My Beacon of Hope

2 Timothy 2:21, If you keep yourself pure, you will be a vessel God can use for his purpose. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.

I grew up attending a Southern Baptist church where an old preacher in a polyester suit preached to your fears shouting, “Turn or burn! Repent or be sent!” at the top of his lungs. Our appointed leader barked behind a large, hand-crafted, pulpit that stood high above rows of hard wooden pews, filled with judgmental Christians. For an hour, and sometimes longer, we ourselves were judged. I was baptized at Mill Park Baptist, in Portland Oregon, and still hold true to values taught to me by great men who lead there. Not being a preacher myself, I choose not to preach the, “Fire and Brimstone” message to people I know and/or meet.

After the Air Force and my brief schooling in computer science at UNLV, in Las Vegas, I moved to Reno and took work at a real estate office. One of my many “primary” duties was to install and continue operating the company’s secure network, and wireless network. With wireless technology, in a large office, you use handy little gadgets are used called repeaters. Repeaters take the signal from the main wireless router and re-broadcast it, thus extending your wireless range. It’s not as strong as the original signal, but it extends its reach, with each repeater that is in place.

I like to take the good of what I learned while attending Mill Park Baptist. And there was a lot. The main message I still hold true to my heart is, God is love. You can feel love as its energy flows between two people. Picturing God as the main transmission of this pure energy, I pray to be His repeater. May His grace flow through me to show the world His love and glory. I don’t chose words that paint a picture of a fearful existence that awaits those who choose not to follow Him. Instead I try to see a light of hope that radiates from Him, through me, that touches the hearts of the masses that He puts in my path. It is a light and love they will feel as the energy raises hairs on their necks and gives them pause to wonder what it is that I have, that their souls thirst for.

He is my beacon of hope, my transmitter of love, and radiator of grace. I am just another repeater in His network of children. May I serve Him well.

Galatians 2:20, I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.