Let it SHINE ‘til Jesus comes!

Matthew 25:1-13

Well, this is gonna wrap it up for the little light series. It has been a humbling experience to know that God has used me to remind others to shine His light. Thank you for all of the comments, but all of the glory goes to the source of our eternal light!

During one of the recent storms that came through, our power went out. Adam did the usual…went in search of our oil lamps. He brings one into the bedroom and hands it to me. He said, “you are foolish” 🙂 (referencing the parable mentioned above). We were very low on oil in all of our lamps. It would not have been a big deal, but we were in the middle of a Boggle tournament. Let me just say, Boggle is the only thing that I can beat Adam at…. occasionally. He gives me some stiff competition though! We tried to play one of our sets that night. The light was so faint that you could barely see the letters or write without being right on top of them. It was aggravating!

Adam has written many times that he feels that we are living in the last days. I agree with him. The world is getting darker and darker. It will become harder to let our lights shine, but it is the most crucial time. In the parable of the 5 wise and 5 foolish virgins, we read that half had gone the extra mile. They brought extra jars of oil. They were all ready for the moment, but only half of them were ready for the long haul. When the bridegroom came, the foolish ones were not prepared. Throughout the Bible, oil is often times symbolic for the Holy Spirit. The wise virgins were full of the Spirit….full to overflowing since they had extra jars of oil with them. They led a life dedicated to filling themselves with eternal things and not temporal things of this world.

Wise ones are full of knowledge from studying God‘s word, have a close relationship with their Lord through prayer, and keep themselves ready no matter how long the wait may be. The foolish ones are depending on others to keep them “lit”. They have a confession of faith, but their lives do not reflect a close relationship with the Lord. They may depend on Mama or Granny to pray for them or the preacher to minister to them. They go to church when the tough times hit, but when things turn around for them, well, they start to slack off again. They are trying to borrow oil from someone else…..and that will not work. Jesus is coming for those that are IN LOVE with him, not the ones that are clinging to a prayer they prayed years ago and do not act on it.

Do you know how hard it is to find lamp oil in the middle of summer? When I went to buy some, so we would be prepared for the next time, I had to go all over the county! (Finally found it at Fred’s in Westminster for those of you who are wondering.) We are prepared for the next power outage. Spiritually, we have to be prepared! Slowly, our religious freedom is being silenced. Pastors already face persecution when they openly speak against homosexuality and other hot topics from the pulpit. We can’t pray in public unless it is to an unnamed god without facing opposition. I’m afraid this is only the beginning. How far will it go? That’s what we have to be prepared for….are you ready? It will become harder and harder to “find oil” in the days to come.

In the last day’s God has promised to “to pour out his Spirit onto all people” (Joel 2:28). He wants to fill us to overflowing! He will demonstrate His power in supernatural ways. All over this world, God is moving in awesome ways in the lives of His people. We have seen miracle after miracle just in our local congregation as we have begun embracing a life of prayer. I believe this too, is only the beginning! Only when you step into the light and walk in it will you find forgiveness, joy, love, peace, and many other benefits that our Bridegroom has and wants for us to enjoy. He longs to come for you, his precious Bride, and spend eternity together! He is jealous for you….he wants a Bride that is totally, completely, hopelessly in love with HIM. He is coming for you!!! Prepare yourself…..dwell daily in His presence and let his sweet anointing drench you!

Let it shine ‘til Jesus comes!

Tonya