Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning

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Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning

by Mary Coppage

Many years ago, I heard a story about a railroad worker who was supposed to signal trains at night or in times of bad visibility with a lantern warning them of any danger. One particular night, there was a train wreck because an oncoming train was not warned of a stalled train on the tracks ahead. The railroad officials investigated but couldn’t ascertain exactly why it happened. During the questioning, the railroad worker on duty confirmed that he was on the job. He said that he had indeed been swinging his lantern. He later confessed to a co-worker that yes, he had been swinging the lantern, but the light had gone out.

Our nation, our world, seems to be getting darker, but the sons and daughters of God, His people, have within us the light of the world. Jesus told the believers present at the Sermon on the Mount, you are the light of the world…a lit lamp is not put under a basket but on a lampstand so it can give light to the whole house. Let your light shine so brightly, He said, that men will see your good works, and when they do, they will glorify your Father in Heaven.

In Jesus is life, and His life is our light. In His name and His name alone is salvation. If any man be in Christ, He is a new creation; old things are passed away, and all things are become new. We are bought by the precious shed blood of Christ, and upon believing and receiving Him, He becomes Savior, Redeemer, and Lord of our lives.

The Word of God is light. It is the lamp unto our feet: a light unto our path. It shows us how to navigate clearly through this present world. It illuminates in us who God is, His love, character, and will; it teaches us who we are in Him and gives us hope and reassurance for the times to come. It shows and admonishes us to do what the Word says, not just hear or read it.

God’s light, grace, power, and love through Jesus Christ is what will bring lasting change on this earth. It alone can cleanse men and change their stony hearts to flesh. Hearts that will love and fear God, that will love and respect their fellow men and women fervently and without fear, will

do the good works that transformed people are called to. In earth’s troubles and pestilences, they will humbly pray, seek God, and repent of any evil way. Their light will shine in a dark and desperate world. They will face problems with the knowledge of God’s will and Word and refuse to play by the adversary’s rules. Will all men come? No, probably not, but God’s lovingkindness drew you and me to him, and it will draw others. Gird up the loins of your minds, my brothers and sisters. Someone’s trying to get home. Trim your lights and keep them burning.

About The Author Mary Coppage is a native of Dalton, Georgia, where she still resides. She is a licensed minister and a member of True Gospel Pentecostal Church.