Letting His Light Shine Through: Confessions of a Wicked Man

By Kalin Mallernee

Letting His Light Shine Through: Confessions of a Wicked Man is a story of hope and redemption, as well as a call to arms. This book could also in ways be described as an instruction manual of sorts for new/young Christians. As we navigate through our Christian walk, we are going to have seasons of vast spiritual growth, change, and inevitable sorrow, shame, or grief. How we handle the latter will inevitably cause either more spiritual growth or cause us to lose focus on the Lord given our circumstances. At times it may feel as if you are just spinning your tires, but I assure you God is with you. He is refining you in the fire that you may become purified and as precious as gold. Trials are a given when it comes to growing spiritually; Peter, James, and Paul spoke of this (1 Pet. 5:10 NIV, Jas. 1:12 NIV, and 1 Cor. 10:13 NIV).

I feel called to bring to light the need for transparency in Christian leadership and just as importantly in our personal relationships. The reason for this is quite simple; making our struggles, sin, and temptations transparent to others is encouraging. We don't have it all together and that's okay! We are all sinners, and I firmly believe that as followers of Christ we are to act that way. I'm not advocating in the name of sin. I'm advocating in the name of the one who bore our sin. What I've come to learn over the years, and it took many, is that "God never wanted perfect; he just wanted my heart" (Cory Asbury).

Whether we like it or not, the world we live in views us as hypocrites. They see us as hateful, spiteful, and bigoted. Not very surprising given that many of us are. I know that stings a little, but that's because it's so true. I think if we spent more time focusing on sharing the good things God has done, is doing, and will do we could change the world. We all have opportunities in our own lives, workplaces, and communities to share the love of Jesus. But here's the thing; I believe that if we are more transparent with our real feelings, own sin, and the transforming love of Jesus, only then will the world see Christianity the way that we see Christianity.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098063337

Book preview

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Letting His Light Shine Through

Confessions of a Wicked Man

Kalin Mallernee

Copyright © 2021 by Kalin Mallernee

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Transparency of Sin and Death

Making God the Father’s Holiness Transparent

Making the Justice System of God Transparent

Grace Unleashed

Transparency in My Own Addictions

Transparency of a Self-Identified Womanizer

Being Transparent to the LGBT Community

Making Satan’s Deceptive Tactics Transparent

Hollywood’s Impact on Modern Society

What Can We Do to Counter Our Culture?

How to Love like Jesus

How to Disciple Like Jesus

The Overchurched and Underdiscipled

Let His Light Shine through You

Preface

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if everyone was being 100 percent transparent and you knew what they were thinking in that exact moment every single time? What if you knew what your spouse was thinking in the middle of that argument you had this morning, or what it was that seemed to be bothering your pastor as he preached last Sunday’s sermon? I heard recently on a local radio program that a small child, when asked, What is a saint? the child responded quickly with, A saint is someone that the light shines through. After being given this mental picture of light beaming through the panes of stained glass, I began to see the true nature of transparency. As someone who has always valued transparency in the church community and at the pulpit, this struck a chord with me. I began to realize that transparency, by its very nature, allows light to pierce through even in total darkness. Imagine a world where others around you could see and fully understand the spectrum of your sin, addiction, fear, and even anxiety. What if they could see how God can move into those places in our lives and make Himself more real to us than ever before? Ask yourself this question: how can I be more transparent so that I can let the light of Jesus shine through me? I’m not talking about being transparent in every aspect of your life with everyone in it; this would be complete and utter chaos. I’m speaking more on the topic of transparency in leadership, discipling, and our relationships with the ones we love most and even our enemies. Transparency breeds trust, unification, and most of all people find it easy to connect to a shared weakness (Craig Groeschel). I believe what is most important when you are in leadership and/or actively discipling for the kingdom is that we have a healthy balance of transparency in sin and death, as