Tag Archives: Let your light shine

This little light of mine….. Part III

Posted in Christians, Disciples of Christ, Purpose Driven life, Spiritual growth by

But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.
1 Peter 2:9-10 MSG

I know that I have been MIA from my blog. I have been in a lot of prayer and direction for this topic. As I thought about this topic on letting your light shine, I was shown light in a different “light”.

We all naturally respond to bright lights in the same way. Here are just a few ways we may respond to the light. Our eyes hurt for a split second, we close our eyes and look the other way until it’s safe for us to look again, we get a headache and/or we have a confused look and place our arms up to block out the light etc. But our response to the light is the part that has been placed on my heart to share.

Can you figure out the direction that I’m going with this? We either embrace the light with a positive “giving yourself time/grace” to allow your eyes to adjust. Or you complain and fight the change of the levels of light to brighten your way by placing sunglasses on to keep you in the dark.

The embracing of the light allows several things to occur:
· You see everything bright and clear.
· Every angle is exposed.
· Light energy is present and gives life to things to grow.

Rejection of the light allows several things to occur:
· You are in a blind state.
· You can’t see the whole picture or the hidden angles.
· Nothing has room to grow and there is no energy present.

Where do you see yourself within these two scenarios? Are you embracing or rejecting the light?

You may be a tad confused or torn in between the two. Well the embracing the light has shown me several things. The first one is that like the Scripture says above in 1 Peter 2:9-10, God has chosen you to be set a part from others to walk with Him and to show the world that Jesus lives within you. The second is that your perspective on life should be a positive and empowering outlook. You don’t allow the stress of this world keep you down. You walk in the confidence and power that God has given us as Christians. The third is the darkness that Satan wants us to remain blinded by will not be exposed. So by living in the light, all of the lies, insecurities and fears etc. are replaced with the light of Christ. The final one is that when light is present then the correct energy is able to do it’s job to make sure everything that you allow the light to shine thru will grow and flourish.

When you reject the light several things occur. One being you are in a blind state which is called rejection. You are rejecting the light by choosing to remain in darkness. That can look differently in each of our lives. As God to show you if and how you reject the light. For me, when I was living in a blinded state I actually despised people that were living in the light. It was like a jealousy and bitter state of mind that consumed me because I didn’t truly understand what it meant to have the light shining through me. So I rejected those who had it shining through them. I see that from the other hand now and how I’ve been rejected or talked about because I’m letting my light shine brightly. Jesus was rejected and HE is the light. We as His followers have to be made aware of the backlash that will follow. Not everyone will appreciate your light so don’t allow that to dim your light! Keep walking with your light shining brightly. Another rejection of the light will have you only believing a portion of the picture and keeps things hidden. Those hidden things are your true identity in Christ, your purpose and your guide to thriving in this life instead of just surviving/Bible. Without the light shining on those hidden places, you will stay blinded to all of those lies that stay lurking in your life. The final rejection of the light shows that you will not have the capacity for anything to grow and energy will not flow effectively. That can look like a number of things for example rejecting of wanting community fellowship, solitude overload and blocking of growing in the God. The longer the energy is not present the more things die off in your life. Friendships die off, family relationships are broken, your spiritual life becomes dry and brittle which opens the door to Satan to come in and take over.

Think about a situation when you decided to let your light shine and when you didn’t… If you did let it shine, did you see it as one of these four perspectives? If you didn’t let your light shine was is because you wanted to stay in darkness or wasn’t aware of the great danger that darkness brings?

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We are all given the choice to let our lights shine. Are you shining brightly or living in the dark hidden places? I pray for everyone that reads my blog and that God will speak to your heart in a way that only He can! Love you all and please share this with as many people as you can.

‘TIL NEXT TIME MY LOVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

♡Posted by Sweet Inspirations by Candyce♡

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This little light of mine….. Part II

Posted in Devotionals, Disciples of Christ, Fruitful living, Uncategorized by

Last night as I’m sitting at the stop light waiting for it to change, I was confused by all of the green lights that were shining when my light turned green. The confusion moment that I experienced showed me that even though light was present, it caused confusion to me because I didn’t process the timing of them being synced. At times in our lives, yes our lights are shining but they are off synced with God’s plan and purpose for us. Take time to get back in sync with God and make sure the light is shining with His control panel. I’m not saying that it’s necessarily a bad thing to have the light out of sync because it should caused you to pause and allow that conviction to do its job. Having those convictions were created to steer us back to our Father. Admit that getting out of sync with God caused you to be confused and that you are going to get back on track with him. Another thing that God revealed to me about all of those green lights that I experienced last night, was Him giving me the green light to keep going pursing my dreams and that He has already gone ahead of me to make that happen. I invite you to truly seek God’s will for your life and allow Him to speak to you. It’s all about building that intimacy with Him. His desires will become your desires if you fully let Him in. Invite Him in so He can unpack a become a permanent resident.

