Blessing and Woes (Luke 6:17-26)

This passage came to me as I attended a "Gist" worship service on friday. Another one of our youth pastors, Ho-Ming was speaking and this passage came along and I found it interesting. So throughout this passage, most of it would probably come from Pastor Ho-Ming. Its from Luke 6. It has a interesting twist and a good meaning.

¹⁷He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, ¹⁸who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, ¹⁹and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.

²⁰Looking at his disciples, he said:
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
²¹Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
²²Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
²³"Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.

²⁴"But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
²⁵Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
²⁶Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.

luke6:17-26

Throughout the post, I will mainly focus on verses 20-26, but the first 3 verses will be exaplined briefly as well.

Verse 17-19

¹⁷He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, ¹⁸who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, ¹⁹and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.

(17) - "He" as in Jesus went to preach to them.
- There were people from Judea, Jerusalem, Tyre and Sidon, which shows how much they appreciate his presence.
(18) - They came so they could be healed or just to listen and learn or to cure evil spirits.
(19) - Everyone tried to touch him. Like the story of the Woman who touched Jesus' robe (Mark 5:21-43) they all knew he could heal them.
- Because Jesus is so powerful since he is the son of God, there was power "exploding" from him and healed many people.

Now, to the main verses I'd like to concentrate on.

Verse 20-22

20Looking at his disciples, he said:
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
23"Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.

(20) - Jesus says that the POOR will be blessed. and that the Kingdom of God is THEIRS. Not the rich, but the POOR.
(21) - Jesus continues to say "confusing things" that the hungry will be satisfied, and those who are in sadness and pain will laugh.
(22) - Here is a very awkward part, where Jesus says that you are blessed when people hate you, exclude you and call you names BECAUSE of Jesus, The Son Of Man.
- Not blessed when you are hated for what you have done, but because of JESUS CHRIST.
(23) - Jesus tells us to rejoice when those days come along. Why? Becuase our reward in heaven is great.
- That is how their fathers trated the prophets.

This may seem EXTREMLY confusing but (hopefully) I can clear it up for you after.

Verses 24-26

24"But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.

Jesus continues to say...

woe. ~ meaning grief. But "grief" to those... (or suffer)
(click here to go to the definition @ dictionary.com)

(24) - Woe to those who are rich. Grief to the rich ones. Why? Because they have already received comfort.
- comfort as in so-called "happiness" or power.
(25) - Grief to those who are full, because they will become hungry.
- Grief to those who laugh, for they will suffer
(26) - Grief to those who praise you for that was how their fathers treated the FALSE prophets.

You are probably still wondering what this all means, well there is where I'll explain (to the best of my abilities).

Verses 20-26 concentrate on 3 MAIN THINGS.

1. POWER. (verse 20/24 ~ rich/poor as in those who had power and those who were weak)
   
2. SATISFACTION. (verse 21/25 ~ hunger/well-fed & laugh/weep as in the ones with satisfied and smooth-sailing lives compared to those with many trials and sufferings)
   
3. RECOGNITION. (verse 22/26 ~ hate, insult, exclusion/praise as in those who gain praise and recognition from awards, or deeds etc...)

Through the 7 main verses, Jesus is trying to tell us that he doesn't care about those 3 things. Powe, Satisfation, and Recognition are all meaningless to God. Those things may seem amazing and great, but to God, it doesnt matter. That is why he blesses those who don't have those things, and grief to those who do.

I personally believe that these things are not BAD, but when you use it inappropriately, that is when God doesn't like it. How so?

1. POWER. - using it not to praise God but yourself, fulfilling your OWN needs instead of others (1 Corinthians 10:31).
   
2. SATISFACTION. - although you are having a "good" life, you choose to just stay happy instead of helping others when their lives are not going so well (Ephesians 4:29).
3. RECOGNITION. - its great that you are getting honored for your deeds, but if you become too prideful and do not HUMBLY accept the blessing you have been praised with, it becomes a bad thing (Philippians 2:3). Also, your deeds should be done for God not for yourself and your own benefit (1 Corinthians 10:31).
   

Does it make a lot more sense now? Thanks to Pastor Ho-Ming and his wonderful sermon on Friday. Credited to him.

Any questions? Please leave a comment!

SUB it,
Smij Nahc † [1 Corinthians 10:31. Do everything for the glory of God.]
God Bless You ♥

Sploxa Series - Doing Faith! [partthree]

Today, our wonderful Pastor Keely concluded and finished off her outstanding mini series on James 1. After the past 2 weeks, we have finally gotten to the last 8 verses of the chapter. James 1:19-21. Here's what I got from the sermon.

