Walking in the Light

May 24, 2016 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

Click above to listen to Walk in the Light as you read. This is the title track from my very first album of Scripture inspired piano in 2001.

How do you know if you are walking in the light?

This question can have a lot of good answers. Last week while filming some music videos in south Georgia, I captured the image below. It is a beautiful symbol of how life brings light and darkness. By faith, we are called to walk in the light.

Isn’t it interesting how the setting sun draws our attention in the photo? We know there is darkness in the world, in life, and even in our hearts. This darkness, and the dark storm clouds pique our curiosity, but we are drawn to the light.

Here are four ideas to consider, which help me know if I am walking in the light…

1. Walk in the light of God’s peace. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

2. Walk in the light of God’s rest. “The Lord replied, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.'” (Exodus 33:14)

3. Walk in the light of God’s hope. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

4. Walk in the light of God’s healing. “Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.” (Isaiah 58:8)

Reflecting on these truths refreshes and encourages me. I hope they do the same for you. There is light, God’s light, beckoning to us in the midst of life’s storms. I would love to hear from you if this is especially meaningful to you today. You can send your comment down below.

Which idea for walking the light shines the most for you?

Here is the inspirational verse for the song Walk in the Light: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)

31 Days of December Peace: Day 26 ~ The Skyride

December 26, 2012 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

The new 31 Days of December Peace eBook is available for only $4.99. Download at stantonlanier.com or the Amazon Kindle Store.

Every December, high atop Georgia’s Stone Mountain, there are long strings of lights fashioned to a tall pole, arranged in such a way that from any part of the city of Atlanta, it looks like a giant Christmas tree.

Stone Mountain is just what it sounds like, an enormous mountain of granite that rises almost 900 feet into the suburban Atlanta sky. It’s got a carving of three confederate soldiers on its face, the largest carving of its kind in the world. And all around the mountain are tourist-friendly activities. A train, a riverboat, even a 3-D movie and mini-golf.

There’s also the Summit Skyride, high-speed Swiss cable cars that transport passengers from the base of the mountain to the top. Skyride operators collect tickets, load the cars, and press the buttons that put the whole process in motion. In college, this was one of my jobs. I was a Skyride operator for an entire summer, and when Winter Break hit, I went back for a few weeks to earn some extra money.

In December, the Skyride operator had an additional responsibility. One operator per day got the opportunity at dusk to flip the switch that powered the lights of the Christmas tree. With one motion light shined to an entire city. Nearing the end of my 3-week holiday stint, I finally got my chance to turn on the Christmas tree. I’m pretty sure Christmas day had already passed, but I didn’t care. I was excited about the privilege of powering it up. On that night, I brought the light of Christmas to an entire city. Never mind that it was a simple task and if I had not done it, any other minimum-wage-earning chump like me could have accomplished it.

I think that was part of the beauty of it. Becoming a source of light to others didn’t require a fancy job, expensive degrees, or full bank accounts. It just required a willingness to serve and a single touch.

Christmas is a reminder to all of us that God has brought light to the world. Without the birth of Jesus and the glory He carried into this broken planet, there would be no peace on earth in December or any other time. Through Jesus, God reached down and touched humanity. And that touch illuminated not just the city of Bethlehem, not just the world at that time, but it provided light for all cities, for all times, for every person, forevermore. Jesus didn’t have a fancy job, a college degree, or a lot of money. His parents didn’t even have a room to stay in upon his arrival. He was born and placed on hay in the rough rock of an animal feeding trough.

And that moment continues to be the pinpoint that opened a dark world up again to a flood of the brilliant and beautiful and breathtaking light of God.

May the Light of the world bring peace to you and your city this December.

31 Days of December Peace: Day 12 ~ Finally Home for Christmas

December 12, 2012 By Stanton Lanier Leave a Comment

The new 31 Days of December Peace eBook is available for only $4.99. Download at stantonlanier.com or the Amazon Kindle Store.

Esther looked out her window at the gathering gloom of dusk and accumulating snowfall. It would be a long night here at the nursing center and she hoped that tonight her roommate would finally sleep. The long nights of intermittent moans and raspy breathing did nothing to help her own discomfort, tethered as she was to the ever-present oxygen cannula since her last heart attack in June. Her decision to stay here in New England rather than to live with her daughter in the Midwest had been hers, one she was at peace with after much thought and prayer. Yet tonight, despite the colored lights and garland at each window, it hardly seemed like the Holidays here, much less Christmas Eve. Trusting in her Lord and His providential care for her was a great comfort; but the nights here could be so lonely… especially on this night…

Staring into the darkness, watching the swirling, playful snowflakes’ procession on their way to join the blanket below, she could not help but think back over her 89 years to the happier days of girlhood; to the Christmases of days gone by, with the expectation of Santa Claus and presents. There was Mamma’s cooking and Daddy’s stories, all jumbled together with memories of her own children, in like manner, now all grown and gone with young adult children of their own. She thought wistfully of her own dear Bill, of a Christmas Eve proposal and a lifetime of love and sharing. He was now long-gone to be with Jesus and her heart ached, just to see him smile…to hold his hand… to hear him call her “Essie” one more time. Her family, busied with their own children and grandchildren, managed to call fairly frequently these days… always a lift for her spirits. But, it was not like being there, amidst it all, as impractical and impossible as that was now. The cycles of life, intertwined and spinning together like the dancing flakes before her, were always moving, always changing…
Finishing her bedtime routine, complete with her daily Scripture reading, she slipped beneath her covers and sighed audibly. She remembered the baby Jesus, another unnoticed sojourner; a pilgrim forgotten by the very world He came to save. She remembered John 3:16 and thought about the Father’s Gift, the Light of the World, and how strange it must have been for this infant King; our God wrapped up in flesh, to be away from His home… just so we could know Christmas…

Drifting now, headed for sleep, she breathed a wearied but fervent prayer: “Just to be Home, Lord Jesus… Home with You… Home with Bill… just to be Home…” Her breathing steadied as sleep overcame her. The minutes passed; then an hour, then two, as steadiness gave way to slowing, slowing now to a peaceful still.

And somewhere in the blustery, wintry darkness, Light said, “Come,”…and she did!…