“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” (New International Version, Heb. 1:3)
As a church, we have chosen the theme, SON-Shine Summer, for June! Our goal is to grow the depth of our relationship to the SON of God more than ever before! Very excitingly, some of the things we are doing to achieve this are: studying the book of Hebrews as a congregation, having daily group Quiet Times, planned evangelism times with the campus ministry, having powerful Singles and Marrieds Bible discussions, and of course having a lot of FUN!
As we continue to grow in the SON this summer, here are three practicals to help us take it even higher!
“When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was unaware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD.” – Exodus 34:29
1. Choose To Shine: Moses climbed up Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments from God for Israel. After spending forty days in God’s presence, he made his descent down the mountain, back to the people. However, when the people saw him, they were afraid because his face was radiant. The scriptures teach in the above passage that Moses had a shining face because he had spoken with the Lord!
As a congregation, we must continually commit to having daily and powerful Quiet Times (reading, prayer, worship) with the Lord as Moses did! To do this, we must be willing to wake up early and find a special place where we can meet with God (Mark 1:35). As we climb our spiritual mountains daily, we will experience the radiance of God as Moses did on Mount Sinai. God will only cause you to shine when you choose to do it with Him! Let’s choose to walk with God closer than ever before!
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” –1 John 1:7
2. Maintain Your Shine: As disciples, we will never obtain perfection. However, the scriptures give us a way to maintain our “shine” in the SON! According to the above passage, as we confess our sins, the blood of Jesus will continually wash us. This allows us to have a shining relationship with God. Some good questions for every disciple to ask is, “Am I living a life of openness” and “Am I walking in the light daily with a more mature disciple than me who will help guide me through repentance?” I want to encourage every disciple to get open with the man/woman that mentors you! When you are in the light, you are refreshed! Let’s be open so that we can shine bright.
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, giving light to everyone in the house. – Matthew 5:14-15
3. Shine Bright In The World: Jesus teaches that, as his disciples, we are the light of the world! Therefore, we must shine bright and inspire the world with the radiance of Jesus Christ! Let’s choose to continually share our faith, set up new Bible studies and bring new friends out to church every week!
The sun does many things! Among many, it provides light and life! Without the sun, Earth would cease to exist! In the same way, without the SON (Jesus), we would cease to exist spiritually! Let’s make the decision to have a summer full of the Son So we can be the light of the world, and give people a chance for eternal life in Jesus!
And to God be the glory,
Jason T. Woody
Evangelist
