Notice on a slight format change:

Except for July 2012, these are mostly a collection of current devotional notes.

July 2012 is a re-write of old quiet times. My second child was born Nov 11, 1987 with multiple birth defects. I've been re-reading my QT notes from that time in my life, and have included them here. They cover the time before the birth and the few years immediately after the birth. They are tagged "historical." I added new insights and labeled them: ((TODAY, dd mmm yy)).

Thursday, January 8, 2015

QT 8 Jan 15, Matt 5:14, We are God's new City--this is our purpose

Matt 5:14-16 (ESV)  "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  15  Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.  16 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.


NOTE: So many concepts in the bible are repeated. That makes sense. They represent God's purpose and so they are repeated to different groups, until somebody finally fulfills God's intent and purpose. In Ezek 5:5b-6, God says "This is Jerusalem. I have set her in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. 6 And she has rebelled against my rules by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries all around her; for they have rejected my rules and have not walked in my statutes." Israel was place at the crossroads of the major civilizations of the world, Persia to one side and Egypt to the other, so that she would make a spiritual impact on those around her. She failed miserably and God says that she was worse than the nations around her. Now Jesus repeats his command to us. We are the city, the light set on the hill, in the middle of our civilization, our social circles. This is our purpose. This is our reason to be. We are here to be a witness and influence to those that live around us. If they cannot see Jesus through us, then we, like Israel have failed in our main purpose.

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