Stoke the fire

Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. – 2 Timothy 1.6

I enjoy a good cozy turf and wood fire in the hearth. I like the smell and the crackling and the ambiance. It just adds to those cold winter nights. But, it takes work to keep the fire going. Sometimes the fire grows dim and can even look like it is going out. When that happens you need to stir the embers and add more fuel and even blow on the fire to add more oxygen. You stir the fire back to life.

Paul reminds Timothy that he was given spiritual gift of the ministry. The gift of the ministry is like that fire. If we don’t keep it stirred up the fire it will slowly drop to a glimmer and then go out.

The longer we are saved the easier it can be to let our fires dwindle. We get weary. It gets tiresome. Sometimes we just don’t want to bother and a kind of lukewarmness creeps in. When that happens we are pretty much useless we can stir that fire up again.

Keep that fire going. Feed it with the breath of the Holy Spirit and the fuel of the word. Let it warm the hearts of those who know your. Draw others to the fire by the warmth of this gospel.

Don’t let it die down to embers. Keep the fire roaring!