Be a Candle

I love the song "Go Light Your World" by Kathy Troccoli. Our friend Tammy is in the process of recording her first CD and we were treated to a sneak preview of her recording of this song on Sunday morning. I was impacted again by these wonderful lyrics. (For full lyrics click here)

A few years ago I wrote out my response to this song and I am posting it here today. I know it is rather long, but hopefully, it's worth the time to read it.

The first part is a chorus from the song "Thrown Away" by Ray Boltz. (For full lyrics click here) My prayer is that God will touch your heart today as He touched mine.

THROWN AWAY
CAN YOU BELIEVE THE THINGS THEY TOSS ASIDE
AND LEAVE THEM WHERE THEY LAY
OH BUT THEY CAN BE SAVED
IF YOU TAKE THE TIME
AND TRY TO FIND THE GOOD ALONG THE WAY
OH WHAT THIS WORLD THROWS AWAY
(Ray Boltz)

Thrown away, tossed aside, unwanted, unloved - abandoned!! Seen as useless. No value. Not worth the effort. Too hard!!! Takes too long!! When will she ever learn? When will she get it? Wasting our time!!

NO!!! It’s NOT wasting time. Can you BELIEVE the things they toss aside and leave them where they lay? SOULS. People needing love, needing direction. They ARE lost. Oh, but they CAN be saved. So many have gone astray. Even those who started off well - on the right road. BUT the enemy came when we weren’t guarding the little ones. They were damaged. They were used and abused. They were left devastated. Unable to pick themselves up. Instead of understanding.... instead of receiving and redeeming them, they were tossed aside!!!!

How God WEEPS when each little ones’ cries go unanswered. Can your heart hear them? Has it grown cold? Don’t turn from their cries. Who else will answer them? Who else can God send to them? IF you will take the time and try to find the good along the way - You will find what GOD sees in them. Precious ones who have been crushed by sins. There is still a treasure locked inside. It is waiting to be released. Waiting for it to be safe enough to finally come out. How much longer? How long can she hang on? How much longer can she fool everyone that everything is fine? Her strength is almost gone. Is there hope? Is there an answer to her questions? Is there a Deliverer for her? The world sees her as an Outcast. Oh what this world throws away!!!

Jesus is the answer. Always was. Always will be. Doesn’t matter what the situation is. HE has paid it ALL. He has provided for it. But He needs us to carry it out. We are HIS. Will you go for Him? He is the Light. We are HIS Candles. HIS Light burning in our soul. His Holy Spirit burns within us, speaks to us, consumes us, IF we will let Him. There IS a candle in every soul. God puts it there. Some ARE Brightly burning. They love God, love His Word, love His Presence, LOVE HIM!! They want ALL they can receive. Their hearts are open and obedient. Ready to respond.

Some are dark and cold. They let their flame go out. No oil. No passion, no time for God. Too busy with their own lives, their own interests, their own pleasures. Their hearts are growing colder. They can’t hear the cries of the lost or hurting. They are drowned out by other sounds.

BUT There is a Spirit - God’s precious Holy Spirit - Who brings a fire to rekindle that flame. He ignites our candle and makes His home in us. He is here to stay. Not just for a time, but every day!! LET Him REVIVE your heart. THEN carry your candle and RUN to the Darkness. It is Urgent!! Your light will dispel the darkness. It has to flee. Darkness cannot consume the light. JESUS always overcomes.

Seek out the HOPELESS, CONFUSED & TORN. So many have NO hope. Where can they look? Who has the answers? Who will ever take the time to talk with them? They ARE confused. Who will explain until they understand? Which way to turn? Many say, "Here!! We have the answer." They are torn between Doctrines and Religions, Hypocrites and Broken Promises. False Hopes. Empty Words. Giving up too soon. The job is not finished!! They ARE torn away by the enemy again!!!!

Hold out your candle for ALL to see it. Don’t hide the Truth. Don’t withhold the answers. Are you able to make a difference? Then DO it!! Put actions to your prayers. God can only use you when you are willing to walk out the path that HE has laid out for you. Take your candle. Pick it up and Go light YOUR world. Go where GOD is leading you to go. GO!!! Don’t delay. Don’t make excuses. Shine the light that HE has given to you.

Many have tried to light their candles in their own way. It won’t work. They will burn out - either by themselves or be put out by others. Only God’s Flame is eternal. In our own strength, we are nothing. Shallow Cures that last for the moment. FRUSTRATION. Our plans will fail. Our solutions don’t heal. Jesus does. Do it HIS Way.

See your sister - she’s been robbed and lied to. Robbed of what she cannot regain. Forever stolen. She was deceived, tricked, lied to, betrayed. She believed the lie. It SOUNDED like Truth. It had pleasure for a season, But it soon turned sour. Now it is bitter. No goodness left. Her candle has no flame - no hope, no escape, no relief. Never ending pain. Tears without end. She is sitting in darkness with no one to show her the way. RUN to her. She is LONELY, TIRED & WORN. No one to comfort her, no one to stay with her until she regains her strength. It is all gone. She is worn out. Weary from crying without end. Hold out your candle to her. She WILL see it. She’s not far away. God will show you where she is.

We ARE a family. We are adopted into God’s family. Sometimes closer than our own flesh and blood. When we stand together, our hearts WILL be Blazing. What a bonfire we could make if we joined together!!!! Raise your candle up high. Don’t be ashamed. Let it be seen.

PRAY. Our Father WILL hear your prayer. Use the weapons that Jesus gave us. Use His Name to send the enemy running. Shut him OUT!!! Be a Beacon in Darkest night. Be as a lighthouse on the point. Shining into the night. Shining into the storms. Don’t shut down the light and go to sleep in the storm. ARISE & Be Alert!!! Souls are at risk. CALL to them. WARN them when you see the signs of the storm coming. Don’t let the waves crush them again. Don’t let them be swept away and drown. RESCUE THEM!!!

They are HELPLESS to survive on their own. Jesus died to save them, to heal them, to redeem them. Call to them!! Many are DECEIVED. Many are headed for destruction and don’t even see it. Many are pulled back into the mire with no strength to resist. Seek them out. They are POOR. They have nothing to pay the price with. Never enough to buy their freedom. Forever slaves to bondage. Bondages that have been placed on them. Chains too heavy to be broken. Prisoners of the Accuser. No one to defend them. No one to plead their case. Only Jesus can liberate them!!!

FORGIVENESS. The key that opens the doors. YES, there is hope for the hopeless. Dispel the confusion. Bind up the torn. God can and will. Redeem and Restore. GO and find them. Seek them out and then DO your part that God has called you to do. Don’t let them be THROW AWAYS any longer. The world has given up on them. GOD HAS NOT!!!! How can we? WE CAN’T!!! TAKE THE TIME!!!!

Hear her cries and Answer with GOD’S Love and GOD’S Power to heal her Broken Heart. Hold out your candle. Bring Jesus to those who NEED Him. Minister as He has called you to do. Be ready. Keep your flame burning. Don’t let Satan blow it out!!! Hold it high. Keep HIS Fire burning in your heart.

Let Him burn away ALL that is not of Him, ALL that would pull you back to your old life. CLOSE THAT DOOR!!!! It is the PAST. Leave it behind. Don’t reopen what God has covered. Remember why God took you out of it. RUN from it. Run TO God. Into HIS Safety. Into HIS Protection. He has given you New Life. Live it as He has called you.

Selah Y
26 Sept 1999