"The wicked flee when no one is pursuing. But the righteous are bold as a lion." Pr. 28:1
When I enrolled in seminary in Ft. Worth in the fall of 1974, I didn't have a great track record of lionhearted living. I have to admit, I spent the first semester sitting in classes looking over my shoulder. I just knew someone was going to walk into class, ask me to step outside, and tell me the admissions office had made a terrible mistake. No one ever came, so I stuck it out. I was more afraid to quit than anything else. If I had anywhere else to go, I might have run there.
My first staff position was another stretch. I was given some on the job training by another member of the staff who had a worse background than mine. His professional pedigree included some gang activity that had interrupted his education. When God got hold of his life he went back and graduated from high school at 21. We were both amazed at where we were compared to where we had been.
One day while visiting the hospitals we entered one man's room, but found him in a deep sleep. We prayed silently, and in order to get credit for the visit, we decided to leave a note. You preachers know what I'm talking about. The Lone Ranger left a silver bullet, and preachers leave cards. We were in the process of writing a note on the back of our freshly printed business cards when he suddenly sat up in bed and shouted. We threw our cards in the air, ran from the room and raced down the hall to the elevator. When we finally stopped we were breathless and heaving for air. We laughed at each other and between gasps for air screamed, "Why did we run? We didn't do anything wrong." We marked it down as unconfessed sin in our lives. No, we didn't' go back...ever!
Once a month for the past 20 years I have read Proverbs 28:1 and I still think about that hospital visit. Since that day I have become more and more convinced that my friend and I were probably closer to the truth than we knew.
A wicked person is a crooked person. The word for a wayward person in our culture is...crook. They do not walk a straight path, but willfully and regularly choose to wander off the right path. Their "fight or flight" survival instincts kick in when they even suspect someone may be about to catch them in the act. They flee further away from the light whenever they hear a twig snap in the dark.
The righteous person is "confident" or as "bold as a lion." Their confidence is not in themselves, but in the knowledge that what has been wrong in their lives has been declared right by a Sovereign God. They are not victims of imaginary fears, but they are victors over a real adversary.
"Your adversary the devil prowls about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour...but resist him firm in your faith." I Peter 5:8-9
Look carefully at Proverbs and I Peter. They say, "the righteous are as bold as a lion," and "the devil prowls about like a roaring lion." Who has the heart of a lion here?
The devil is a transliteration of the Greek word "diabolos." The word is a combination of, "dia," a preposition and therefore a moving target that I could never really hit in Greek class. The other is "bolos" rooted in the verb "to throw." It literally means to throw across or to mark through. It has come to mean "the slanderer" or "the accuser." The enemy is always trying to throw an accusation against the character and confidence of a Christ follower to see if it will stick.
The righteous are confident in the grace of God. They know that whatever Sovereign God has declared right cannot be made wrong. They have nothing to fear from an accusation made by a someone parading around in a lion suit.
One night in East Africa, I was invited to dinner by some friends. After the meal we went out in the garden of the restaurant and sat in the dark enjoying the cool of the evening and the magnificent display of stars. Suddenly, from behind the hedge a lion's roar erupted and tore through the still of the night like the roar of a jet engine. I jumped up, and was prepared to bolt. I was like a man with one foot nailed to the floor. I was disoriented and didn't know which way to run. My two friends were on the ground laughing at me. I had been set up. They eventually calmed down enough to coax me to take a look behind the hedge. What I saw I have never forgotten. It was a huge male lion roaring at the moon from behind a cyclone fence. He was loud, but he was caged. He was real, but he was not free. He could intimidate me but he could not touch me. He was alive, but not so well. The more I stood my ground, the less I feared him. I could have foolishly climbed inside his prison, and paid for my waywardness, but if I stood my ground I not be harmed by his threatening roar.
Christ followers must resist the urge to run when they hear the "lion-like"roar in the night. Proverbs and I Peter are potent reminders that God's offspring possess the heart of The Lion of Judah. When Winston Churchill was complimented on his ability to rally the British people during the dark days of WW II, he responded by crediting the courage of the lionhearted people of his nation. He said, "I was not the lion, but it fell to me to give the lion's roar." That inspires me to keep...
Resisting and Roaring,
How Do Ya Like Me Now?
"Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips." Prov. 27:2
Toby Keith's song by the same title as this blog is one of my favorites. It obviously struck the right chord in a lot of other people too. It remains one of his best sellers, and his music video is a scream. There's nothing quite as satisfying, and at the same time as deflating as having to praise your own accomplishments.
I had walked for six hours from a small church in Kenya to a clearing in the bush where a rustic school had been built. It was very impressive operation considering the remote location. Children were everywhere and they were excited. Many of them were frightened because they had never seen a white man. It was quite an experience for them and for me.
The headmaster invited me to speak to the older students. There were about 200 children roughly equivalent in age to American eighth graders. He called them to order and surprised me with the news that if I wanted, I could tell them about the love of Jesus. Did I mention this was in Kenya. Many people still think of it as deepest darkest Africa. As the children settled into the room and took their seats on the floor, I had a moment to reflect. I wondered how my visit would have been handled, and if I would have been permitted to speak freely of Jesus if I arrived unannounced in most schools in America.
Sharing the Gospel in a cross-cultural setting, I used two chairs and called for a couple of volunteers. I asked the students who was the smartest student in their school. There was no sound made, but all heads turned to a young man who was sitting with his head down and his hands on his face. He was hiding in the tall grass in a room full of young scholars. He knew and they knew, and every eye in the room was on him. He was busted. I asked him to step forward and take a seat in one of the chairs. I then asked who was the strongest athlete, fastest runner, and could jump farther than anyone in the school. Again all eyes turned towards another young man who was seated on the floor. This time there were some giggles from some of the young ladies who were obviously smitten with him. Some things defy cultural differences. When I called him forward he stood up with an easy grace, an unassuming confidence and walked towards me to take his seat in the other chair. All the children knew these young men were the best and the brightest. Neither of the two men had raised their hand, or sought recognition. Their culture rewarded personal humility with public respect.
I have used this same method of communication when speaking to children in America. The reaction I get from them is polar opposite to what I saw in Kenya. Most kids in a stateside room are wearing jerseys with the name and number of their favorite NFL or NBA star. On their feet they have state of the art footwear, Nikes,Air Jordans and such. Their parents have covered them in enough brand-name sports wear to stock a good sized sporting goods store. When asked who the smartest kid in the class is, all hands go up and everyone starts shouting and grunting, "ME! ME! OOH!OOH! ME! Their reaction to who is the best athlete is met with a similar sugar induced surge of enthusiasm. "PICK ME! PICK ME!" Somehow, somewhere along the way, they picked up and held on to the lie: buy a labeled product and this will make you someone special. Couch potatoes and wannabes wearing the latest fashions posing as world class athletes...so sad.
Proverbs 27:2 provides God's insight on our obsession to make a name for ourselves. He frowns on self -congratulatory behavior, but we live in a world that says, "If you don't toot your own horn, you can't play in the band." This creates a conflict in the soul of the Christ follower that must be reconciled.
"Do you want to make a name for yourself or do you want to make a difference?" I had just met a guest preacher at the airport. We shook hands and headed to baggage claim. The guy didn't waste time. He cut to the chase. I had invited him that week to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable in my church. He was good at it, but he was starting with me. That annoyed me. This was going to be a long week. I told him I knew the right answer to the question, but I still found myself tempted to take the short-cut to making a name for myself. The road was easier. It's all down hill.
Why should I have to choose between making a difference in life or making a name for myself? The first can only be accomplished by a work of God, something only He can get credit for. The second can be accomplished by building a puff sheet resume or a self congratulatory website. In Proverbs, God tells us that He is not pleased when His people brag about what they have done with their lives. He considers it a higher form of praise when even strangers can tell He has made a difference in His children. The choice is yours, God reports and you decide which path to take in life.
During the Gilded Age of the 19th Century, D.L, Moody was challenged with the words, " The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully consecrated to him." His response was, "I will be that man." God used a meagerly educated salesman to straddle the Atlantic Ocean and shake America and England with Spiritual Awakening. The 21st Century could benefit from people who weren't so full of themselves. The strangers of this century and in this culture need to see people who give God elbow room in their lives. People who allow Him to do a work in them will be privileged to be a part of something only He can get credit for. God save us from self-made men and women.
"For I am confident of this very thing. That He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." Phil. 1:6
BTW: God is doing a great work in you, and His handprints are all over your life.
