January 4, 2011

Keep the Candle Burning


"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.   Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."  Matt. 5:14-16

Happy New Year to everyone!   2011.  As you and I begin a new year, we face an unknown future.  To some, this may bring excitement at the prospect of change; to others that change may bring a sense of fear and insecurity.  As I began to think about the New Year, a sense of insecurity began to overwhelm my heart. . .that's when the Holy Spirit urged me to pull a promise card from my little "Daily Promise bread box."   The verse I pulled was John 14:27b:  "....Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."  Then the back side of the card said "Never be afraid to entrust an unknown future to a known God." 
The Lord couldn't have called my cell phone and made that message any clearer to me than He had just done through His written Word! *sigh* Relief! :o)


Anyway, I'm in the process of taking down all the twinkling lights, and decorations---all of the typical reminders of Christmas.   This past Christmas I wasn't able to decorate the outside of the house, nor even put the lights in the window, due to lack of time. . .which made me sad.. But I was able to decorate the inside--which made me think: 

Aren't we supposed to have the Lord's light burning within our hearts?  Why yes!  How many of us try to "let our light shine" on the outside, but His Light hasn't yet begun to burn deep within our hearts? 

Now that the lights and decorations are tucked away 'til next Christmas, we can keep the candle burning within our hearts, keep the Spirit of Christmas--the true meaning of Christmas---burning within our hearts. . .we can let our lights shine for all men to see the Reason for the Season still shines within our hearts!   And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto me.  (John 12:32)  Let us lift Him up with our hearts in tuned to His Holy Spirit's power, so that He can draw all men unto Himself this year! 

Let's let our little lights shine...and guess what you get when you put a bunch of tiny pin-point lights shining, side-by-side?One GIANT BEAM OF LIGHT!  

The Christmas Lights don't have to be dimmed this year!  Let's let His light shine in the windows of our hearts to reach out to the lost and dying world around us~~for Christ!!

Happy New Year to each of you!
HUGS!
Dear Father, Even though You're not bound by time, we are facing another year. . .and this gives us time to reflect:  Have we grown closer to You, closer LIKE Your Son, and less like the world?  I pray for You to let the Light that You lit within my heart begin to burn even more.  Be the Holy Breath that fuels the fire, Holy Spirit.   I come to you, unwavering, believing You, for Your faithful promises are true--just like You are.  Thank You for bringing me, my family and my dear blogging family, through 2010. . .now hold our hands firmly as we journey into the New Year . . .burn within us; lift up Your Son--and draw ALL MEN unto You, for His name's sake, and glory, Amen.




9 comments:

  1. Beautiful Post Tammi!
    Our Pastor has used the story (several times) of a Pastor visiting man who has removed himself from fellowship. They were sitting by a fireplace, no words were exchanged, but the Pastor took the fire poker and moved the logs apart from one another so that the coals died down...

    He preached a sermon with a fire poker! I love the picture you shared of lots of little lights together making a large impact!

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  2. Hi! Tammi, loved this, just loved this! just so you know, I have a Special Place tucked deep inside for Stars~ I loved the pic of the big picture! I need that today!! Oh! yes, our little light must never go out!! Thanks for sharing, Hope you are feeling better, got your E-mail, so happy to hear from you! Have a great Day! And to God Be All The Glory!! Love you:)

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  3. So many times in the Word He tell us to
    not be afraid. Over and over again. If
    and when we can come to a place of just
    staying in His peace, truly unafraid,
    we will see everything from His perfect
    perspective. Then we will see we have
    nothing to worry about. Of course this
    is not always easy. I'm glad the Lord
    is always there to lead us along. Since
    He is our future, we have no reason to
    fear it.
    Love,
    Sandy

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  4. Wonderful post, Tammi! Thank you for the reminder that it's important to let our lights shine for Him! We're allowed by God to speak His truth to others - He will draw them to Himself! Glad God spoke to you through His Word, calming your sense of insecurity. It's so good to know He's got everything under control. Have a beautiful week and God bless! :)

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  5. Just had to stop by Sweetie,,,LOVE your fancy signature Girl.. Been thinking and praying about you. We're preparing for a business trip here. Its been a LONG time since we did get a BT delivering cards done with the boys off for Christmas break we needed to be home with them. So, just a tad worried about making the BT as sales were down a bit last year. I know, its hard for many people and we are truly blessed even in these slower times with God as our CEO ...
    Praying for your New year to be blessed Sis.
    May God's Love and Blessings continue to be yours Sweetie~~~Hugs Dena

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  6. Sis, just had to read this post again today. We don't know what this year will hold for us. So glad we know the One who holds it for us! As Dad gets closer to retirement, we tend to get that insure feeling you wrote about. Thank you for reminding me that the One who created the heavens and the earth will supply our every need! Love that little song we taught our kids "this little light of mine." Sure don't want to hide mine under a basket." Love you, Mom

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  7. Amen, great post, may God keep shining as light thru our lives. happy new year!

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  8. Hey Tammi,

    Just wanted to stop by and say "hey" this year! It's been awhile since I've been blogging or checking blogs, but I'm trying to get back into a more consistent habit in 2011.

    Hope you and your family are doing well.

    Blessings to you,
    Melanie

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  9. Your Heavenly MasterAugust 8, 2012 at 8:41 PM

    I'm going to create man and woman with original sin.
    Then I'm going to impregnate a woman with myself as her child, so that I can be born.
    Once alive, I will kill myself as a sacrifice to myself in order to save you from the sin I originally condemned you to.
    Question any of the above logic and you shall be condemned by my will to eternal damnation. For I am Mercy and Love.

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Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment! It's such a joy to my heart! "Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father above..." You are a gift to my heart! To God be the glory! :o)