“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
-Matthew 5:16 KJV

Isn’t it crazy that light is the only thing that can be seen in complete darkness? Think about a flashlight and how it is used to guide the way when it is dark out. Light provides you with the opportunity to see when it’s dark. It can be used for decoration to dress something up and it can also be used as a source to attract others to it. With so many purposes for light, why haven’t Christians taken every opportunity to ensure that their light is on?

As the church, we often forget that we were commanded to let our light shine in order to glorify the Father. Sometimes, while we think we are the light, we are actually operating out of darkness, wandering aimlessly in order to please those around us instead of our Father in Heaven. We want you to change that this week. Break out of the norm and evaluate yourselves and your neighborhood. It’s time to spread the light. Let your light be a beautiful design on a dark board. Let it relay a message, shine some light on a situation or even just bring some beauty/hope to those around you.

God has granted each of us with unique gifts and talents and this week we want you to truly use them! We have enough people in this world using their gifts for selfish gain. How do we know? Look around you! How many people do you know that are using their gifts and talents to change their neighborhoods, their communities or the world? How many people do you know that are using their gifts and talents in order to show others the love of Christ? Exactly our point! We should always use our gifts to glorify our Father, and a good way to know if what you are doing is correct is by seeing how it affects those around you. It starts by evaluating your heart and your motives and ensuring that everything you do is focused on Christ.

We want to leave you with this passage in the hopes that it will help you as you become a “lite-brite”:

For once you were darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light [live as those who are native-born to the Light]9 (for the fruit [the effect, the result] of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10 trying to learn [by experience] what is pleasing to the Lord [and letting your lifestyles be examples of what is most acceptable to Him—your behavior expressing gratitude to God for your salvation].
– Ephesians 5:8-10 AMP

After you have completed the challenge, take some time to reflect upon the week and the actions you took to complete the tasks, and then create a post (video is highly encouraged!) and upload it to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with the hashtags #BTGUM and #BlackJackChallenge for a chance to be featured on our page. Don’t want to post to social media? No problem! We still want to hear from you! Send an email to blackjack@btgum.com and let us know how each challenge has impacted you.

Make Your Move.