KEEP THE FLAME ALIVE
It all started when we were bbq’ing at a friend’s house over Easter weekend. We planned to cook the damper bread on the open flame of the fire pit, but the fire had died out. In a seemingly automatic response, my friend simply began to blow on the coals. As I joined her, I noticed the coals transforming from dark orange and gray to a fiery, molten yellow. What was dying out had come to life in an instant. It was then that God began to speak to me.
He reminded me of 2 Timothy 1:3-6 where Paul is facing imminent death and encourages Timothy to carry on the ministry and faithfully guard the gospel. The verses read:
“I remember your sincere and unqualified faith [the surrendering of your entire self to God in Christ with confident trust in His power, wisdom and goodness, a faith] which first lived in [the heart of] your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am confident that it is in you as well. That is why I remind you to fan into flame the gracious gift of God, [that inner fire—the special endowment] which is in you through the laying on of my hands [with those of the elders at your ordination]. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control].”
I love how Paul is championing Timothy to fan into flame the gracious gift of God on his life. To not let the fire die out or become dormant, but to give it room to breathe & allow it to burn in order to accomplish what God intended for the gift to accomplish through Timothy’s life. The Amplified Version always gives a bit more description to each word, and I kind of really like that.
Because there’s an inner fire in all of us. We were created with it. God set gifts inside of each of us; different gifts, special and unique gifts. Ones that you may or may not even be aware of yet—but there’s something inside of you that comes alive when you hear a certain sound or have a specific kind of conversation.. that thing that makes you come alive in an instant? I’m not just talking about strong coffee here either, haha.. I mean, that thing that wells up within you that you can’t stay silent about, that puts a smile on your face.. THAT gift. That’s part of the inner fire you were uniquely made to house, hewn & share with the world.
The thing about these flames is that though they’re in us, they’re not just for us. We aren’t meant to keep them to ourselves or keep silent. We’re meant to fan them into flame and share them with the people around us, our community, our families, our friends. There is a gift that God’s placed on your life that isn’t meant to stay hidden or silent. And as much as God is the one who promotes and brings opportunities our way, it is our responsibility to FAN those God-given gifts into FLAME. To keep the flame alive! Not just try and stoke it up when we get the call up, not just throw some fuel on it when we need to use it, but to keep that slow burn happening so that the fire is always ready, at any moment, to be used for what it was created for.
LOOK UP TPT VERSION & FOOTNOTES.
V6 >> Gifts are not given in full bloom; they need to be developed through use.
V6 >> “fan into flame” or kindle anew in the Greek is a verb, present tense, the mood is INFINITIVE, and the voice is active. It means to rekindle, resuscitate, to kindle up, inflame, one's mind, strength, zeal, to be enkindled, to gain strength.
What stifles the flame?
--our WORDS >> our self-talk can either fan the flame or put it out altogether. Our words can stifle the spirit’s spring, what are we speaking over ourselves? What are we THINKING over ourselves? Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, but our minds shape our every action, and our actions become our habits, our thoughts either set us free, or they become strongholds.
--our THOUGHTS
--Pampering our flesh >> allowing our emotions to run our lives, not doing things because we don’t feel like it waiting until we “feel” like it before jumping in.
2 Timothy 1:7 & Ephesians 1:19 “POWER” is the same = DUNIMUS
Isn’t it much the same in our own lives? God lights the fire, but we are the ones who must fan the flame to keep it burning. In the Amplified version, it notes that in ancient times, embers were kept slowly burning so that they could keep fanned into flames when a fire was needed. The ancients didn’t wait for a need to arise before they lit the fire. In preparation, they kept the coals burning so that they were ready when an opportunity presented itself. It was a consistent, slow-burning fire.
- what’s your slow burn?
- What’s your discipline?
We need that daily, continual fire in our hearts, but how do we do that? In the passage above, verse 6 cross-references to Luke 4:14 which states, “Do not neglect the gift you have,” and to 1 Thessalonians 5:19 which says, “Do not quench the Spirit.” By definition, “quench” means “to extinguish (a fire)”. Could it be that we quench the Spirit of God when we neglect the gift He has given us? That we extinguish the fire He’s lit in our lives when we abandon the our gifting whether by comparison, fear or apathy? How different this life, this world would look like if we, God’s children, would quit neglecting the gift we have! This challenges me considerably. How often I’ve been guilty of being too busy to steward well what He’s placed inside of me--too lazy to make time for my vocal warm-ups or lessons, or simply sitting down at the piano and write like I used to. It’s like walking over to the coals and throwing water directly on them. No wonder my soul aches when I haven’t been writing. No wonder I feel empty, drained or even emotionally clogged when I haven’t been operating in the gifting God’s given me. I extinguished the fire of my heart, and I didn’t even know it.
POINT 2: This week alone I’ve given more time to Netflix than I have in the Word.
God’s Word – oxygen on the flame.
ANOTHER POINT--We need others to help us fan the flame.
Fear dwells in the darkness.
LOOK UP WHAT THE ORIGINAL TEXT MEANT WHEN KEEPING THE FLAME ALIVE FOR WHAT IT WAS MEANT FOR; READY SO THAT IT COULD BE USED AT ANY TIME.