Why Light on a Lamp Stand?!

'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.' Matthew 5 v 15

This verse from Matthew is where I derived my Blog name from. This week the leader of Maranatha, Jeremy Francis, spoke about this verse and how it can be true in each of our lives and I realised that I had never truly explained why I had chosen this name for my Blog! So here's a Blogpost on the reason why!

Jesus spoke largely in stories, proverbs and parables as a way for the everyday man and woman to understand what he truly meant. To a group of uneducated farmers he spoke in terms of sheep and shepherds or sowing a field with seeds or working in a vineyard. These were all pictures which represented bigger aspects of faith, but became approachable due to the metaphors. The lamp was a daily aspect of life, due to the obvious lack of electricity, the lamp would often be the only source of light for a family for a long night. Jesus really shows how ludicrous it would be for a family to light their lamp and then hide the light- plunging their household into darkness but also chucking a lot of fuel and money down the drain. Instead, the family would place the light in the most prominent and obvious place in the room, allowing all people in the room to see what's in front of them.

So what does this metaphor actually mean to us in our daily lives?
'Don't hide your light under a bushel,' is one phrase often said to someone who may be quite shy and reserved meaning - 'don't hide what you've got to offer!' I think the British are possibly the worst people in the world at accepting a compliment or saying positive things about themselves. I think possibly some people feel the need to remind people how awful they are and that some how that makes them more holy! Feeling rubbish about yourself is not what God wants. According to God we are a new creation, we are 'fearfully and wonderfully made,' we are chosen and there doesn't need to be this negativity about ourselves. Part of putting the light on the lampstand is confessing who we are in Christ and that is not a negative thing- that is very, very, very positive!

Secondly, it is not being ashamed of Jesus. Jesus said: 'I am the light of the world,' so what greater light to put on a lampstand than him. As Jeremy said this week, it takes more effort to attempt to cover a light then it does to just allow it to shine. As Galatians 2:20 says, 'it is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me,' if we allow him he can take up shop within in us and we can just let him flow through our everyday actions. This will help us to love that homeless man on the streets who needs a cup of coffee, or speak to the lady on the bus who obviously needs someone to talk to. If we attempt to stop and squash this light within us not only does it require a huge amount of energy, but it isn't the best thing for us. Just allow him to work through you and as the Christian band Delirious once sung:

'I'm not ashamed of the Gospel, I'm not ashamed of the one I love!'

It's about relationship and allowing Jesus to use you for good and great things.

 


The reason I have 'Lightonalampstand' as my Blog name is because I really want this Blog to shine out what is within me. I don't want to hide the fact that I am a Christian and have a relationship with Jesus and one of the best ways to tell people about this in a way which is approachable and not scary for both parties is to share via the massive world that is the internet. Hopefully these Blogposts challenge you to look at the world in a slightly different way, and if just one person does this then job done as far as I'm concerned. Keep seeking. Peace out. <3

'The Holy Helper' :)

John 14 v 15 'If you love me you keep my commandments and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans.You will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.'

What an incredible promise! Not dependent on if we keep his commandments but on our love of God, relationship. So who/what exactly is this Helper which Jesus promises those?

The Holy Spirit is arguably the most neglected or misunderstood part of the divine trinity. As we see through this passage, the Helper AKA the Holy Spirit is both the presence of God and inward dwelling. It is like God in us, that small, still whisper which speaks to you in your thoughts. In cartoons, the Holy Spirit would be like the little angel on the person's shoulder, helping them to make the right moral decisions. If you look at the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was given to specific people for a specific role. However, look to the New Testament, you see those who have a relationship receiving the Holy Spirit and keep on receiving it. It really is a 'ask and it shall be given to you,' no matter who you are, if you have a relationship with God, you can receive his Holy Spirit. As Acts 2v38 states: 'Repent and you will receive God's gift, His Holy Spirit,' and what a cool gift to receive :)

So what role does the Holy Spirit play?
Well as previously mentioned, the Holy Spirit can be your conscience, that little angel sat on your shoulder helping you to take the correct path. As Ephesians 3 v 16-17 states:' he may grant you his spirit in your inner being so that he may dwell in your hearts..being rooted and grounded in love.' The Holy Spirit can really be that tool to help you remain grounded in love.

The Holy Spirit also helps us how to pray. Sometimes, I just completely run out of words and can get hugely distracted. One moment I'm 100% focused on Jesus, the next I'm thinking about what slice of cake I fancy with my cup of tea (Gaz's parsnip cake is all I can usually think of .) However, God has given us our Helper! In Romans 8 v 26 it states: ' For when we do not know how to pray, the spirit himself pleads with God for us.' So when we are struggling with prayer we can just ask the Holy Spirit to help us! Awesome.

The spirit also helps us to live more like Jesus. 'The Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control,' (Galatians 5 v 22-23) What amazing qualities to possess and I can't think of anyone who more inhabits these then Jesus. If we have the Holy Spirit living in us, these should just be by-products, but again if we are struggling with any of these (I often struggle with patience! Which is very important when working with children and young people!!) we can ask the HS for help.
Lastly, the Spirit equips us with different gifts in order to glorify God's name and to empower his church of which I will go into more detail.

Ok so we have established that the Holy Spirit is the presence of God in us, a member of the trinity he is God but in a different form, like with water you get ice, water and steam, with the trinity you get God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. However, I think it's important to briefly mention what the Holy Spirit is NOT.

The Holy Spirit is NOT a spiritual vending machine! It makes me feel really uncomfortable in meetings etc when individual's are solely focused on what they can get from the Holy


Spirit. Recently, people have spoken to me saying 'Let's get drunk/mashed on the Holy Spirit!' The Spirit gives gifts for equipping the church. The spirit encounters individuals to help them change for the better. The spirit is NOT there to help people have a fun Saturday night and he is NOT there for individual's to hunting experiences.