SPOTLIGHT VERSE:

But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin 1 John1:7

Have you ever wondered why when you meet or are around someone who is full of joy, causes you to feel extremely comfortable around them and happy? That person or persons are living in the light of Christ. The “comfortable” feeling  that they are experiencing is God’s light. When I was living in darkness, I didn’t appreciate and fully understand the meaning of the light. That caused me to try and avoid the light or most times I would just tolerate it and put my shades on to block it out as long as I could. I pray that you understand what I was saying. Are you wearing your sun shades right now or in constant search of some sort of shade? I’m here to tell you that being in the presence of the light and walking in the light is the way that God created us. He created us to be dependent on it and without it, unfortunately we will never live a fruitful purposeful life that He designed us to experience. I don’t know about you, but I want to experience all of the blessings that God has for me on this earth. It’s the only way to live! So be encouraged my friend…It’s not too late to turn towards the light and take off those sun shades.

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I have the light!!!

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Both of these pictures symbolize me living in the light of God. 🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞

‘TIL NEXT TIME MY LOVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

♡Posted by Sweet Inspirations by Candyce♡

This little light of mine….. Part I

Posted in Christians, Devotionals, Disciples of Christ by

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Ok am I the only one that started singing 🎤 this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine… Let it shine, let it shine, let it shinnnnneeeeeee (insert a run of your choice)🎤. That last part was me being silly. But as a little girl I use to sing that song and did not truly understand what it was all about. I would say within the past 2 years I grabbed a hold of the Scriptures that gave us the perfect examples to walking in the light. Another song that just came to mind is We’ll walk in the light, the beautiful light, somewhere the dew-drops of mercy are bright. Shine all around us by day and by night. Jesus, the light of the world. It’s amazing how songs that once meant nothing to you, can speak to your life in mighty ways once you allow God into your life. And not just allowing him come in temporarily to visit you but to unpack and reside in your heart permanently. There are so many verses that tell us how we should be as Christ followers. Here are some of my favorite scriptures:

But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin 1 John1:7

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105 NLT

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9 NLT

You are the light of the world–like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. Matthew 5:14 NLT

All of those verses speak about Jesus and how He was sent to be the light to this dark world. When we decided to become a Christian, we made a decision to be some form of illumination source for this dark world. You may be thinking 💭💭💭 well my life is too dark right now and how can I possibly be a light to someone. Well my friend that is the beauty of knowing our heavenly father. He does not care how much you’ve messed up, he can still use your mess and turn that into your message. Don’t allow the enemy to feed you those lies of shame from your sins. It’s his goal to keep you down so that you will not illuminate this earth. I saw a quote about a year ago that talked about glow sticks. We all have to be broken in order to glow.

I just decided to make this a short series about the light. God has a way of delivering messages right on time. So stay tuned in to this light mini series. I will take a Scripture a day that I listed above and break it down to you. Also I will post some pictures I took of some different beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
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I took this picture Saturday right behind DFW airport in Irving, Texas.

Keep walking in the light shining brightly!!!!

‘TIL NEXT TIME MY LOVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

♡Posted by Sweet Inspirations by Candyce♡

Kissing my 20’s Goodbye……..

Posted in Kissing my 20's Goodbye by

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At first I didn’t know why I chose this picture but then it came to me. I think I might see my mother in my facial expression LoL! There’s no denying that I’m my mother’s child.

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Here’s my twin… I will admit it NOW LOL!! BUT I still think I look like my dad too. Anywho…
Here’s the recap of Day 11: I have learned that when God places someone on your heart, you need to do what He wants you to do because that person or persons really need what you have to say or need that hug etc. Well that’s exactly what I did yesterday. I was able to pass on some wisdom that I was taught by a dear and close person to my heart. As I spent time with this individual, God showed me that He is the same way with us. He helps us when we are in need and He has grace with us. He gives us chances and reveals a new way of doing things. I was in awe of God and His power. I did not take credit for any of it, I know that it’s all God. I am just a vessel and I don’t take that role lightly! Yesterday I was actually very proud of myself and how far I’ve come with God from the areas that I was drowning in before. DELIVERANCE!!! Passing on wisdom and being able to admit faults and struggles speaks volumes to your character. I am forever grateful to God for not giving up on me even when I did 😊😊😊😊😊 .

Day 10: TAKE OVER
I have been blessed to my core today! When you pray for God to take you to another level of intimacy and having Him touch your soul with songs of praise, it gets overwhelming!!! Tears of joy flowed today as I drove to a school listening to a song called “TAKE OVER” by Anthony Evans feat. Tamela Mann. It completely took over me and me surrendering EVERY area of my life to God. I highly recommend this song to you.

