This 5-day devotional draws directly from Crieve Hall Church of Christ's sermon “"Mission Report from South Africa" * Theo Scullard - July 12, 2026 - 5PM - 2026-07-13” so you can keep engaging with the message all week. Read, reflect, and share it with your small group or friends.
Glow Where You Are
Monday — Understanding the Truth
Have you ever felt like your life is too ordinary to make a real difference? Like the light you carry isn't quite bright enough to matter?
Today's Scripture "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." — Matthew 5:16
Reflection There's a simple but powerful idea at the heart of what it means to follow Jesus: you are meant to be seen. Not in a self-promoting way, but in the way a candle on a hill is seen — naturally, unavoidably, because that's what light does.
Glowing isn't reserved for pastors, missionaries, or people with impressive titles. It's for anyone who belongs to God. The glow isn't something you manufacture; it comes from what's already inside you — the love, the hope, the grace you've received.
And here's the thing about light: it doesn't just illuminate the room you're in. It spills out. It reaches corners you never intended. When you live faithfully — at work, at home, in your neighborhood — your light touches people you may never even know about. A kind word. A patient response. A moment of genuine care. These are the ordinary materials of an extraordinary glow.
You don't have to be extraordinary to glow. You just have to be willing to let what's in you show.
Today's Step Take a moment today to ask yourself: Where is God calling me to let my light show — and am I hiding it?
A Closing Thought The world doesn't need more spectacular people. It needs more people willing to simply shine where they are.
Shining When It Costs Something
Tuesday — When It's Hard
What happens when being the light feels more like a burden than a gift?
Today's Scripture "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." — Proverbs 3:5–6
Reflection Glowing sounds beautiful in theory. But there are days when you're tired. When showing up feels like too much. When the gap between who you want to be and how you actually feel is wide enough to swallow you whole.
There's something honest and human about that struggle. Even people who have given their lives to shining God's light have days when they just don't want to go. When the weight of what they've left behind — comfort, familiarity, the life they knew — sits heavy on their chest.
Trusting God with your whole heart sounds like a Sunday morning declaration. But it gets tested on a Tuesday afternoon when you're exhausted, uncertain, and wondering if any of it is making a difference. Leaning on your own understanding feels so much more manageable — at least you can see what's in front of you.
But faith, by its nature, asks you to take the next step before you can see where it leads. Not blindly — but trustingly. God doesn't promise the path will be easy. He promises He'll direct it.
The hard days aren't a sign you're doing it wrong. Sometimes they're a sign you're right in the middle of something that matters.
Today's Step What is one area of your life right now where you're leaning on your own understanding instead of trusting God? Bring it to Him honestly today — no polished words required.
A Closing Thought God isn't surprised by your exhaustion. He meets you there, and He is still faithful.
Small Steps, Real Light
Wednesday — Putting It Into Practice
What if living out your faith didn't require a dramatic life change — just a willingness to show up?
Today's Scripture "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." — Colossians 3:17
Reflection It's easy to imagine that living as a light in the world requires a big platform or a grand gesture. But Colossians 3:17 quietly dismantles that idea. Whatever you do. That includes the email you're about to send, the conversation you're about to have, and the way you treat the person behind the counter this afternoon.
Glowing isn't a special event. It's a way of moving through every ordinary moment.
Here are a few small, real ways to practice this today:
Bring your whole self to small moments. A genuine smile, a listening ear, a moment of patience — these are acts of light. Don't underestimate them.
Go where the need is. You don't have to travel far. A neighbor going through a hard time, a coworker who seems discouraged, a family member who needs a call — showing up matters more than having the right words.
Let your actions reflect what you believe. The people around you are watching — not to judge you, but because they're looking for something real. Let them see it in how you live.
The most powerful thing you can often do is simply show up. Presence is a form of love. And love, consistently offered, is a form of light.
Today's Step Choose one person in your life today and do one small, intentional thing to be a light to them — a note, a call, a moment of real attention.
A Closing Thought You don't have to change the world today. You just have to shine in the corner of it where God has placed you.
Roots That Hold When the Storm Comes
Thursday — What This Looks Like in Real Life
Have you ever watched someone go through something hard and come out with their faith still standing? What's their secret?
Today's Scripture "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving." — Colossians 2:6–7
Reflection Imagine someone who came to faith later in life — not raised in the church, not knowing the familiar stories or the Sunday rhythms. Finding faith felt like stumbling onto buried treasure. Suddenly everything had weight and meaning, and the desire to share that with others became impossible to contain.
But life didn't get simpler after that. There were still hard seasons, still moments of doubt, still days when the cost of following God felt too high. What kept them standing wasn't certainty or comfort — it was roots.
Colossians talks about being rooted and built up in Christ. A tree with shallow roots looks fine on a calm day. But let a storm roll through, and you find out quickly what's holding it in place.
Growing down is just as important as growing up. The daily habits that might seem small — reading a verse, praying an honest prayer, staying connected to others who are walking the same road — these are the roots. They don't make headlines. But they're what keeps you standing when the wind picks up.
Faith that glows on the outside is sustained by roots that go deep on the inside. Both matter. Neither happens overnight.
Today's Step Think about one spiritual habit that has helped you grow down — deeper roots. If you've let it slip, consider restarting it this week, even in a small way.
A Closing Thought A tree doesn't fight the storm. It weathers it — because of what's underground. Let God grow your roots.
You Were Made to Go
Friday — Carrying It Forward
As this week closes, here's the question worth sitting with: What if you were placed exactly where you are on purpose?
Today's Scripture "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." — Matthew 28:19–20
Reflection All week we've been sitting with this idea of glowing, growing, and going. And if you've made it to Friday, you've probably felt the pull of it — the invitation to be more intentional about the light you carry and the life you live.
Here's the beautiful thing about the Great Commission: Jesus doesn't send you somewhere He isn't. "I am with you always" — that promise bookends the command. You don't go alone. You go accompanied.
And "go" doesn't always mean across an ocean. Sometimes it means across the street. Sometimes it means back into a difficult relationship with a softer heart. Sometimes it means returning to Monday morning with a different kind of awareness — that the people around you are not background characters in your story. They are the mission.
You were placed in your neighborhood, your workplace, your family for a reason. The glow you carry, the roots you've been growing, the faith you've been living — all of it is meant to move. Not just to be held inside, but to be carried out into the world around you.
The question at the end of the week isn't whether you've been perfect. It's whether you're willing to keep going.
Today's Step As you head into the weekend, ask God: Where do you want me to go — and who do you want me to bring your light to?
A Closing Thought You are not too ordinary, too tired, or too late. You are exactly who God wants to send — and He's going with you.