Tag: Matthew 5:14-16

Posted in communication, friends, life, Scripture, Southern born, travel

This Little Light

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” Matthew 5:14-16

Here they come…ready or not. There are so many special memories that I cherish from my trips to Africa. At the top of the list are the friendships we developed and the wonderful people we met. However, there are few things that were not special and at least one really bugs me (pun fully intended). While ministering in Uganda, we would stay and work on the islands of Lake Victoria. While there was no plumbing or electricity…there was an abundant supply of bugs…insects.

This became very clear at night when nature called and you had to walk to the outhouse. Obviously it was very dark so you really needed a flashlight especially since the many barnyard animals left us gifts all around. The problem was as soon as you turned on the light, all those bugs and insects instantly were drawn to the light. Turn on the light and you became the most popular guy to a zillion bugs. They literally swarmed you. That forced you to either choose being friends with those zillion bugs or turning out the light and taking your chances.  Most often I took my chances. I don’t like bugs.

You see, bugs are always attracted to light. Down south where I was raised if you left the porch light on…you had bugs. That’s just the way it was. But guess what?  If you turned the light out the bugs quickly left and went wherever bugs go in the dark. The bottom line is bugs are not attracted to the dark…period. And guess what again? What is true in the bug world is true in the spiritual world. You see, if we want to win people to Jesus we have to attract them. And guess what (for the third time) attracts them–the light of Jesus. There’s just something about “authentic Jesus” light that calls and draws people. No light and they will just choose to wander in the dark.

If we want to draw people to the light–we have to turn it on–we have to be like Jesus and shine like Jesus. If we live darkly–well, we won’t get many, if any, followers. So, what do you say, let’s turn on the light in this dark work and share the light of Jesus. While people can easily resist our churchy religious stuff they will find Jesus irresistible. Like the kid’s song says, “This little light of mine…I’m gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.”  Afraid to flip the switch?  Just ask your Dearest Daddy for a little help. I promise you…He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, prayer, priorities, Scripture, thankful, Trials

Will You Keep on Burning?

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”  Matthew 5:14-16

It was a great idea that just got better.  Thomas Edison had a great idea when he invented the light bulb.  I love that history records that he failed in his first 10,000 attempts.  Of course, he was quick to correct anyone who said that.  He simply told them he didn’t fail 10,000 times, he just learned 10,000 ways not to do it.  The light bulb simply changed life in America and over the years it has continued to evolve.  First, it just got better. The life expectancy of a bulb in the early years was poor—about 14.5 hours.  But over the years it got better and better.

More than several years ago a radical change happened.  Someone mass produced the compact fluorescent bulb.  These were revolutionary.  They burned for a much longer time, they were much cooler, and they were much cheaper to operate.  The equivalent of a 60-watt bulb would only consume about 8 or 9 watts.  That’s a big difference.  While they were expensive to buy at first, the price came down quickly.  And then the prom queen of light bulbs arrived…the LED or light emitting diode bulb burst on the scene.

When LEDs first came out, they were barely bright enough to use in a watch.  Now they light the highways with headlights and streetlights.  They are amazing.  And the most amazing thing—they only consume a couple of watts of energy.  They literally cost pennies a day to operate.  A bonus is that they last an extra-long time.  If you look at the package, you will read they are supposed to burn for 22,000 hours.  That figures out to about 916 days. Whoa!  That sounds impressive but is it really?

You see, I have discovered that while LEDs may last that long, often the electronics in the base don’t. I have had LED bulbs that didn’t make it six months.  But there is a secret.  Regardless of whether it is an old-fashioned incandescent bulb, or a compact florescent bulb or a LED bulb, the more often you turn it on and off—the shorter the life span.  Yup—it’s the truth.  I have some LED lights in my bathroom that have been burning 24 hours a day, seven days a week for over two years and they are still going strong.  Ok, you’re probably wondering, “why would I do that?”

Well, a couple of years ago I remodeled our bathroom.  It had lights on each side of the vanity mirror.  The old light fixtures had switches to turn the light on and off.  Well, the new fixtures didn’t.  That’s when I said to myself, “Who needs a switch?  After all, it costs a few pennies a day to burn the bulb, I didn’t have to try and figure out how to install a switch and I don’t ever walk into a dark bathroom.  So, there you go! Problem solved.  And like the Energizer bunny—they keep burning bright.

As I was pondering all of this, it occurred to me this is why some Christians burn out and some Christians keep right on burning.  You see, just like the light bulb, we last a lot longer when we are consistently on.  Believers who are on again and off again just tend to burn out.  What does that look like? First, things like prayer and reading the Bible slip away and then going to church and where that light once burned bright—only an unlit bulb remains…dark and cold. Yet those who make it a priority to stay on—to keep that appointment and read the Book, to talk daily with their Dearest Daddy and make attending church a priority on their calendar—they just seem to last and last. And it is no accident.  It just makes sense.  Jesus said that we are the light of the world—reflecting His light to a dark world.  And when we do the right things—it reflects so well on Him.

