Welcome to day three of our journey through consecration in this Year of Light.

So far, we’ve established two foundational truths:
First, that we are called to be sold out to God, fully consecrated in every area of our lives.
Second, that our devotion flows from understanding who God is, what He has done for us, and our desire for deeper intimacy with Him.
Today, we address another essential truth: you cannot shine alone.

Let’s paint a picture.
Imagine a single candle burning in a dark room; it gives off light and wards off darkness but its reach is limited.
Now, imagine a hundred candles burning together in that same room. The brightness would be incomparable. The darkness doesn’t just retreat at this light; it is completely overwhelmed and subdued.

This is the power of community and this is God’s design for His church. We are not meant to be isolated flames struggling to stay lit on our own. We are meant to burn together, our lights combining to create such a radiance in our world and generation that cannot be ignored.

At salvation, you did not merely receive the Holy Spirit. You were born into a family—the family of God. This family is bound together not by natural descent, cultural affinity, or shared interests, but by the blood of Jesus Christ and the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. A bond that transcends time and holds firm for all eternity.

Romans 8:15-16
New King James Version
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’

16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”

You have been adopted into the household of God. You possess brothers and sisters in Christ. You are part of a family that spans heaven and earth.

Ephesians 3:14-15 says
New King James Version
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.

From this text, we can see that the family we were born into at salvation is not just a nice idea or a metaphor; it is a spiritual reality. Just as a natural family functions optimally when its members remain present, engaged, and supportive of one another, so does the family of God. We are designed to thrive together, not in isolation.

In our generation and digital age, the temptation toward isolation has never been stronger. Many believers say/think, “I go to church on Sundays. I listen to sermons online. I pray by myself. I study the Bible on my own. I worship God in my secret place. God is everywhere, right? So why do I need community? Why do I need a church?”

Yes, personal devotion is essential. Your secret place with God is non-negotiable. But according to God’s design, there is still a vital place for spiritual community. You cannot sustain what God has given you without the support, accountability, and edification of your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Gathering and being with a body of believers is not a supplementary addition to your Christian life, something you engage with only when convenient. It is central, foundational, and essential to God’s design for how you walk out your faith and sustain the light He has placed within you.

Think back to the picture of the burning sticks. A single stick removed from the fire will quickly lose its flame. Not because the stick itself is defective, but because it was never meant to burn alone. In the same way, when you isolate yourself from your church community, your light begins to dim. Not because God has withdrawn His Spirit from you, but because you have stepped away from the system He designed to keep you burning bright as light in this world.

Hebrews‬ ‭10‬:‭24‬-‭25
New King James Version
24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,

25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

So, how exactly does a local church/community help you sustain your light and live consecrated in this Year of Light?

1. Through the Teaching of the Word
Ephesians 4:11-13
New King James Version
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,

12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

God gave ministry gifts to the church, not as titles or positions of honor, but as spiritual gifts to equip you, to build you up, and to bring you to spiritual maturity. In your spiritual community, you sit under teaching that grounds you in sound doctrine, protects you from deception, and helps you grow in the knowledge of Christ.

You are not expected to figure everything out on your own. God’s design is that you are taught, equipped, and built up by those He has placed in the body to serve in this way. When you isolate yourself, you cut yourself off from this vital source of growth.

2. Through Correction
Throughout the New Testament, we see the apostles correcting and instructing the churches on various matters—speaking in tongues, communion, salvation by faith, holiness, and more. The aim of this was to keep the believers walking in truth and shining as light in the world.

Galatians 3:1-3 shows Paul correcting the Galatian church:
New King James Version
1 “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?

2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?”

Paul loved these believers enough to confront them when they strayed from the truth. And because they were in community, they received the correction that brought them back to their first love.

In a spiritual community, you will receive correction that realigns you when you’ve veered off course. Not condemnation, but loving redirection that keeps your light burning in the right direction. Because when you isolate yourself, you become vulnerable to deception, compromise, and spiritual drift.

3. Through Accountability
Proverbs 27:17 says:
New King James Version
17 As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

Iron sharpens iron, but only through contact. Only through friction. Only through honest, sometimes uncomfortable, engagement.

If you are a part of a consistent, spiritual community, you have brothers and sisters who know you well enough to ask the hard questions: “How is your prayer life really going? Are you walking in integrity? Where are you struggling? What are you hiding?”
These are not invasive questions; they are loving questions. They are the questions that keep your light from dimming when you’re tempted to compromise.

Accountability provides mirrors that reflect your blind spots and confront the issues you’ve chosen to ignore or are too afraid to face alone. This kind of relationship requires vulnerability. It requires trust. It requires intentionality. But it is absolutely essential for sustained consecration to God.

You need to understand that simply being a nominal member of a church will not sustain you. Showing up on Sundays, sitting in the back, and leaving without engaging—that’s not community. That’s spectatorship. You must move beyond surface-level interactions to authentic relationships where you can be known, challenged, supported, and sharpened.

Remember, you are light. But you were never meant to shine alone. When you connect with other believers, when you submit to teachings, when you receive correction, when you walk in accountability, your light doesn’t just stay lit. It grows brighter. And when many lights come together, burning in unity and consecration, the world cannot help but see.

This Year of Light is not just about your individual walk with God. It’s about how you shine together with the body of Christ. It’s about being so connected to your local church family that when one person’s light flickers, others are there to reignite it. It’s about creating an unstoppable blaze of God’s glory through a unified, consecrated community.

So ask yourself today:
– Do I have a spiritual community where I am an active participant, not just an attendee?
– Do I sit under sound teaching that equips and builds me up?
– Am I open to correction when I stray from the truth?
– Do I have friends in the faith who can hold me accountable, who know my struggles and celebrate my growth?
– Am I being vulnerable and intentional in my relationships with other believers?

If you can’t answer these questions with confidence, it’s time to pursue deeper connections within the body of Christ. Along with your New Year’s resolution to grow in the faith, know that you need your brethren to finish and go strong. You cannot walk this journey of faith alone, and more importantly, God never designed you to.

In this Year of Light, commit to shining together. Commit to a community. Find a local church and be committed there. Commit to the structures in that church/community and give yourself wholly and entirely to it. This is God’s structure for your growth and sustenance.

And finally, commit to being the kind of believer who not only receives from the body but also contributes to it, encouraging, correcting, and supporting your brothers and sisters as they do the same for you.

This is the Year of Light, let us shine together! Taking the world territory by territory with the power and the glory of God.

Prayer Point
Father, thank You for the family You have placed me in through salvation. In this Year of Light, help me to embrace the advantage of a spiritual community. Give me the humility to receive teaching, the grace to accept correction, and the courage to walk in accountability.