Today's Passage - 2 Timothy 1:6

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english 2 Timothy 1:6   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.   I once had a born fire with the youth group in a camping trip. After pouring oil onto the wood, we lighted the fire and what a beautiful sight it was.  But after a little while, the fire started to fade as the ashes slowly formed and the fire was never the same again.  The fire was burning strong again after the ashes had been removed and burning amber piled together.   For the fire to remaining burning strong, removal of the ashes is a cumbersome but necessary task.  The same is true to our spiritual lives.  When we begin to experience God, we are like a new fire.  As time goes, we let the fire in our heart slowly cool down.  The fire of many Christians is like a fire fly - bright as it looks but lack the  warmth  when holding in our hands; it cannot start a fire nor can it provide heat - quite lukewarm.  Even though we do not let the fire go cool on purpose, we often overlook the need to remove the ashes.  What appeared to be a pile of strong burning amber initially is now only a feeble fire covered with ashes.    Paul, therefore, suggested that we fan into the flame the gift of God. "Fan" in the original text means to remove the ashes.  When we experience God's blessings, we are constantly reminded to fan our flames and remove the ashes by the help of the Holy Spirit. Christians who store these blessings in the cold are like those having their refrigerators filled with such blessings without knowing they have put a damper on God's blessings.  Never let your hearts cool down, nor should you stop serving God but remain fervent and keep your desire in serving Him.     When praying for gifts in our church, we are praying not for our own good, but for the good of our church asking God for a large measure of gifts so that the fullness of Christ can be manifested.  For we know when Christ returns, He does not want to see a handicapped and an unhealthy church, but a church that is victorious, glorious and vibrant.  This is often our fervent prayers asking to receive this gift from God, and a desire to serve our brothers and sisters with submission.   The more you serve, the more your heart will be "burning" for our Lord!                 Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we thank you for all these different gifts and blessings.  We have often allowed ashes to pile up in our lives; we pray that you will once again light us up, strengthen us and renew our zealousness in serving you.  With thanks we pray, in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!