Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Make a Difference with Writing—Keep Your Light Shining


by Katy Kauffman @KatyKauffman28

The light in the sanctuary grew steadily in the silence. Adults and children alike handled their stewardship with care—to keep the light shining. A sacred tradition, candlelight passed from person to person in the Christmas Eve service that I watched online. Once every candle was lit, the pastor, Dr. David Jeremiah, stood at the front and led everyone in a simple but poignant song for the moment—“This Little Light of Mine.” 

Each lit candle symbolized a person who could make a difference. Just as the candlelight illuminated the people’s faces that evening, my heart was illuminated with inspiration to make a difference for God and His kingdom. I may be one person, but I can do my part. And when I join with you, fellow writers, to write for God in this generation, our combined light shines brilliantly for the world to see. This precious little light of mine, how much do I let it shine? 

In the darkness of this world, God urges us to keep the light going. His Holy Spirit nudges us to pass on the light we’ve been given. 

How can we be faithful stewards of God’s light in four vital areas of life—our words, our actions, our knowledge, and our prayers?

Make a Difference with the Light You Have Been Given

1. Our Words

As you write, pull from the understanding God has given you of Scripture, life, and Himself, and write about a topic you’re passionate about. Help your target audience by answering a question, solving a problem, or meeting a felt need. Share how you needed the light of God’s truth to persevere and what He did to provide it. Depend on the ability God gives you (1 Peter 4:11) to minister to those who need the light.

2. Our Actions

We stay committed to the truth by practicing it. As writers, we have the privilege of learning from the Light of the World and sharing His light with others. Dirty lanterns don’t radiate much light. The way we keep our “lanterns” clean is by living the truths we’re writing about. A life that backs up the words we share is a powerful force for good in this world and a confirmation that what we say, works. A changed life is an inspiration for others to accept God’s light.

3. Our Knowledge

I love my GPS’ satisfying conclusion of every trip I take—“You have arrived.” Yet even the apostle Paul didn’t claim to have “arrived.” In Philippians 2:12 (NKJV), he says, “Not that I have already attained or am already perfected, but I press on.” As writers, we press on to new heights of spiritual understanding and heart transformation. We constantly seek to grow in our knowledge of both the truth and the writing craft, so we can give excellence in every light-sharing instance. Taking in more light keeps our candles constantly lit. We never stop growing.

4. Our Prayers

“Be serious and watchful in your prayers” (1 Peter 4:7 NKJV). Staying close to God in prayer keeps us close to the source of truth and guides us as we write. Prayer prepares the writer to write and the reader to read. God knows which words to use for which audience. He knows how to weave the dazzling colors of His light together to create a brilliant shaft of truth that penetrates the darkness, revives the soul, shatters lies, and chases away evil. Praying through every project unleashes His power in our writing. Then we know that our words came from Him.

We can make an eternal difference for God and His kingdom. Which of the four ways above do you think would help writers to shine the best for God? 

Book Giveaway: If you comment on this post by Friday, February 21st, at 2 pm, you will be entered into a drawing for a new book, The Power to Make a Difference. Published by my family’s company, Lighthouse Bible Studies, this book shares strategies, insights, and encouragement in forty short Bible studies written by twenty-seven authors. The four sections discuss the power of words, the power of doing, the power of knowing, and the power of prayer. So be sure to comment! I’ll pull a name for our drawing on Friday afternoon and announce the winner in a comment on this post. Then I’ll contact the winner for a mailing address.

Keep making a difference for God, dear writer. Keep your light shining. 

TWEETABLE

Katy Kauffman is an award-winning author, an editor of Refresh Bible Study Magazine, and a co-founder of Lighthouse Bible Studies. She loves connecting with writers and working alongside them in compilations, such as Heart Renovation: A Construction Guide to Godly Character, which was a 2019 Selah Awards finalist and Director’s Choice finalist. She is planning a sequel to another Selah finalist, Breaking the Chains (2017), titled Sustaining Life’s Victories.

