It’s not the lamp!

​Dear Father God, I am in the process of making a bold decision with my for-profit leadership coaching practice, and I want to gain confirmation that I am doing the right thing with my plans to be more overt regarding the Biblical basis for my services that I provide...

Dear Father God,

I am in the process of making a bold decision with my for-profit leadership coaching practice, and I want to gain confirmation that I am doing the right thing with my plans to be more overt regarding the Biblical basis for my services that I provide to the secular world. This scripture this morning is giving me additional courage and direction:

16 “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. 17 For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. 18 Therefore, consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them.” (Luke 8:16-18) Lord God, please help me to see if I am heading in the right direction.

Dear child, your plans are noble and just. I will be with you as you more boldly declare the basis for all your wisdom you have acquired over the past 35 years in leadership coaching. You are right to give me credit for this wisdom.

Yes, Lord. I have no wisdom of my own. It is all you. Anything good that I have ever done is because of you. Whatever happens as I place this lamp out for the world to see, I am sure you will provide the strength and courage to deal with the anticipated negative fallout. I think I will lose some clients, some people will not hire me because of the website and all that it will have which will show clearly “who I am” (a child of yours, Father God, Christ Jesus, and Holy Spirit) and to “whom I belong” (the One True God). I have never shared my faith in Christ so openly before with my work in the secular world, and I do expect some backlash. However, I also think Christ-followers will be more attracted to working with me, so over time, my client mix may change to be a higher percentage of true Christ-followers. Working with this population is much more enjoyable as well, for the work I am doing ties more closely into fulfilling the “make disciples” part of your Great Commission.

Lord God, this is a huge decision for me, and one that is going to test my willingness to face persecution. I am sure I will have detractors as I am more overt about my faith in you. It is definitely stretching me out of my comfort zone, which is fine. But I want to make sure you are one hundred percent behind this strategy. I don’t want to do this in my own strength. Please stop me along the way if this is not of you.

Child, this is not as big of an adjustment as you may think. After all, it is just words on the page of a website.

Yes, Lord. But I have a lot of questions around this and how to structure all of it. It is complex to me.

Child, it will only be complex if you make it complex. You often complicate things and over-design things. Keep it simple.

Yes, Lord. Words of wisdom. A simple lamp will throw the same light as an intricately designed lamp. For the light is you. The lamp that holds the light is not as important. You are the power. You are the light. I remember Pastor Steve’s sermon where he had a very nice lamp that was not plugged in, and a very cheap, basic lamp that was plugged in. Only one produced light. If I stay plugged in, the lamp holding the light is of little consequence. Please help me remember this key fact, and to keep this website simple. I do tend to over-complicate things!!!

CONCLUSION

1. It’s not the lamp. (Christ can use any lamp)
2. Christ is the power. (It is not up to us and our wisdom and knowledge)
3. Christ is the light. (We are not here to have the world think that we are the light)
4. Whatever lamp we use is not the point. (Taking credit leads to spiritual pride, which is deadly)
5. We need to stay plugged into the power source: Christ. (Christ alone!)
6. We need to give all credit for anything good we do to the source: Christ (He is our sole power)
7. Without Christ, we can do nothing! (We must remain humble, teachable, and willing to get out of our comfort zone to be effective servants of Christ)

​Thank you, Lord, for this time with you this morning. Help me stay fully plugged into your power, and may your light shine brightly, and may I stay out of the way of casting any shade on your light, for You are the sole Light of this World. Amen.

Your aspiring servant,

Daniel M.

August 14, 2023

POSTSCRIPT: Dear friends, if this daily transparent “Conversations with Christ” blesses you, please go to www.SOLIDpastors.org, where you will find these posted, and a repository of all, in English and Spanish. Note: For ease of reference, all scriptures quoted are from the NIV.

If you ever want to chat, you can reach me at [email protected]. May Christ bless you richly as you have your own intimate, daily conversations with Christ.