Wednesday, October
10, 2012, 5:54 a.m. – When I awoke this morning, before I sat down to have
my quiet time with the Lord, he put this song in my mind:
Have Thine Own Way, Lord / Adelaide A. Pollard, 1862-1934
George C. Stebbins,
1846-1945 / Tune: ADELAIDE ,
Meter: 54.54 D
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine
own way!
Thou art the potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine
own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just
now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine
own way!
Wounded and weary, help me I pray!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine
own way!
Hold o'er my being absolute sway.
Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me!
Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read 2 Timothy 1:1-14 (NIV 1984):
Paul, an apostle of
Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in
Christ Jesus,
To Timothy, my dear
son:
Grace, mercy and peace
from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I thank God, whom I
serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I
constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you,
so that I may be filled with joy. I have been reminded of your sincere faith,
which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am
persuaded, now lives in you also. 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. For
God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of
self-discipline.
So do not be ashamed
to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in
suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us
to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own
purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning
of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior,
Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to
light through the gospel. And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an
apostle and a teacher. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not
ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able
to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
What you heard from
me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.
Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the
Holy Spirit who lives in us.
Fan into Flame
Paul instructed Timothy to “fan
into flame” the gift of God within him. He did not specify what he meant by “the
gift of God,” so I want to look at other scripture references using that same exact
phrase. In Romans 5, “the gift of God” is a reference to the Holy Spirit, to
God’s grace, to Jesus Christ, his righteousness and to our salvation. In Romans
6:23 we learn that “the gift of God” is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. In
Ephesians 2:8-9 we learn that it is by grace we are saved, through faith, and
this not from ourselves, “it is the gift of God…” In Eph. 3 Paul said he became
a servant of the gospel by the gift of God’s grace. And, in Romans 12 and in 1
Corinthians 12 we learn about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as teaching,
exhortation, healing, prophecy, helps, tongues, etc.
So, I want to suggest to you
that “the gift of God” is all encompassing. In other words, the gift is God’s
grace, Jesus Christ, his righteousness imputed to us, our salvation, and
eternal life with God; the faith to believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit, his
fruit and the gifts he imparts to believers. When Jesus Christ first sent the
Holy Spirit to indwell the lives of believers, people often received the gift
of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands. From that time on we receive
the Holy Spirit when we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
Ephesians 5:18 says: “Do not
get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled” (lit: be ye being
continually filled) “with the Spirit.” Once we receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit within us, we are to be continually being filled with the Spirit. If we
read Ephesians 4-5, we will come to understand what it means to be continually
being filled with God’s Holy Spirit. It means to daily put off the deeds of the
flesh and to put on the things of the Spirit of God in our lives. And, there
are numerous other passages of scripture that teach us to put off the deeds of
darkness and to walk daily in the light of the Spirit of God.
To fan something into flame
means to intensify, increase, stir up, and to cultivate (nurture; develop) it. A
flame is a fire, and fire is passion; fervor; excitement; vigor; Spirit;
intensity; and/or energy. And, this fanning into flame the gift of God within
us comes through the daily putting off of our flesh, and the daily putting on
of the things of God through obedience to his commands.
So, we fan into flame our
relationship with Jesus Christ (God) through cultivating the gift of salvation
(grace) and his Spirit within us through time spent in prayer, in the word,
listening to God speak and then in obeying what he teaches us, as well as in
time spent in Christian community in fellowship, the teaching of the word,
sharing in meals with one another, communion and prayer. And, it is in these
times of Christian community (the body of Christ) that we are able to encourage
one another through the usage of the spiritual gifts and Body of Christ
functions (our parts or roles within the Body), which God, via His Spirit, has assigned
and has placed within each and every one of us who are his followers
(disciples).
