How can I use my talents to glorify my Father in Heaven. As I was thinking about this question, I began to picture a room filled with darkness. This room is so dark you cannot see your hand in front of your face. Then I pictured one candle being lit in this dark room. I thought of how much light one little candle can produce. The dark room is engulfed with light from one little candle. Then I pictured two or three candles. Think about how much light is produced by two or three candles. The dark room is completely lit. The darkness is removed through the awesome light that shines in one, two, three or more candles that are brightly burning. These candles represent God’s children. When his children gather in darkness and use their talents for God’s glory, the darkness vanishes and the light takes over. This is awesome. As we use our gifts and talents to glorify the Lord we are destroying the darkness. WOW!!!! What a image!!! As I was thinking about this I heard one of my favorite songs.
GO LIGHT YOUR WORLD
Verses:
There is a candle in every soul. Some brightly burning, some dark and cold. There is a spirit who brings the fire. Ignites a candle and makes his home…CHORUS. Carry your candle, run to the darkness. Seek out the hopeless, confused and torn. Hold out your candle for all to see it. Take your candle and go light your world.. Frustrated brother, see how he’s tried to Light his own candle some other way. See now our sister, she’s been robbed and lied to. Still holds a candle without a flame… CHORUS. So carry your candle, run to the darkness. Seek out the lonely, the tired and worn. Hold out your candle for all to see it. Take your candle and go light your world… We are a family whose hearts are blazing. We raise our candles and light up the sky. Praying to our Father ” In the name of Jesus. Make us a beacon in darkest times!” … CHORUS . Carry your candle, run to the darkness. Seek out the helpless, deceived and poor. Hold out your candle for all to see it. Take your candle and GO LIGHT YOUR WORLD!!
Let’s destroy the darkness with the talents and gifts that our Father blessed us with. Use our gifts and talents FOR ALL TO SEE. Take your talents and GO LIGHT YOUR WORLD!!!!
thedailylily.com 
Wendy, your blog brings a renovation of my thought pattern on Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus gives us a similitude on light by saying that “You are the light of the world. A City that is set on a hill cannot be hidden nor does one light a candle and hide it so others can’t see by it.” I hear Jesus saying in contemporary language, hey there, the ones of you that are living a righteous life you are now brighter than Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. When you keep your light in the same room as others that are in fellowship with Me there is no darkness. As you said Wendy the dark room is completely lit.
This also brings to mind the words of Isaiah 60 “For Behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you.”
Looking more and more like we have to stick together in a room so there will be plenty of light. Maybe we should all move in with your Mom! Could you ask her?
Thanks, this is very encouraging!
Youv’e got me thinking about candles chickenfarmer …footcandles that is!
In the plant world light has power to produce change and is measured as footcandles. A footcandle is the light that one candle produces 1 foot from its source. For example,poinsettias require 2,000+ footcandles during the day to produce good color and bloom. Using 500 will produce a negative change…tall spindly plants and weak colors. Conversely, poinsettias require absolute darkness for 12-14 hours a night for 8-12 weeks in the fall in order for a powerful chemical process to complete its cycle each night and cause the poinsettia to bloom for Christmas. The darkness has to be so dark that just 1/2 of a footcandle (that’s 1/2 of a candle shining in the dark!)can stop this process cold in its tracks and prevent that poinsettia from ever blooming, or at very least, from blooming on time. Now that is the power of light! Romans 1:20 tells us that God’s attributes are understood by the things that He has made. Nature teaches lessons about God, so I agree with chickenfarmer that a lit candle is a powerful tool in God’s hand.
The sun produces about 10,000 footcandles for the plants of this world to grow and fourish. Matt 13 says that the “righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father”. And that is 10,000 candles of power to ‘light our world.’
Debi, since you understand this. I guess you are saying this footcandle is how you understand “Don’t hide your candle under.”
Could you give us an example of how this footcandle gave light to darkness in your life when you followed this process. Did it lead others to salvation? Did it start a spiritual revival in your church? Did it bring spiritual growth to your family?
As you can see from my questons I have a hard time understanding footcandle.
To attempt to answer in illustration: years ago I was like a poinsettia plant trying to stay alive under low-light conditions…a couple of footcandles at best. I was weak (both mentally and physically),my growth was supressed/depressed (I was literally very depressed and could hardly function with everyday life) and I saw myself as of no value. But then you, Sara, shown a lot of sun light on me, through your Biblical teachings and prophetic words. Slowly I got stronger and healthier as your light showed me my gifts that God gave me and how to use these primarily hands-on gifts of working with plants, playing guitar and singing along, doing and giving, etc. Rather than a useless poinsettia, taking up valuable space in the greenhouse I became more marketable.I was able to use my gifts to go to work, teach others how to do these things and do many other things that could contribute in some way. Adding my gift to work along with others in my church whose gifts were developing produced a brighter light so I learned the value of bringing your gifts (or candles) together to accomplish things that make a contribution to lives for Christ.
I am at a point in my process now where I see a personal growth need to effectively communicate the Word of God to others not just use the hands-on gift if I expect to see salvation, revival and growth.
I came away from ‘The Dance of Healing” retreat this summer that you taught with a personal growth challenge that I to “connect the Word you have learned to a picture, an idea and speak the power word forward. Throw your light forward.”…..”throw yourselves forward for others to glean”. And the picture on the page where you wrote that was of 7 candles in candlesticks throwing their light forward all together. Yesterday’s growth is good and part of the process but today’s needs demand more…more footcandles forward so there is some fruit from the flowers of the plant to show.
I can understand this better since I am a ‘people person’ and I have seen your growth and now an even greater growth because you are starting to act a little like Oprah telling it straight.
It is very good and as one would say a coming up a little higher when one can express themselves and show growth together. I guess like “show and tell.”
This all reminds me of a growth chart many of us have used for our children. A mark on the wall when age 5 and they start school. A mark on the same wall when they are 12 and think they are all grown but a year or so later a mark on the same wall and what happened 4 more inches showed up. And oh how we as children mostly loved those marks! We should get as excited when we chart our spiritual growth and “show and tell it.” Hope you take the time now and enjoy this season of life. 🙂
As a Sunday School Teacher Wendy, this also reminds me of the song, THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE. We often sing it. It goes, This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine. This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Shine all over (wherever you live), I’m going to let it shine. Shine all over (wherever you live), I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Don’t let Satan blow it out. I’m going to let it shine. Don’t let Satan blow it out. I’m going to let it shine. Don’t let Satan blow it out. I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. Shine until Jesus comes. I’m going to let it shine. Shine until Jesus comes. I’m going to let it shine. Shine until Jesus comes, I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine. The words are so simply, but so hard at times to carry out on a day to day basis. May we all not give into the world standards or be swayed by its lurings. May all Christians collectively be the light God has called us to be. May we hear from many of you out their who are candles in the darkness. Come join us on the Daily Lily. Thanks Wendy
Wendy, since reading your blog on “candles” I seem to hear and read and search for more and more scriptures and teachings on LIGHT. So it seems the Holy Spirit is speaking about the same things to His people. One Scripture that I have read a lot before just hit me in a new way after reading on thedailylily about LIGHT. It is 1John 1:5-8 which says, “This is the message that we heard from HIM and declare unto you that God is LIGHT and in Him is no darkness at all….(darkness being sin, of course)6.If we say we have fellowship with Him and still walk in and/or have darkness, (habitual, continuous sin)we lie and do not practice the truth.7. But if we walk in the LIGHT….AS HE IS IN THE LIGHT…that means with no darkness…then we have fellowship with ONE ANOTHER and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us, perpetually, from all sin. What a wonderful promise. What a wonderful motivation and compulsion to walk in light and confess our darkness and receive the cleasing blood of Jesus.
It almost seems like the Scripture is saying that if we desire the Blood of Jesus to cleanse us from our sins, then WE MUST WALK IN THE LIGHT…HIS LIGHT. And as Wendy wrote, walk in our light that reflects Him…and as Sara says, “throw that light forward”.
Matthew 18;20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them…I thought of this when I read your blog Wendy and it made me think of what happens when as you told us we bring our lights together that the darkness vanishes…It has to vanish because Jesus is Standing there right in the midst of that situation…we are bringing Jesus to that darkness and it has to flee…like one of my talent/gift is to crochet and a lovely Lady Name Violet hers is to do embroidery…our lights were brought together by Saras’ light…(she posted about prematures having no clothes)…so Three lights(not discounting the others doing the same) came together and a family that was in a dark situation of having no clothes to fit their precious baby now have clothes that fit and and its not dark/sad anymore because Jesus is in the midst of that situation coming through our gifts/talents…this is what your blog caused me to think of….you are right we have to go and keep bringing light to the world ..and (each other)…great blog….dj