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Clearly this was before I put the song on LoL!!
So as I get to the school, I always say a prayer for the kiddos that I will be with. And I pray for myself to remain calm and showing Christ at all times. As I said before, I believe that kids can see your heart and if you are genuine. They will tell the honest truth!!! I had a fantastic group today. I played a little game with them called can you guess Ms. C’s age. I got guessing like 18 up to 36. There was 2 girls close and one actually guessed I was 29 and another one said 31. I told them I’ll be 30 in 10 days and they all *GASP*

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I wanted to burst out laughing at the little boy that said 18! I had to put my HIGHER PRESCRIPTION GOD-GGLES (God goggles) on for some of the students LOL. But at the end of the day, they turned their behavior around. God always has a way of surprising you with how your react differently when you are walking with Him. I thank God for the growth. I can’t stop saying that, but it’s the truth!! Leaving a lasting memory is what it’s all about. After I left the school I headed home and got ready for the gym. I went to work out and I can totally feel my confidence level rising the more I go there! Then I went to a Bible study that was talking about self-esteem and how we are viewed through Christ. Today has been an emotional day for me for some reason and I am thankful for them because I’ve been in my Father’s lap all day. That’s my favorite place to be! I’ve been experiencing some different feelings lately and I’m not sure if it’s the 30’s creeping in or what. I know God is taking me to higher levels but I’m not sure where. I’m singing TAKE OVER LORD TAKE MY MIND AND MY WILL! I GIVE IT ALL TO YOU AND I NEED YOU MORE…. PRAISE GOD 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙏🙏🙏🙏

STAY TUNED…..

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‘TIL NEXT TIME MY LOVES!!!!!!!!!!!!

♡Posted by Sweet Inspirations by Candyce♡

Do you see it? Take a closer look…

Posted in Are you listening, Christians, Disciples of Christ, Loving yourself, Spiritual growth by

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Do others people see it in me? 🙈🙉
Do I see something different in myself? 👀
Am I allowing God to be the head of my life?

Well these are some questions that you should ask yourself when you start to question how far you have come on your journey with God. The IT that I am referring to is change in you that has taken place because you are allowing God to shine through your life. At times we get down on ourselves because we start to feel like we aren’t growing at a certain pace that we “feel” that we should be keeping with. I encourage you to stop ✋, take a deep breath and exhale those feelings. Those are those subtle attack 👊 methods that the enemy will make you believe. You will start to feel like you are going backwards instead of forward, you will be reminded of your past mistakes, you will start to compare yourself to others around you and look at their life, things will trigger old habits and thoughts that once kept you captive to your sin. Please be clear that these will come up when you are trying to grow. The enemy is not going to attack and fight if there’s no real competition to keep God’s Kingdom growing instead of his.

My dear brothers and sisters please look to God and be reminded of your journey thus far. Look at the change that has taken place whether it has brought you closer to God or sin has continued to keep you in bondage. Always look at the positive first and use that to motivate you to keep growing spiritually. Our sin should not keep us from reaching the full potential that God has placed in us. Take my word for it, it’s not worth it! We are all sinners BUT sin should not control our lives. Encourage others to see the positive change in their lives as well because we are called to be the light of the world! Sin = darkness

Matthew 5:14-16 MSG
“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.

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

‘TIL NEXT TIME MY LOVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

♡Posted by Sweet Inspirations by Candyce♡

Is the Jesus in you shining brightly?

Posted in Devotionals, Disciples of Christ, Faith Walk, Purpose Driven life, Spiritual growth, Spreading the Gospel by
Choose the Light!!!!

                          Choose the Light!!!!

For the longest time I use to wonder why some people would be drawn to me when they meet me. Thinking that it was JUST my fun and loving personality, caused me to depend on myself and how others interacted with me determined my self-worth. There are several scriptures that talk about being the light of the world and what that means.

The one that really spoke to my heart was John 8:12 ESV Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Jesus is the light to this dark sin infested world. When we accept Christ into our lives, we take on the role as some form of light to illuminate the world. Sometimes it is just a small glow stick illumination that we give off. The significance of the glow stick is that it must be broken first in order to present light. Its true color/beauty and potential are then presented and appreciated once placed in a dark location. Please don’t get discouraged if you aren’t where you think you should be. God calls you to learn and grow and if that means being broken right now, embrace it and trust that God will bring you into a place of being a lighthouse on a hill. We all start somewhere and don’t have it all figured out. Make the choice to shine more daily and that means to show Jesus where ever you go.

So back to my earlier statement about wondering why some people are drawn to me, they are drawn to the light aka Jesus that is in me. The more I grow in him, the more I show him and His presence is felt when I come around. You will notice that it becomes contagious sometimes for example more people will be drawn to you on your job, school and church etc. All because you are choosing to let the Jesus shine in your life! This process did not happen over night and I’m still growing to make sure I show Him more and more. So please make sure you choose to shine!!!!

Matthew 5:16 ESV

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Please understand that Satan=darkness and anytime that there is light/Jesus on sin strongholds, he is not happy! Turmoil may arise and it will cause confusion and depression but remain focused on the light/Jesus to make it all better.

TIL NEXT TIME MY LOVES!!!
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