¹⁹My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. ²¹Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

²²Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror ²⁴and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

²⁶If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. ²⁷Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
james1:19-27

Like last week, we split up the section into 3 separate parts. Verses 19-21, 22-25, and 26-27. Throughout the sermon we cut it down and broke it down and applied it to our own lives. Here's how it went, and what I learnt.

James 1:19-21
- (19) James first, grabs the attention of the group, signaling that it is an important message and that they/YOU need to pay attention.
- the main point he starts with is that we must be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. When we talk too much, we cannot listen.
- when we read the scripture, LISTEN, don't speak, LISTEN. Also, be slow to anger or frustrations so you can take in what God wants you to learn.
- we need to learn to approach the scripture with a humble and clean heart.
- the more anger, the more talking, the less listening.
- (20) if we do not obey these commands, it will bring a life God doesn't desire.
- (21) therefore we should get rid of all of our sinful nature and accept his Word that will save us.
- we must learn to SUBMIT ourselves to the word.
- submissions = willingness of the heart, respect.
- so, submit to the word of God out of RESPECT.

James 1:22-25
- (22) "Do what it says". We must not just LISTEN to the word, but ACT upon it.
- we as Christians are RESPONSIBLE to act on the Word of God. Put what you profess into practice.
- (23) Analogy: mirror - to study yourself, and get to know yourself. bible - to study God and learn about God.
- (24) We cannot simply just look away and COMPLETELY forget about it.
- (25) a TRUE christian; remains faithful, true to what you've listened to, not a double-minded person and constantly "looks in the mirror".
- in verse 25, the "perfect law" refers to the law of Moses.
- the law of Moses is the will for our lives, it gives us freedom but is impossible to achieve. So how does it work?

LAW - if we keep it, we can have a relationship with God, but it was impossible. God knew, so...
JESUS CHRIST - he sent his son to SAVE us from the law.
REACTION - out of LOVE, we choose to keep those laws because we love and respect our God.
understandable?

James 1:26-27
- (26) we must keep a rein on our tongue. We cannot have unrighteousness and righteousness come out of the same mouth.
- allow fruitful things, encouragement, and holy things to come out of your mouth.
- (27) religious things (ex. missions) should be done out of LOVE.
- motivated by LOVE.
- we should achieve genuine faith so we can avoid pollution from the world into us.

Conclusion of James 1

1. It isnt enough to just LISTEN, ACT upon it. What separates you from non-believers?
2. It isnt just enough to ACT, our HEART must be in the right place. We should act out of LOVE.
3. What fuels your faith? Motivation of LOVE and GOD.

SUB it,
Smij Nahc † [do it out of LOVE.]
God Bless You ♥

Do Not Worry (Matthew 6:25-34)

Worry, I am sure is a big part of many many people's lives. I see people worrying about several things. From what they wear, to how they eat, to how they talk, about others, and friends and family, many things. You can basically worry about EVERY. SINGLE. THING. in the world. Matthew, a disciple of Jesus talks about it in this passage from Matthew 6.

25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

matthew6:25-34

I personally, like a format I have used recently. Although it may SEEM more lengthy, you can understand the passage much better, word by word, or phrase by phrase.

verse25
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life," ~ Matthew starts off the passage with a clear, powerful statement, telling us NOT to worry about life.

"what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear." ~ He becomes more specific and lists examples. Food, drinks, clothing, basically, he wants to say about EVERYTHING.
"Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" ~ Life is more important than these things. Like in a previous post from a sermon, everything we have and DON'T have are meaningless (James 1:11). -for the post, click here- LIFE, is more important than all these tangible things.

verse26
26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns" ~ the birds our Lord has made does not do not worry much about anything and their Father (creator/God) still feeds them." In 1 Kings 17 1:6, Elijah was didn't worry and trusted the Lord, and the Lord fed him as well.

"Are you not much more valuable than they?" ~ compare yourself to the birds. God has blessed us with shelter and SO MUCH MORE. Doesn't this show how much MORE God loves us? Trust in his unconditional love for us and DO. NOT. WORRY.

