Good Morning Friends,
I do not know if you have ever gone camping, I imagine that a lot of millennials have not. But the rule in building a camp fire is to leave a space for the fire to breath. Starting a fire from scratch without a match is a real art. Access to air is essential so packing it so tight is not helpful. In the cold and darkness of the wild outdoors it is a big deal to have fire in your life. And there is a joy in getting it started. There is a focus in its dance and warmth. And there is a motivation to keep it alive and growing that reminds me of the importance of the Spirit in faith communities and the risks of stoking the wrong fires that can destroy. Are You Fanning The Flame Of The Right Passions?
Scripture: Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, To Timothy, my loyal child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I urge you, as I did when I was on my way to Macedonia, to remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach any different doctrine, and not to occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies that promote speculations rather than the divine training that is known by faith. But the aim of such instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith.
1 Timothy 1:1-5 (NRSV)
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I am grateful to God—whom I worship with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you. For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God,
2 Timothy 1:1-8 (NRSV)
He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.” He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.
Mark 4:26-34 (NRSV)
In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his officers and all Israel with him; they ravaged the Ammonites, and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened, late one afternoon, when David rose from his couch and was walking about on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; the woman was very beautiful. David sent someone to inquire about the woman. It was reported, ‘This is Bathsheba daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.’ So David sent messengers to fetch her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she was purifying herself after her period.) Then she returned to her house. The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, ‘I am pregnant.’
2 Samuel 11:1-11:5 (NRSV)
You have granted [the king] the desire of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips. . . . You welcomed him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.
Psalm 21:23 (NIV
I lift up my eyes to the hills– from where will my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.
Psalm 121:1-8 (NRSV)
Message: There is a lot to learn from the life of David. Perhaps the most important is that God forgives. God admired David for who he was and recognized that David was a man after His own heart. David’s story is worth exploring in greater detail for there is in David’s character the reality of a sinner that has the potential of becoming a saint. David has a quality that God is looking for in each of us. He has passion. But as with all gifts they can be used for good or for evil. When David’s story is combined with the Gospel reading today it prompted me to reflect on how things grow, and the focus is not just our emotional growth or our growth in faith or even the growth of plants, but the growth in our relationships and how we remember them spiritually. So, today I am contemplating the whole idea of growing in love. And the thing is friends, being in love is amazing and being in love with God is mind blowing. We were created by God with appetites for this kind of pleasure and fascination. But like a fire it can get out of hand. Growing a fire in our souls or growing a garden in the Spirit is not boring. And we should not settle for a facsimile or imitation of this though earthly gardens are fulfilling too. Think of the burning bush and how the experience changed Moses. The thing is that many people do not know what they are missing when it comes to a love relationship with God. And yes, we are meant to be stunned and awestruck by this experience and meant to be amazed and captivated by God’s glorious light of life. There is no earthly substitute. For here God’s Holy Spirit shines a light in the flame of our faith. There is no saint without a past and no sinner without a future. That is the message of David. He is an example both good and bad of what it means to be a human seeking the Kingdom of God. He is proof that our God looks beyond appearances into our heart. So simple that a child can understand. You see a child sees and remembers. It may be in one ear and out the other, but it is never in one eye and out the other. A child sees that prayer comes before the meal and learns the sequence of events. So today after you have read the passages, think in your mind of the incarnation of God’s eternal human heart in the person of Jesus.
And So, friends, remember why you were saved and keep growing. Protect your salvation and grow and bear its fruit. Do not forget about God. Remember the hope that does not disappoint. Remember often the joy of Jesus in your life and God’s faithful love. Be thankful for all the memories of God’s love in our experiences. Just as David writes about his memory of worshipping God in today’s Psalms, we too are to discover that God is worthy of spiritual love. When we remember how faithful God is, we glimpse God’s will that we love and grow in love too. Here we realize that we are to grow in love and remember and cherish the experience but also to be patient in love as God has been patient with us. Friends, do not let your fire die, keep it burning bright…do not forget your calling…remember why you were saved…fan the flame of the home fire…keep growing in the faith. You may not be in control all the time but do not fear. God can redeem even our mistakes. Be of good courage and strong. Spread the flame of our faith by being faithful to God.
Pray we realize that out of a small spark a flame can be birthed. Pray we keep the fire of faith birthed in us burning bright. Pray we are willing to enter a world of those who have a tear and are broken and powerless. Pray here we establish a fellowship to speak gently to those who suffer when nothing can be done but to love. Pray we breathe life into the amazing promise of peace in the telling of stories of courage around the flame of our faith. Pray we be a light in the darkness. Pray we be a light to the nations as well. Pray we are victorious in our living and are filled with the spirit of God because we love. Pray we realize that God gives the growth and is Lord of the Harvest. Pray God’s light shine a way in us that promotes growth. Pray we wake up and not just fan the flames before they go out but spread them in our creeds and communities that witness the love of Jesus. Pray the light shine in us over the wall welcoming in others and growing bright as a beacon of growth on our journey home. Pray we learn to grow in love.
Pray that love brings unity of our faith, unity of our fellowship, unity of our family so we might bear fruits in a Kingdom where love rules over sin.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 