Not Timid
Paul reminded Timothy to “fan
into flame” the gift of God within him, “for” God did not give us a spirit of
timidity (fear), but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
One of the greatest tools of
Satan against us, and one of the greatest hindrances to faith and to walking in
the Spirit of God by faith is fear. Fear will cripple us and will make us
ineffective in our Christian lives and witness for Jesus Christ. And, Satan
knows our weaknesses and he will pull out all the stops to try to instill fear
within our hearts so that we do not “fan into flame” the gift of God within us.
He will remind us of all our
past failures. He will try to get us to fear the unknown. He will accentuate
all our insecurities taught us or instilled in us from childhood. He will lie
to us, deceive us, and manipulate us and the truth of God’s word to get us to
doubt God and his promises and to believe the lies. His goal is to stop us from
obeying Christ and to stop the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, we
must know the word of God, we must trust what it says, we must know Satan’s
tactics against us, and we must daily put on the armor of God with which to
fight off the attacks of Satan against us (Eph. 6:10-20).
Not Ashamed
This goes right along with the
subject of fear, because one of Satan’s greatest tactics against us is to get
us to fear what other people will think about us, what might happen to us, and what
kind of reputation and/or reception we will attain, etc. We get ashamed of
Christ and his gospel when we are more concerned about our own reputations,
friendships, acceptance, etc., or afraid we might not know enough or might not
say the right words and fear we will fail in our attempts to try to share the
gospel. Jesus Christ said his followers would be hated, rejected, despised,
abused, accused falsely, mocked, ridiculed, persecuted and even put to death
for their faith and testimony for Jesus Christ. We can’t follow Christ and try
to please men, too. It doesn’t work. I know this from personal experience. Yet,
we don’t have to worry about all this or how we will handle it all, because God
has given us power, love and self-discipline through the Spirit of God alive
and at work within us. We can do all things (of God) through Christ who gives
us strength. So, we never have to give in to fear or the temptation to shrink
back from having a strong testimony for Jesus Christ.
A Holy Life
God has saved us and has called
us to a holy life. To be holy means to be set apart for God and for his
righteousness. We were not merely called to be “saved” just so we could escape
hell and go to heaven one day. We were called to a holy life, set apart (from
the world and the flesh) to God, to his righteousness, and to his service. He
has a plan for each one of our lives that he desires to fulfill within each one
of us if we will let him. He didn’t do this for us because we were so
wonderful, but because of his own purpose and grace. Awesome! I know myself. I
know there is nothing in me, that is in my flesh, that would earn or merit God’s
grace to me. I am so undeserving of all that he has done for me. Yet, I am so
thankful!
How do we live this holy life? –
Only in the power and working of the Holy Spirit within us as we cooperate with
that work in our lives. We do this through fanning into flame the gift of God
within us, by not giving into fear, and by relying upon and trusting in God’s
promises to be with us, to give us all we need, to empower us and to uphold us
with his righteous right hand. What does it mean to live a holy life? It begins
at the moment we choose to believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord (master) and Savior
of our lives when God the Father credits us with Christ’s righteousness, and it
continues on a daily basis as we die daily to our fleshly desires and we choose
to walk humbly in obedience to our God. And, it involves complete surrender to
God and to his will for our lives and a commitment to obey him in all things.
Trust Him / An
Original Work / August 15, 2012
Based off Psalm 27:14
Wait for the Lord; be of courage;
Be strong and take heart today.
Do not fear when foes attack you.
Trust in God always.
He will rescue you in times
Of trouble and distress,
He’ll comfort you in all ways
As you trust Him with your life today.
Trust in Him always.
God is with you; He’ll not leave you.
You can always count on Him.
He will fulfill all He promised
Before you began.
His word teaches you
All that you need for this life.
Let Him lead you. Open your heart;
Let his truth envelope you today.
Listen and obey.
Love your Lord God; follow Jesus.
Repent of your sins today.
Make Him your Lord and your master;
Trust Him and obey.
Follow Him where’er He leads you
In His service; be His witness,
Telling others about Jesus’
Price that He did pay
For your sins always.
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