Since first
joining MPBC in 2012, I am humbled at how God leads me to new areas of service
to Him. These are often areas of service that are
in the most outer realm of my comfort-zone.
Just standing before several hundred people worshiping my King can barely be accomplished with a heartbeat below 120 BPM :). He then (via the
ever-looming sign-up sheet of our worship leader, Brad Cordray) leads me to
this modern day journal entry thing called “blogging”. So here goes…stay awake and “track with me”
as Pastor Kevin says, and we’ll see where this leads.
As I began
praying, asking God what I should share, the
As we know, the
lighthouses’ main purpose is to warn ships of impending danger and guide them
safely on their way. I learned the
world’s first recorded lighthouse was the Pharos Lighthouse in Alexandria,
Egypt. (Here’s a trivia thought for the
day…) Built in 280 B.C., it stood 450 ft tall with a bonfire lit nightly that
could be seen more than 30 miles away.
This lighthouse was used for more than 1500 years (Wow) before it was
destroyed by an earthquake in 1303 A.D. Over thousands of years lighthouses
have served as important guides through storms, fog, and away from many unseen
dangers. While there are several rooms within a lighthouse, it is the lantern
room which is the most important room of the lighthouse, as this is where the
beacon is located. The walls of the
lantern room are made of glass, totally
surrounding the beacon. This glass needs
to remain clean at all times to let the brightest of light shine. This is one of the many responsibilities of
the Lighthouse Keeper.
The same holds
true for us as a worship team. We are
the lighthouse keepers of His Light-His Beacon.
We are His Lantern Room. It is
through our hearts that the light of His Beacon shines. The cleaner our hearts, the brighter the
light, the light that draws others closer to Him. Living our lives in such a way that people
say to themselves, “there’s something different about him/her and I want
to know how to experience that peace, joy and love in my own life.”…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
for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly father. Matthew 5: 14-16.
We continue to
see this world darkened with sin more and more each day, so without the light
of Christ shining brightly through us as Christians, this world will only
become darker with time. In a dark sky,
all darkness looks the same. That is why
we have to be different-sanctified-set apart. We have to shine and shine
brightly. We have to look different to
our co-workers, our neighbors, and sometimes even our friends and family. Different in our speech and our attitudes.
They have to see the realness of our lives, consistently, and in turn, want
that same light of Jesus to shine in their heart and lives too, but it’s only
through the cleansing of our own heart can they see the truest and brightest
light. Unconfessed sin can slowly begin
to haze the glass of our “lantern rooms”.
This even small haze of unconfessed sin distorts the light and begins to
destroy the fellowship with Christ…But God showed His great love for us by
sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8. As we come before Him, we need to remember
what a friend we have in Him, tell him everything, confess it, turn away from
it-He knows it all anyway, and He loves us in spite of ourselves.
It is often in
the darkest of night, in the mist of the storm, fog sets in. This fog can further reduce one’s visibility
which makes seeing the beacon’s light and staying the course even more
challenging, especially for those who are lost and needing Jesus...Then He said
to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your
selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me”. Luke 9:23.
That is why we
have to make time for Him by continuing to read, study and pray so that once
again His light can shine the brightest through us, to the hearts of those
around us-those in our lives who are drifting off course. Those heading
straight for the cliffs that will damage or destroy them in this life and their
life as they enter into eternity.
The brightest
beacon shines through the cleanest vessel. Help us Lord as a Worship Team to
allow your Beacon to shine through us, guiding us daily in a life of worship and
praise…no matter what.
Love in Christ,
Vicky
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