I had the wonderful opportunity yesterday to speak to another beautiful group of ladies. God graciously continues to open doors for me to share the lessons He teaches me. My friend and I have the privilege of speaking together, and we constantly stand amazed at how God gives us lessons which He puts together for a weekend of talks that touches not only our own hearts as we grow in our faith, but also the hearts of the ladies we are speaking to. It's so wonderful to be a part of all that!
The theme of the conference this weekend was Fan the Flame. I wonder, is your fire smoldering or blazing? Second Timothy 1:6 tells us to rekindle afresh the gift of God which is in us. Matthew 5 tells us not to hide our light under a basket. There is a challenge for us there.
I am convinced that many, if not most, of us living here in the south have lived our lives satisfied with a mediocre Christian walk. Church is just something we do. It's expected, so we follow along to fit in. We are wet wood.
Have you ever been camping on a chilly, damp October weekend? Looking for wood to start a campfire becomes difficult. You gather small pieces to kindle the fire, most of it is damp, wet, and hard to ignite. When, finally, the spark catches, you might blow onto it ever so gently. Then, carefully so as not to smother the fire that is beginning to grow, you pile on a little more wood. Larger pieces than before, until finally you add the large logs that will burn for a long time.
My husband and I have worked for that campfire more than once. When we finally got it going, we stacked the big pieces of wood close to the fire so they could dry out and be ready to burn. We didn't want to put out the fire by adding wet wood.
Such is our walk with the Lord. We need to begin to stack up those small things: answered prayers, encouraging words from friends, a sermon or lesson that convicts us, the desire for more and more of the Word, and allow our fire to ignite into a beautiful flame. That flame then lights the world around us. We have something special about us. Each of us does.
When we walk with the Lord, He specifially equips us and gifts us to accomplish His work here on Earth. Your job is different from mine. My work is different from my husband's. The analogy in scripture is a body. I need my eyes, ears, hands, fingers, toes, each for a different purpuse. Each is equally important to me. I broke my big toe in the ball joint a few years ago. It will never be the same. Sometimes when I take a step I feel the twist in my foot as my toe won't bend completely like it did before. Even so, I'm glad it's still there!
I have a friend who is losing her sight. She has a cane now to help guide her so that she doesn't run into things. She can't drive. She has to depend of friends to get places.
That's what the body of Christ is like when you don't do what God has called you to do. Don't be confused about this. It's important that each of us understand. If you are a child of the King, then you are called. Called to be a light to this dark world. Called to be a part of a functioning body. So if you don't function, that part of the body of Christ is off-balance. Paralyzed.
My friend, I urge you to seek the Lord. Serve Him with all your heart. Dig into His Word, and share your light with the world all around you. I am so grateful for the opportunities that continue to come my way. Do I consider myself a speaker? Not really. What I do know as absolute truth is the drive deep in my soul to obey when the door opens and I am asked to teach. Then I have that feeling of satisfaction and delight that I am walking the path God has put before me.
What about you? What is it that you do that you KNOW is God's plan for your life? Rekindle afresh the gift of God which is in you.
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