The Light That Won't Go Out #RTTBROS #Nightlight

The Light That Won't Go Out #RTTBROS #Nightlight

"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid." — Matthew 5:14

You know, I've been thinking about light a lot lately. Not just the kind that flips on when you walk into a room, but the kind that cuts through darkness in ways that really matter.

Jesus said something remarkable to a group of ordinary people two thousand years ago, and it's still just as true for us today: "Ye are the salt of the earth... Ye are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:13-14). Now think about that for a minute. He didn't say "you should try to be" or "you might become." He said "you are." Present tense. Definitive.

But here's where it gets interesting. Jesus goes on to say, "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" (Matthew 5:15). He's not talking about generating the light, He's talking about not hiding it. The light is already there if you belong to Him. The question is, what are we doing with it?

I came across a story about a lighthouse keeper years ago that really stuck with me. Every evening, he'd climb those stairs, light the lamp, and keep watch through the night. One stormy evening, a neighbor stopped by and asked to borrow some oil for his lamp at home. The keeper gave it to him. Then another came, and another. By midnight, he'd given away so much oil that his lighthouse lamp began to dim and finally went out. That night, a ship ran aground on the rocks. Lives were lost. At the inquiry, the keeper explained how he'd tried to be helpful to his neighbors. But the investigator said something that echoes through time: "You were given oil for one purpose, to keep that light burning."

Friend, that hits home, doesn't it? We can get so caught up in being everything to everyone that we forget our primary calling. We're supposed to let our light shine, not burn ourselves out trying to be the light for everybody's personal lighthouse.

Jesus is clear about why we're supposed to let our light shine: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). It's not about drawing attention to ourselves. It's about pointing people to the Father.

Here's what I've learned, and as Paul Harvey used to say, I'm "too soon old and too late smart" on this one: you can't share what you don't have. If your light is flickering because you've poured yourself out to the point of emptiness, you're not helping anyone. You've got to stay connected to the source.

Think about salt for a moment, since Jesus mentioned that too. Salt doesn't make noise. It doesn't call attention to itself. But it preserves, it flavors, it makes a difference just by being what it is. Same with light. A candle doesn't announce itself, it just shines. And in a dark room, even a small flame changes everything.

The truth is, we're living in a world that's darker than it's ever been in a lot of ways. People are searching, hurting, looking for something real. And here's the beauty of it: you don't have to be a blazing bonfire to make a difference. Even a small light drives back the darkness. Jesus said a city on a hill can't be hidden. It's not about the size of the city, it's about the position and the light.

So let me ask you this: where is your light shining today? Are you keeping the oil in your lamp? Are you staying connected to the Source? Or have you been hiding your light under a bushel of fear, or busyness, or just not believing that your little light matters? Because it does. History is just His story, and you're part of it. Your light matters more than you know.

Let's pray: Father, thank You for making us the light of the world through Your Son. Help us not to hide that light, but to let it shine brightly for Your glory. Keep our lamps filled with Your oil, and give us courage to shine in the dark places where You've placed us. In Jesus' name, Amen.

#Faith #ChristianLiving #DailyDevotion #BiblicalTruth #SpiritualGrowth #LetYourLightShine #SaltAndLight #RTTBROS #Nightlight

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Light Be #RTTBROS #Nightlight

When God Said "Lights On" #RTTBROS #Nightlight

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light."— Genesis 1:1-3

My friend Joshua sent me a voice message this morning singing me the song I used to sing to him and other to wake them up a church camp, "Rise And Shine and give God the glory children of the Lord." It seems he has been thinking about those first words God ever spoke in creation. "Let there be light." Now, in Hebrew, that phrase is just two words: "yehi or", which literally means "light, be!" God didn't need a plan, didn't need materials, didn't need to work up to it. He just spoke, and reality itself obeyed.

