“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 5:16

We like to make things complicated, but this command of Jesus is quite simple. As followers of Christ, we’re the light of the world. If you’re a follower of Jesus, you’re the light of the world. You have the light of Jesus Christ within you and you need to consistently shine it wherever you are in this world so that non-believers can see the goodness, kindness, holiness, love, and mercy of God through your good works. This will change their impression and understanding of God, leading them to praise and give glory to Him. It’s that simple.

Obviously, we live in challenging times. It’s easy to get frustrated, discouraged, and angry about the world situation and your own personal situation. That’s natural, but it doesn’t shine your Christ-light before others. It’s tempting to hunker down and spend time only with your closest believing friends. That’s natural, but it doesn’t shine your Christ-light before others. It’s tempting to give your spleen, give people what for, and let your disappointment, anger, fear, or frustration hang out – either in personal interactions or in electronic interactions. That’s natural, but it doesn’t shine your Christ-light before others.

It’s time to astonish the world by your good works, your good heart, and your good spirit! It’s time to shine that Christ-light, even when you’re angry, upset, discouraged, or frustrated. The Holy Spirit within you gives you that power. Discipline yourself never to pour out your darkness in public but to always shine your light of Jesus around others, so they too may know and give glory to God!

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 5:3

Who are the poor in spirit? What is spiritual poverty? Why does it result in people receiving the kingdom of heaven? Spiritual poverty isn’t about money. Rather, spiritual poverty is a deep awareness of what you lack spiritually: true righteousness, genuine holiness, and authentic goodness. Spiritual poverty is the profound awareness that when you come before the Lord your God, you have nothing to offer to your credit or in your defense. Spiritual poverty recognizes our desperately hopeless spiritual condition before the God of absolute holiness, righteousness, and purity.

Those who aren’t poor in spirit boast in their goodness: good deeds, righteous rule following, generosity, and church attendance records. They see the good they imagine to be in themselves and offer that to the infinitely perfect and holy God of the universe. However, the imperfect can’t ever be perfect and our efforts can’t ever save us. We are spiritually bankrupt in fact. The question is whether we recognize this reality.

The spiritual poor know with every bit of their soul that they can’t save themselves. They know that despite their best efforts, they have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. They know that even their best efforts are themselves tainted by sinful attitudes of pride, applause seeking, and a desire to manipulate God.

It’s only when we’re poor in spirit that we stop trying to save ourselves and cry out for a Savior. It’s only when we’re spiritually poor that we’re at last willing to kneel humbly before Lord Jesus and ask for Him to save us. It’s only when we’re spiritually poor that we’re willing to quit trying to pick ourselves up by our bootstraps and simply cry out to Jesus, confident that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. This is why the Kingdom of Heaven belongs only to the poor in spirit. Are you poor in spirit???

“And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.” – Acts 4:31

There is tremendous power in praying for God’s will to be done! When our hearts align to God’s heart, our will to His will, and our purpose to His purpose our prayers become the powerful wartime communications they were meant to be. Faced with threats and persecution, the early church prayed not for safety, but for the courage and boldness to carry out the Great Commission. They didn’t pray for anonymity, a hedge of protection, or political favor. They prayed for boldness and they prayed for God to do miracles that would point people to Him.

God loves to answer prayers like that! God loves it when our prayers are submitted to His will rather than our own human natures. When we’re earnestly praying for God’s Great Commission to be done by us, for disciples to be made of all nations, God answers that prayer dramatically.

As followers of Jesus, we need to truly follow Jesus – all the way to the cross if need be. God’s power is available to us in abundance when we’re willing to set down our self-centered desires and take up the cross of Christ. God’s power is available to us in abundance when we ask Him to help us do what He’s commanded us to do. God doesn’t want us to labor alone in our own strength. God’s Spirit lives within every believer and He will shake us and empower us to do His work regardless of the opposition we face if we’ll just pray for that.

“I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.”
– Psalm 6:6

Going to the Lord in prayer isn’t like going to the ATM. We don’t just go once, put in our card, punch in our PIN, and instantly receive the answer to our prayers. That certainly happens sometimes and we give thanks when it does. However, Jesus explicitly taught His disciples to pray persistently, never giving up. He commanded us to ask (and keep asking), seek (and keep seeking), and knock (and keep knocking). As children of God, we must wait upon the Lord (He doesn’t wait upon us). We must pray and wait, wait and pray, trusting in the goodness and wisdom of our all-knowing, all-wise, all-good Father in Heaven. When the time is right, God WILL answer with the best possible answer (which may look nothing like what we expect or desire).

Likewise, prayer isn’t always about happy things. The Psalms teach us to be honest with God about both our joys and our sorrows, our highs and our lows, our victories and our struggles. You never need to pretend to be something other than what you are, because God knows your heart and your mind. The Bible teaches us to pour out our hearts in prayer honestly, confident that God hears us and cares for us deeply. As you move forward in this new year, do so in persistent, confident, patient, honest prayer. God IS listening!

“Give attention to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you do I pray.
O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.”
– Psalm 5:2-3

Make time to begin your day with prayer. Lift your voice to the Lord and practice the privilege of coming before the Lord of the Universe with praise, confession, thanksgiving, and the needs of your own soul and those in your life. Intercede for this dark, confused, and broken world with its Creator.

Do you have to pray in the morning? No, but why wouldn’t you? If we’re to “pray without ceasing” we should begin at the beginning of the day. Jesus rose very early to pray, going out to dark and desolate places to be alone with His Father. If you’re a Christian, then God is also your Father and you should start the day just like your brother Jesus did.

Prayer isn’t a chore. Prayer isn’t a box to be checked. It’s a joyous time of fellowship with your loving Father in Heaven. However, prayer isn’t automatically joyous for most Christians. Most of us need to learn a bit about how to pray to grow in our enjoyment of our time with God. Most of us need to intentionally choose prayer as a joyous time, then seek to experience it in that way.

If aren’t currently consistent in your prayer life or you don’t currently look forward to your morning meetings with God, ask a more mature Christian for advice and assistance in learning to offer up that morning sacrifice of praise, thanksgiving, and prayer.