Daily Bread 4-5-17

Mark 4:21-23

21 And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?

22 For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was anything kept secret, but that is should come abroad.

23 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

ref. - Mt 5:15 - Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Lk 8:16 - No man, when he hath lighted a candle, coveter it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.

Matt 10:26 - Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.

Lk 12:2 - For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.

Matt 11:15 - He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

All will come to light in the end. No matter how we hide things and push them under the rug, in the end, when it matters, they will come to light. We spend too much time worrying about what this person will think and what that person will think, when in truth, we should be paying attention to what God thinks of us. You see, we were not given the gifts that we have been given just to display them in private or in Church. No, we must be the same people that we are in Church outside as well. God did not do this great miracle in any one of us so that it may be kept secret. But, when we have a voice or begin to stand out, there are very many people watching and paying attention to us. Look at it this way; in a running race, who do people pay attention to? The one in the front, or the one in fourth place? And when it comes to testing them for cheating who gets tested? The one who wins or the one in fourth place? Yes, the one in the front. You see, God created us to stand out and to win a race that many will not even have the courage to join. Because we are courageous? Because we are so great? No, because it was his will. But he created us to stand out and win the race nonetheless. Now as we are winning this race we will be judged by many people. He is too old, he has to be cheating, he started too soon,but in the end, when we run through the ribbon at the end of the race we are declared the victor by the judges that are watching the race. This is not so far different than what we will experience in our spiritual lives if we are running the race to our God-given potential. We will be seen by others as arrogant, as know it alls, etc. The ones who will not even enter the race, armchair racers, will try to determine what we could be doing to achieve this victory. They will be trying to undermine us in a race that they are not even in. But when we hit the finish line, after all the skeptics, after all the accusations, after all the others who have tried to push us out of the way, we will then find out that the judge at the finish line will determine if we won or not. Now, if we have cheated, or if we have cut corners, if we have lied, we ill then be disqualified by the one who is judge. So, let us today determine ourselves to run race that has been set before us in honesty and in faith. Even though it hurts sometimes, always diligent to reach the finish line. Not in fear of what the judge will say, but in confidence that all that we have done is in accordance to the rules of the race and the victory is ours!!! For those who have ears to hear, let them hear. Have a great day!!!!