Keeper of the Flame
"For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, contention quiets down." Proverbs 26:20
Last night, during our Pastor Appreciation Dinner, Dana and I were honored with gifts of letters, love offering and a trip to a beautiful mountain retreat. At the end of the presentation, I was handed a mug. It was a gift from a man who is not a member of our church, but I am his pastor. You preachers know how this works. We have become friends as a result of two hunting trips to Colorado. He had a mug made for me that had my name on it, and the inscription, "Keeper of the Flame." I loved it. He was making a good humored jab at my obsession with keeping a fire going in camp 24 hours a day. I have to admit I earned it. Believe me it takes alot of wood to keep Colorado warm. "Keeper of the Flame" was one of those left handed jabs men give to each other to let them know they are accepted into the circle of friendship. It was my favorite gift of the night, and I will use it for morning coffee. BTW: I was writing this blog on Pr.26:20 before the gift of the mug. God's timing is perfect when He delivers a line he wants me to get.
"I guess you're just another one of those preachers who believes if we don't like it then we should just leave." I was caught off guard by the remark. I had just finished preaching for a pastor friend who was out of town. The accusation was coming from a man with a red face and a v-shaped vein on his forehead. I responded with , "Whoa. You are going to have to take me to school on this." I admit I knew what was on his mind. There had been some mumblings and grumblings about a new worship format being introduced in the church. I was buying time trying to diffuse him with humor. I laughed and said, "Usually, my wife is the only one I can get this angry at me." He wasn't in a mood to be humored. With a stern voice he said, "With this new disco music in the church, we might as well require a cover charge." I told him it had been a while, but I was familiar with the disco, and doubted it would ever make a comeback. I was still trying to buy time with an another attempt at humor. Meanwhile a crowd had gathered around us in the foyer. This "keeper of the flame" had been active and people could smell the smoke. A personal grievance was building into a pubic hazard.
After a comment about my pastor friend that I just couldn't receive, I remembered the words of Oswald Chambers. "Discernment is given for intercession, never fault-finding." I asked him if God had given him discernment about this issue, and if he believed our pastor hears from God. He said he believed that he did. I shared the Chamber's quote with him and added "I believe he hears God too. So, who's going to pray for him first, you or me." He was a real man and said, "If you get us started I'll do my best to finish up." We bowed our heads, and stood side by side with our arms around each others shoulders. We had an unscheduled prayer meeting right there. We asked God to give our pastor strength and wisdom to guide us. We admitted our reaction had been worse than the offense we had with our pastor or with one another. We asked God to let us learn what we needed to learn through this. When I looked up no one was around. Prayer had bonded two men into friends, protected a pastor's back and dispersed a crowd. I sometimes get a note from this man, "Thanks for helping me get over the disco thing."
"I've come here to whip your @$$!" Standing on the other side of my desk was an older man who I had considered to be my friend. So much for the gift of discernment. He was hot, and I didn't have a clue what he was fightin' mad about. I told him to stop where he was before we did something both of us would regret. I warned him I had a gun in the desk drawer and I knew how to use it. I was bluffing. It was a staple gun, but he didn't know that. He calmed down a bit, and took a seat. In a short while we were able to talk and pray our way to a healthy appreciation for one another. He later put a tank of gas in my car. It wasn't unleaded so it burned up my engine, but his heart was in the right place.
Both of these good men had become "keepers of the flame" ignited by a tiny spark of resentment. One had found fault with a friend of mine. The other had become critical of me. Each had taken the log out of their eye and had placed it on the fire in their heart. What had once been small had increased in size as more and more oxygen was put to it. The more they shared their concerns with other people the bigger the flames of resentment grew. The wind of many whisperers fanned their resentment until it became a powerful force with momentum that could overrun the firebreaks of even the strongest relationship. Resentment had smouldered inside of them long enough for others to notice. They had begun to talk more and more about their irritation. The breath from their own mouths had caused the initial flare up, but fuel from the lips of others was keeping the flame alive.
It is not unusual for people to disagree. If three people get together they can usually form five differing opinons. What is the wisest way to handle this fact of life? Prayer is a great flame retardant. When applied to the initial flare up of resentment, it can restrict the whispers that add oxygen to fires of disagreement. Discernment is a gift from God. Fault-finding is not. Chamber's call for intercession is crucial to maintaining the right motive for prayer. The role of the Risen Christ is our best role model for life. Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, and He intercedes for his followers. He does it because they are in need of it.