⁸ But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever.

psalm52:8

verse27
27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" ~ like mentioned before, compare yourselves and understand/believe how blessed we are. We worry even more than the birds. We worry as if we can add hours to God's Life? Stop worrying!

verse28
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin." ~ why should we care or worry about what we wear? Lilies are beautiful without work, and like lilies, God made us naturally beautiful. We do not need to work to be beautiful. We already are.

verse29
29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

"Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these." ~ even Solomon, he was rich and wealthy and he did work so hard to dress to impress.

verse30
30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

"If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire," ~ if God clothes grass without work and making it naturally beautiful, without work and the grass is here for a long period of time and even thrown into the fire,.... then....

"will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" ~ he will surely make you beautiful as well, correct?

verse31
31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'

"So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'" ~ once again, Matthew reminds us and brings up the point that we should not worry or worry through speaking as well.

verse32
32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

"For the pagans run after all these things," ~ pagans (non-christian/jewish/muslim) run and worry about things like clothing and food.

"and your heavenly Father knows that you need them." ~ unlike the pagans, our God knows EVERYTHING and he knows exactly what you need.

verse33
33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness," ~ we must remember to seek God and his righteousness first. Our goal is to be Christ-like and live a Christ-reflective life. Learn to be like God. It will not happen overnight, and it will take time, but we will get there eventually if you are willing to.
"and all these things will be given to you as well." ~ if we seek his kingdom and goodness, "all these things", such as food, shelter, etc... will be given to us. Matthew 7:7 states,

⁷"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

verse34
34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself." ~ Matthew concludes the passage with this verse, which is actually a gesture. We shouldn't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow, is tomorrow. Allow God to control your future, and your stress about the future will be taken away.
"Each day has enough trouble of its own." ~ there are already many trials and temptations and troubles in every single day we encounter. In the 24 hours you can experience a lot, so there is no need to worry about the future. Even the near-future as well.

Conclusion/Things to Ponder on:

1. Do not worry about LIFE. Food, shelter, clothing etc...
2. God KNOWS what you need and he will provide, so why worry?
3. Seek his kingdom and greatness and he will give you what you need.
4. Do not worry about the future, allow God to take over.

A while ago, I read "Right With God" by Ron Mehl and I learnt a lot from the book. One part of the book REALLY stood out to me and I have remembered it ever since I read it.

"Worry is a warning light on the dashboard, informing us that we've been taken back our lives from his care, a very foolish thing to do." - Right With God by Ron Mehl (16)

SUB it,
Smij Nahc † [Do Not Worry. Give it to God.]
God Bless You ♥

A Psalm Of David (Psalm 23)

(the Lord is our Shepherd.)

This, I believe is probably one of the most well known passages in the bible and probably the most well-known passage in the Book of Psalms. Let me give you a hint. "The Lord is my Shepard...". Yes. That's it. Psalm 23 is the passage we are looking into today.

¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

² He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

³ he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

⁴ Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

⁶ Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

psalm23

This passage is only made up of six verses, but each verse is pretty long. Let's take a look at each verse, separately.

VERSE ONE.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

It says that our Lord, our God is our Shepherd. So what is a shepherd? Well, these people are to look over the sheep or lamb. Lamb and sheep are usually somewhat, stubborn creatures. As you see sometimes, they run off everywhere and get lost all the time. So if GOD is OUR Shepherd, what are we? We are the sheep. The stubborn creatures that run around and get into trouble. Is that true about us? YES. We as "sheep", we...

~ run off to other roads we are not intended to be on.
(ex. do not follow God's commands, lured into temptations)
~ get lost and may possibly move away from God.
(ex. fall away from God through sin)

That's why we need a "shepherd" to look over us. And who is our shepherd? God. And he is an AMAZING shepherd as well. Why? Verse 2 shows us.

VERSE TWO
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

He, "God" makes me lie in green pastures. Well, God doesnt REALLY make us lie down on grass, but what this means is that he gives the best for each and everyone on of us. In the verse, it mentions "GREEN" as well. Would God let us lie in "yellow" pastures? Not. He gives us GREEN grass, or whatever crops/plants there are. Sheep EAT grass so, God gives us this. This also shows that God PROVIDES for us.

The second half of the second verse says that he LEADS us by quiet waters. The word "LEAD" is used. This shows that we should FOLLOW our LEADER (God). I, personally am not sure what "quiet waters" represent, but I think it can demostrate that God leads us through and by peaceful places. He leads us to PEACE and his Grace. What else does this wonderful God do? Its continues in verse 3.

VERSE THREE
3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

Here, I can say that David is being more... relevant to "humans". God restores our souls. God guides us to righteousness. If we ask our Lord for forgiveness, he will generously give it to us and he will restore our soul. Take away the sinful things we have done, and wipe our slates clean. He guides us as well. How? Through the GOSPEL. The BIBLE. As I have been told before, an acroymn for BIBLE is... Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. And, it is true. Everything in the Bible teaches us right from wrong, and if we follow his commands, we will become more like God and be righteous people.

