i want to know You (Jesus Culture)

August 14, 2011
FaithFreedomJesus
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Addiction is sin, make no mistake. When a person is caught in the snare of addiction, what has happened is that they have over time repeatedly placed first, above all else, whatever they are addicted to and have come to depend on this substance (both tangible or intangible) over and above everything else in their life (a place in which only God deserves to be). This is why addicted people will endure through so much for their addiction. They’ve made an idol of their addiction, choosing to bow down in worship to their addiction as they give themselves over to their addiction again and again. Escaping (getting high) has become the ultimate goal of their life. I believe James has it right when he says, “Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death” (James 1:14-15 NLT). If and when addiction is left unattended and left to grow without restraint death becomes the only option. But, this is not where the story ends. There is Good News. Jesus Himself says, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36 NIV). Wow! What amazing words. To know Jesus means to be set free by Him from the bondage of sin, to be set from from our addictions. But, in order to be set free by Jesus a person needs to know Him. So, what does it mean to know Jesus?

I don’t believe a person, who has a casual relationship with Jesus can say that they know Him. They may know of Him, but to truly be able to say that you know Jesus is to know Him as the Son of God. In order to truly know Jesus, a person needs to understand their deep need for Him. I was talking with a person the other day and while I was talking with him, I heard the Holy Spirit say to my spirit, “he (the person I was talking with) doesn’t see a need for Jesus in his life right now.” I believe this is right. Unless a person sees a need to invite Jesus into their life, then why would they bother pursuing to know Him. And if they did pursue Him, I believe the relationship would be a superficial one at best because anyone can know Jesus as a good person or even a prophet of sorts, but to know Him as the Son of God demands faith. And unless a person is willing to put their faith in Jesus as the Son of God, then He will always be just another person like you and me. But, to know Jesus and to place your faith in Him as the Son of God means to also know Him as Savior, Lover, Redeemer and Friend. And if you know Him like this you will love Him and be drawn into worship to Him because you will have realized that it is only through His sacrifice on a cross for the sins of the world (including yours) that you have peace with God, with people and within yourself. And it is when we are worshiping Jesus that we are propelled into a deep abiding intimacy with Him. This is what it means to know Jesus and be set free by Him.

beautiful things (Gungor)

August 13, 2011
Gospeltransformation
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This is such an amazing song and a great reminder that everything that God makes is beautiful. In the very beginning when God created all the universe, He “looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!” (Genesis 1:31a NLT). But, even more God is able to take a fallen creation ravaged by sin and recreate it into something beautiful. Aren’t these the words of 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (NIV). If there ever was Good News to those struggling with addictions, this is it. In Jesus, a person is transformed from a wayward addict, estranged from family and loved ones into a beloved child of God who is dearly loved and accepted into the family of God. Such is amazing grace! That God would take objects of wrath and transform us into His beloved sons and daughters. Yes, Lord you do make beautiful things. You make beautiful things out of us. You make me new. You are making me new…

change in the making (Addison Road)

May 31, 2011
journey
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This song encourages me because it helps ground and remind me that it’s ok to be where I am on this life long road of redemption. I don’t know about you, but I need to constantly fight the impulse to get down on myself because of my desire to be further along on this journey of redemption than I actually am. I think we all have a bit of an overachiever in us who is always striving to be better at the expense of ourselves, others, even God.

What this song reminds me of is that my life is in God’s hands and that He is continually at work healing my heart as He redeems and restores my life. Even when I struggle with temptation and sin, sometimes desperately, I can rest in the truth that God will never give up on me and that He knows exactly what He’s doing and where He’s taking me. He knows the person He is transforming me to be. I am “under construction” and that’s ok because I am in God’s able hands.

Here’s a couple verses that help to keep me trusting in God: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11) and  “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). God’s heart towards us is goodness and love and we can trust  in His faithfulness to save, redeem and restore us as He changes and transforms us to be more like His perfect Son, Jesus. But, we need to allow ourselves to accept the daily grace that He gives us and be at peace with the pace of redemption and restoration God has ordained for our lives.