"Christ Jesus...is at the right hand of God...also interceds for us." Rom. 8:34
Most of the time women get a bad rep over the gossip thing. Whispering campaigns among men are just as relentless. Proverbs holds a dim view of gossip hiding under the thin gauze of senstive, whispered sharing. More fires have been started and stoked in "share groups" than anyone wants to admit. Sharing and caring are not synonyms. Jesus cares enough to pray. His followers should do the same. With your next breath be a "keeper of the flame" of prayer.
"Discernment is meant for intercession, never faultfinding." Oswald Chambers
Who's going to pray first? You or me?
Famous Last Words
"Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord." Psalms 150:6
Praise the Lord!, as the ancient Hebrews would shout...Hallelujah!, was the last word spoken in the original collection of Golden Oldies of Praise and Worship. Dr. Vaughan, my former professor of New Testament, was fond of telling us that Hallelujah was the greatest word in the English language, even if it was Hebrew. The psalmist must have felt that his famous last words were extremely important. He mentioned praise 13 times in six short verses.
I have to admit a certain fascination with famous last words. What a person says just before he passes a baton to another or utters from a death bed carries a peculiar significance. What people write on an epitaph as the last words or thoughts of a friend or family member often reveal a gem about the dearly departed. I search the web for famous last words, or books of quotations that have mined farewell addresses, or old cemeteries. What I discover sobers me and at times amuses me. How so?
- Boot Hill Cemetery of Tombstone, Arizona carries an epitaph of a man who came in second in a gun fight. HERE LIES LES MOORE SHOT WITH THREE SLUGS FROM A .44, NO LESS NO MORE.
- One urban legend claims an epitaph. I TOLD YOU I WAS SICK.
- Who can forget W. C. Field's chiseled comment...I'D RATHER BE IN PHILADELPHIA.
- Jeff Foxworthy's line about famous last words of a Redneck...WATCH THIS!
Praise the Lord! The famous last words of the psalmist found in Psalms 150 leave behind a much more valuable vapor trail of wisdom. They are balanced with a ring of urgency and the weight of importance. From the first to the last, they point out the need to praise God anywhere we go (v.1), for who He is (v. 2), with everything at hand (v. 3-5), and with all the breath we have (v. 6).
Praise is not about the style of music. Nor is it an itch to be scratched by our claws of personal preference. No style of music holds God's attention any more than another. It is much more than that. It is a matter of the heart. It is an absolute focus on God as an audience of one and expresses an attitude of awe and gratitude. It includes thanksgiving for His works, but it is also a an admiration of His character. Mining the riches of the Psalms reveals powerful words that provide priceless clues about who He is.
Those who continue adding fuel to the flames of worship wars are going to be surprised at what real praise sounds like when they get to heaven. Some are convinced Bach, Beethoven or more contemporary artists are the only source of sacred praise. Others envision Peter, James and John waiting at the Pearly Gates for the next Texas turbo tenor to round out their Southern Gospel quartet. It would just be like God to have these people room together in Heaven and spend the first 1,000 years in choir practice until they all got it right. But I digress.
The famous last words of Psalms 150 reveal praise is for anyone that has breath in their lungs. I remember meeting with a former NASA engineer to help me take stock of my life. He described a walk with God as the next 20 seconds. When I heard those words my whole perspective of praise changed. He continued to talk, and I continued to nod my head respectfully at all the right places, but I couldn't tell you anything else he said. Kinda like church.
He could have said any number of things. Read the Bible through in a year. Attend this three day conference. Fill out this notebook. Memorize a Scripture a day. Listen to this sermon. Read this book. Meet with an accountability partner. If he had done so, I think I would have collapsed in despair or thrown up my lunch. My walk with God had become like a bone in the throat and a rock in the shoe. I was not sure if I was tired of it or just tired in it. I was coughing and limping through an endless series of personal, and professional crises. They were not the kinds of things that called for all night prayer and fasting. I could get my game face on for huge challenges. Most days it was the steady drip or the relentless grind of having more bills than bucks, driving in traffic that never moves, lights that never change, tires that go flat, cars that won't start, dishes in the sink, kids at the doctor, people on the phone focused on whining not winning. It had all begun to choke and cripple me into a poor role model of man with a walk with God.
When I left my friend's office, I got in my car with the thought, "My walk with God is the next 20 seconds!" How hard could this be. I have that much breath in my lungs. It gave me joy for the journey home. However, the gauntlet of rush hour traffic, just mile down the road, was about hit my new walk with God with an unexpected road block.
