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"Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19

Tag: Light of Christ

Light Up The Darkness!

August 1, 2026 /

MaryEllen Montville

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

Jesus did not spill His precious Blood, paying the ultimate ransom—His life—for you to live small, hidden, or fearful of the judgment of mere men, beloved. To blend into a world that is not your home. To “hide” your Light, Christ alive in you, out of fear of what men may say or think about you. I can almost hear the Apostle Paul shouting to you across the ages even now, “God forbid!” He is reminding you, through his writings, doing all he could to save you from committing such a sin. “As far as the Law is concerned I may consider that I died on the cross with Christ. And my present life is not that of the old “I,” but the living Christ within me.” –Galatians 2:20.

Christ in you is your identity now; in case you’ve momentarily forgotten…

You are no longer your own, beloved. You no longer “get to” live hidden away; if indeed you belong to Jesus, that’s impossible. “You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.” –Matthew 7:16-17

Hear me now: I haven’t come to condemn you, rather to remind you, and myself, of who we are and of the unfathomable cost our Lord and Savior paid, that we be afforded such a privilege as to be His Light-bearers in this ever-darkening world. “He alone possesses immortality [absolute exemption from death] and lives in unapproachable Light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal power and dominion! Amen.” –1 Timothy 6:16

Being offshoots of Jesus’ unapproachable Light, we “get to” shine for all to see, directing men then toward our Father; by following Jesus’ example, who lived His life on earth to draw all men to the Father. “In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” –Matthew 5:16

Those who belong to this world, are and will continue to, demand you dim your Light, Christ in you, insisting even that a single Source of Light doesn’t exist, instead, that, there are multiple light sources at work in the world; they do their level best to extinguish the One True Light of Christ altogether—as if they held such power—not wanting their sin or rebellion against the One True God revealed. Like their father, they prefer to hide in the shadows, far from the Light of Christ. “You are of your father the devil, and it is your will to practice the desires [which are characteristic] of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks what is natural to him, for he is a liar and the father of lies and half-truths.” –John 8:44

But you, child of God, and you whose heart God is tugging on even now, you are, or are being called to carry a Light so Pure, so Holy and alive, it cannot be hidden; you cannot stay hidden.

I believe the Lord sent me to you today to remind you to Whom you belong—and that’s not yourself. You belong to Jesus, and He expects you to do what you were created, in part, to do. And that is to shine His Light into the utter darkness so that in seeing your Light, those in the world will be without excuse, having witnessed its Source. “For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made (His handiworks). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without any defense or justification].” –Romans 1:20

“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.” –2 Corinthians 4:6-7

Whatever has been holding you back from letting the Light of Christ in you burn ablaze, or from carrying the Light of Christ within you, I came to encourage you today to turn to, or return to, Christ.

Ask Jesus for the strength to push past the voices of those who call you a Jesus freak.

Those who reject you or who have abandoned you completely because of your devotion to Jesus. That husband, wife, or child, mother or father who has grown cold towards you. The boss who says he’ll fire you if you don’t stop talking to your coworkers about this Jesus, enough already! Stop it! We don’t want to hear about Jesus any more! Don’t you get it! Just go away already…

Take heart, beloved, keep pressing into Christ. He will strengthen you to finish the good works He has called you to do. “We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” –2 Corinthians 4:8-10

Weary soldier, fearful new friend, ask God’s Holy Spirit to fill you, or fill you afresh, if you’ve never asked, with the same fiery Light and power He freely gave those who first prayed in faith believing He would. “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.” –Acts 2: 1-3

Then, let Jesus’ Light, this same Magnificent, Pure, Holy Light that has been piercing the darkness of men’s hearts for millennia, burst forth out of you, like a bridegroom from his bedchamber, unashamed and undeniable. You are God’s messenger: A Light carrier for the King of Kings. You are partnering with heaven when your Light burns brightly and unashamedly before all men—especially those who reject you for His name’s sake. “I tell you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God. / But whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.” –Luke 12:8-9

Blaze on, beloved! In the power of His Might! “Then the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.” –Daniel 12:3

Friends, you can carry this Magnificent, saving Light of Christ Jesus in you, but first, you must ask Jesus to be Lord and Savior of your life. Won’t you do that right now? Be freed from the darkness and walk in Pure Light… “because if you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [recognizing His power, authority, and majesty as God], and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes [in Christ as Savior] resulting in his justification [that is, being made righteous—being freed of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God]; and with the mouth he acknowledges and confesses [his faith openly], resulting in and confirming [his] salvation.” –Romans 10:9-10

Through Love.

