A 10 Question Test To See if Your Light Is Shining

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.”

We’ve sung the song since we were kids, but are we living it? God wants our lights to shine (Matthew 5:16; Philippians 2:14-16). He expects us to be the twinkling stars that dance in the vast expanse of the inky black darkness. As sailors once charted their course to safe harbor by using the stars as beacons in the dark nights, we need to live in such a way that others can chart their course to heaven’s harbor by following our light.

We are beacons when we reflect the light of Jesus to the world by walking in Christ’s word so others can follow us to heaven.

However, we sometimes need help on a daily basis trying to figure out if our light is shining with our given choices. I want to share with you a series of questions you can ask to help you determine if you are a beacon.

1. Am I doing this in the name of the Lord? A question of Authority (cf. Colossians 3:17)
2. Am I surrendering to God? A question of Lordship (cf. Galatians 2:20)
3. Am I glorifying God? A question of Goals (cf. Matthew 5:16)
4. Am I sowing to the flesh or the Spirit? A question of Guidance (cf. Galatians 5:16-25)
5. Am I providing for the lusts of the flesh? A question of Honesty (cf. Romans 13:14)
6. Am I professing godliness? A question of Honor (cf. I Timothy 4:7-8)
7. Am I set apart for holiness? A question of Usefulness (cf. I Thessalonians 4:1-8)
8. Am I hungering for righteousness? A question of Passion (cf. Matthew 5:6)
9. Am I cheerful about it? A question of Attitude (cf. Philippians 2:14)
10. Am I standing out? A question of Commitment (cf. Romans 12:1)

Are you letting your little light shine?

ELC

For more check out the sermon.

Weep with the weeping

Last night was tough for Marita and me. The Camp Kennessee nurse called saying Tessa had a fever all day and would have to go home. Marita and I repeatedly commented on the hour and a half trip to pick her up about how much we hurt for her. I wanted to cry for her.

It makes me think of the second half of Romans 12:15.

“Weep with those who weep.”

This verse doesn’t say:

• Cheer up those who weep.
• Say something profound to those who weep.
• Rebuke those who weep.
• Ignore those who weep.
• Be uncomfortable around those who weep.
• Avoid those who weep.
• Shame those who weep.
• Make fun of those who weep.
• Get angry at the inconvenience of those who weep.

Actually, it tells us to weep with those who weep. 
 

The next time someone you know is sad and weeping, don’t try to stop them. Don’t get mad at them. Don’t avoid them. Don’t try to be the hero who says the really profound thing to lift them up. Just weep with them.
 

Laughter may well be the best medicine, but a good cry can cleanse the soul.

ELC

Quit Wishing and Start Working

Today’s thoughts come from my Bible reading. You can see more about it at Give Attention to Reading.

While Jesus taught, a woman cried out “Blessed is the womb that bore you…” The woman was basically decrying her poor state. She might as well have said, “I wish I had been so lucky as to have you as a son. Too bad for me, huh.”

Jesus responded, “Actually, if you will stop wishing and start working, you can be even more blessed than my Mom. The person who listens to my Father and does what He says is the most blessed.”

What an amazing lesson to learn from this brief interchange. Whatever part of our lives we are talking about, whether it is our walk with God, our family, our job, our education, etc., this provides a great lesson.

Instead of whining about the blessings we haven’t received, pursue the ones that are promised if we will just work. Sadly, if we don’t start studying, thinking, meditating, listening, growing and then acting on all of that, we will find ourselves 10 years older but still crying about how unlucky we were and how blessed everyone else is.

If we want to live a blessed life without regrets, we must quit thinking about how lucky everyone else is and start doing what God tells us to do right now. 10 years from now we won’t be pointing our fingers at how blessed everyone else is. We will see how blessed we are.

May God richly bless you as you draw closer to Him.
More importantly, may you richly bless God.

ELC

We are what we read

Author and speaker, Charlie “Tremendous” Jones says, “The person you will be in five years is determined by the people you meet and the books you read.” 

I think he’s right. Therefore, I have to ask, what will I read and who will I meet over the next five years? Let’s hone in on the reading side of it. We become what we think about and we think about whatever we put in our minds.

Galatians 6:7-8 says, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (ESV).

Certainly, this doesn’t mean I can’t ever read anything that is not spiritual. This doesn’t mean I can’t ever catch up on Grisham, Cussler, Pratchett or Eldridge. However, it does mean I need to be sowing my mental seeds toward the spirit. But, before I start chowing down on Dobson, Swindoll, Bowman or Adams, I need to start at the source. The B-I-B-L-E. Yes, that’s the book for me.

I don’t know about you, but it’s so easy for me to say, “The Bible? I’ve read that. Let me move on to Maxwell, Blanchard or Covey to see if they can give me a new perspective.” Instead of starting my day with a word from the local news, a word from my favorite author or even a word from our sponsors, I need to get THE Word.

(WARNING: Shameless personal plugs ahead)

That is one of the reasons I also started Give Attention to Reading. It’s a way to keep me in the Word first every day. I hope you can join me there each week day as we read through the New Testament over the next six months. Feel free to read along and join in the discussion.

After getting into the Word, then I need to make sure at least some of my supporting reading is going to sow to the Spirit. Right now I’ve been really into Warren Wiersbe’s “Be Series.” You might find that interesting also. I’ld also like to share with you a book that changed my life in the writing. Walks with God was a labor of love for me. As I wrote that book and then went through it with my brethren in the Franklin Church of Christ, it truly impacted me and my walk with the Lord. I wrote it because I thought it would add value to the brethren I love and because I thought it would help us all sow to the Spirit in our lives. I know it did for me.

Okay, enough of my shameless plugs (am I allowed to do that on my own blog). Anyway, whether it is one of my books or some other Christian’s really doesn’t matter to me. Let’s just remember that the only difference between us now and us in five years is the relationships we develop and the books we read. Let’s sow to the Spirit in both.

May God richly bless you as you draw closer to Him.
More importantly, may you richly bless God. 

 

What’s going on by these streams of water!

“Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not whither.
In all that he does, he prospers.”

–Psalm 1:1-3

Welcome to “Planted by Streams of Water” the blog for Streamside Supplies, the publishing company that has brought you books like Plugged In: High Voltage Prayer and Walks with God.

We’re here to help you bear fruit and prosper in your spiritual walk with God. Keep coming back as we explore practical lessons for spiritual growth.

If you’re like me, you want to walk with your eyes on heaven. However, your feet are stuck on earth. How can we navigate through this life to gain true life? Join me in an ongoing discussion that squares from Jesus our cornerstone and is founded on the revelation that came through the apostles and prophets (cf. Ephesians 2:20). Each step of the way we will let God’s word be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (cf. Psalm 119:105). As we do, we will lift one another up and help each other grow and we will become like trees planted by streams of water.