Some idiot (Bless his heart!) tried to merge his over sized pickup into the go-kart sized space in front of me. I honked my horn, raised my voice, and pounded the dashboard. I slammed on my brakes. My little car was no match for him. His trailer hitch was now even with my eyes. The sound of his glass-packed pipes drowned out my Maranatha Praise Band music. I didn't give him the international sign of contempt, but I did think about it. If I had been equipped with a rocket launcher on my VW I would have turned his truck into toast. Bless his heart. Note to self: Just because you say, "Bless his heart!" doesn't mean you can say anything you want. I know people do it at church, but people reading this actually want to walk with God.
"My walk with God is the next 20 seconds!" came to my mind again. I refused to wait until my powers of rationalization started making excuses for my behavior. I didn't search for another dysfunctional believer to agree with me that what I was doing was the normal Christian life. I just simply admitted to God what I was thinking and saying was not right (Exhaled). I asked him to forgive me (Inhaled). I practiced this breathing exercise all the way home. It has served me well for the past 22 years. It gets the tiny bone out of my throat and the irritating grain of sand out of my shoe, the little things that can kill my walk with God. Walking with God is as simple, but as crucial as exhaling and inhaling are to breathing. Excuse me a minute. Its my cell phone.
The local police called. There was a gas leak in our neighborhood and all homes had to be evacuated for the day. Before I left, I saved a draft of this so I could come back to it. BTW: When I went out to start the car it was dead. Yesterday, I spent $490.00 to get it "fixed." I'd like to fix that mechanic. Bless his heart! Sorry about that. I still have flashbacks and choke and limp from time to time in my walk with God. The good news is when I get the breath knocked out of me I know how to get it back. Exhale. Inhale. Don't quit. The joy is the journey. I take a breath and praise the Lord. My walk with God and yours is the next 20 seconds.
"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." Psalms 150:6
P.S. "Halitosis is better than no breath at all." Anonymous
Debt Free Living
"Do not say, 'Thus I shall do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.' " Pr. 24:29
"I owe you one." is the 21st Century reaction to an offensive person. It creates a mountain of debt that crushes the life out of the one holding on to the offense. Debt free living places IOUs in God's hands and trusts Him to settle accounts.
"Gary! Is that you?" It was a voice calling out in the dark of night from the back of a predawn shuttle to the airport. It was an old friend, and a pleasant surprise. He mentioned the death of a man we both knew. I said I was sorry to hear that. He went on to say the man had experienced a slow painful death, and his once powerful body had deteriorated to less than 80 pounds before he died. Again, I said something appropriate. After all the van was packed with people, and you never know who's listening. His final comment brought back memories. He said, "He was a pastor's worst nightmare." I nodded and admitted that he had given me a few sleepless nights too. The shuttle pulled out, and the road noise made any further conversation impossible.
Riding in the front of the van, I was alone with my thoughts. As the sun rose, another ray of light dawned on me. I didn't feel anything. No anger. No fear. No resentment. No need to pay an enemy back for all he had put me through years ago. I had forgiven him back in the day, but there were times when someone would mention his name and a chemical reaction would kick in. My survival instincts would be on full alert. Obviously, I was still holding a few IOUs in case I met up with him again. You know the drill. Bury the hatchet. Put the blade in the dirt, but keep your hand on the handle.
I don't know exactly when my self-imposed sentence in debtor's prison ended. God had taken my IOU with that man's name on it and had settled the account in my heart. I am not saying God gave the man a painful death to satisfy my offense. That would be sick. The on-going transaction of regularly giving my IOU to God had eventually released me from the spirit of "I owe you one!" When I heard his name mentioned the debt was gone positionally and experientially. It was one of God's "divine Ah-hahs." He told me he would do it. He just didn't tell me when I would know it had happened. Gotta love God's way of surprising His kids with the news that He has been up to something in their lives.
It doesn't matter if an IOU is generated by taking offense over a personal slight, or if it is activated by taking up another's offense. The interest of irritation compounds from mild disgust to brooding angst, then to resentment, on to malicious thoughts, angry outbursts, and sometimes moves to litigation or physical confrontation. The more it grows the more we owe.
