A random, anonymous quotation popped up in my Quiet Time: “The hour is desperately dark, your flame is needed.” It arrested my thoughts even as it touched my heart. Thoughtfully, I checked when the book had been first published – 1950. I wondered when the words had been written [or spoken] initially, and what had constituted the ‘desperate darkness of the hour’ for the author. How frequently we feel the darkness of this present world with its tragedies and heartaches. Have you noticed how often shocking news appears on our screens? How often crises occur in the lives of ordinary people? It’d be easy for us to murmur, ‘The hour is desperately dark…’! Is there anything we can do about it? What can I do?
‘Your flame is needed,’ cries the writer. What can I do? Be one steady flame in the darkness and, when linked to the other steady flames in our lives, together we’ll shed some of Yahshua’s precious Light into the darkness that surrounds us. Yahshua told His disciples we’re the light of the world and said, “…let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” [Matthew 5:16]. When He cleansed us from sin, Yahshua filled us with the light of His own life and love, and here encourages us to allow that inner sweetness to shine! “No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket,” He continues, “but rather on a lampstand and it gives light for all who are in the house” [v15]. One of the reasons He leaves us in this world is so we may be a light in the darkness.
The older I grow the more I’m convinced that serving Yahshua is mostly about the ‘small’, everyday things in life. The smile, the phone call, the few words to a passing stranger, the way I live at home, the life I lead, all [and more] feed that flame and make a difference. “Be a light in the darkness, Be a heart to the heartless” [Margaret Becker]. Hold steady; shine steadfastly; add some brightness!
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You Are The BranchesClick to see the whole passage:
1 timothy 3:16 NIV - Beyond all question, the mystery from - Bible Gateway
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