VERSE FOUR
4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

This is a longer verse, but it has a LOT of meaning and gives relief. Throughout the verse it talks about God's presence and fearing no sin or evil. Even if we walk in the SHADOW OR DEATH, which can mean temptations, trials, sin, lures, We will fear NO EVIL. Why? Because you are with me you rod and staff comfort me. The "rod" and "staff" can represent many things such as, prayer, or the bible, or pastors as well. They are sent and used by God and ourselves so we can be comforted and so we can fear no evil. This verse is a very relieving verse. It gives you comfort and it reminds you that no matter what goes on in life, God is with you and you have NOTHING to be afriad of.

VERSE FIVE
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

Here, it tells us that God has prepared a table for you. In heaven God has already reserved a spot for you as long as you have believed and your name is in the book of life. If you believe, you have a table prepared for you and have given you salvation. In the past, and possible nowadays as well, when you "anoint someone's head with oil" you are usually blessing them. Well, in this verse that is EXACTLY what it means. God blesses us with many things. Food, water, shelther, friends, family, EVERYTHING we have is a blessing from God. Because you have some many blessings, your cup overflows, not with water or a drink, but from the overfilling amount of blessings God has blessed us with. We should learn to spread and give those blessings to others as well.

VERSE SIX

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

Love and goodness with follow us because we have God and he blesses us forever until the day we leave the earth to join with God. Because we are believers of Christ and we love and obey him, we will dwell with God forever. The house of God is the CHURCH, but it can also represent God. We must learn to abide in him FOREVER. Follow his commands, fulfill his purpose for us in life, and follow God. If we abide in God, he will abide in us (John 15:1-17).

~~~
Conclusions/Things to take away:

1. GOD IS OUR LEADER, WE MUST FOLLOW HIM. -verse one-
2. GOD PROVIDES US WITH THE BEST THINGS. -verse two-
3. GOD GUIDES US AND WILL FORGIVE US. -verse three-
4. GOD IS ALWAYS WITH US. FEAR NO EVIL. -verse four-
5. GOD HAS RESERVED YOU IN HEAVEN IF YOU BELIEVE. -verse five-
6. GOD WANTS YOU TO FOLLOW HIM AND ABIDE IN HIM FOREVER. -verse six-

SUB it,
Smij Nahc † [God is with you. ALWAYS.]
God Bless You ♥

Shining Like Stars (Philippians 2:12-18)

(going against the current/flow)

Here is another passage from Philippians which basically talks about what we should do as Christians and rejoicing in the Lord. I think its a brief, but a good reminder for us.

12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. 14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

philippians2:12-18

This time, I will try a new format... or possibly, I have used this already, but I just want to try new ways of interpretation.

verse12

12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ...

This is the first verse from the passage and it is written, well this whole book is written by Paul and Timothy.

"Therefore, my dear friends," ~ Paul and Timothy talking to his congregation or audience or in our perspective, us.

"as you have always obeyed" ~ saying that we SHOULD have always obeyed God, as long as we are Christians.

"not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence" ~ obeying God not ONLY in his presence (can be meaning, in the house of God, church) but moreover in his ABSENCE (at school, work, outside of church).

"continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling," ~ do what? to work out your salvation with fear. Working towards salvation, and fearing God.

verse13

13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

"for it is God who works in you" ~ you cannot work without God, when you influence others, it isn't really YOU influencing them, it is GOD influencing THEM.

"to will and to act according to his good purpose." ~ God works in you so you can act accordingly to why he made you. God helps you fulfill your purpose in life.

verse14/15

14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe...

"Do everything without complaining or arguing," ~ do not talk back when you are asked to do something. No complaints. Do everything in obedience and be humble while doing it.

"so that you may become blameless and pure," ~ why? to become pure and righteous in God's eyes.

"children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation," ~ we are known as Children of God, or Christians, and we should stand out of the crowd (the world). Our world is turning into a "crooked and depraved generation" so we mustn't follow it, but move AGAINST it.

"in which you shine like stars in the universe" ~ to stand out in the world. To illuminate God like how stars illuminate the universe.

verse16

16as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.

"as you hold out the word of life" ~ standing out in the word, how? through the word of life (the gospel, God's word).

"in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing." ~ so that on judgment day/day of Christ, you can proclaim that you worked for something. You stood out of the crowd, went against the current, for a reason. For salvation.

verse17

17But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.

"But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service" ~ it is possible that it seems like all this work may be worth nothing, all the sacrifices and things I have done.

"coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you." ~ but because of your faith in the Lord, we (brothers and sisters) are all glad and will celebrate with you.

verse18

18So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

