MEDITATION:
Written by Clarence L. Haynes, Jr., a contemporary Bible teacher and speaker. This is an excerpt from his work “Is the Gospel Offensive or Are You?”
When you carry the name of Christ and shine light, the world is watching. Remember a city on a hill cannot be hidden. What I want you to pay close attention to is the thing that reflects light the most and makes your light shine the brightest. It is your good deeds. How you live and act can be the greatest testimony and witness for Jesus. Yet there must be a correlation between the message that comes out of your mouth and the actions that come from your life. When these things don’t line up, then the messenger gets in the way of the message. You become the offense instead of the gospel. Some go so far as to call this persecution when in reality people are responding to our bad behavior that does not reflect Jesus or his character. When this happens people cannot hear the message because you have gotten in the way. Since they can’t hear the message, they are not rejecting the message they are rejecting you. I know this is sobering and may even sting a little, but if we are honest with ourselves it is the truth. It is our responsibility to make sure that we are not the ones who are getting in the way of people hearing the true message of the gospel. If they reject the message that is their choice. We just need to make sure we are not in the way of them being able to hear the message.
PRAYER:
Today’s prayer is from the Saram Primer, a book of prayers and Christian worship resources from the 1500s, collected at the Salisbury Cathedral.
Almighty God,
fountain of eternal light,
send forth your truth into our hearts,
and pour on us the glory of your brightness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pathways Press.com 
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