Fanning The Flame

Saturday, February 1, 2025

Good morning, LordFather in Heaven, I seek You first-Your peace-Your knowledge and discernment. Build my trust. I take up my cross and follow...In Jesus' name…

Memory verse: Psalm 139:23–24 (ESV)

23  Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! 24  And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

Verse of the Day: Deuteronomy 6:4-5

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Fanning The Flame

Hebrews 12:29”For our God is a consuming fire.”

2 Timothy 1: 6 “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”

The Spirit of God gives us a spirit of power-a spirit of love-a spirit of self-discipline. All three come together-power, love, self-discipline.

Power and love- Matthew 28:18 

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

”God is love”(1 John 4:8) 

All the power and love lives in us in the person of the Holy Spirit of God along with the Spirit of self-discipline.

Here is our part-our responsibility-to employ the discipline God has delivered to us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling(Philippians 2:12 ).

Do you have a problem with self-discipline? Many, many of us do have a lot of work to do cultivating good self discipline.

I am reminded of verse 11 in Isaiah 17 where it says, “The day you begin cultivating, you do what you can to make it grow; the morning you begin planting, you do what you can to make it sprout.”

We must do what we can from our side to grow as much as we can in our faith. Strain and strive to grow in Christ Jesus. There is a whole science in building and stoking a fire in old locomotives. It takes hours to get a coal fire burning the right way to build steam-but then it takes hard labor to keep it going.

Jesus went through the hardest part for us. Our job is to be diligent-to cultivate-to really grow in Him. Each tiny step the Lord may lead each of us through has to be repeated over and over. This is where we must be diligent in fighting off the attacks of the enemy in stealing our attention. One little foothold and our minds and hearts are off chasing another rabbit that the world has thrown in our path.

We must always remember that the fire in us needs tending and this begins with unceasing prayer-cultivating God consciousness.

Whatever it is that keeps you from being conscious of God-keeps you from growing in Christ.

Seek, listen, learn, grow, strive, wrestle...and “after you have done all to stand, stand firm then...”(Ephesians 6:13&14)

...because He loves us…

Father in Heaven,

Your name is all. May your kingdom come in my heart and my obedience with it. Give me great desire to be all You want me to be and lead me away from the wicked desire for the world.

Consuming fire and sweet Lord,

In the name of Christ Jesus,

Amen