Rekindle: July 10, 2012

TODAYS WORD FOR TUESDAY JULY 10, 2012.

REKINDLE

DEFINITION:

Set on fire again; stir up and inspire; to excite.

SCRIPTURE:

Therefore I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. II Timothy 1:6-7.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

What do you do when you have lost your enthusiasm for something you once were totally committed to? Many people just give up and move on to something else. When something becomes difficult it takes perseverance to continue on. People tend to give up too easily today. If a job becomes too difficult, they quit. If there are serious difficulties in their marriage, they walk out. The fire of love and desire that once was felt for someone or something can quickly die out when dampened by obstacles and difficulties.

When a person loses the fire of enthusiasm in their spiritual life it is serious. When our faith grows cold it affects our relationship with the Lord and our desire to serve Him. The lack of faith leads to discouragement and an attitude of indifference that says “I do not care about God, the Bible or anything spiritual.”

II Timothy is Paul’s letter to Timothy, his young assistant, written while Paul was in prison in Rome and waiting to die. There is a sense of urgency in Paul’s letter. Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus to deal with some difficulties that had risen from some immoral people and from some false teachers in the church. Some in the church opposed Timothy’s leadership and Paul was deeply concerned that Timothy’s enthusiasm for his faith might die in the face of opposition and persecution.

Paul wrote to urge Timothy to “kindle afresh the gift of God that is in you.” (II Timothy 1:6-7) Satan is continually at work to destroy our faith so that we become spiritually empty. The following are four “R’s” that will help you rekindle the gift of God that is in you.

First you need to REFILL. Get on your knees and ask God through His Holy Spirit to give you a refill, a rekindling of your love for the Lord. Examine your life, repent of any sins, and then submit to His leadership in your life.

Secondly, you need to REFOCUS. Take your focus off the problems in your life that have caused you to lose your enthusiasm for the Lord. When we focus on obstacles in our life they become bigger and nothing will dim the flame of enthusiasm in your life more than fixing your thoughts on the problem that caused your to lose enthusiasm. Thus, what you need to do is to fix your eyes on Christ, focus less on the problems and He will become bigger than any problem you may face.

Thirdly, when we are spiritually down, the devil whispers lies into our minds such as: You can’t do this, no one appreciates you, why not call it quits. You need to recognize that these discouraging thoughts come from the devil and you need to REJECT them.

Finally, you need to get away from life in general and get alone with the Lord to rekindle your relationship with Him. This RETREAT will allow you to turn off the phone, be by yourself and will allow the Lord to speak to you.

Rely on the Lord and He will empower you to live your life for Him.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Acts 4:12.

Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

PRAYER:

Keep my faith in You strong so that the fire of the gift of God does not die in me. Keep me faithful to You so that I can rekindle my love for You. Help me to refill by studying Your Word, refocusing on You, rejecting what is of the devil and taking time to be alone with You. May my relationship with You be what You need me to be so You can use me to bring honor and glory to You.