"So you too should be glad and rejoice with me." ~ and because I rejoice with you, you should rejoice with me as well.

Throughout this passage we need to learn to....

1. live by God's Word whether if it flows with the world, or not.
2. when you obey and follow God, you will gain in the end.
3. as we live by God's word and go against the current together, we will rejoice together.
   

SUB it,
Smij Nahc † [Follow God's Word. It is hard, but possible. Philippians 4:13]
God Bless You ♥

Doing Faith! Series (James 1:9-18)

Today was part two of KJT's mini series on Faith and a study on James 1. Today we studied verses 9:18. I honestly love her sermons because it is so deep and she uses a lot of enthusiam and just it moves me... a lot. Anyways, let's get into the fantastic sermon she preached today. Amen. (for James 1:1-8, click here.)

⁹The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. ¹⁰But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. ¹¹For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.

¹²Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

¹³When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. ¹⁵Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

¹⁶Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. ¹⁷Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ¹⁸He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

james1:9-18

Like Pastor Kelly did, the passages are broken down into 3 different sections. Verses 9-11, 12-15, and 16-18. Let's start the break down.

⁹The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. ¹⁰But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. ¹¹For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.

James 1:9-11
- (9) the "brother in humble circumstances" is to represent the ones in low positions or the poor, or just the ones suffering and are facing many trials.
- they must learn to take pride and know that although they are facing these trials and maybe in a low point, they are still children of God and they are equally loved in God's eyes.
- (10) the "rich" are the ones who have smooth lives at the moment and seem to have no problems or trials.
- they should also take pride because he and his things will fade away soon enough.
- from these 2 verses, you can get that BOTH kinds of people are the same. Not much of a difference.
- we are all sinners, we will all die, and we will all face God.
- (11) talks about in the end, everything will fade away. From clothes, to money, to cars, everything. The "blossom" can represent clothing or valuables, but in the end, it will ALL FADE AWAY.
- this shows that everything we have and do not have are all meaningless and are nothing.

12Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
¹³When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. ¹⁵Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

James 1:12-15
- (12) we get tested through trials and temptations. Like a car test, we get smashed into walls and others, but do we last? Do we pass the tests? Are we durable?
- (13) temptations do NOT come from God. God cannot be tempted and he doesnt have the evil desire to tempt us as well.
- (14) temptation "sparks" sin. "by his OWN evil desire (temptation), he is dragged away and enticed (sin).
- temptations starts off by our OWN evil desire.
- when we act upon or after temptations, it becomes a sin.
- temptation is NOT a sin. When we act upon it, or give into it, it becomes a sin.
- (15) Desire >>> Sin >>> Death.

¹³No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

1corinthians10:13

16Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. 17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

James 1:16-18
- (16) do not be deceived by others/media.
- when you need wisdom or advice, ask God and not others
- (17) God gives generously and he will always be the God that gives generously. He is the same God yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
- (18) gospel >>> God >>> Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

1. Trials come in the form of temptations. Will you give in? Will you ask God for wisdom?
2. Temptations do NOT come from God. (It is Satan's way to take us away from God)
3. Temptations are NOT sin. Satan cannot force us to sin, but he can only lure us to sin.
4. Every good thing/blessing is from God. He never said the good things must be happy things are things that make you rich. The trials and sufferings you and I go through are some of those blessings. It helps us grow and have a stronger relationship with God.
   

SUB it,
Smij Nahc † [part three coming next sunday]
God Bless You ♥

Life By The Spirit (Galatians 5:16-25)

Today, I am trying to interpret a passage from Galatians. More specifically, Galatians 5:16-25. The title is Life by the Spirit, and I'm guessing that you can infer that is is about "Living By The Spirit". Or as I would get from the title, Life when you live with/by God. So let's take a... closer look.

¹⁶So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ¹⁷For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

¹⁹The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

galatians5:16-25

¹⁶So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ¹⁷For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

The passage, well, book is written or preached by Paul, so he is the one speaking, or writing. In this section, he starts off with a powerful and strong verse. In verse 16, he explains how IF you live by the the spirit, you will NOT gratify cravings of sin. So IF you live by/with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, you WILL NOT gratify (please) sin. Verse 17 goes into more detail and explains more that sin and spirit are two OPPOSITE things. They conflict one another, therefore if you follow the spirit (God), you will not sin. But in verse 18, it says that if you are led by the spirit, you are NOT under law. Saying that if you follow God, he will not FORCE you to follow him. This shows that sin will or can occur even though you follow the Lord or you believe in Jesus Christ.

