by Phil Lapp

Matthew 5:14     “ Ye are the Light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ;
How are we the light of the world? How are we a city that is set on an hill?

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

In our world today there is a common mode that is shaped. Satan wants desperately to make all people everywhere fit into this mode. Most people’s lives fit into this mode and are amazingly much the same.
Stop for a minute and think about this mode.
Most people are sleeping in this morning. Its Sunday morning and many don’t need to go to work. After sleeping much longer than usual, they finally get up and go to church or those who don’t go to church go out for some breakfast and find some entertaining thing to do to occupy their day. This is what the average American is doing today.
Tomorrow morning is Monday. What a hectic morning. We had a great weekend but it is always to short, everyone will tell you this, if you ask them how their weekend was. Monday blues: I think they call it…………..
After staying up late on Sunday night everyone rushes to work on Monday morning and begins to accept the fact that they need to work so they can eat and live. And so goes the rest of the week. After about Wednesday people have fitted into the mode of the week and begin to look forward to the weekend again.
This is the mode of the average American. Even the average American Christian.
If we as Christians are the light of the World by letting them see our good works, which cause them to glorify our Father in Heaven, How will our lives be different from theirs?
If you are in a rut and enslaved to a habit, and someone comes along who encourages you to break the habit and begin to live differently and then shares their testimony of Victory with you, this will greatly influence you and give you hope that you can change your life style. Right?
So as I was interceding in prayer for you this morning, the Lord told me to encourage you to let your light shine before men with your good works, that cause you to live a different lifestyle than the rest of the world.
Are you living in the same rut of life that most Americans are? Does your Sunday morning look just like theirs? Is your Monday morning experience much the same as everyone else’s? Or is your life different? If it is different, how is it different?
It’s the difference that makes the light shine. Most of the candles are not shining, but if yours is shining its very different than the rest.
I encourage you to study Matthew 5,6,7 and their you will see how different our lives are to be from the rest of the world.

Lets not get used to the darkness in which we live. Lets not put on night vision goggles so we can see, but rather lets let our lights shine so not only we can see but we give light to all that are in the house.
Are you willing to ask God how he wants you to change your lifestyle so your life becomes a bright light to this community?
If we all come before God with earnest and sincere hearts, He will truly show us and then give us the grace to live differently than the rest of the world around us.
Perhaps rather than sleeping in , We will get up early to intercede for others in prayer. Perhaps we will ask God how we can bless someone and serve them today rather than taking an afternoon nap or filling up today with entertainment.
Perhaps God will tell you to write someone or call someone and encourage them with a Word from God that you received this morning as you communicated with the Lord.
Again I ask you this challenging question. How is your life different than the rest of the World? How is your life shining to others?
“ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.”
-Phil