Inutile (1 Peter 2.1-10)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “inutile.”  We live in a pretty crazy world.  There are always people ready to judge everything that we do, both good and bad.  Social media puts everything out in the open for others to see and scrutinize, at every turn.  We would be led to believe that life can sometimes be meaningless or passing without significance.  However, the next time you feel inutile, that you are of no use or service to this intensely critical world, remember that God has called you to be special and for a purpose.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” ~1 Peter 2:9

My question is: when is the last time you thanked God for allowing you to be part of this holy nation of his?  We are always pretty busy taking care of the issues life throws at us, and oftentimes just trying to stay afloat.  We must continue to remember that we belong to God, and as long as we proclaim his name then we are on the right track.  My prayer is that you remember today that God has called you into his marvelous light.

Praying for you,

MO

Tenebrific (John 1.1-10)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “tenebrific.”  I remember one of the easiest ways that the Christian life was ever explained to me.  One of the guest pastors that spoke at youth group one time talked about the difference between following God and not following God.  He used an analogy of darkness and light.  Now, I think that we’ve all heard the following anecdote, but I really believe that it is appropriate for today’s passage.  Remember with me, if you will, the illustration that this pastor used.  He turned off all the lights in the room and talked about how darkness was tenebrific, causing certain emotions and us, like confusion, uncertainty, and the like.  But, then he took a match out and struck it against the box, instantly creating a way for us to see.  He showed that just a little bit of light could overcome darkness.  It was actually pretty amazing, and simple all at the same time.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” ~Jn 1:5

My question is: if you were to have to put a value on the way that you live your life, what percentage of your days have you chosen to live in the light?  Now, that is a pretty deep question and has all sorts of implications depending on how you understand it.  But I guess that’s what I’m going for.  My prayer is that you take the simplicity of understanding that Jesus is the light that has overcome the darkness in this world.  And, the more that we bring his message to others, we are part of sharing that light.  Used today to encourage someone and see Jesus shine his light through you.

Praying for you,

Mo