Matthew_5

Matthew 5:14- 1614 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.15 Neither 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. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.Observation - What does it say?Jesus saw the multitudes, so he decided to go over to the mountainside and give  his Sermon on the Mount which include the Beatitudes and the fulfillment of the law. He then delivered the hard stuff like loving your enemies (ouch), divorce, taking oaths, murder, and adultery.Understanding - What does it mean?Your good deeds are the light!I always thought if we were sitting on a hill, shining our light bright, we could shine on people's darkness and reveal their sin to them so they could know what they needed to fix and how Christian we are to help them, after all, they are poor sinners.Today I read the  scripture with my new Holy Spirit led eyes and I noticed it says to let your light shine before others that they may SEE your GOOD DEEDS and GLORIFY the FATHER.Ohhh...so it's not about us and how Christian we are about seeing other people's sin. (I’m so embarrassed I actually used to think like this. Father, please help me not be so full of myself!)So here are some of the good deeds he spoke about in Matthew 5. Love your enemies, don’t lust, forgive and ask forgiveness, and have integrity. He's raised the standard higher than what's already expected of both sinners and Christians alike.Your good deeds are the light! That is what makes you stand out! That is what puts you, the lamp, high on a lamp stand and when the people look up…at the light... They see our Father in heaven.Application - How can I apply this today?This is how we show our Good Deeds, that we're not like what is expected of every fallen human being… but when you have every right to be upset, every right to be a lustful,every right to show hatred... we instead decide to show love, we decide to show respect, decide to humble ourselves and extend forgiveness.Father thank you that you are not a critical God that shines light only to to condemn but that you are a God that shines light to draw us to your abounding love. Help me, help us, help DSC to be a people that will chose to walk in the opposite spirit of the darkness. Thank you Jesus for teaches us how to draw people to our Father. We want to become more like you and less of ourselves. Holy Spirit empower us to be the light and shine our good deeds on people so that they may see the Father in heaven. In Jesus name, Amen.

Deborah Lee