Hi, and welcome to today's encouragement from our Daily Bread.

Today's reading titled Shining Stars was written by Jennifer Benson Schult.

I can close my eyes and go back in time to the house where I grew up.

I remember stargazing with my father.

We took turns squinting through his telescope, trying to focus on glowing dots that shimmered and winked. These pinpricks of light, born of heat and fire, stood out in sharp contrast to the

smooth, ink-black sky. Do you consider yourself to be a

shining star? I'm not talking about reaching the heights of human achievement, but standing out

against a dark background of brokenness and evil. The Apostle Paul told the Philippian believers that God would shine in

and through them as they held firmly to the word of life and avoided grumbling and arguing.

Our unity with other believers and our faithfulness to God can set us apart from the world.

The problem is that these things don't come naturally. We constantly

strive to overcome temptation so we can maintain a close relationship with God. We wrestle

against selfishness to have harmony with our spiritual brothers and sisters. But still,

there's hope. Alive in each believer, God's spirit empowers us to be self-controlled,

kind, and faithful. Just as we are called to live beyond our natural capacity, God's supernatural

help makes this possible. If every believer became a shining star through the power of the

spirit, just imagine how the light of God would repel the darkness around us.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Philippians chapter 2, verses 12 through 18.

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence,

continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will

and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing so

that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked

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