“Everyday God is chipping away at what I don’t need” which can feel confusing, even painful at times because it hurts when the idols in our hearts get smashed. So, “this is me under construction, this is my pride being broken.” It’s humbling to admit that without Jesus I will remain broken and incomplete. But, as long as I put my faith in God’s good work of redemption in my life, tomorrow can be better and tomorrow I can be “closer to who I’m meant to be” because “I am a change in the making!”

the Ways of God

May 24, 2011
GODJesusLoveTruth
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Over this past week, I’ve been reading through the book of Jeremiah (I spent last month in Isaiah) and what the Holy Spirit has been showing me while I’ve been reading is this: “God’s love is always guided by His truth and His truth is always fueled by His love which constitutes God’s ways.” Now, I know that this is a bit simplistic (I mean there’s also grace, mercy, justice, goodness, etc. all of which are also of God and important), but sometimes I feel like we complicate things. For me, when things happen in my life that I don’t understand, it helps to remind myself that God is love and that He is truth (I would also add that He is good). And though I may not understand why this or that is happening in my life or in the lives of the people around me or the things happening in the world I can trust that God knows what He is doing. Being at peace means I start from a position of trust in God’s ways and that His ways are comprised of His truth and His love.

Systematically, I believe that all truth is God’s truth, but that there is a hierarchy to truth. Meaning, there is general revelation which consists of creation which points to a Creator (Romans 1:18-20), basic principles of the world (Romans 12:1; Colossians 2:20; Galatians 4:3) and the knowledge of morality (Romans 2:14, 15) all of which God set into place when He created the universe (Genesis 1, 2). And then there is special revelation which consists of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 2:20, 21) and Jesus (Hebrews 1:1, 2). Naturally, special revelation must always supersede general revelation. Nonetheless, truth will always be truth and hence must come from God who is truth because God cannot lie. “So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18a NLT; also cf. Titus 1:2; Numbers 23:19).

Now if this isn’t enough we must also remember that God’s thoughts and ways are higher than our thoughts and ways (Isaiah 55:8, 9) which collectively hopefully characterizes God as completely transcendent, all-powerful and down right overwhelmingly Divine which should inspire what the Bible talks about as the fear of the Lord (2 Chronicles 14:14; 17:10; 19:7, 9; Job 28:28; Psalm 19:9; 34:11; 111:10; Proverbs 1:7, 29; 8:13; 9:10; 10:27; 14:26, 27; 15:33; 16:6; 19:23; 23:17; Isaiah: 11:2, 3; 33:6; Acts 9:31; 2 Corinthians 5:11). Sometimes, (and I include myself here) I feel like the majesty of God and His transcendentness has gotten lost in the midst of friendship with God. Now, hear me on this, I love being friends with God in fact I cherish our friendship. But, there are times where I can get too comfortable and casual with God where I forget that He is also the Creator of the universe, who is omniscient (knows all things), omnipresent (is able to be in all places at the same time) and omnipotent (all-powerful and all-ruling).

It’s not that the children of God (those found in Jesus) should be fearful of God in the sense that we should run and hide from Him, but that while we fully embrace being friends of God we should also stand in awe of His majesty and bow in reverence to His divinity. I know that this may seem complicated or overwhelming at times, but we can take heart because Jesus fully embodies all of this which is why He is able to say: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me“ (John 14:6 ESV). We must always remember that the only reason that we are friends with God is through Jesus. Without Jesus, we would still be enemies of God because it is only through Jesus’ shed blood on the cross that we have peace with God (Romans 5:1-11). Those found in Jesus need not fear punishment (1 John 4:16-19), we only need to concern ourselves with being disciplined (Hebrews 12:4-11). Biblically speaking there is a difference between punishment and discipline.

