Latest / The Early Morning Praise Party w/ Sherry Mackey / Today's Word 09-15-26 Let My Life Be a Light

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Today's Word 09-15-26 Let My Life Be a Light · The Early Morning Praise Party w/ Sherry Mackey

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: It's your early morning praise party. I am Sherri Mackey
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: and it's time for today's word. Let my life be
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: a light. First Peter 2 and 12 of the New
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  Speaker 1: Living Translation says, be careful to live properly among your
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  Speaker 1: unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong,
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  Speaker 1: they will see your honorable behavior and they will give
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  Speaker 1: honor to God when he judges the world. You know,
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: whether you realize it or not, the world is watching Christians.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: People are watching how we talk, how we treat people,
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  Speaker 1: how we handle conflict, how we respond when things don't
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  Speaker 1: go our way, and how we behave when we think
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  Speaker 1: nobody's paying attention. And Peter reminds us that the way
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  Speaker 1: that we conduct ourselves matters. He encourages believers to live
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  Speaker 1: honorably among those who did not believe. He understands that
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  Speaker 1: people might criticize them, misunderstand them, or even speak against them.
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  Speaker 1: But he also understood the power of a consistent life.
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  Speaker 1: Sometimes your actions can speak louder than your words ever could.
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  Speaker 1: Think about your own life. If your neighbors know you
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  Speaker 1: go to church every Sunday, they're probably watching what happens
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  Speaker 1: Monday through Saturday too. I remember growing up and watching
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  Speaker 1: some neighbors faithfully go to church then sometimes several times
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  Speaker 1: a week, but they would also do things that didn't
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  Speaker 1: necessarily line up with what they profess to believe. I
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: remember hearing somebody say, they ain't no better than nobody else.
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  Speaker 1: Just a bunch of hypocrites. Now, of course, some people
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  Speaker 1: are looking for excuses not to serve God, but their
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  Speaker 1: behavior gave that person another reason to hold on to
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  Speaker 1: that excuse. And that's why this scripture is so important.
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: Let me be clear. Christians are not perfect. We all
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: make mistakes. We have bad days. We lose our patience.
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  Speaker 1: We say things we shouldn't say. We sometimes respond emotionally
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  Speaker 1: instead of spiritually. But there should be a difference in
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  Speaker 1: our lives because we've encountered Jesus. When we mess up,
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  Speaker 1: we should be humble enough to admit it. When we
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  Speaker 1: hurt someone, we should be willing to apologize. When we fall,
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  Speaker 1: we should get back up and keep growing. We don't
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: have to pretend to be perfect. We just need to
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  Speaker 1: be authentic and allow God to keep changing us. So today,
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  Speaker 1: remember that somebody's watching you, your children, your coworkers, your neighbors,
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  Speaker 1: someone who doesn't know Jesus may be watching you and
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  Speaker 1: they may never open the Bible, but they'll read your life.
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  Speaker 1: Let your kindness be a witness. Let your integrity be
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  Speaker 1: a witness. Let your patience, your forgiveness be a witness.
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  Speaker 1: Let the way you handle adversity be a witness. Don't
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  Speaker 1: give people another reason to say, I don't want anything
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  Speaker 1: to do with Jesus or Christianity. Instead, let your life
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  Speaker 1: make them wonder, what's the difference about that person? And
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  Speaker 1: when they see the difference, point them to Jesus. Because ultimately,
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  Speaker 1: it's not about making ourselves look good. It's about representing him. Oh,
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  Speaker 1: Father God, thank you. And please help us to conduct
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  Speaker 1: our lives in a way that reflects your character at
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  Speaker 1: all times. We know we're not perfect, but we ask
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  Speaker 1: you to help us to live lives that honor you.
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  Speaker 1: Guard our words, our attitudes, our actions, our reactions. When
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  Speaker 1: we make mistakes, give us humility to admit them and
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  Speaker 1: grace to make it right. God, let kindness, integrity, patience, forgiveness,
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  Speaker 1: and love point others toward you. When people are watching closely,
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  Speaker 1: let them see less of us. and more of you. God,
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  Speaker 1: let our lives be a testimony that bring you glory
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  Speaker 1: in Jesus' name. That's your word for today. Take it,
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  Speaker 1: apply it to your everyday life, and you continue to
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  Speaker 1: be encouraged and inspired. It's your early morning praise party.
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  Speaker 1: I am Sherri Mackey.