{"id":2634,"date":"2014-04-20T19:43:37","date_gmt":"2014-04-21T00:43:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lovingonme.com\/?p=2634"},"modified":"2017-05-09T11:21:17","modified_gmt":"2017-05-09T16:21:17","slug":"are-you-letting-your-light-shine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/2014\/04\/20\/are-you-letting-your-light-shine\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You Letting Your Light Shine?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/a>I read the resurrection story again this weekend. I cannot think of a greater example of God\u2019s love than the sacrifice of His son. It\u2019s really humbling, and truth be told a little shocking, the high value He places on our lives, especially when we struggle so often to stay on the right path.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know about you, but some days I have to work real hard to keep myself from straying. Even knowing that God has great plans for me, I can slide back into my old thinking. Doubting, impatience, running ahead, sitting still when He\u2019s telling me go \u2013 all my old junk that I\u2019ve thrown out more times than I can count comes sneaking in again.<\/p>\n

Perhaps that\u2019s why I identify so much with Peter. He was a disciple, a part of Jesus\u2019 inner circle. When Jesus brought just a few people with him, Peter was always in the mix. He loved God passionately, and yet it was often his emotional outbursts that got him in trouble.<\/p>\n

For example when they came to arrest Jesus, it was Peter who cut off the guard\u2019s ear in a fit of rage. Now, it wasn\u2019t as if Peter was surprised\u00a0by Jesus\u2019 arrest. He had told them it was going to happen, and it had also been prophesied hundreds of years before. But in his usual fashion, Peter let his emotions get the best of him, and well\u2026you know how we get when our heart bypasses our head.<\/p>\n

And then things went from bad to worse. You see, Jesus had already told Peter that he was going to deny even knowing him three times before the rooster crowed. But Peter couldn\u2019t imagine it. Nothing would make him deny knowing Jesus.<\/p>\n

However, after they led Jesus away things got tense in the city. People started looking for those who walked with Him, and Peter was accused of being one of his disciples. I\u2019m sure Peter didn\u2019t even think about what he was doing, as he strongly denied his association with Christ. He was just trying to save himself, to figure things out now that his world had been turned upside down. But the minute he had denied knowing Him the third time, the rooster crowed, and he knew \u2013 he had let Jesus down. Again.<\/p>\n

I can only imagine his anguish, as he watched Jesus die. He said He would rise again, but what if He didn\u2019t? How could he live with his guilt?<\/p>\n

Thankfully for Peter, and for us, He did. He rose again, making salvation and freedom available to us all.<\/p>\n

In the days that followed His resurrection, Jesus spent time with Peter, assuring him that despite messing up he still wanted him to carry the message. In spite of his frailties and faults, there was work for him to do, and that was where he needed to focus his energy.<\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t that good news? I\u2019m so relieved to know that even with our imperfections God\u2019s perfect plan can still be achieved. He forgives us when we fall short and patiently works with us to get on track, moving us forward to fulfill our purpose. What a relief to know that he never stops believing in and loving us.<\/p>\n

Can\u2019t imagine it? Just look at what happened to Peter. After Jesus ascended to heaven, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and began preaching the gospel far and wide. He lived fully as the person God created him to be, and fulfilled his divine assignment with great zeal. He no longer lived in fear of being known as a disciple. He embraced his calling, and was set free from the insecurities and doubt that assailed him.<\/p>\n

You know up until this moment, as I wrote that last line, I wondered why these words were rambling in my head. It\u2019s Sunday evening. Easter is over. Why am I writing a blog that by all accounts should have been posted at 10am?<\/p>\n

Well, the truth is I tried to write it yesterday. But something in me held back. It felt odd to share so much of my faith. I mean I talk about God all the time. I can feel His presence so intimately in my life that I can\u2019t help but share the precious gift.<\/p>\n

But I don\u2019t write about Jesus a lot. It\u2019s so\u2026.Christian. And truth is being one is not real popular. I mean, believing in God, well that\u2019s okay. But when you say you\u2019re a Christian, people think you\u2019re some kind of nut job. Some wacko that hates homosexuals, signs petitions to restore Duck Dynasty, and lobbies to minimize the rights of women.<\/p>\n

I am not that person. I am a Christian – imperfect, forgiven and saved by grace. I wake up every morning grateful to God for another day to honor Him, to work on being the person He created me to be, and to share the love He has so generously showered over me with every person I meet.<\/p>\n

I am a Christian, and that means I cannot deny Christ. But up until this moment, I didn\u2019t even realize that\u2019s what I was doing. Just like Peter, I was hiding a part of myself. The sad thing is, it\u2019s the very best part of me.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m so grateful for these moments of conviction, where I can see myself as I really am, and choose to be better. But I know this wasn\u2019t just for me, else God would have given it to me in my journal.<\/p>\n

This message was for you too. I have no idea what it is you\u2019re hiding from or why, but it\u2019s time we both let our light shine bright. For to truly be who we are created to be, we cannot deny any part of our Creator.<\/p>\n

Loving on Me as I Love You. Hugs and Blessings \u2764<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I read the resurrection story again this weekend. I cannot think of a greater example of God\u2019s love than the sacrifice of His son. It\u2019s really humbling, and truth be told a little shocking, the high value He places on our lives, especially when we struggle so often to stay on the right path. I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":11747,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sharing_disabled":false,"switch_like_status":false,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[204997547,204997546,114917237],"tags":[204997537,401,7816,204997786,204997539,204997597,204997541],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/Light.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4eAxC-Gu","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2634"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2634"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9159,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2634\/revisions\/9159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}