19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Verses 19-21 gives us examples and provides what sinful nature we should stay away from and in verse 21, Paul gives us a CLEAR warning about the consequences are for those who live sinful lives. This way, he doesn't get excuses about what is what. These three verses sure be pretty straight forward and clear. Just for you as you are reading this to be clear, verse 21 is EXTREMELY significant.

²¹and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

If you choose to live that life, you will NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD. NO ETERNAL LIFE IN HEAVEN.

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

The third and final part of this passage talks about the fruit of the spirit, and basically concludes everything. Verses 22-23 talk about the different fruit of the spirit we should carry. The passage from John 15:1-17 talks about Jesus being the Vine and God being the gardener and we being the branches that produce fruit. What fruit? The FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.

Verse 24 tells us that if and those who are Christ's, their sinful nature has been crucified and have died. Our sins have died because Jesus died for us. 1 John 1:9 explains more about our sins dying and how.

⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1john1:9

Here, it says if we CONFESS our sins to God, saying that we are wrong and are sinners, God is faithful and will forgive us and will cleanse us from unrighteousness or unholiness and sin.

The last verse, verse 25, sums everything up and states...

25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Because we live by God, we must STAY with God and follow him. Amen.

Finally, I hope that you can live by the spirit and be able to produce and demonstrate the different fruits of the spirit. God Bless You.

SUB it,
Smij Nahc † [Any requests for interpretations?]
God Bless You ♥

Faith and Deeds (James 2:14-26)

(Faith - hearing and believing the message. Deed - preaching it to others.)
romans10:17

Here is a passage from James. After the sermon on Sunday, I have been more interesting in the book of James, so I took a look, and I found many passages. This is just one of the many I would like to write about. Here it talks about how Faith and Deeds go in hand in hand and how important they are together. Without one, the other isn't much.

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

¹⁸But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

¹⁹You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

²⁰You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? ²¹Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. ²⁴You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

²⁵In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? ²⁶As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

james2:14-26

Like always, I'll break it down to the best of my abilities verse by verse.

14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?

In the first verse, James starts off the topic by stating, not wondering, but STATING that if brothers or sisters or anyone has faith and no deeds, what good is it? Faith cannot save you and give you salvation and eternal life If you accept it and do nothing. You must learn to ACT upon it.

15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

James then, in verse 15, gives us a clear and reasonable example for this statement. He says that if a friend comes to your door without food or clothes, is it okay to just say okay, God Bless You and close the door? No. You must act upon it. Invite him/her in, give them food/clothes, DO something. Through this, James shows and demonstrates how actions must go with faith for it to be good.

18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

Moving on to verse 18, it also shows that you cannot have two people and have one element per person. You as ONE person needs to achieve BOTH components. FAITH and DEEDS.

Honestly, I do not really know the exact meaning of verse 19, but I can somehow relate it to the content. You need BOTH Faith and Deeds. So if you believe in God, you need to act upon it. And demons on the other hand believe in God, but their actions are bad and they shudder... if that makes any sense.


20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? ²¹Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. ²⁴You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

Anyways, in verses 20-24, James talks about past events that demonstrate how important this is. He refers to the Word of God to back up his point. His first example was the story of when God requested Abraham to sacrifice his son as an offering (Genesis 22:1-9). Abraham had Faith in his Lord and he obeyed God. And because of his faithfulness, God saved Issac.

FAITH - believing and trusting God
DEED - offering Issac

25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
In the verse 25, James gives ANOTHER reference to the Word of God to provide proof for his point. His second example from the Scripture was Rahab (Joshua 2). In this story, spies for Joshua went to spy on Jericho and Rahab had accepted them and protected them if they promised to save her life from what they were going to do. Rahab had a strong faith in the spies and in God that they would save her and because of her trust and faith, she was saved.

FAITH - trusting, having faith in Christ and spies
DEED - offering protection and helping them escape

In the last verse, 26, James gives a conclusion and ends off his passage or preaching by stating...

26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