Add to all of this that God is love (1 John 4:8, 16) and what we get is the reality that God’s love, truth and ways are deeply and infinitely unified with one another. I don’t believe we can separate them, nor should we ever try or think of them separately but as always working in relation to one another. The love of God always being guided by His truth and His truth always being fueled by His love which constitutes God’s ways because the ways of God must always been seen as being comprised of His truth and His love. I mean, isn’t this what we find in Jesus?

Mobile Prayer Station

May 12, 2011
prayer
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So, over the past couple weeks I have been on the street making myself available both to God and the community for prayer. All of this begin back in the beginning of April at the Furious Love Event in which God gave me a vision of me standing in Wicker Park (in Chicago) with a sign in front of me and a street performer permit clipped to my shirt (just like in the picture). And since then I’ve been gathering all of the supplies needed to bring this vision into reality. It took me about a month, but on May 2nd, 2011 I was ready to get out on the street. If you’re interested in following my day to day reflections and highlights go here.

In sum, it has been quite an adventure! I am learning so much about God, myself and people. Everyday is a new day of grace, mercy and love. God shows up everyday I’m out. Thanks to the many prayers of my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, God has been lavishing His favor and grace on me and has been helping me build bridges with people one relationship at a time and has opened opportunities for me to prayer both with and for people. On any given day, I have the privileged to pray with anywhere from 1 to 10 people while some days no one has come for prayer. But, even on those days I’ve still had the opportunity to pray that God would release the revelation of Christ in people’s hearts and that He would bring revival to the area.

Also, the Holy Spirit has been reminding me of a word He spoke to years back which was the revelation that there are many, many people who are walking past me that have never had their name or image brought before the throne of God’s grace. So, as often as I can I’ve been silently interceding for people walking by as the LORD leads me. I feel like this is a good word for all of us, that we all need to be silently interceding for the people we see throughout our day, the cashier at the grocery store, the person in line in front of us at Starbucks, that person sitting on the train next to us, the kids playing in the park, the waiter at the restaurant, etc. Imagine, you could be the very first person to pray for these people, the first person to bring their image before the throne of God.

Prayer is so important to us. We know that it is the very lifeblood of our faith and lives. And this is the heart behind the Mobile Prayer Station: it is to make prayer available to the lost children of God by going into their midst. But, it’s not about preaching at them, trying to convert them or even forcing prayer upon them. It’s about serving the community by offering them the service of prayer. It’s about creating common ground between us and allowing them the freedom to come and choose to engage and be prayed for. It’s about meeting people where they are at and making space for God to come and touch their lives. The greater vision of this ministry is that other believers would make themselves available both to God and the community and begin setting up Mobile Prayer Stations in their own cities and neighborhoods. There are so many wounded people out in the world who are in desperate need of prayer and the sad reality is that many of them are too intimidated, hurt or angry to even think about coming to a church for prayer. But, just as Jesus sent out the 72 disciples (Luke 10:1-9) so we too can go out and offer to people and communities our most treasured and powerful gift: prayer.

LIFE: words

February 19, 2011
Gospel
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Do you remember the childhood saying of “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me?” I remember chanting this when I was young, in order to mask the hurt I felt inside when the other kids picked on me for being different. No matter how much I said it, the words still hurt because words have power to build up or to tear down. Ephesians 4:29 says “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them” (NLT). In working with people who struggle with addiction, from my experience trauma is one of the leading causes of addiction. Physical, mental, verbal and sexual abuses are all contributing factors that can lead people down the road of addiction in search of relief, self-punishment or misguided vengeance to name a few motivations.

For people who struggle with sexual addiction, rejection is a major catalyst that perpetuates the abnormal behavior. Objectifying people for our own sexual gratification is abnormal. God didn’t create us to use and abuse one another, but to love one another (1 John 3:11). Regardless of the many pro-porn arguments, pornography is demeaning, period. In helping these people work towards freedom the Lord has revealed to me that in many if not all instances, verbal traumas are some of the first attachment points that certain strongholds (rejection, self-pity, self-hatred, shame) began to take root which helped catalyze the road towards sexual addiction. Add on to this, other traumas like physical, mental or sexual abuse and the range of addictions increases (alcohol, drugs, food, anger, etc.).

