Are You Making A Difference?

So tonight I was reading my devotion for the day, and it was about counting your blessings. The passage was Psalm 34:1- "I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth" (ESV). And I was like, "oh that's all well and good. I can definitely try to do that. As a matter of fact, I'm getting better at it." But then I switched to my usual translation of the Bible, God's Word Translation (GW), and it stopped me in my tracks. "I will thank the Lord at all times. My mouth will always praise him."

"My mouth will always praise him."

Wait....what? That's not what I read before!

Yep, totally stopped me in my tracks. It's all well and good to count my blessings, but is what I say pleasing to God? See, we're not here on this earth for us. We're here for God's glory. If all I do is count my blessings and not speak love, then what good are my blessings? Why should God give me blessings if I'm not going to praise Him with what I say and do? Being a Christian does not mean just living differently inward and reading the Bible. It also means that we shine a light to the world around us. This morning I read Matthew 5:14, and it's been on my mind since I had to read it for one of my classes. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." For some reason, this verse has just been going through my mind over and over since Monday.

It makes me think of a scene from the movie To Save A Life. If you haven't seen it, you should really consider seeing it. It's a Christian movie that deals with teens and suicide. But in this scene, Jake is at youth group listening to the pastor speak. He just came back from watching his girlfriend leave because she felt judged by the other youth. The pastor told the youth to take a few minutes in silence to think about who they've wronged, and the youth start whispering among themselves. Jake gets upset and tells them that his girlfriend just left because she felt judged. And he gets right to the point with this line, "What's the point of all of this if you're not going to let it change you?"

He's exactly right. What's the point of Christianity if we're not going to be a change in the world? What's the point if we're not going to be a light that people can look to? What's the point if our words aren't pleasing to God? What's the point if we aren't living for God instead of ourselves? We're the only beings who can celebrate and praise God's Magnificence and Power.

I have two song suggestions for you if this really spoke to you: "City on a Hill" by Casting Crowns and "My Own Little World" by Steven Curtis Chapman.

"I will thank the Lord at all times. My mouth will always praise Him." Psalm 34:1
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." Matthew 5:14