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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Fire-fighter (10/05/06)
Are you a fire-starter or a fire-fighter? What fire? The fire of the Holy Spirit. The fire that burns within each of us to know He is God and to hear from Him the answers to our heart’s questions. Don’t be a fire-fighter, someone who short circuits the ministry of the Spirit in their hearts by refusing to listen when that still, small voice is talking. Make time to be with your God and really, deeply know He is God.

In our daily lives, God calls us to Himself, to spend time with Him, to get away with Him, to worship and fellowship with Him. In fact, it is the main reason we were created, to fellowship with our Creator. One day, in the not-so-distant future, we will see our Lord face-to-face like Adam and Moses did. Until then, we need to spend frequent and meaningful time with our Creator…listening, responding, conversing, loving, resting and laughing.

I believe God Almighty misses His daily walks with Adam in the cool of the evening as mentioned in Genesis. That daily, intimate relationship between God and each of us is paramount to everything else in our lives. The more time we spend with God, the more the fire of the Holy Spirit burns within our hearts. It is this fire that calls us to serve Him, to move mountains for Him, to rescue the downtrodden, to witness to the lost.

Can you hear that call, the call to stir up the fire of the Holy Spirit in your soul? Listen to the call to rise up and be what He has created you to be! It is not merely by going to church, listening to another sermon or fellowshipping with the saints that makes you an effective Christian. To be Christ-like, we need to follow Jesus’ example and spend time alone with the Father. Then we are ready to minister to the people. This day and age is the time for each of us to take up our shield of faith and our sword of the Spirit and fight the good fight. But that fight starts inside you and me each and every morning even though the enemy works hard to keep us from intimate time with our Creator.

We are each called to be fire-starters, in our neighborhoods, at work, on the school campus. First, we must light the fire within our souls that enables us to pour out what He has poured in. Like a lighter, we need lighter fuel inside before the fire maker can use us to ignite the wood stacked nearby for the great bonfire.

Do not be a fire-fighter that works hard on things that do not matter in the Kingdom of God. How clean your beautifully expensive car is, how finely furnished your home may be or what a wonderful vacation you just came back from are not the treasures that await you in the eternity of heaven. Do not fight the fire of the Holy Spirit but instead, fan it into a roaring flame in your heart. Respond to the Lord calling you to spend time with Him no matter what else is going on. He is never too busy to spend time with you.
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Jan Ackerson
10/13/06
A lovely piece of writing.
Donna Powers
10/15/06
An effective call to action. Well done! Keep writing!
Martha Seeley
10/19/06
Thanks for the timely reminder to take time to be refreshed by our Maker. It is so easy to be caught up in the urgent and forget the important. You made so plain what can be enjoyed "listening, responding, resting, loving and laughing" I appreciate the work you did on this piece.