Do you see yourself as embedded in God’s love? Meditating on his love re-seats you internally into the reality of who you are in Christ. That, in turn brings peace which guards your heart and your mind. His love drives out fear, uncovering the light within you because of Jesus — the light that He says you are!
Hi! It’s Jo Moody here, happy to be writing to you today. You may be aware that I’ll be speaking at Voice of the Apostles later this month; the Global team and I thought it would be good to take a moment and share with you something that’s on my heart in this season.
You know, this year has been something else, hasn’t it? But the thing is, no matter how crazy it gets out there, we should know that we are the light of the world. If you’re anything like me, that idea of purpose, of empowerment, of being called to shine the light of Christ into a dark world is under attack all the time. So how about a reminder?
As you watch the video I’ve recorded above, I recount a dream I had which God gave me. In it, God provided me with some creative imagery to enlighten Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:14–16. I encourage you to pull out your Bible app (or a printed Bible if you’ve got one!) and go to that passage. I’m going to write it out here in Eugene Peterson’s The Message paraphrase because he really nails something rich in the meaning:
“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” — Jesus
Collective prayers and worship is the refueling station. Our gathering together, even through technology, changes the atmosphere and magnifies the light of Christ in us.
Jesus said, “…I call you my most intimate friends.” Nothing can ever separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ but to live with awareness of that, we must press into the presence and word of God, asking him to open our eyes. May we see the army of the Lord and be encouraged by the reality of His lordship!
We gain clarity and boldness in the Lord’s love if we allow Him to show us where we are in His greater story. Remember this: feelings are not an indication of truth, especially when fear is in the culture around us.
My prayer for you and all God’s people is that we would step up collectively as God’s global team of “hot shots,” taking our light together into darkest hot spots in this world. May His Kingdom advance through us in the coming days in ways that would surprise us all!
Until all know,
Joanne Moody
Note from the editor: what a great word from Joanne! If you agree with me, hop down into the comments and let us know what God’s saying to you. Also, if you’re like me, you’ll want to see more from Jo. She’ll be back with us as a speaker at Voice of the Apostles Sep 28–Oct 2 (which is also available as a webcast package). I would also strongly urge you to check out her website here → and her brand new online training school → We’re big fans of Joanne and her team here at Global and heartily commend them to you.