Katy’s writing can be found at CBN.com, thoughts-about-God.com, the Arise Daily blog, and two blogs on writing. She loves spending time with family and friends, making jewelry, and hunting for the best donuts. Connect with her at her blog, The Scrapbooked Bible Study, and on Facebook and Twitter.

26 comments:

  1. Absolutely Ms. Katy! And thank you for keeping your light of Christ shining brightly for the world to see young lady. God's blessings ma'am for all your encouragement and teaching.

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    1. Thank you for the encouragement, J. D.. God bless your ministry!

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    2. I love this short story. It totally draws me to what my web site might feel like to someone. You are an inspiration to me. Thank you for sharing your heart.
      Nita Lopez

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  2. Great post, Katy. #2 (living the truth) is NOT easy even though we write, read, & pray about it. It really helps to use the old "birds of a feather" method and surround ourselves with others with the same struggle. Like any support group (or critique group), we give and we get - and we LISTEN when they speak. We know they truly care and understand.
    Jay Wright; Anderson, SC

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    1. Amen! Surrounding ourselves with fellow truth-followers helps us especially in the difficult times. Thank you for your comment!

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  3. Every time I write or speak, I ask God: what is it you want them to hear? We can be conduits for His blessing just by being open to His leading. Great article, Katy! Love you!

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    1. I love that question to ask God, Julie. I want to follow His leading too. Thank you so much. I love you too! :)

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  4. I pray I will always shine God's love to others. A simple smile, a hello, a prayer. Many, many ways to show God's love. :-)

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    1. Yes! I want to remember the everyday simple ways, and not get caught up in my schedule or to do list. Thank you for sharing that, Melissa.

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  5. Thank you for letting God's light shine through you, Katy. Blessings.

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  6. All four ways are important, but prayer keeps our focus on God and tunes our hearts to hear from Him. Thank you, Katy, for highlighting the significance of each one doing our part well to honor the Lord.

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    1. I thought you would like the prayer one, Jeannie! I am glad you liked the post, and thank you for being in this compilation.

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  7. Thank you, Katy. You always provide great insight.

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  8. I really love praying for other writers. It's an honor for me to pray for them. I also try to diligently bathe my words for God in prayer as well, because I want them to be the words He wants me share. That being said, that I think "prayer" is my favorite one you mentioned above, I did especially love this whole paragraph: "As writers, we press on to new heights of spiritual understanding and heart transformation. We constantly seek to grow in our knowledge of both the truth and the writing craft, so we can give excellence in every light-sharing instance. Taking in more light keeps our candles constantly lit. We never stop growing." And it's quite pertinent as we're entering conference season!

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    1. Yes, it is! I am so looking forward to conference season. Thank you for sharing those things, Julie. I love to pray for writers too, and I try to start every time I write with a prayer, asking God to guide me. As we press on to new heights, I think about a mountain. We can scale it with God's help, and the view from the top is worth the climb. It works that way with godly character. Every moment of striving for a new level of commitment and faithfulness is worth it. Thanks for spurring that thought!

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  9. All four are great reminders of how to faithfully steward God's light. I believe it all starts with prayer which makes way for our words, our actions, and our growing knowledge in His word. Thanks for this post.

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    1. Thank you for saying that, Donna! Prayer is so important for the reasons you said. And you said it beautifully.

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  10. Our words are so important and having a book like this can remind us that we need to be ever watchful of what comes out of our mouths and to also use Gods Word to build ourselves up.

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    1. We do need to be careful, and His Words comforts, strengthens, and restore us. Thank you for your comment, Barbara!

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  11. Katy, your written words in your blog posts have been guiding lights for this stumbling writer. Today's message is warm and bright. Shine on in your written words. We need them. God, gave you the ability to teach so Shine on! Shine on!

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  12. We have a winner! She's Julie Coleman! Your name was picked in our drawing, Julie. I'll contact you soon! Thank you to all who commented. May God bless you as you make a difference!

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  13. Thank you for these great reminders about living a life that makes a difference. I love your line, "dirty lanterns don't radiate much light," the emphasis on prayer, and your tips for helping our audiences. Thank you.

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