This verse is very powerful. It compares two things. A body without the spirit is DEAD. and faith without deeds is DEAD. I think I can interpret that a BODY (you and me) without the spirit (God) is DEAD. And Faith (you and I should have) without deeds (actions) is DEAD. Understandable?

If you are a believer, and you have faith and believe Christ died for you and that he can save you, learn to act upon it. How? You can help others, love others, encourage one another, evangelize, there are many things you can do. As long as it is what GOD wants.

SUB it,
Smij Nahc † [Faith and Deeds go in HAND in HAND.]
God Bless You ♥

The Parable Of The Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21)

Greed. We probably have all experienced Greed in some sort of way, shape or form. And this passage is directly focused on this specific sin. God preaches a parable to a man who wants part of his brothers inheritance.

¹³Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."

¹⁴Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" ¹⁵Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

¹⁶And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. ¹⁷He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'

¹⁸"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '

²⁰"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' ²¹"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

luke12:13-21

Well, this passage can teach and show us many things. In the very first verse,...

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."

It shows that this person is taking Jesus for granted. I think, in a way. Because in previous verses, this man was not talked about and in the verse, it says that SOMEONE in the crowd said. Therefore, it can mean that this man knew about this "Jesus" and wanted to use his power to get what he wanted. He wanted Jesus to order his brother to divide his inheritance.

Then Jesus on the other hand, in verses 14-15, was smart and even used this man as a opportunity to teach and use him as an example.

14Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" ¹⁵Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

Jesus asks who made him the judge of things? because the man was using him for his own benefit. In verse 15, Jesus spoke to THEM. Not the man, the CROWD. And used the man as an example to watch out for greed. Our lives does not and should not consist in materialism.

Jesus then starts to explain through a parable in verse 16-20...

16And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. ¹⁷He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'

¹⁸"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '

²⁰"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

Here the parable is simple and pretty self-explanatory. Firstly, in verse 16, we learn that there is a rich man who has many crops but one day, he has no more space for storage, so he chooses to destroy his old storage spaces to then build bigger ones for more space, to make more money, to live a good life. Like verse 19, he'll have plenty of good things for years to come.

But God in verse 20 gets angry and knocks some sense into him. Because he has been so greedy and not willing to share with others, what will others live on? How can they eat if you save and keep everything for yourself?

Lastly, in verse 21, Jesus sums up the parable with the consequence.

²¹"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

God will treat people like verse 20, if they keep everything for themselves. God made EVERYTHING. Everything we own, want to own, and have own all belong to God. He made all of it for us to enjoy or to worship God in a certain way. Because we are so fortunate to have all these amazing things and be blessed by God, we must give back. We simply cannot keep all of this for ourselves. Like tithing, we should give back at least a tenth of what we have. We need to learn to be RICH TOWARDS GOD.

If you are dealing with Greed, we must learn to put it to DEATH like it says in Colossians 3:5. We must place it at the foot of the cross and ask God for forgiveness.

⁵Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

colossians3:5

SUB it,

Smij Nahc † [Put your sins to death, give back to God for he has given you so much more.]
God Bless You ♥

Doing Faith! Series (James 1:1-8)

One of our youth pastors, KJT started a new mini sermon series called Doing Faith! Which is a study on James 1. Throughout this, she is expository preaching, which is breaking down a passage verse by verse and then showing, teaching how it applies to our lives. So this sermon series, as I said is based on James 1. Today we studied James 1:1-8.

background and history of James (verse 1)
Firstly, before we even get into the passage, we need to understand the history of James. He wrote this passage to HIS congregation and we are looking through it trying to apply it to our lives. Through research, the James who wrote this was Jesus' brother and this letter's purpose was to go to various locations and to be passed down to other places or generations. Mainly, before YOU were born, Jesus knew and he allowed James to write this passage for every one of you.

¹James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:
Greetings.

Trials and Temptations

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ⁶But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

james1:1-8

joy in trials (verse 2-3)
- this is one of the main purposes in the letter.
- trials test your faith and creates perseverance.
- as Christians, our lives will NEVER be perfect and good. We WILL ALL go through struggles. If our lives were "good", why would we ever need a God to come and save us from our perfect lives? It just doesn't make sense.
- we all will have different struggles from one another and these struggles will NOT stop.
- GOD is the one giving us these trials. We must learn to be joyful and understand his majestic power and almighty goodness.