That word "yehi" comes from a verb that means "to exist." Think about that for a minute. God wasn't just turning on a switch. He was speaking existence itself into being. The light didn't exist until God said it should. And when He spoke, darkness had no choice but to retreat.

Now here's where it gets beautiful, and this is where my heart starts to race a little. When you open the Gospel of John, he takes us right back to that same beginning: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). That Word, the "Logos", is Jesus Christ. And John tells us, "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" (John 1:3).

The same Word that spoke light into existence in Genesis is the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us. And listen to what John says next: "In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not" (John 1:4-5).

That word "comprehended" means the darkness couldn't grasp it, couldn't overcome it, couldn't put it out. Just like the darkness in Genesis had no power to resist God's command, the spiritual darkness of this world has no power to extinguish the Light of Christ.

When Jesus walked this earth, Satan tried everything to snuff out that Light. From Herod's murderous rage to the cross itself. But on resurrection morning, that Light blazed forth in victory, and the darkness lost. It always loses.

Later, Jesus would say it plain: "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12).

Friend, if you've trusted Christ, that same creative Word that spoke worlds into existence has spoken new life into your darkness. The Bible says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Just as God said "yehi or", "light, be!" and light appeared where there was only darkness, He has spoken spiritual life into your soul. You who were "sometime darkness, are now light in the Lord" (Ephesians 5:8).

That Light still shines today. And praise God, the darkness can never, ever put it out.

Let's pray: Father, thank You that when our lives were dark and void, You spoke light into our souls. Help us walk as children of light, knowing that the darkness has no power over Your Word. In Jesus' name, Amen.

#Faith #Creation #Light #ChristianLiving #DailyDevotion #BiblicalTruth #SpiritualGrowth #RTTBROS #Nightlight

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Higher Ground #newyear #NIGHTLIGHT #RTTBROS #God #storms

# Higher Ground #RTTBROS #Nightlight

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth." — Psalm 121:1-2

You know, I took this picture while driving through Idaho, and it stopped me in my tracks. Those clouds rolling over the mountains, that stormy sky pushing up against something solid and unmovable. It got me thinking about where we are right now, standing at the edge of a new year.

There's something about mountains that draws us. Maybe it's because they remind us there are things bigger than ourselves. Those peaks don't shift with the weather. The storms come and go, the clouds roll in and roll out, but the mountains? They just stand there, solid and sure.

As we step into this new year, a lot of us are looking at some storm clouds on our horizon. Maybe it's worry about what's coming, regrets about what's behind us, or just that general uncertainty that makes you feel like you're standing on shaky ground. And here's what I've learned, too soon old and too late smart as usual, we have a choice about where we fix our eyes.

The Psalmist says, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills." Not down at the problems. Not sideways at what everyone else is doing. Up. To something higher, something solid, something that doesn't change when the storms roll in.

But here's the thing, the Psalmist doesn't say his help comes from the hills. He says, "My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth." Even those mountains, as impressive as they are, they're not the source. They're just a reminder of the One who spoke them into existence.

God isn't just bigger than your problems. He made the whole playing field. The same God who raised up those mountains? He sees you right where you are today.

As we head into this new year, maybe what we need isn't a detailed map of every mile ahead. Maybe what we need is to lift our eyes up, to remember who made the mountains, who commands the storms, who holds tomorrow in hands that were pierced for us.

The storms will come. That's just life in this old sin-cursed world. But we serve a God who is higher than any mountain, steadier than any ground beneath our feet, and closer than the very breath in our lungs.

So let me ask you, where are your eyes fixed as you look ahead? Are you staring at the clouds, or are you lifting your gaze to the One who made the hills?

Let's pray: Father, as we step into this new year, help us remember that You are our solid ground. When the storms come, teach us to lift our eyes to You. Thank You for being the same yesterday, today, and forever. In Jesus' name, Amen.

#Faith #NewYear #ChristianLiving #DailyDevotion #TrustGod #BiblicalWisdom #SpiritualGrowth #RTTBROS #Nightlight

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