The book of James talks about the tongue being untamable by human means (James 3:2,8) and how blessings and curses come out of the same mouth (James 3:9). I don’t know about you, but I experience the truth of these verses everyday, be it in my own struggle to control what I say or don’t say or when I’m on the receiving end of some not so self-controlled words from others. But, when I do feel offended, unjustly criticized or even judged, I am grateful for Holy Spirit who restrains me from reacting and reminds me of God’s love and grace. When I first came to faith and read through the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22, 23a), I was always perplexed by self-control. But, the longer I walk with Jesus the more grateful I’ve become of this particular aspect of the Spirit’s fruit.

God’s heart towards His creation is one of love, redemption and restoration. The Father’s desire is to see us saved, redeemed and made whole. This was the precise reason Jesus came down out of Heaven to die on a cross for sin. It is in Jesus that people are set free from the bondage of sin, are delivered from being demonized, healed of sickness and disease and where our brokenness is restored. This is where the supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit in gifting people prophetically has great influence and power in joining with God in His mission of redemption and restoration. All believers have the privilege to speak truth and life into others. But, this must be done in love (Ephesians 4:15). The prophetic gift must be exercised in love, “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2 NIV).

Recently, I’ve been reading a book by Kris Vallotton, Developing a Supernatural Lifestyle, and came across this statement: “Never underestimate the redemptive power of God’s supernatural ministry. So many people are starving to know who they really are. You have the ability to alter the history of people who are lost in darkness and broken beyond repair.” This is a true statement. But, we must always remember that our own tongue fights against us and that unless we become more and more dependent on Holy Spirit in taming our tongue we will do more prophetic harm than good. Holy Spirit gifting does not equal maturity; it is through the fruit of the Holy Spirit that brings about maturity. Furthermore, though we should earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially prophecy we must remember that we must pursue love first (1 Corinthians 14:1).

So this is my prayer: that the Lord would continue to cultivate in us a greater capacity to love, that He would impress upon each of us the great need to be fully defined by the Father’s love and the need to always pursue love first and foremost. Help us Lord to allow ourselves to be fully loved by the Father and from out of that place of belovedness love others. For, as Your Word says “We love because God first loved us” (1 John 4:19). In Your Name Jesus we pray, Amen.

LIFE: eternal

February 15, 2011
LifeTrinity
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Of all the biblical writers, it is the Apostle John that references life most frequently. He refers to life as we know it in the universe (John 1:3-5) and life eternal with God in heaven through the gift of salvation through faith in Jesus, God’s one and only Son (John 3:16). In both instances, Jesus, the Word of God, is the source of life. Furthermore, Jesus referred to Himself as living bread (John 6:51ff) and living water (John 4:10,14). He even goes so far as to say, “I am the life” (John 11:25; 14:6). It is in Jesus that believers possess the life of the age to come in the present and in abundance (John 10:10b).

In focusing on eternal-everlasting life, John’s use of the word life in the book of Revelation reveals much. In Revelation, the word life is used in relation to the “tree of life” (Revelation 2:7; 22:2,14), the “crown of life” (Revelation 2:10); the “book of life” (Revelation 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12,15; 21:27; 22:19); and the “water of life” (Revelation 21:6; 22:1,17). As Dr. Ed Murphy states, “Man’s association with these sources of life brings him into union with God’s gift of eternal life” (Revelation 1:17,18; 2:7,10,11; 11:11; 21:6; 22:1-12,17). Again, eternal life is a future eschatological blessing that all believers have to look forward to, but it is also a believer’s present possession.

If there is one thing that we can conclude from the Apostle John is that Jesus = life. So, in order to embrace life to the full, a person must look to find it in Jesus and in Jesus alone. He is our abundant life, “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself” (John 5:26 ESV). In following along on this train of theological thought, if the Father and Son have life in Themselves, it goes to reason that the Holy Spirit Who is part of the Trinitarian Godhead also has life in Himself. As Paul states, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead he will give life to your mortal bodies by his same Spirit living within you” (Romans 8:11 NLT).

