2 Timothy 1:6-7 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 gave us a spirit not of fear but of
power and love and self-control.
There is a lot to be said for being consistent. In
competition sports it is often the team that stays the course with consistent
team-wide performance that gets to the championship game.
When I was praying and looking for topics that go along with
“light” I was given the 2 Timothy 1:6-7 passage. 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 gave us a spirit not of
fear but of power and love and self-control. When we fan into flame the gift of God,
amazing things can happen. Do remember anyone laying on hands for you? Chances
are it happened in baptism. Chances are you also have been given a measure of
reassurance when a friend or family member reached out and touched you to
reassure and comfort you. Or, maybe you were given a Cindy Nafzger hug. Cindy
has great hugs. My point is, that on occasion when the flame of the gift of God
flickers dimly in our hearts, we need the flame to be rekindled. We seldom know
when a simple hug, a kind word or an offer to pray for someone will be just
what is needed. The interesting part of faith and being a believer is that we
are free to act upon our faith. We act out of love and caring for others. We do
not have the concern of having to log a specific number of actions to earn our
salvation. Jesus paid for that on the cross. So when we reach out in love it is
sincere and not out of some form of obligation.
When we look carefully at our faith we can grasp more firmly upon how we
can we act on our faith. “for God gave us
a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. That last part
of the 2 Timothy 1:6-7 passage lets
us know we have the power, and love and self-control to do what we need to do.
We have the ability to share the love of God, to fulfill God’s will in our
lives and not be hapless victims blown about by the winds of this world. With the power, love and self-control we are
free to share God’s love. We can act on our faith.
1
John 3:18 reminds us of how to act on our faith. Little
children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. When we act on our faith we grow from the experience
and we share the love of God with others who may just need to have their faith
fanned into flame.
PRAYER:
Father, Your love for us is amazing. It is steadfast and enduring. Help us Lord
to fan into flame the faith poured into us by Your Holy Spirit. Guide us to
those who are in need of that touch or kind word or encouragement. Let the
flame that is our faith serve as a beacon to others. This we ask in the name of
the Light and the Life of all mankind, Jesus, Amen.
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