A New Fire

The following is an excerpt from A Joy That is Real by Daniel Owens (page 89-91)

If your light was once burning brightly but now has begun to dim, what will it take to make it shine again? What do we need to do to bravely hold forth the word of life?

Wouldn't it be great if we could wake up on Monday morning and say, "Lord, who can I bring closer to you this week?" Instead of thinking about getting to work on time or what bills need to be paid, wouldn't it be great if we could focus our week on where to shine our light?

If every Christian in your city were killed except you, would you be able to march forward? Could you be a shining light to lead others to Christ and rebuild the church? That is a convicting thought for me. Knowledge without power will never transform a community. Dogma and creed without love will never transform a community. Only Christ's love shining through his people will draw others to the truth.

Martin Luther King Jr. gave a wonderful sermon in which he encouraged believers to establish a colony of heaven here on earth. In it he said, "Most Christians are thermometers that record or register the temperature of majority opinion, not thermostats that transform and regulate the temperature of society."(4) We need to be the ones who determine what our society will look like.

Jesus said that he came to seek and to save what was lost. As obedient followers, we should do the same. Our ministry is to hold forth the word of life, and shine as bright stars in a dark world.

In Matthew 5:14-16, Jesus says, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden . . . Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." We are clearly called to be light to nonbelievers.

Let me give you a challenge. If you don't think about the lost, if you never try to share your faith with anyone, then you are not being an obedient follower of Jesus. Perhaps your light has grown dim, or maybe it has never gotten strong, but you can fan that flame right now by making a commitment to be a witness for Jesus.

When a star burns out, it doesn't come back. When a light bulb burns out, we throw it away. But praise God that he brings back burned-out Christians. Even the person with the coldest heart who has lost his or her way can come back to God, who will relight the fire in our souls.

The Philippian church began with a bright light and a strong witness in their community. However, that light was beginning to dim because of the bickering and arguing that was taking place within the church.

As the church -the body of believers- we need to watch out for this trap. In Revelation 3, Jesus rebukes the church at Laodicea for being lukewarm. Their light had grown dim because they had been choked out by the world and its pleasures. Jesus told them to repent, to go back to the way they had been when their light first started to shine.

For many years when I lived in San Diego, California, we had a Christmas Eve tradition in out community. Volunteers would bring white paper bags, sand, and tea lights to each house. On Christmas Eve we would fill the bags with sand and nestle the tea lights inside, then place fifteen to twenty of them on the sidewalk in front of each of our homes.

When it got dark we would all go out and light the candles, and the neighborhood would be transformed. The streets were lined with these beautiful luminaries, and as you walked down the road, you truly felt like you were in a winter wonderland. We enjoyed a wonderful evening, but eventually the candles would burn out, and by midnight it would once again be dark.

What is your heart like? Is it cold? Have the lights gone out?

No matter what may have caused you to grow dim, always come to the Lord and say, "Relight the fire in my heart. Here are the things that have been blocking my way. Please give me a new passion to love you and reach the lost for you."

As we come to the Lord and open up before him and confess out shortcomings, he fills us anew with his Holy Spirit. The Spirit fans the flame and brings us back to the brightness we once had.

At some point, the light of Christ shining in someone else led you to accept him. Now will you be that light to others? It doesn't matter if we're shy or our gifts are different or if out personalities are not very bold. Let's be living luminaries who bring a warm glow to the dark paths of people's hearts!

Merry Christmas,

Dan

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