One of the most amazing blessings from the Father is the gift of the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13) Who indwells all believers (John 4:13,14; 7:37-39; 14:17; Romans 5:5). It’s through His presence that all believers experience eternal life in the here and now; He is the guarantee of our eternal inheritance (Ephesians 1:14). The more we lean into the Holy Spirit, the more we will experience the joy and peace of Heaven, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17 ESV). All believers carry the kingdom of God within them (Luke 17:21) because all believers are indwelt with the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), Who reminds us that we are children of God (Romans 8:16; Galatians 4:6).

So this is my prayer: Father God helps us Lord to fully trust in Your Word that tells us that the abundant life You have for us is found in Your Son Jesus and that this life includes receiving and living out our eternal inheritance both in the here and now and in the age to come when we will finally get to see Jesus face-to-face. Fill us overflowing with the Living Water of the Holy Spirit, so that we may experience the joy and peace of Heaven each and everyday. Thank You Lord for sending the Holy Spirit and for pouring Him into our hearts by Your love. In Jesus Name, Amen.

LIFE: love II

February 3, 2011
Body of ChristLifeLove
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“Ordinary people have the power to change other people’s lives. This power to meaningfully change lives doesn’t depend on advice, though counsel and rebuke play a part; nor on insight, though self-awareness that disrupts complacency and points toward new understanding is important. No, this power to change lives comes from connecting, on bringing two people into an experience of shared life” (25). Hence, one of the many reasons why in the very beginning, God said that it was “not good for man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18). Now, a “Gospel community is built upon the shared lives of believers who have given their lives to Jesus Christ and now live for Him. What stands at the center of a New Covenant community are forgiven people who have caught a glimpse of Christ, and in whom the Spirit now uses that glimpse to create goodness within them, a goodness that defines who we are” (11). No longer does our sinfulness define us, because Jesus has taken our sinfulness upon Himself at the Cross and in return has imputed (accredited) to us His righteousness. This is the Gospel.

Simply put, we have traded our sinfulness for Jesus’ righteousness and in the process have been fully forgiven. “When God forgives us for violating His design, He pours His life into us; and that restores our capacity to connect, first with Him, then with others. He makes us alive with the actual life of Christ, so that the impulses that energized Jesus’ life on earth are actually in us. This is what being alive in Christ means” (29). It is no longer we who live, but Jesus who lives in and through us (Galatians 2:20). “When believers can offer one another a taste of the delight of Christ that lives within them, they begin to impact one another in a profound way and they start to change for the better because they touch one another with the transforming power of the love of God. When believers make meaningful soul connections with one another their love grows and deepens because we were designed to connect, first with God and then with each other” (45).

In my book, both greater relational capacity (1 John 1:7) and love (1 John 2:10) are sure markers of life. I know I say this a lot, but love is a relational concept. In order for love to be fully realized there needs to be a relationship in place. God created us out of love, for love and to love, which from my perspective means He created us for relationship. “Connecting is life. Loneliness is the ultimate horror. In connecting with God, we gain life. In connecting with others, we nourish and experience that life as we freely share it. Believers have the capacity to enjoy the wonder of a relationship built on grace that no angel has ever personally experienced because fallen angels are not forgiven and unfallen angels don’t need to be” (45). It’s within this eternally redeemed community that believers experience the love and joy that comes from a loving Savior who calls them beloved. As the old saying goes, “to love is to live.” But, I would add to love one another is to truly live.

So this is my prayer: that the Lord would increase our ability to love, that He would grow and mature us in understanding the Father’s love and that He would place in us a courage and boldness to love in any and every situation and with everyone. Help us Lord to fully embrace the reality that we are Your beloved in whom You delight and are well-pleased with. In Jesus, Amen.

