Bible League: Living His Word "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 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."Jesus is the true light that gives light to everyone (John 1:9). As the true light, He is a beacon in the darkness that tells us and shows us the way we should go in life. If we accept Jesus as the true light, then we will reflect His life. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). We are the light of the world, as our verse for today proclaims, because we follow Jesus and have the light of life as a result. Just as a town built on a hill cannot be hidden, so the followers of Jesus are lights that cannot be hidden. We shine in the darkness of a sinful and broken world and people cannot fail to see us. Light defeats darkness: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:5). Although the people of darkness may want to avoid the light, may want to extinguish the light, they cannot overcome the light. Just as a lamp should not be hidden under a bowl, so the light of life that is in us should not be hidden from those around us. Since light defeats darkness, the only way that darkness can win is if the people of light hide themselves. If we put our light under a bowl, if we refuse to shine in the darkness, then we will have given the darkness a victory it could not have achieved on its own. In contrast, just as a lamp should be placed on a stand, so the light of life that is in us should be placed prominently before those around us. Since light defeats darkness, the light of life that is in us will overcome the darkness if it is allowed to shine. Indeed, it will shine throughout the whole world. The people of darkness are so blind that they, as the Lord put it to Jonah, "cannot tell their right hand from their left" (Jonah 4:11). Today, have mercy, and allow your light to shine in the darkness. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingJob 19, 20 Job 19 -- Job Feels Insulted, Craves Pity, Believes the Resurrection NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Job 20 -- Zophar Declares the Triumph of the Wicked Is Brief NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Acts 9:23-43 Acts 9 -- Saul's Conversion; Ananias; Saul Begins to Preach; Aeneas and Dorcas NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.” Insight Theologians have long been troubled by Jesus' allowing himself to be baptized by John. After all, this baptism was for sinners. Why, then, did Jesus do it? He did it because he is both God and human. He underwent baptism and even death as only a human could. He lived a sinless life and rose from the dead as only God could. This baptism by John in the Jordan River was another step in his identification with us sinful people; and the arrival of the dove signifies God's approval. Now Jesus would officially begin his ministry as God's beloved Son walking the dusty roads of Israel. Challenge When you are hurting, depressed, broken, remember: You have a Savior who understands your humanity. When you sin, remember: He has paid the price for your disobedience. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Jeremiah 32:17 Ah Lord God, behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee.At the very time when the Chaldeans surrounded Jerusalem, and when the sword, famine and pestilence had desolated the land, Jeremiah was commanded by God to purchase a field, and have the deed of transfer legally sealed and witnessed. This was a strange purchase for a rational man to make. Prudence could not justify it, for it was buying with scarcely a probability that the person purchasing could ever enjoy the possession. But it was enough for Jeremiah that his God had bidden him, for well he knew that God will be justified of all his children. He reasoned thus: "Ah, Lord God! thou canst make this plot of ground of use to me; thou canst rid this land of these oppressors; thou canst make me yet sit under my vine and my fig-tree in the heritage which I have bought; for thou didst make the heavens and the earth, and there is nothing too hard for thee." This gave a majesty to the early saints, that they dared to do at God's command things which carnal reason would condemn. Whether it be a Noah who is to build a ship on dry land, an Abraham who is to offer up his only son, or a Moses who is to despise the treasures of Egypt, or a Joshua who is to besiege Jericho seven days, using no weapons but the blasts of rams' horns, they all act upon God's command, contrary to the dictates of carnal reason; and the Lord gives them a rich reward as the result of their obedient faith. Would to God we had in the religion of these modern times a more potent infusion of this heroic faith in God. If we would venture more upon the naked promise of God, we should enter a world of wonders to which as yet we are strangers. Let Jeremiah's place of confidence be ours--nothing is too hard for the God that created the heavens and the earth. Daily Light on the Daily Path Ecclesiastes 5:2 Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.Matthew 6:7,8 "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. • "So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. 1 Kings 18:26 Then they took the ox which was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, "O Baal, answer us." But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they made. Luke 18:10,11,13,14 "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. • "The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. • "But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' • "I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 11:1 It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, after He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples." New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. 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