Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds, and praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16 (Life Application Study Bible)
Jesus Tells Us; This world is full of darkness. But I am the Light of the World. When you choose to follow Me, the Holy Spirit who lives inside you can shine out from your face. Take My Light and carry it into the world around you. Be My hands by helping others, and love them with My Love. Ask My Spirit to live through you as you make your way through this day. Hold My hand with joy in your heart, trusting that I never leave your side. The light of My Presence is shining on you.
Jesus Concludes; Brighten up the world around you by reflecting this Light, showing Me to others.
Matthew 5:16; John 8:12; Matthew 5:14-15; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Exodus 3:14; Study Notes
Footnotes Matthew 5:14-16; Can you hide a city that is sitting on top of a hill? It’s light at night can be seen for miles. If we live for Jesus, we will glow like lights, shining brightly with his love. Many who are living in spiritual darkness will be attracted by our light and want to step into it. Jesus’ light always reveals the truth. We hide our light by (1) being quiet when we should speak, (2) going along with the crowd, (3) denying God’s truth, (4) letting sin dim our light to others, or (6) ignoring the needs of others. Be a beacon of truth, don’t shut your light off from the rest of the world.
Passage John 8:12; When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
Footnotes John 8:12; What does it mean to follow Jesus? As a soldier follows his captain, we should follow Jesus, our commander. As a slave follows his master, we should follow Jesus, our Lord. As we follow the advice of a trusted counselor, we should follow Jesus’ commands to us in Scripture. As we follow national laws, we should follow the laws of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Passage Matthew 5:14-15; 14“You are the light of the world. A town built 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.”
Passage 2 Corinthians 3:18; And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Footnotes 2 Corinthians 3:18; The Holy Spirit’s way of transformation works better and lasts longer than even Moses’ glorious experience. With the freedom the Holy Spirit gives, our false beliefs and misconceptions fall away. We can clearly see what God wants and better reflect it to others. The Spirit works progressively in us to point out where we need to change. Step-by-step, he gives us insights on how to do it and empowers us with his love. Some change happens quickly, but God works in his own timing. The process may be slow in some areas, so never give up if you don’t see the spiritual progress you desire. God will work it out.
Passage Exodus 3:14; God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: “I AM, has sent me to you.”
Footnotes Exodus 3:14-15; The divine name, Yahweh (often represented as “the Lord”), is derived from the Hebrew word for “I am.” God reminded Moses of his covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he used the name I AM to show his unchanging nature. What God promised to the great patriarchs hundreds of years earlier he would fulfill through Moses. His wisdom spans the ages, and his promises give meaning and direction to our lives.
Jesus Tells Us is from the Jesus Calling 365 devotions for kids.
THE WORLD…we see history
NICOLAUS COPERNICUS 1473-1543
This chart illustrates Copernicus’s (mistaken) belief that planetary orbits were perfectly round, as opposed to elliptical.
Perhaps no one else so changed the world as we would come to know it as Nicolaus Copernicus, and he did so in his spare time. Before this Polish student of law, economics and medicine, humans placed themselves at the center of the universe (literally) and all of science, philosophy and religion extended from that starting point. Once Copernicus posited that instead the sun was the center of the universe, Galileo Galilea and the mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler were able to build on his work. Copernicus was more of a hobbyist astronomer than a professional. He actually received his doctorate in canon law and spent his career as a canon at the cathedral in Frombork, which is interesting, since no one was more insistent that the sun revolved around the earth than the Church. He probed the planets and the stars, applying mathematics to his observations, and becoming more convinced of his beliefs. At age 60, because of his stature as a learned man, Copernicus was allowed to have his theories presented in a series of lectures in Rome. The universe he described, included not just a new center in the sun, but planets that rotated around it: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Furthermore, Earth spun on an axis, and the moon revolved around the Earth. Copernicus go the orbits and other details wrong, but the fantastic truth was there. His opus on the Revolution of the Celestial Spheres was published just before he died in 1543.