The reflection of God

Have you ever thought about how we might see the reflection of God? We know that no man has ever seen the Father, but we can see his reflection in each and every Christian. Mathew taught us that we are the light of the world. He told us in Mathew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Let us take a look at the moon for just a moment. Did you know that of itself, the moon does not give off any light, but rather reflects the light from the sun. When we look at that beautiful full moon what we are truly seeing is the reflection of the sun! It is similar to this that we as Christians are the reflection of God! When we live as Jesus lived, love as Jesus loved and let our good works show forth to our fellowman, then they see God reflected in our lives! By letting our Christian light shine, we are showing the world the reflection of God!

Jesus loves you, this I know

Thinking about Mathew this morning. You know he was a tax collector and not just any tax collector. He was a public tax collector. The tax collectors had free reign to tax a man for just about anything during Christ time on earth and what made it worse, they were usually Jews. It's hard to see your fellowman being someone you despise, yet he was the very first one that Christ called to be a disciple. Jesus saw something in Mathew that he could use. He saw determination and dedication. Mathew, as rotten as he was also saw something in Jesus. He saw the hope that he could have peace in this life, the love that he longed for, because no matter what his life was like on the outside, there was the man that nobody truly knew that needed to be loved, needed to be wanted, needed joy and peace in his life. He never hesitated when Jesus spoke to him, he dropped it all and followed him. He never looked backed and became one of the greatest disciples. Have you ever wondered why the book of Mathew starts with giving us the genealogy of Christ. I believe Christ wanted the world to know that we all have people like Mathew hiding in our family closets. The harlot, Rahab was his grandma and King David, was an adulterer and a murderer, but that did not stop Mathew from listing them in Christ's lineage. I believe Christ wanted the world to know that he too had family that was not perfect. Christ did not come to suffer and die for perfect people. He came to seek and to save those that are lost! He came for that drunkard, that pill addict and that harlot standing on the street corner. If we were all perfect then his death would have been in vain. Mathew is a perfect example of what Christ can do for those that believe they are so far gone that nothing can save them. He was hated by all who saw him coming, but yet Christ loved him and changed his heart. He will do the same for you. All you have to do is call upon his name. He is always ready to welcome you into his arms. Is it always easy, no it's not. Is it always worth it, absolutely. Having a relationship with Jesus Christ will be the best decision you ever make in your life. I have never met a Christian that regretted knowing Christ, I have never met someone that had walked away from him that didn't want to find their way back and I have never met a sinner that he would not love and forgive! Jesus Loves you, this I know!

Sanctify God and be ready

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

1 Peter 3:15 KJV

Peter tells us to sanctify the Lord in our hearts. How you might ask can we, being nothing but man, sanctify anything. To sanctify something means to set it apart from everything else, to consecrate it or to declare it holy, keep it free from sin. When we become a Christian then we are to sanctify God in our hearts by living HOLY! Our lifestyle changes and we begin to live as Christ lived. We are to love our fellowman and pray one for another. We are to keep the commandments of God and walk in his holy ordinance. When people see us in our everyday lives, there should be no need to ask if we are a Christian, it should be clear to anyone that we are by the way we talk and act. We should be ready at all times to tell others about Christ and let them know that he alone is the reason we have such hope when it seems everything in the world is falling apart around us. We should lift our hands and give God praise and be thankful to him in good times and yes, in the bad as well and declare that we are thankful because his ways are high above our ways and beyond our understanding and by doing so, God will build our faith and give us hope that we will be able to walk with meekness and know that his will may not align with what we want, but it will be what is needed and what is best in our lives. we just may not understand it at the time.