Daily Bible Reading: Isaiah 1:19; Matthew 5:16; Ephesians 4:32; Philippians 4:4-6
Recently I was particularly struck by the verse, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). In reality, we “let” our light shine as an act of our will. It is our choice to obey God and His Word and to let our light shine.
What does it mean to choose to let our light shine? It is our decision, for example, whether we will smile at people and be kind or whether we will scowl at them and be unkind.
We have seven precious grandchildren at the time of this writing. I love watching each of them grow and mature. Their parents — our three sons and their wives — are doing a great job teaching them to obey and correcting them when necessary. Young children will naturally choose to do what they want to do. But as they’re consistently trained and disciplined, they learn to listen better to their parents and to obey more and more consistently.
A child’s training is a process. And in the same way, our spiritual training as believers is an ongoing process. Daily we choose whether or not we will obey the commands of God in His Word, such as:
- “…Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another…” (Ephesians 4:32 NKJV).
- “Rejoice in the Lord always…” (Philippians 4:4 NKJV).
- “Do not be anxious about anything…” (Philippians 4:6 NIV).
Subscribe to Denise’s 28-Day Journey Email Devotionals! These are not suggestions to be considered — they are commands to obey! Just as I might tell my grandchildren, “Don’t take food outside of the kitchen or dining room,” and I expect them to obey me, so it is when God speaks to us. My grandchildren make good choices and are growing up to be wonderful young men and women of God — and God expects the same kind of good choices from us.
When my Heavenly Father gives a command, such as, “Rejoice,“ I want Him to say about me, “Denise is obeying Me more and more, and she is growing.” But in order to obey God, I first have to make a choice. If I make the right choice, the rewards for my wise decision will be many! Isaiah 1:19 (NKJV) says, “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.”
If you have any prayer needs today, please let us know. Philippians 4:6 (NLT) says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” It is an honor to be able to add our faith to yours as we pray to the Father on your behalf.
In His great love,
Denise Renner