Well, I don’t know if I will ever install a switch or not.  I like walking into a lit room.  We have eight or nine lights in our house that never get turned off.  All are LEDs and all cost a few cents to burn, and all chase the darkness away.  I like that too.  And then there’s always the, “I wonder just how long they will burn?” challenge.  Who knows, there might be a record out there somewhere.  But I’ll only find out if I leave it on.  And that is true with our Jesus walk too.  We need to rise to the challenge and see just how long we can burn brightly—for Him.  The best way to start is to remove the option, the switch.  The next step is to determine if you are going to trust Him to help you keep burning bright.  He will, you know.  He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, forgiveness, Grace, gratitude, Integrity, life, love, loving others, prayer, priorities, Scripture, thankful, wisdom

This Little Light of Mine

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”  Matthew 5:14-16

It was a great idea that just got better.  Thomas Edison had a really great idea when he invented the light bulb.  I love that history records that he failed in his first 10,000 attempts.  Of course, he was quick to correct anyone who said that.  He simply told them he didn’t fail 10,000 times, he just learned 10,000 ways not to do it.  The light bulb simply changed life in America and over the years it has continue to evolve.  First, it just got better. The life expectancy of a bulb in the early years was pretty poor—about 14.5 hours.  But over the years it got better and better.

More than several years ago a radical change happened.  Someone mass produced the compact fluorescent bulb.  These were revolutionary.  They burned for a much longer time, they were much cooler and they were much cheaper to operate.  The equivalent of a 60 watt bulb would only consume about 8 or 9 watts.  That’s a big difference.  While they were expensive to buy at first, the price came down pretty quickly.  And then the prom queen of light bulbs arrived…the LED or light emitting diode bulb burst on the scene.

When LED’s first came out they were barely bright enough to use in a watch.  Now they light the highways with headlights and streetlights.  They are amazing.  And the most amazing thing—they only consume a couple of watts of energy.  They literally cost pennies a day to operate.  An added bonus is that they last a really long time.  If you look at the package, you will read they are supposed to burn for 22,000 hours.  That figures out to about 916 days. Whoa!  That sounds impressive but is it really?

You see, I have discovered that while the LED may last that long, often the electronics in the base don’t. I have had LED bulbs that didn’t make it six months.  But there is a secret.  Regardless whether it is an old fashioned incandescent bulb, or a compact florescent bulb or a LED bulb, the more often you turn it on and off—the shorter the life span.  Yup—it’s the truth.  I have some LED lights in my bathroom that have been burning 24 hours a day, seven days a week for over two years and they are still going strong.  Ok, you’re probably wondering, “why would I do that?”

Well, a couple of years ago I remodeled our bathroom.  It had lights on each side of the vanity mirror.  The old light fixtures had switches to turn the light on and off.  Well, the new fixtures didn’t.  So I said to myself, “Who needs a switch?  After all, it costs a few pennies a day to burn the bulb, I didn’t have to try and figure out how to install a switch and I don’t ever walk into a dark bathroom.  So, there you go! Problem solved.  And like the Energizer bunny—they keep right on burning.

As I was pondering all of this, it occurred to me this is why some Christians burn out and some Christians keep right on burning.  You see, just like the light bulb, we last a lot longer when we are consistently on.  Believers who are on again and off again just tend to burn out.  What does that look like? First, things like prayer and reading the Bible slip away and then going to church and where that light once burned bright—only an unlit bulb remains…dark and cold. Yet those who make it a priority to stay on—to keep that appointment and read the Book, to talk daily with their Dearest Daddy and make attending church a priority on their calendar—they just seem to last and last. And it is no accident.  It just makes sense.  Jesus said that we are the light of the world—reflecting His light to a dark world.  And when we do the right things—it reflects so well on Him.

Well, I don’t know if I will ever install a switch or not.  I kinda like walking into a lit room.  Actually, we have eight or nine lights in our house that never get turned off.  All are LEDs and all cost a few cents to burn, and all chase the darkness away.  I like that too.  And then there’s always the “I wonder just how long they will burn?” challenge.  Who knows, there might be a record out there somewhere.  But I’ll only find out if I leave it on.  And that is true with our Jesus walk too.  We need to rise to the challenge and see just how long we can burn brightly—for Him.  The best way to start is to remove the option, the switch.  The next step is to determine you are going to trust Him to help you keep burning bright.  He will, you know.  He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne