Wednesday June 15th

2 Timothy 1:6,7 …fan into flame the gift of God… for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Through Jesus, we have the gift of God’s Spirit. The One who spoke the universe into existence dwells with us and in us. He is constantly present and working but we are often blind to his mighty presence. Like Peter, walking on the water, we are distracted by the wind and waves. We take our eyes off of God and the distractions of self become all consuming. Anxiety about work, family, money, and future becomes normal. The pursuit of our desires becomes routine life. This is not the gift we were given. This is the flesh nature consuming the gaze of our soul. The gift God gave us, the gift we are responsible to fan into a flame, is a Spirit of confidence, not in self, but in God.

So how do we fan this flame? First, we have to do whatever it takes to stop feeding the fire of our own flesh. If I struggle with pornography on my phone or computer, then my phone or computer must go. If I struggle with addiction to drugs, I need to go to treatment. If I struggle with self-image, I may need to cut out the magazines and TV that fuels that fire.

We have come to accept the tragic and scandalous lie that that we can fuel the fire of our flesh and then just magically pray for the fire of the Spirit. If we fuel our flesh nature, it will burn out of control and it will quench the fire of God’s Spirit in us. If however, we give to God the fuel of our lives, his Spirit will grow in us. I am responsible today to do whatever it takes to fan the flame of God’s Spirit in me. Today, I will read, pray, meditate and obey. Today I will fan the flame of God’s Spirit in me.