Posts Tagged ‘fan into flame’

The Morning Munch: Fan Into Flame, Fire Building

Posted in Bible Study, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 14, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Yes FM Morning Munch

January 6th

Audio File 

Fan Into Flame, Fire Building

 

It is the sixth day of January, the year is no longer quite new.  If the statistics mean anything New Year’s resolutions are already beginning to fall by the wayside.  Yesterday we talked about Paul’s New Year’s resolution for Timothy.  “Fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline”   I believe two things about this statement: 1. Paul was bringing Timothy back to the moment of his conversion, to the moment when he first felt that overwhelming presence of the Holy Spirit in his life 2. The frustrations and struggles of this new church’s leader reflected a larger struggle within the church itself.  This is the same church that Jesus himself would address through the Apostle John in Revelation

 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. (Revelation 2:4-5)

The language is different but the message is the same.  That intimate, powerful burning relationship that you had with the Holy Spirit at the beginning of your walk with God, rekindle that flame.  And why do we want to rekindle that flame, because it is the flame of a Spirit of Power, a Spirit of Love a Spirit of Self-discipline.  It is the Spirit that dwells in those who have been adopted as sons and daughters of the Living God.  It is the Spirit that came upon the Judges of Israel fulfilling the promises of God.  Othniel, Sampson and Gideon all defended Israel by its power against overwhelming odds.  Gideon is one of my favorite stories in Judges.  Here is a man that was hiding in a pit when God spoke to him but when the Spirit of the Lord came upon him he (somewhat reluctantly) kindled that spark into a flame that would save his people and do it in such a way that God’s hand in it could be seen by all.  As wonderful and amazing as all of those stories are, the really thrilling thing for us as brothers and sisters in Christ is that it is no longer a matter of the Spirit coming upon us, God has given us this wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit entering into us as a an ever present source of power, love and self-discipline.

Paul, always the systematic writer, doesn’t just leave us hanging with this call to rekindle God’s gift of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Join me as over the next few days we take a look at Paul’s Guide to Spiritual Fire Building in difficult times.

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The Morning Munch: Fan Into Flame

Posted in Life and Ministry, tagged , , , , , , , on January 12, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Yes FM Morning Munch

Audio file Link

January 5th

 

Make it New!

Day 1

 

Of course we all know as we go into the New Year there are those pesky New Year’s resolutions.  All the things that we are going to change…all those things that we are going make new in our lives.  Results of an University of Scranton study done a few years ago indicate that only 8% of New Year’s resolutions are brought to a successful conclusion (yeah I know what else do they have to do in Scranton…).

Paul the Apostle knew a young man who was struggling to succeed in his New Year’s resolution to faithfully serve God as the shepherd of a new church plant in the tough, tough city of Ephesus.  In fact Timothy just a couple of years earlier  wanted to quit and rejoin Paul but in response to this request Paul says “As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines” (1 Timothy 1:3).  What follows is the first of what we call the Pastoral Epistles as Paul lays out some tenets for his young protégé in effective ministry.

Fast forward a couple of years and we see that Timothy is still struggling.  Moreover Paul knows that his mentoring days are coming to a close.  An unstable emperor will soon send Paul home to be with the Savior he loves above all else.  It is with this in mind that Paul opens up this second letter with a New Year’s Resolution that would carry Timothy into his old age and even to martyrdom.

“3 I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day, 4 longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”

The New International Version says:  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.

From the burning bush to the pillar of fire to the flames of Elijah Water Soaked sacrifice to the flames of Acts 2, fire has represented God’s active presence in the lives of men for thousands of years.  Paul reminds Timothy that the gift of God’s active presence in his life is the key fulfilling his commitment to serve God in Ephesus.  This active presence is the Holy Spirit and it is a gift made to each and every person who comes into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, accepting Him as Lord and Savior of their lives.  Fan this gift into flame, kindle it afresh and see what God will do in your life in 2015.

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Blogging

Posted in Life and Ministry, tagged , , , , on March 25, 2010| 1 Comment »

    I have experimented with blogging before and it has never lasted.  Encouraged by the example of some good Christian men in my life I am going to take another stab at it.  Perhaps along with the daily Bible study that has become a part of my life this will also take root and grow.  I chose the name of my blog from I Timothy 1:6.  It is perhaps my favorite verse in the Bible.  I live to use the gifts that God gives to create light in this dark world.  I am learning that “fanning into flame the gift of God” is not a piecemeal affair.  I cannot develop my gifts in their own separate compartments.  I recently was deeply touched by a piece of scripture that illustrated this point clearly to me. 

Exodus 21:5

5 “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ 6 then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life

My service to God is a complete package.  I love my God!  I love my Wife!  I love my Children!  These cannot be separated.  And yes God did lead my get my ear pierced (that was a personal struggle I may deal with in a separate post!  I do not promote or encourage this.  It was an intensely personal decision spurred by my relationship with God.  No doctrine or spiritual panacea for the Christian walk is suggested or implied.) as a testament to my own stubborn tendencies.  Every day I look in the mirror and this passage rings in my ears.  It must be the order of my life!  Only then can the flames rise to be seen by all around.  Well I am going to keep this first post short if not sweet.  Hopefully I will do better this time than I have in the past.

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