Take it! It's yours!

In Matthew 5:15 Jesus says, "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." This "light" that he talks about is our own light for God. Later in Ephesians, Paul explains what we need to do with this light. He says,

"once you were full of darkness, now you are full of light from the Lord, and your behavior should show it...this light produces only what is good and right and true. Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, rebuke and expose them...And where your light shines, it will expose their evil deeds." -Ephesian 5:8-9,11,14.

Jesus encourages us and wants us to have our light shine everyday for people to see. How do we do that? By our actions and how they reflect our faith! It can be very easy to come to church to have your "light" out for others to see, but when you leave church to go home or somewhere else, it's easy to hide it or as Jesus says "put it under a bowl." This doesn't have to be home, it can be where your work, your friends, your co-workers, your classmates, and your peers! Think about it, it's almost similar to living a double life, isn't it?

Being a Christian is not easy. It is something that you need and want! When I was in college as a freshman, I swore a lot and did some things that I wasn't proud of. When I first got involved with church and began reading the Bible, it was something that I craved and needed from all the muck in my life! As soon as I got baptized and began devoting my life for Christ, it was difficult. I lost a lot of friends because I didn't party or do any of the "stuff" I used to do and it was a difficult time. I even asked myself if it was worth it; was it worth being a Christian? However, I gained friends who supported me in my walk-of-faith and one that I eventually married!

So I want you to reflect on this, is your "light" always shining for others to see or do you only let it out when you're at church? In the movie "Troy" when the Greeks are almost to the shores of Troy, the warrior Achilles tells his troops what awaits them and cries out this phrase, "Take it! It yours!" That's how I want you to feel about being fully committed to Christ and shining your light. God needs you, Christ needs you, we need you!

Take it! It's yours!

YouTube

I'm not going to lie, but YouTube is one of my all-time favorite websites! It is a huge eclectic-like melting pot of "how to", pet, music, t.v. show, movie trailer, and random-people-getting-hurt type videos! Being a musician I love watching jazz musicians perform. You see the expressions on their faces and their body movements during the music and it conveys a whole new understanding rather than just listening. During my time at YouthWorks we would have free time from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. So all day Saturday, we would do whatever, but we didn't have t.v. or Wii, XBox, or anything like that. So I went to JoAnn Fabrics, bought some hemp and beads and watched videos on YouTube on how to make hemp jewelry. To be honest, it was very therapeutic!

Sometimes it can make someone famous, just like Ted Williams. Ted was a homeless man from Columbus, OH. who said he had a golden voice. If you haven't seen it, wow! His voice is amazing and now he is getting all of these job offers from companies like Kraft Foods and the Cleveland Cavaliers! Justin Bieber also began his career posting videos of him singing and now look at where he is. Plus you have some people who have their own "t.v. shows" on YouTube that gives the news in a comical way.

With YouTube getting about 20 hours worth of videos for every minute! According to a study, last year the average video length was 2 min. and 30 sec. Let me ask you this, if your life could be represented from birth to now in 2 1/2 minutes, what whould be on there? Would it be vacations? Winning in sports? Diappointment? Hanging out with friends? Losing a loved one? Getting in a fight? Birthday parties? Holiday memories?

Think about it and how have those events molded you into the person who you are right now. Are you happy or disappointed? What are some things you can change or stay the same?