Debts from these IOUs rarely get paid back. Why? Because the offender who is owed the most simply doesn't care if the person offended is drowning in a sea of IOUs. It didn't cost him anything to cut someone off the road; he enjoyed it. He probably felt superior when he did it. When he failed to yield and didn't merge into the highway he caused motorists to slam on their brakes. The fact that Starbucks coffee landed in their laps is of no consequence to him. As a matter of fact, when they honked horns to warn him, he gave them the international sign of contempt. When the contractor promised the moon and then took money without completing the job, he just moved on to the next sucker. He's asleep and the cheated client is awake. Who's paying here?
Mounting road rage is a public expression of an ever growing private debt load. It resembles the hidden mass residing under the tip of the iceberg. Road rage won't disappear by banning cars or attending anger management seminars. If people walked everywhere they went, they would start shoving each other to the ground. Why? Because the issue is not the vehicle of choice, but the resentment of choice. One offense can grow into unmanageable debt. One IOU will mature into IOU ALL!
Do you see the problem? Carrying a load of debt for something a person did to you or to those you love will land you in debtor's prison. Proverbs warns against looking for satisfaction from rendering or "bringing back" on a person's head the same treatment the offender gave to you.
Paul strongly challenged early Christ followers to "Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written. VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY SAYS THE LORD." (Romans 12:19)
Prayer initiates debt free living when you hand your IOUs over to God. Prayer sustains debt free living by transforming any debt thought to be owed to others into an investment of life in them. Praying for someone makes it harder to hate them. Trust me...not impossible, just harder. However, praying beats paying every time. The more we invest the less we owe.
"The church should seek above everything to cultivate the power of an unceasing prayerfulness on behalf of those without Christ." Andrew Murray
Looking for debt free living? Let go of what you owe and... Pray More to Pay Less. Anybody ready for a jail break? Pray More (for the offender) & Talk Less (about the offense).
BLOG THROUGH THE FOG
One of my favorite memories as a ten year old boy living on Long Island was my first visit to the Montauk Light House. Located on the eastern end of the island, it still safely guides ships in the Atlantic ocean through the night and the fog with a powerful beam of light.
The light house keeper took me up the steps and let me see the source of this magnificent beam of light that can cut through the darkness to keep ships on course. What I saw surprised me. It was a relatively small bulb, surrounded by dozens of clear prisms. As keeper, his job during the day was to clean each prism and put it back in its place. I remarked that they looked clean to me, and he said they were not clean enough until each one had been removed, wiped, and replaced. Each day the salt spray, dust and debris would settle on the prisms and dull their ability to let the light fully pass through them. When the night came, they needed to be at their best to let the light flow through them unobstructed so they could magnify the beam of a relatively small bulb and penetrate the darkness so ships could see clearly the dangers ahead.
If the light did not reach out into the dark, then a ship captain or pilot might not see the shore until it was too late. They could miss the entrance to Long Island Sound or fail to navigate around the rocks that would safely put them on the South Shore heading towards New York Harbor.
The prisms needed to be cleaned in order for them to magnify the light. They were not the source of the light. They were designed to be instruments that allowed the light to pass through them individually and corporately. If each prism performed the function for which it was designed, and was rightly related to the prism next to it, then the light was magnified. One prism with fissures, fractures, or film would inhibit the light of another. All needed to be at their best when the darkness fell.
As a Christ follower, I offer this word of encouragement to those who sometimes wonder if one person's life can make a difference in what is fast becoming a world of increasing spiritual darkness. Jesus is The Light of the World.
I believe the local church is still the world's best hope for seeing The Light of Jesus and guiding lost people to a right relationship with God. Christ's followers are like the prisms that surrounded the source of light in the Montauk Light House. When the followers of Christ see their need to be cleaned each day by the gentle hand of the Holy Spirit, and be rightly related to one another, the church penetrates the darkness with the Light of God's Truth and the warmth of Christ's Love.
Chiseled in stone over the entrance to a church in England is a quote that reminds me every generation has had to make the choice to let the Light of Jesus shine through them in the context of their own immediate circumstance and intimidating darkness. It says,
"In the year 1653 when all things sacred in the Kingdom were either profaned or demolished, this church was built...to do the best of things in the worst of times."
My challenge to Christ followers is to let your light shine. Jesus said: "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12) Cursing the darkness generates heat, but sheds no light for those looking for a way home out of the night of fear and through the fog of confusion. So together now, every body sing, "This little light of mine. I'm gonna let it shine!"