Let Your Light Shine

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Who is in heaven.” Matt. 5:16 






Many of us read that verse and zero in on “good works.” We want to see “good works” from them (the holier than thou people) but a studious breakdown of the verse reveals much more.

Christ the Word

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word...
We could spend, at least, the rest of the day on this very short first part of this verse.
“Word” here, Logos, is from the Greek, and in a few words means: thought (or reason), and (expressed) word. Think of it as that which is not seen (being thought or mind), and that which is manifest (as in, spoken or revealed)... God Who is Spirit manifest in Jesus in the flesh. (which we read later in verse 14, the Word was  made flesh.) It is what “incarnate” means; “made flesh, or embody with flesh.” The word incarnate is not, to my knowledge, found in scripture.

Exodus

I was reading in Exodus recently from my morning Spurgeon devotions, and even though I, and I presume everyone else know the story AND I saw the movie... I was struck by the one verse that came in my email... 7:12, “And Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.”

The Silence of the Lamb

In Mark 15; Luke 23; and John 18 we read where Jesus is brought before Pilate by the priests and pharisees.

In Matt. 27:12-14 we read,  And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. Then Pilate said to Him, “Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?” But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.

Crucify Him

John 19... Jesus has been arrested by the Pharisees and chief priests and is brought before Pilate, who interrogates Him. He, Pilate goes out to the crowd to tell them that he finds no fault in Jesus for anything, but he says in 18:39, “you have a custom that I should release someone to you at the Passover. Do you therefore want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” 40 But they all cried out, saying, “Not this Man, but Barabbas!” Barabbas was a notorious insurrectionist and murderer no doubt awaiting death himself. So reluctantly, Pilate releases Barabbas and brings Jesus back inside, and had the soldiers scourge Him, and punch Him, and mock Him with the crown of thorns.

THE WILD BEASTS IN THE WILDERNESS

And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. Mark 1:13

Two things I bear in mind about reading and STUDYING scripture is…

       1. (inspired) MEN are writing

       2. GOD is revealing

Men’s personal life experiences and individual personalities are necessarily incorporated in their recordings of the revelations of God. Otherwise they would have been robots and all four Gospels would read alike. So the applications are both practical and Spiritual. Accordingly, we should always have our spiritual “eyes” open.