Walk in the Light.
Dear friends,
Thank you for your loving support of Lamplighter Ministries. We appreciate your prayers and encouragement throughout the year.
This has been one of the most memorable years of our ministry.
+ Our college students at The Masters Guild, have quintupled in size since we started three years ago.
+ Lamplighter Theatre is now heard by a million listeners weekly in 34 countries.
+ Our new podcast Fastened Like Nails has now been adapted into a radio broadcast and two new dramas were produced this year!
We have so much to be thankful for, and we praise God for His amazing love and faithful provision.
Recently our mayor visited and asked what I was giving our students to make them so happy and energized. The answer was simple—Jesus!
We are mindful of God’s hand at work here every single day.
How do we know these blessings are from God’s hand? Answered prayer—prayer has been our life-support this year.
“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”
(I John 5).
Do we face struggles? Of course we do.
As the cost of printing books has doubled, and paper and shipping costs have skyrocketed, we are often faced with financial difficulties, but God…I love that phrase…“but God!” Several weeks ago, for example, our proverbial financial backs were against the wall, and that same day, one of our supportive friends came and generously blessed us with a check that bountifully supplied our needs. We rejoice in God’s goodness!
We have a tradition here that is quite unique.
Every time we receive one of God’s lavish blessings, we ring our church bells. The entire village for several miles can hear them ring. Another local church has their bells ring every three hours according to clock time. Our bells ring at such random times that our community must wonder what is going on here. We love when they ask us though—they learn how great and awesome is our God!
I would like to share some of the Scriptures that have guided us and blessed us this year.
God used each of these Scriptures to teach us something significant that changed us. I hope they encourage you as much as they have encouraged us:
Mark 4: “Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.”
From this Scripture we learned that God expects us to come to Him with an unlimited size measuring cup so that he can fill it to overflowing. God then expects a return on His investment in us; some 30, some 60, and some 100 fold. That means that if you invested $10,000 then your return on investment would be $1,000,000! God expects a lot out of His investment in us. That truth really inspired us to take even greater steps in faith this year.
2 Chronicles 20: “Lord, we do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”
This Scripture doesn’t need much explanation. But it did play an essential role in our lives this year. This was prayed many, many times. I hope you find it as helpful during difficult times.
Exodus 14: “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord your God.”
This is an interesting verse and quoted often. But God actually rebukes Moses for saying this. God tells Moses of move forward rather than standing still. Once they move forward, God begins to work miraculously on Israel’s behalf. It is not easy to live by faith. There are many decisions to be made in a ministry like Lamplighter, and I can see how easy it would be to be stopped in our tracks by indecisions. We are learning! Sometimes it takes marching into the water before God parts the sea of confusion!
2 Timothy 2: “Flee youthful lusts, and follow righteousness, faith, hope, love, and peace, with them who call upon the name of the Lord out of a pure heart.”
This is a special Scripture here at Lamplighter that gets a lot of attention. If we and our students are going to overcome the lustful temptations of this culture, then we need to be calling upon the name of the Lord with others, often!
2 Corinthians 10: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God, to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
This Scripture is at the heart of our calling. We praise God for all of the stories that He has allowed us to publish for His glory that are changing so many lives around the world.
1 John:
The whole letter of I John taught us that if we are going to claim the name of Christ then we need to show the world that we:
Walk in the light.
Have fellowship with the Father and Son.
Have fellowship with other believers.
Acknowledge our sin, confess, and continues walking in the light.
Pray, believing that if we ask anything according to His will, God will hear and regard our petition.
Love one another and love God. The word love appears in I John more times than any other book in the Bible—33 times!
I hope these verses are an encouragement to you as they have been to us this year.
Thank you again for partnering with us and helping us to make ready a people prepared for the Lord by building Christlike character, one story at a time. Have a blessed Christmas and a grace-filled New Year.
Sincerely,
Dr. Mark Hamby
I Cor. 16:9
