about 1 a.m. when a fellow freshman – known to be quite the party animal – looked at me and said, “Hey Coffey, what makes you tick?” I said, “Uh, what do you mean?” He said, “Well, you don’t drink, you don’t cuss – you’re just different – are you religious or something? What makes you tick?” I remember mumbling something about being a Christian – I’m sure not the most dynamic testimony by any means – and my classmate just said, “That’s cool, I was just wondering.”

I’ve often thought back to that late night conversation. Even when I was trying to hide the light of Christ “under a bowl” – it still leaked out! Yet, even so, I wasn’t ready to put my light on a stand and share it with my dorm mates. The truth is that I had unintentional impact, accidental influence on the guys in my dorm. I think Jesus is calling us to more than accidental impact - he’s calling us to intentional influence. That doesn’t mean we have to be the kind of “in your face” kind of witness that frightens people or turns them off. It does mean that we should not hide our light – but rather we should always be ready and willing to share the light of truth, the light of Christ, with those who are trying to find their way. 

Can you think of a person in your life who might be searching for God – or who should be searching for God? Ask God to provide an opportunity for you to be the spiritual influence he can use to draw that person to himself. Ask him to prepare you with the right words to either explain why you are a follower of Christ – or to invite them to join you for a worship service or ministry event at FBCG!

Thank the Lord for being faithful to spend time with you this week – and for his presence in your life!

Brian Coffey