# 15 - A City on a Hill

-


The Church Defined

# 15 - A City on a Hill

Click here for the Audio Version: A City on a Hill


Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” (NKJV)


Jesus declared in John 9:5, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” However, Jesus also reminded his disciples in Matthew 5:14 “You are the light of the world." We therefore, as the body of Christ, have a two-fold responsibility. Firstly, to walk with Jesus, who is the light, and secondly, to be those who will shine His light to the world around us.

1 John 1:5-9 says it this way, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (NKJV) God is light implies that He is holy and hence, there is no way we can claim to be His children and continue in a life of sin. It is only when we walk consistently with God, will we have true fellowship with one another. 

Another important aspect of this fellowship is mentioned in 1 John 2:9 “He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.” (NKJV) As a community of believers, we are called to love one another just the way Jesus loved us, and there is no place for hatred, bitterness or discord in the family of God.

If we desire to walk in the light, we must also allow God’s word to take deep root in our lives. It is only when we spend time with God and His word will we be able to walk in the right path. Psalm 119:105 reminds us: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (NKJV)

As we go through these perilous times, the Lord alerts us from Romans 13:12: “The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.” (NLJV) 

For too long we as the body of Christ, have hidden our light, and forgotten the very purpose of our existence here on earth. The words of Jesus from Matthew 5:16 admonishes us, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (NKJV)

All of us as believers are sojourners here on earth and we are journeying toward our eternal home in heaven. That is an amazing destination, for Revelation 21:23 says, “And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light.” (NLT)

Click here for the other devotions: The Church Defined



The Life Transforming WORD – By Esther Collins

Comments

  1. Good News FriendsApril 10, 2020 at 12:12 PM

    City on a hill. Enlightening! Praise the Lord Jesus.

    ReplyDelete
  2. PamApril 10, 2020 at 7:13 PM

    Amen ! God has chosen us His children to be lights in this dark world ! We should reflect His light to others ! God bless.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

# 21 - The Bride of Christ

-
Image
The Church Defined # 21 - The Bride of Christ Click here for the Audio Version -   The Bride of Christ Luke 21:36 , “Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man." (NIV) In the Epistles, the symbolism of marriage is used to explain the relationship between Christ and the Church. We read in Ephesians 5:25-27 , “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave His life for it. He did this to make the church holy by cleansing it, washing it using water along with spoken words. Then he could present it to himself as a glorious church, without any kind of stain or wrinkle—holy and without faults.” (GW) The imagery depicts Christ as the bridegroom, who not only loved the church but sacrificed His life for her. He is also coming again to reclaim His bride, whom He expects to be glorious, holy and without blemish. Revelation 19:7-9 , refers to the
Read more

# 20 - Influencers

-
Image
The Church Defined # 20 – Influencers Click here for the Audio Version -   Influencers Matthew 5:13 , “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.” (ESV) Jesus’ analogy of salt was an extremely profound one. A huge jar of unused salt will benefit no one. However, even a little salt added to any dish will make a big difference to it’s taste. The presence of salt will not go unnoticed, so also it’s absence. If salt loses its saltiness it will become totally useless. Jesus referred to us as the ‘salt of the earth’ to help us understand that we the church are chosen to be a godly influence in this world. While we are happy to congregate as ‘salt’ somehow, we have failed to let this saltiness penetrate into every area of our lives and various spheres of society. Jesus cautions us that if we become ‘tasteless,’ we los
Read more

# 19 - Disciple Makers

-
Image
The Church Defined # 19 – Disciple Makers Click here for the Audio Version: Disciple Makers Matthew 28:19: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (NKJV) The mandate to ‘make disciples’ of all nations, has to a large extent, become the Great Omission in the Great Commission. The directive of Jesus is not to make ‘converts’ but to make ‘disciples.’ According to Wikipedia, “A disciple in biblical terms is one who is a dedicated follower of Jesus. A disciple in the ancient biblical world actively imitated both the life and teaching of the master. It was a deliberate apprenticeship which made the fully formed disciple a living copy of the master.”   Luke records in Luke 6:12-16 , that Jesus prayed all night before He chose His twelve disciples. Note how Mark 3:14-15 explained this: “Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out
Read more