October 31 I Monday

Jeremiah 22-23

Titus 1

“…so that Your ways may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.”    —Psalm 67:2

God pouring out His grace, His love and His blessing upon us is not just for ourselves. He does it in such a way that we can make His ways known on the earth. As the psalmist writes, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face shine on us—so that Your ways may be known on earth…” (Psalm 67:1-2). It is interesting that the word “known” in the passage is the exact same word used in Genesis 4:1 that goes, “Now Adam knew Eve his wife…” (NKJV). The concept of “known” suggests an intimate personal experience that brings forth new life. When we truly know something, it changes how we live. Hence, there is a difference between knowing about something and knowing something in this deep, intimate sense that brings new life. Altogether, this is how the ways of God are to be made known. We need to take this deep experience of God’s love and allow it to flow out of us in blessing those who are desperately longing to deeply know God’s love. Speaking will be part of it, as well as showing it, living it and experiencing it.

       I (Sandra Ryan) had the privilege of visiting some of The Peoples Church’s (Toronto, Canada) partners in India. I was in an area around Visakhapatnam and was visiting a beautiful little village way up on the mountains. The pastor I was there with said that about eight years ago, I would not have recognized it. Why? Because as the people got to know about Jesus, their lives were transformed, and in turn, the village was transformed. One of the men shared his testimony with me through a translator. He said, “I kept hearing about Jesus. Then, I started to notice that they were cleaning their houses differently. They were doing their businesses, their trading differently. And they were treating their spouses differently. I wanted to be like one of these shining ones.” He added, “That is probably not what you would say in English.” But I answered, “No, actually that is exactly what we should be saying in English. We want to be ‘shining ones.’”    

       So often people look and do not see any discernible differences in our lives; this may be because we have not experienced His grace deeply or we are not spending time in the presence of God who adores us. May our lives be transformed by being saturated by that truth that we are loved, that His face is shining upon us and, as we shine for God, may the salvation of God be made known among the nations.

Prayer: Lord God, I want to be a shining one in this world, making Your ways known on earth and sharing the good news of Your salvation to all the nations. I pray that people will see a discernible difference in my life because of You. Thank You, Lord.