Radiant People

Clean Hearts

You know, we can “pretty up” and clean up our physical self.  We can buy the best makeup, get the best haircuts, buy the nicest clothes, but, we cannot buy a “clean heart” or a pretty heart.  God has to give us that.  You know, all of the stuff on the outside is just “stuff” that  we can purchase and make oneself look “pretty”.  But, you cannot purchase “radiance” or “peace” or “contentment”.  I can’t help but think of some people who just seem to radiate, those people radiate because they are filled with the Holy Spirit.  The first clue on how to radiate is found in Psalm 34:5.  It tells us,

Those who look to him are radiant;

  their faces are never covered with shame.

If you look up the word “Radiant”  it means to “glow, something that is “bright” or “Clean”... You and I both know of people who are radiant… they just have something special about their countenance that cannot be purchased in a store.  They have a pure heart that is not ashamed.  This is what the  second part of this verse leads to… not being ashamed.  Some people cannot get their hearts cleaned up by Jesus because they have no room for Him.   God’s word says in Ephesians 4:31

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

You cannot have Jesus if you have any of the above things in your heart.  Jesus and sin cannot abide together.  If you can’t have Jesus present in your heart, you cannot be radiant.   I cannot help but think of mug shots that have been posted online for all to see.  Do people usually look radiant in their mug shots?   Nope… not usually.  People usually look weary and tired, many times the very opposite of radiant.  Why?  Well, people in mug shots have usually been caught disobeying the law of man, and therefore, they disobeyed God’s laws.  

So this leads us to look for ways that we can find God’s radiance and become more like him.  Here are a few ways that we can keep our hearts pure.  

1. We can do all things without Grumbling and questioning.  (Philippians 2:14-16)

This verse doesn’t do SOME things without grumbling… it says to do ALL things… ouch!  I took a few minutes to look up what exactly is “grumbling”.  Grumbling is unrecognizable noises.  They are loud enough to be heard by others, but quiet enough to to not know what exactly is being said.  Grumbling states dissatisfaction in a situation.  Dictionary.com says that it is a “growl”  I say, grumbling is never a positive thought, it is always a negative reaction.  How many times do we grumble at something that we know God wants us to do.  How many times do we grumble at serving others that you know don’t appreciate you.  God wants us to walk in a  manner worthy of Him… and you cannot do that and grumble at the same time.  The second part of this verse says to do ALL things without QUESTIONING…. Ouch… How many times have I said, “Why me God”  Why are you asking me to go down this road alone… why are you not doing this God… so many examples of me questioning God.  He must get tired of it.  In some of the texts it implies that questioning and quarrelling carry the same attributes.  Yes, questioning and quarreling are negative aspects of us humans.   We cannot radiate God’s love if we are living lives that are quarrelsome.  

2.  The second way we can have radiance is to follow Proverbs 24:1.  

Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them.  For their hearts devise violence and their lips talk of trouble.  

It is so easy to fall into this trap!  So many times that “desirable” group is full of evil.  Their lips talk about others and devise evil against others.  You know, my answer to all of it is to let God deal with them.  

I cannot help but think that envy is a disaster for the human heart.  Seriously… people who are envious will devise evil towards others.  Many times people who are full of envy… hate believers who are full of the spirit.  Remember… Satan hates God and anything or anyone associated with Him.  But, we have to remind ourselves as believers how EASY envy comes to US, if we are not prayed up!  

Some examples of us being envious may include but are not limited to:  

• When a friend gets a brand new car and you really want one
• When someone we know doesn’t really work that hard, but gets a raise!  
• When someone has no problems having children, but you can’t.  
• Your home is falling apart and your friend is getting hers remodeled.  
• When someone gets accolades for a job well done and you have worked just as hard.  

This list can go on… but once envy starts, it is hard to stop it… it will build itself up into bitterness.  And bitter people cannot be radiant because they cannot be filled with the Holy Spirit.  

3.  The third way we can be Radiant is to not be ashamed.  

2 Timothy 1:8  tells us that we are to “ not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling… Our faces Will be radiant if we are NOT ASHAMED…

You know.  How many times has something been “going on” in our families and we felt that if we stood up for our beliefs we may be “picked on” or made fun of?  I know over the years, I have had times of silence… where I should have stood bold of the testimony of Jesus.  

Jesus wants us to share his love with all that we come in contact with.  We are not to limit our love to “now”, but for the the after as well.  How can we share our testimony to others.  

I have had 2 friends in their 40’s be diagnosed with terminal cancer in the past month.  I have been reminded how very short life is.  

13Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 14Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 15Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” 16But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. 17Therefore, to one who knows theright thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

James 4:13-17

We cannot waste any time.  One of my favorite quotes from Charles Spurgeon says

“If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.”

I had the privilege to tell a young lady today that as she was going through a difficult year, Noel and I had been praying for her.  We would get up 3 to 4 mornings at 5:30 and pray for her and several others on our list… but she was the real reason we got up so early.  It has blessed my soul to see her begin her walk with the Lord again.  God has been good.  

Can you imagine what America’s Churches would look like if we took what Spurgeon said and lived it out “for real”????

Not a one of us is too old to do it.  

In summary… we must live lives so that our faces are radiant.  That is what will set us apart.  People can see the difference.  Clay and I watched the movie Chariots of fire this weekend for the first time.  It was good, but what struck me most was that Harold Abrahams was terribly angry and just wanted to win.  When he lost it was a struggle.  He had no peace.  When he met and began to run against Liddell , he seemed even more jealous… but not just over his abilities to run faster, but the peace that Liddell had.  Abrahams wanted it.  In the end, we don’t know if the Jewish Olympian ever knew Jesus.  We know that he was impacted by the radiance and peace of Liddell.  

I pray we all will exemplify and share Jesus… and our faces will be Radiant.  :)