Have you read stories about successful people, athletes, musicians, actors, chefs, Nobel prize winners, business people, etc. and the story writes about how they studied under the same instructor that coached several other great athletes, or the person studied under the same professor as several other famous people.

These successful people are bringing fame and “glory” to their teacher, coach, or mentor as a result of their own success.

In a similar way, Jesus’ tells us in Matthew 5 that we, Christians, are the light of the world. In verse 16 he says, “let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

We need to be those people who bring glory to our teacher, Jesus, with our actions.

Dear Lord, thank you for setting the example for us on how to live a humble life serving others with love. Help us live this life and be a light for all to see and bring glory to you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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Isaiah was a prophet in the Old Testament, God would speak to him, and he was responsible for bringing God’s message to the Israelites. The people of Israel had stopped their faithful following of God’s commands, so God gave Isaiah a message for them.

Isaiah 58:13-14 says, “Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly. Then the Lord will be your delight. I will give you great honor and satisfy you with the inheritance I promised to your ancestor Jacob.

One of the keys to this message is that keeping the Sabbath is not just about going to church, it is about honoring God, by obeying his commands. He says if they follow God’s commands, things will go well for them.

Dear Lord, Here and in other places in the bible, you tell us to keep the Sabbath holy. In our modern terms, that means, go to church. We should do this to give you honor and respect out of our love and obedience. Help us remember that you tell us when we honor you, you will be there for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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Do you know people who always have something positive to say about everyone? While they are bringing up the most favorable things about everyone, they are making themselves look good at the same time.

In Romans 14:19 Paul says, “So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.”

Of course everyone has areas that can be improved, but why bring this up to others.

The 8th commandment says, “Thou shall not bear false witness (lie) about thy neighbor.” I like Martin Luther’s words in the Small Catechism explanation of this Commandment. Regarding our neighbor, we should, “defend him, speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.”

Wouldn’t it be great if we treated each other in this manner regularly?

Dear Lord, you tell us that after loving you, the second greatest command is to love our neighbor. Help us remember that speaking well of others is part of this love for them. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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Have you ever thought you knew someone, and found out later that you were completely wrong? Maybe it was someone who had a very hard and contentious personality, but they turn out to be very caring and considerate, or as a Manager or business owner, you thought a prospective employee was friendly and hardworking, and they didn’t turn out to be the way you expected.

We don’t have the ability to read what truly makes up the character of people without spending time engaging with them, and even with time we may not truly know them. God, however, knows what is inside all of us.

In the Old Testament, God tells Samuel, a prophet, to go to Bethlehem to find one of Jesse’s sons who will be the next King of Israel. Jesse had eight sons, the youngest and least impressive from outward appearance was David.

God told Samuel after Samuel assumed the most impressive looking son, Eliab, would be God’s chosen, in 1 Samuel 16:7, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Dear Lord, You see deep inside all people and know them better than they know themselves. Give us your wisdom to see others the way you do, and not make our judgments solely on appearance. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

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Have you ever experienced this? You go to church Sunday morning, then find yourself doing all kinds of things you know you shouldn’t Sunday afternoon, criticizing the driver in the car in front of you, getting angry at your family members for silly reasons, cursing at the referee or umpire on the TV game. As difficult as it may be to overcome these temptations, we need to put our efforts into doing the right things.

James says in his letter to the Christian churches in James 1:21, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.”

We know we are saved by God’s grace, and not by anything we have done, but now that we are saved, it only makes sense that we would show it in how we live our lives.

In order to know what God tells us to do, we need to read and listen to what the bible says, and not just make up things we think are right.

Dear Lord, help and guide us to read and listen to your words in the bible, so that we know how you say we should be living our lives. Then help us actually do it. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Happy Birthday Mom!!

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