- trials also start up our prayer lives.
- like a bottle of wine, or gold, needs to go through many trials. For instance, a bottle of wine needs to go through a long time for it to be "good" and flavorful. The BEST part.
- FAITH leads to PERSEVERANCE leads to CHARACTER leads to HOPE.

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

james1:2-3

results of perseverance (verse 4-5)
- our GOAL as Christians is to finish our faith STRONG. From the day we accept Christ until the day we died and spend eternity with him.
- struggles usually come from lacking of wisdom and we often lack wisdom while we face these struggles as well.
- thankfully, GOD can give us the wisdom we need. The courage, the strength to overcome trials in life.
- we need to know that we CANNOT go through it alone. If we try facing them alone, we will fail.
- learn to be humble and accept any kind of wisdom our God gives us.
- do not try to turn to anyone else other than God. He WILL give us wisdom.

⁴Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

james1:4-5

standing strong in our faith (verse 6-8)
- we need to believe and have faith that God WILL answer our prayers and our call.
- what is the difference between a Christ-follower and one that isnt?
- there is NO SUCH THING as a half christian. You cannot be in the middle in your faith.
- some people say they are christian but when they step out of God's house they put down their faith and live like everyone else.

⁶But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

james1:6-8

conclusion. main points.

1. This teaches us that trials are blessings. We should thank our Lord for giving us these struggles to improve our faith and develop perseverance to then lead to character and hope.
2. Let trials run their own course. Allow yourself to ask God what he wants you to learn from this struggle. Do not try to find the quick fix of the problem. Learn from it.
   
3. Ask God for wisdom. Be humble, and ask for wisdom to help face the struggle or trial you are dealing with. He WILL listen to your prayers.
4. Do not be double-minded. You cannot be both. Either HOT or COLD. Believer or Non-believer. No Half Christians in this world.

ALL preached by KJT. Thanks. Wonderful message.

SUB it,
Smij Nahc † [Make your trials your blessings.]
God Bless You ♥

Salt and Light (Matthew 5:13-16)

Let's jump right into it. :D

¹³"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.

¹⁴"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people 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. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

matthew5:13-16

There are two main concepts in this passage. Salt. and Light. We are ALL Salt and Light of the world if we believe and have recieved Salvation. There is NO OPTION.

Salt.

Why did Jesus use SALT as a metaphor? Well, [according to a previous devotion by Dr. Michael Youssef] in the past, Salt was extremely valuable. Salt had many many uses in the past. For flavoring and storage. Some say that the whiteness of the salt is to represent our belief and the purity of it. It can also mean that we as christians should be adding "flavor" to the world. As most of us should know, Salt preserves meat or different foods. So when Jesus says that we are the Salt of the World, we need to stop the moral decay in our sin infected world.

¹³"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.

matthew5:13

In the second half of the verse, Jesus talks about losing our "saltiness." Our saltiness is NOT our salvation. Usually, if salt is contained for a long period of time, it becomes poisonous and cannot be used. So if we do not "use" ourselves, we will become useless and will be "thrown away". So how can we be restored? Literally, I think salt cannot be restored with saltiness, but in our Christian lives, it can be. How? Through the forgiveness and grace of God. If we confess and ask God for forgiveness, he will restore us and make us new salt so we can live out our purpose.

Light.

Before I get in Dr. Michael Youseff's interpretation, I think I should state what I think this means. In verses 14-16, Jesus talks to us about being the Light of the World. Let's dive in.

14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people 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. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

matthew5:14-16

Light. What does it do? Have you ever been a dark place and lit a match, or turned on a flashlight? What happens? The light filled the whole room although it is such a small source. Like Jesus says, "A City on a Hill cannot be Hidden". So light, cannot be hidden in the dark. Also, if you were to light up a room, you wouldnt hide your candle in a cup would you? We need to allow the light to shine and spread its light and glory all over. Not to keep it contained and in one spot. We are LIGHT. Let us, like the rays of the sun, radiate our goodness and worship and praise to your God, our father in heaven. So everyone can see and be influenced.

Now, back to Dr. Michael Youseff's interpretation. Salt means to conteract the pwer of sin. Light on the other hand is to make use seen and known. Our lives should be Christ-reflective. We have to worship and praise God with pure hearts so we can spread the light. But we must remember, who's light are we shining? OURS? or GOD'S?

¹⁵ so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.

philippians2:15

We must learn to emit our goodness for God and radiate our worship and praise to our father in heaven. We are surrounded by sin and darkness. Have you been radiating light for our God?

⁵The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

john1:5

Many pieces of this post taken from Dr. Michael Youseff's Devotional. Take a look!

SUB it,
Smij Nahc † [be the salt and light of the world. John 8:12]
God Bless You ♥