Wednesday: Don't Hide Jesus

No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed ...

Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters. Salvation Wednesday, the good old middle of the week -- hump day -- and a great day to renew your spirit in our good Lord. Brothers and sisters, I ask that you pray today for Helen Thomas (not the reporter, but you should pray for her also). Our Helen had to lay her 18-year old beloved dog "Harley" to rest last night. For those of us who love our K-9s and other pets we can feel her pain. So let's lift her in prayer. Also being Salvation Wednesday, let's pray for the unsaved and for God to use us to reach out in the name of Jesus for them to come to Him.

DON'T HIDE JESUS: "No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, He puts it on a stand so that those who come in can see the light" (Luke 8: 16 NIV)

While we might not put our lamp under the bed, we do some really dumb stuff with it. Let's see, we buy a 100-watt light bulb, you buy one that is frosted so the light is not so hard on your eyes, then you put it in a lamp and put a shade over it. Our wagon wheel lights (and we have four of them in our great room) -- each one has four lights on it, and each at one time used a frosted 100-watt bulb and then had a frosted glass over that and then a shade. Now they do not look as nice, but they have bare bright 35-watt bulbs in them, making more useable light. Looks bad, but works better.

HOWEVER, the lamp on the stand, the light on the table, is not what Jesus was teaching us in this lesson. In fact, there are several lessons in this scripture. Let's look at them over the next two or three days. First, let's look at our personal light, the light we put out just as we live. Now this is really not mentioned in this scripture, but I think it fits well. Jesus is the light of the world, and we are to take the good news of our Lord Jesus into all the world. When we invite Jesus into our lives, when we become born again, when we have the personal relationship with our Lord Jesus, we, believe it or not, are going to glow a lot brighter then we did before. A half-empty glass should become half-full ... a little bit of food, clothes, even your money, will grow if you invest it in God and His work.

Now, I have run across people who say they are saved, but yet they are so negative about most everything you start to wonder, not judge, but wonder, are they saved? How could someone know and trust Jesus and be so down on most everything? I know people like that -- are they saved?? I am not really sure. If they are, they for sure are putting the lamp under the bed, or under the rug ... putting it out of sight. I have said this before and I will say it again ... If you are going to work for Jesus, and we all have been ORDERED to do just that, why are you hiding His light? If He is in you, shine, baby, shine. Let your personality glow in Jesus. If you are a grump, if you are a downer type person, and you go up to someone and tell them about Jesus, what do you think they are thinking? Might it be this ... "gosh, if that is how you are when you know Jesus, I don't want anything to do with it". Think about that, is it not true? Also, there are people who are able to go to work and just refuse ... and more and more are getting on that band wagon each day. I know people who sit at a computer all day at home, answer email after email and say they cannot sit in an office. Most everyone can do something, even the older and retired. Do you know you can work for Jesus, after all He is the one who is feeding you, putting clothes on your back, and giving you air and water. You can work for Him just by the way you live -- yes, you can. Jesus set examples as He walked this earth about how to live, and we can also set examples. You can let the Jesus light shine forth for all to see. Don't hide Jesus under your bed. Let Him come out through you. Don't put Him in the trunk of your car and drive light a nut Drive safely and let His light shine. IN ALL YOU DO, DO IT LIKE YOU ARE SAVED AND ARE DOING IT FOR JESUS ... for the bottom line is ... Jesus does know all we do, and we must someday own up to all of it.

Dear Lord, I want Your light in me, and I want it to come out bright. Help me with this today. I am proud of You and I want all to see that I love You, help me show it in the way I carry myself and the way I live. Lord, I pray all on the line are praying this in faith. Comfort Helen as she suffers the loss of her K-9 friend. And Lord, may we all work for You today and everyday. Help us as we pray today for the unsaved and work to bring them into Your arms. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Go forth, sharing your blessings, and yes, your blessings are part of the light of Jesus, so let it shine ... Love ya, dan .