“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Matthew 5:14-16

On a night when there is a full moon, if you go outside and look up it seems that the moon is very bright indeed. It lights up the evening sky. Yet of course the moon is not actually shining at all—it is merely reflecting the light of the sun. If there was no sun shining on it, the moon would be invisible. It has no light of its own to beam down on the world below.

When Jesus said that we are to be lights in the world, He was not talking about us producing light, but rather reflecting His light to those around us. The only way we can do this is to live in close communion and fellowship with Him day by day. When the moon passes between the Earth and the sun during a solar eclipse, the sun’s light is obscured. The same thing happens in our lives when something comes between God and us.

There are many negatives associated with sin, but one of the worst is that it breaks the fellowship we have with God. While it does not change our relationship in His family, it does create a disruption. And that disruption is communication to those outside. The evangelist D. L. Moody said, “A holy life will make the deepest impression. Lighthouses blow no horns, they just shine.” When we walk in God’s light and behave wisely and obey his commandments, it shows God’s glory to the world. — Daily in the Word

If anyone had reason to be happy it was Solomon. He had everything that most people equate with success, yet of all men he seemed to be the most miserable. And in his story we find a commentary on human nature. Everyone is on a quest for something. Some, very few, seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness.But, most pursue the lust of the flesh. Whatever they pursue is with the hope of satisfaction. People are looking for something to fulfill the longings of their heart. Solomon pulled out all the stops in an effort to find it. Being in a powerful position and possessing great wealth he had the opportunity to do as he pleased, and he did. But he wasn’t pleased! Regardless of how he tried he always came up short and left empty. Exhausting every avenue, he concluded that “all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there is no profit under the sun” ( Ecc. 2:11). Then he added these sad words, “Therefore I hated life”( Ecc. 2:17). He was a miserable man. Every experiment was a bust.

Label Solomon a fool if you will, but we’ve all been guilty of doing the same to some extent. At some point we try to find happiness apart from God. And we always fail. It was not until Solomon turned wholeheartedly to God that he finally found fulfillment. Could we not save ourselves a lot of disappointment and pain if we learned from his mistakes and took God’s Word as our guide? Why should we keep trying things that have never worked? Perhaps we think it might be different for us, but there are no exceptions to this rule. Only Christ can meet the deepest needs of our life and satisfy the longings of our soul. Without Him we will always be miserable.

We’ve all heard and used the phrase “Happy New Year” over and over again. We use it mostly as a wish for others, but it also describes what everyone hopes for and few ever find. The good news is that, in Christ, happiness is possible. By trusting Him and obeying Him we can be happy today, tomorrow, and every day.

But Thou art the same—- – Psalms 102:27

Everything below is liable to change; health may give place to sickness, pleasure to pain, plenty to poverty, love to enmity, honour to disgrace, strength to weakness, and life to death.

Remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many. But though all our circumstances and friends should change, there is One who never changes. He is in one mind, and none can turn Him.
With Him is no variableness. He is the same yesterday, today, and for ever; and He is our best Friend, our nearest relation, our gracious Saviour.

Yesterday, His name was Jesus; His nature was love; His purpose was to do us good with His whole heart and soul: today, He is the same; we cannot expect too much from Him, or be too confident in Him, if we are walking humbly with Him. He will be our God, and we shall be His people.

Let us cultivate intimacy with Him, dependance upon Him, concern to please Him, fear to offend Him, zeal to glorify Him; and it must be well with us in health and sickness, plenty and poverty, life and death; for He is the same, and will never turn away from doing us good, but remain the Fountain of love and holiness for ever. Praise ye the Lord.

This God is the God we adore,
Our faithful, unchangeable Friend;
Whose love is as great as His power,
And neither knows measure nor end.—  By James Smith, 1840

Exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin–Heb. 3:13

We cannot help but notice from this exhortation the deceitfulness of sin, the swiftness with which it can deceive us, and the urgency with which we must battle against it.

Sin lies to us, causing us to harden our hearts and draw away from God in unbelief (12). When we give in to any sin, we are not able to think as clearly and joyfully and trustingly as before.

Whether the sin is lust or anger or pride or greed, sin deceives us into thinking that satisfaction is found somewhere else than in God. It promises fulfillment through sensual pleasure, or putting others down, or lifting ourselves up, or gaining more “stuff.”

But this is a lie. True and lasting joy is only found in the path and presence of the living God. Everything else is just a dead, limp substitute that has been painted and polished and perfumed to look enticing.

But how swiftly we give in to the lie! The writer reminds us that we need daily exhorting, lest sin have its hardening effect on our hearts. We can walk faithfully for a week, a decade, or half a lifetime and then suddenly fall in a day! Constant vigilance, and the exhortation of others, is needed in order to avoid sin’s pitfalls today, no matter how successful we’ve been so far.

Finally, the writer presses the urgency of our situation. It is only called “Today” for 24 hours! Then tomorrow will come, and soon the end of all days. Do not put off the vital work of repentance and faithfulness. Today is already almost over, and our Lord that much closer to returning.(From “A Good Thing”)

I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake– 1 John 2:12

You are a sinner. Your thoughts, your actions, and your words are all tainted with selfishness, pride, and idolatry. You need forgiveness.

By whom do you need to be forgiven? While you may have hurt friends or family along the way, the one person whom everyone has offended is God. Because he is thoroughly good and holy, God will not allow sin and wickedness to go unpunished. He will not simply ignore or forget it.

But how can you be forgiven? No matter how good or charitable you may be, you cannot undo the sins you have committed in the past, and even one sin is too many for a perfect, holy God to overlook. So you cannot earn forgiveness by doing good works.

John announces, however, that your sins are forgiven you for his (Jesus’) name’s sake. Because of the perfectly righteous life that Jesus Christ lived, and because he died on the cross to pay for sin, you can be forgiven through Christ. He took your sins on himself, and he gave you his perfect record!

Your sins have been forgiven, then, through faith in Jesus Christ. And if God has so freely and sacrificially forgiven you, how should you now respond to others? If you have not earned God’s forgiveness, but instead he gave it freely to you, why would you make others’ earn your forgiveness? (From “A Good Thing”)