Stir into Flame

“Stir into flame the gift of God bestowed when my hands were laid on you.” 2 Timothy 1:6

When I started in the Charismatic renewal, I and my family attended several Life in the Spirit Seminars. We would join rallies and fall in line to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. I do not know how many times we went to the front to receive an anointing. I can’t remember how many times hands were laid on my head. 

I knew that God had stirred my Spirit when I had a hunger for His Word. Every line from the Bible became rhema, every phrase would jump out at me, and I would underline and make notes in the margins until my Bible fell apart and needed rebinding. 

In the 1st to 3rd chapters of Revelation, Jesus asks John to write letters to seven churches. In 2:4, we read, “But I have this complaint against you. You have abandoned the fervor of your first love for me.” This is a sign of the end times. More and more people will turn away from God. More and more will lose confidence in the Gospel. Truth will no longer be absolute, subverted by agnosticism. Meaninglessness will prevail. 

Saint Paul reminds Timothy and us to stir into flame the gift of God. We should not allow the flame of our love for God to die down into embers or charcoal. We should not be complacent, ok with the status quo. Lord, help us to persevere in running the race. May we always set aside time in our busy day to connect with You and learn at Your feet.