Let Your Light Shine

On April 24, 2013, I was blessed with the opportunity to speak in the high school service at Crossgates Baptist Church. As Christians, we are called to let our light shine. Here is the audio of what I said:

I challenge you. Let your light shine to show others the path to the cross.

We Have A Problem

As Christians, we have a problem. We are not living as a Christian should! Yes, some are, but as a majority, we are not. Well, since we are talking about letting our light shine, what does that mean?

When you are told to let your light shine (the light given to you by Christ), this means to live in a way that shows everyone around you who you are, what you believe in, and Who you serve. In the first part of Matthew 7:16 it tells us, “They will be known by their fruit.” Live in a way that those around you can see Christ through you. Illuminate the path to Him.

Back to the subject. We have a problem. This is a major problem that has been happening for far too long. Like I said in the second sentence of this post, we are not living as a Christian should!

We have to live and walk in the light. We can look to 1 John 1:7 and see that:

“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.”

We are called to walk in the light, and have fellowship with one another.

We are told in Ephesians 5:1-10,

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord.”

We were all once in darkness. Christ wants us to walk in Him, letting His Light shine through us.

I challenge you. Do not let this offend you, for I have found myself not doing what God wants quite often. I challenge you to truly examine your heart, and live for God. You will be surprised what God will do through you if you just let Him!

Put Him foremost in your life.

Let His Light shine through you.

Do you have something to share? Comment below!

I would love to hear from you! Comment below, or contact me at joshua@joshuabedford.com.

Currently Under Construction

I would like to start out by apologizing to you. I have told you I would be releasing three articles per week, and I have not done so for a long time. I thought about posting and letting you know what was going on, and realized I never did. So what’s this about being ‘under construction’?

What’s under construction? This website. I decided to leave it up so you can take advantage of the resources already here. Soon I will have a new website for you with an entire new look. It would be out first, but I put you first. I am not only working on my website, but will also soon be releasing a website design for a customer and friend that’s focus is helping women with their relationship with God. I will be sure to post again and let you know.

Some of you may also know about my book. Being A Light For God is a book that teaches you to do just that, shine bright for God, and fulfill your purpose in life. As a whole (within the U.S.) Christians have grown spiritually dim. We are afraid to live in a way that broadcasts our faith like a light in the darkness, because we fear what people think about us. This is wrong though, because we are told many times throughout Scripture not to fear. While I’m here I will tell you something God laid on my heart.

In our lives, our relationship is constantly ‘under construction’ just like this website, my book, and many other things in life. It is a never ending cycle, and you can never be close enough to God. There’s always room to draw closer. If you fall, or make a mistake, that is understandable. God will not hold that against you. He knows how our nature has become since The Fall, and that is why He sent His Son Jesus to die for us. In our lives, we are constantly under construction in many ways, and especially spiritually. So remember that daily. It is a daily process to grow closer to God.

We are constantly under construction, and we will make mistakes, but God is there to help us to overcome those mistakes, so take comfort in that fact. When you mess up, simply look to God and He will help you to recover.

Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts on this below!

The New You and The Great Race

As with many of the books of the New Testament, Paul is writing a letter to a church. This book is the letter Paul wrote to the church at Colossi. Let’s look at the beginning of chapter 3.

In the first part of chapter 3, Paul speaks of the new you. This new you he speaks of only appears after you surrender your life to Christ. When you accept Christ’s salvation, the old you is gone, and the new you takes its place (2 Corinthians 5:17).

One who is saved from death by the Lord Jesus Christ Should not be focused on things of this world. Worldly pleasures should mean nothing to a Christian. Instead, focus on Christ and His Will for your life.

Paul speaks an enormous truth which many will not accept. He is simply saying one thing. If you are saved, then you should act like what you are: a child of Christ. Yes, children stumble and fall sometimes, and we will do just that, but we need to get back on our feet and keep going. Here is a saying I made up. I’m sure I am not the only one who has said this, but you have to start small:

You must learn to crawl before you can learn to walk.
You must learn to walk before you can learn to run.
You must learn to run before you can truly win the great race  and achieve the goal.

What great race do I speak of, and what is this goal we must achieve? In Philippians 3:14 it says, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Our goal in life is to fulfill the will of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Paul speaks more of this race in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

There is a new you, and this new you has been entered into a race. You are expected to live your life for Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior of all who accept Him. Now go live your life to its fullest for Christ, so you may one day be able to say this as Paul did, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7)

There Is No Need To Worry

As I was reading through Philippians chapter 4, a certain verse jumped out at me, which reminded me of another verse in a completely different part of the Bible. I know many people struggle with worry, so today we are going to look at worry.

I mentioned this above, but let’s look into it further. As I was reading, a verse that Paul wrote really stuck out. This verse was about worry. Let’s look at Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious (do not worry) about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Parenthesis and words inside added)

Paul wrote that we should not worry. He knew, and wrote this here, that we don’t have to worry. The reason for this is because God will give us what we need. If there is something you worry about, then bring it to God in prayer.

There are many different reasons people worry. Some of these include providing for your family, school, work, and sports. Yes, these things are important, but there is still no reason to worry. God wants to help us, but we rarely truly go to Him in prayer asking for help.

Let’s look at an example, and Job is an excellent one. Look at what happened to Job. He literally lost everything including his family, health, and wealth, but he still trusted God. He knew God was in control, and that he did not need to worry about how things would end up. Because of this, God restored to Job everything he had, then multiplied it and gave him more!

Wow, it is amazing how strong Job’s faith stayed during that trial. Many people, and possibly you, have lost their job, a family member, or something else that is important to them, but they are still standing strong. Take joy in the fact that God will provide what you need.

On top of the verse in Philippians, more on this subject can be found in Matthew 6:31 and Matthew 6:34. Let’s look at these two verses:

Do you struggle with worry? What are some things you worry about? What are some ways you have found to increase your trust that God will provide?