Matthew 5:14-16
Jesus Christ is the "light of the world" and God has commissioned His church to reveal that "light" as clearly and brightly as possible. He expects our individual churches to serve as lighthouses, beaming the truth of Jesus Christ throughout our nation. He calls us as believers to be part of a local community of faith and to help magnify the "light."
In order to be useful, lighthouses must be visible. God tells us to minister visibly as a church so those who are lost can see the truth - Jesus is the only way. (John 14:6) Lighthouses are also used to warn of danger; they are placed in strategic spots where there is real peril. We must be willing, as a church body, to serve wherever God identifies spiritual danger. Lighthouses give a sense of direction. Jesus commanded us to preach the Gospel, giving direction to the lost, and to make disciples, giving instruction on how to follow Christ. Finally, lighthouses are to present a clear light that shines steadily in the darkness. A constant light shines as we who make up the church align our thinking and our actions with God's Word.
We have been reluctant as churches to shine our light where it is unwanted - in our governments, in our communities, and even in many social situations. We do not want to offend. But we have forgotten that when we refuse to give out "light," we are offending God. Let us be sure our church's light is in working order and that we are part of its work as God's lighthouse.
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Charles Frazier Stanley was born September 25, 1932, in the small town of Dry Fork, Virginia. The only child of Charley and Rebecca Stanley, Charles came into the world during a time when the entire nation felt the grip of the Great Depression. To make matters worse, just nine months later, his father Charley died at the young age of 29.
However, Charles refused to let the Great Depression or the difficulties of his life define him. Instead, like his father and grandfather before him, he clung to God’s Word and took up the mantle to preach the gospel to whoever would listen.
Dr. Stanley’s motivation is best represented by the truth found in Acts 20:24, “Life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about God's mighty kindness and love.” This is because, as he says, “It is the Word of God and the work of God that changes people’s lives.”
Dr. Stanley’s teachings can be heard weekly at First Baptist Church Atlanta, daily on “In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley” radio and television broadcasts on more than 2,800 stations around the world, on the Internet at intouch.org, through the In Touch Messenger, and in the monthly, award-winning In Touch magazine.