Secondly, the Holy Spirit is NOT something to be scared of. Receiving the Holy Spirit and encountering him in your life is an intensely personal thing. Personally, when I receive the Holy Spirit it is more of a sense of peace. I have a friend who every time he receives, he falls flat on his back! God knows you. He knows what you would find too weird and what you would find comfortable and the Holy Spirit is never going to make you scared and confused. He is described as a counselor, a friend, not something to be feared.

So if you've never given the Holy Spirit a go, he is a wonderful tool, a great friend and an amazing gift from God- invite him into your life today!! Peace out! :) xx

Prayer

Recently, prayer has really been on my heart. In Trowbridge we recently did a 24 hour prayer day at Bethesda Baptist Church and I lead 2 slots, one for youth and one for Maranatha and it really rekindled my love for prayer. Why is it always seen as boring? Isn't it often seen as a chore? Why is that?

So firstly, what is prayer? 

Prayer is the communication with a divine and holy God. A God who is above us all. 

Luke 9 v 42 says: ' They were all amazed at the mighty power of God.'

In the Old Testament, only the very select could speak to God on a one on one basis. The priests who were special men from a special family from a special tribe from a special people were the only ones who could intercede between God and man. The priest would have to go through many sacrifices and cleansing ceremonies in order to be worthy- talking to God in the old testament was a HUGE deal. 

However, since Jesus became human, he has become our intercessor between us and God. He petitions for us and we can now have a constant relationship with God through the use of prayer. Isn't that amazing? Do we sometimes take for granted the fact that we can talk to God so freely? Makes you think twice about prayer doesn't it!!

So, Why should we pray?

There are two main reasons why we should pray to God on a regular basis. 

From a solely logistical point of view because God told us to  

Ephesians 6 v 18 says: 'With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.'

God can't answer prayer unless we ask. The bible says 'knock, and the door will be opened,'  yes God already knows what we are going to say but he needs us to ask for it! I am always reminded of the parable in the bible of the persistent widow, who asks and asks and asks and asks the judge until he eventually gives in! What a brilliant picture of what our prayer life should be like!! ( Though we should always ask-your will be done God, sometimes it's not God's will for us to win the lottery unfortunately!!)

From a more fundamental point of view, prayer builds relationship with God. 

Have you ever built a friendship or relationship without having some form of conversation?

It's pretty impossible right? So how can we have a relationship with God if we don't talk to him?

In John 15 v 7 it says: 'If you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like and it will be granted!' Pretty awesome promise...

So how should we pray?

Like talking, everyone has a different way which they find praying comfortable. There is no certain 'holy' posture. In the bible people pray in many different ways. In 1 Kings 8:54 Solomon knelt down, in Matthew 26:39 Jesus prayed flat on his face. In 1 Kings 8 v 22, Solomon prayed standing. Some people prefer to have their eyes closed, I quite like praying with my eyes open. Any which way, pray how you feel comfortable, don't feel that God will only listen to you if you get into a particular body shape!

Importantly, prayer is about your heart. In Mathew 6v7, Jesus tells his disciples about the importance of avoiding praying to look good to your peers. He states, 'when you pray don't babble on!' Praying isn't about making your words sound poetical or posh, it's about talking to your heavenly father. Remember how holy he is, but also remember you have a relationship with him! If you were talking to your Dad you wouldn't use as many posh and long words as possible would you?

So what is needed to make a successful prayer? What do you need to check before you begin to pray!

You have to WHORF! (Ok it's a rubbish acrostic word.. but it's the best I can do!!)

You must have:

Wholeheartedness- In Jeremiah 29 v 13 it says: 'You will seek me and you will find me, because you sought me with your whole heart.' 

As I said previously, God is all about the heart. He cares about what your thinking and how your feeling.The best way to work out whether you are wholehearted, is to be the opposite of halfhearted! Put your all into prayer, focus solely on the activity of prayer and don't be distracted by Facebook or your phone or whatever. Also,be real with God- say what you are feeling! Some of the Psalms are so heartbreaking and are really crying out to God, but God appreciates you just being you. He made you the way you are... so of course he's going to like it!

Next- is Humility! In 2 Chronicles 7 v 14 it says: 'If they call to me and turn away from their sins,then I will hear them in heaven.' As I said previously, being praying to a huge, mighty and divine God is such a privilege and praying to God with that level of respect and seeing him as having the authority is so important! Let's not pray to God with a list of things he can do, but thank him for all he has done. Thank him for this horrible rainy  day as he still made it!

O is for obedience.1 John 3 v 22 says: 'We receive from him because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.' One of God's biggest commands is... forgiveness. In the Lord's pray it states, ' forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.' Is there anything we need forgiveness for? Now is the time to ask for it!

R is for righteousness, James 5 v 16 says,'The prayer of a good person has a  powerful affect!' Righteousness is being right with God. One of the best ways we can be right with God is being right with other people. Before we pray we should apologize to anyone who needs to be apologized to. We should think if there's anyone we aren't 100% happy as larry with and sort that out! Have you ever tried to have a conversation with someone, knowing there's something stopping you from being honest with eachother? Let's forgive other people and be right with God before we speak to him!

F is for Faith, Mark 11 v 24, 'When you pray and ask for something, believe you will receive it and it will be given to you.' There is no point asking for something if you are half expecting it not to happen! If you struggle with faith..ask for it! 

 Now these qualities are what makes a successful prayer... but the most important thing to do is pray! If you can't do all of these pray! If you can't do any of these... pray! Let's just really commit to praying as much as we can and let's see how our relationship with God and those around us improves. :) Peace out! <3