October 16, 2021 /
Stephanie Montilla

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander” – 1 Peter 3:15-16.

Two weeks ago, I gathered with friends from church to catch up on what God is doing in each of our lives, to share the struggles we’re trusting God to strengthen us in and lead us through and, to reflect on that Sunday’s sermon. Before we left to drive home, my friend Kendra asked everyone in attendance if they had any prayer requests? I shared that I would like prayer for more opportunities at work to share the gospel. It didn’t take long for God to respond! A few days after my prayer request, while at work, one of my colleagues shared some Halloween ideas to do as a team. I don’t specifically remember the haunting-themed ideas she proposed; however, my response was, “I don’t enjoy haunting things, and I also don’t celebrate Halloween.” One of my colleagues asked, “Is it because of your religion?” I replied, “Yes.” I explained that Halloween is steeped in rituals and other things that cater to the realm of darkness—trick or treating, pumpkin carvings, costumes, etc. And while I understand its origins and how traditions change over the years, the essence of the holiday doesn’t point anyone towards the light of God’s nature.

I shared with my colleagues that God is love, He is light, He is peace, and He is life.

The bible tells us that God is love, “Anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love” –1 John 4:8. God is light, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” –1 John 1: 4-5. God is peace, “Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant…” –Hebrews 13:20. God is life, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” –John 8:12.

I wasn’t exactly sure how my response was received, with shock, uncomfortableness, confusion, or understanding? But what I do know is that it was received. And I know this, too: that I wasn’t expecting my prayer request to share the gospel at work to be answered in quite the way it was. Most definitely not in the middle of a Halloween-themed conversation!

As I went back to my seat, my mind was flooded with questions: “Did that really just happen?” “And what will the next opportunity the Lord provides look like?’ “Did I come across as boring or defensive?” And amid my overthinking, the Lord quieted my mind and said, “You spoke about the Light.” And through His reply, I learned that a soft, gentle response goes a long way. And, that If an opportunity to share your faith opens up, like the one I had just experienced, discussing your position with a heart bent towards pointing others towards the light, rather than attacking the dark, is amazingly effective. The thing about light is this: the smallest of one drives the darkness away.

From my previous writings, you may have noticed that God is truly revealing and helping me see the depths and powerfulness of His love. How His love is transformative, giving us a new heart. His love is guiding us like a compass. It directs us to live set apart in a world entangled in sin. And His love empowers believers to demonstrate it to those we may feel are undeserving of love. Ultimately, the breath of His love is indefinable. Mere human feelings cannot perfectly articulate it; His love is a verb that far exceeds our feelings. And, while my colleagues were receptive and actively listening to my defense for choosing not to participate in their Halloween activities. It was only afterward, as I reflected on that moment, hindsight allowed me to see just how unreceptive they may have been, had I shared my beliefs with a righteous spirit or in an angry tone of voice.

The bible says, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander’ –1 Peter 3:15-16. As I read this verse, the words that jumped out at me were gentleness and respect. Why? While the authoritative Words in the bible are all-powerful, our delivery of the gospel message can impact how they’re received. When fully understood and accepted, the gospel message is the most incredible and powerful Truth known to man. Yet our tone, our deliverance, can influence its impact on whether someone receives it—or not. God cares about our deliverance, how we share His Word; hence, He instructs us to defend our faith with gentleness and respect.

And while my colleagues may not entirely agree with me on my Christian worldview and life decisions, as an ambassador of Christ in my workplace, I’m nonetheless intentional about treating them with the same kindness and gentleness the Lord extends to me daily. And I thank God in advance for every opportunity I will be given to speak about my faith, about the gospel, in my workplace, and for the deeper connections I will make with others. God revealed to me, so clearly, that we don’t deny the gospel message of Jesus Christ by dining or conversing with sinners; instead, we do it by avoiding sinners out of fear or dislike.

So I hope you’ll take every opportunity God gives you to share the gospel wherever you go, with whomever God places in front of you. And if you don’t know this God I spoke to my colleagues about; I hope after reading this you’ll ask God to show Himself as real in your life as He is in mine. I’m praying for you!

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