 *excerpts from Larry Crabb, Connecting (1997)

LIFE: love I

February 2, 2011
GODLifeLove
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The more I experience life with God, the more I am caught up into His love. Life and love go hand-in-hand. I don’t believe you can truly know God without experiencing both because God is both. God is love (1 John 4:8) and God is life (Genesis 1, 2; Exodus 3:14; Psalm 139:13-16; John 1:4; 8:58; 14:6; Thessalonians 1:9). It is within love that life gets released. When Jesus came down from Heaven to Earth, He said He came to give us life abundant (John 10:10b). I believe there is much confusion in what most believers understand as being a child of God and what it means to be in Christ. For those in Christ there is no more punishment from God, only discipline (Hebrews 12:10, 11). Because Jesus took upon Himself the full wrath of God for sin (Romans 3: 23-25; 1 John 2:2), citizens of the Kingdom of God no longer have to fear judgment or punishment.

“All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because He loved us first” (1 John 4:15-19 NLT). What this says to me is that the more we know and experience God’s perfect love in Jesus, the more we will understand that we no longer have to fear judgment or punishment from God because through Jesus we can approach the Father with confidence (also cf. Hebrews 4:14-16). Even more, it is God’s love that fuels our love (v.19). Love and life go hand-in-hand, “all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them” (v.16), what an amazing truth.

But, one of the more effective schemes of the devil is to trick people into believing that God’s heart towards us is to do us wrong and that He cannot be trusted. Isn’t that what happened in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) and what the devil tried to do during Jesus’ testing in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13)? If the devil can skew our perspective on the goodness of God than in many ways he has succeeded in driving a wedge between us and God because he has stolen our confidence in approaching God for love and care. The Scripture verse that continually helps me to reorient myself in understanding God’s heart towards me in contrast to the devil’s schemes is John 10:10 “The thief [devil] comes to steal, kill and destroy. I [Jesus] came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (ESV). We must never forget that God’s desire is that we should live! His heart towards us is to bring more and more life (and love) into our lives.

So this is my prayer: that the Father would pour out His grace upon our lives and that He would heal our minds by replacing any distorted views we have of Him with the truth of what His Word and Spirit testify to Who He Is. That through the living presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us He would release more of His love and life, so that it literally overflows into every area of our lives and into every relationship. In Jesus Name, Amen.

LIFE: light

January 31, 2011
GODJesusLife
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What comes to mind when you hear the word light? For me, I associate light with life. When I think about light, the sun naturally comes to mind; the sun whose life giving rays nourish all life on earth. Without the sun, life as we know it would end because the sun provides both energy and warmth to all of creation. But, we are not solely just natural beings who have only natural appetites and desires. No, we are also spiritual beings who have spiritual needs and desires. Just as the sun gives nourishment to our bodies, so the Son gives nourishment to our spirit. As Jesus tells us “Yes, I am the vine; and you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NLT). Remaining in Jesus gives us the nourishment we need to produce fruitful lives.

Furthermore, the bible says that “God is light and there is no darkness in Him at all” (1 John 1:5). When light encounters darkness, two things happen: 1) it reveals what is hiding in the darkness and 2) it drives the darkness back. God is not intimidated, confounded, anxious or worried over the darkness of the world. Just as in the beginning when He created the universe and everything in it, He is still speaking into those who are formless and void by creating life with His words. “For God, who said, ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves” (2 Corinthians 4:6, 7 NLT). The great treasure in us is Jesus; He is the light of the world that shines in the hearts of those who put their faith in Him. “Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’” (John 8:12 ESV). Having the light of life means followers of Jesus are now living in God’s light which empowers believers, connecting them in fellowship as the blood of Jesus cleanses them of sin (1 John 1:7) while also increasing our capacity to love one another (1 John 2:10).

So this is my prayer: that the Lord would continue to shine His light in our hearts bringing greater healing, deliverance, redemption and restoration to our lives. Jesus You are the light of the world and we shine for You as little lights within Your glorious light to a lost, hurting and broken world. Help us to live more fully with You basking in Your light and Your love! To the Father’s glory and in Your Name, Jesus, Amen