Rekindled Fire

Rekindled Fire

2 Timothy 1:6-14

Cesar gazed at the fire as it became smaller and smaller. Sitting in front of the fireplace usually made him feel contented, but not tonight. His father sat next to him and asked, “What’s bothering you, Cesar?”

Cesar felt stupid when tears came to his eyes, but he couldn’t stop them. “I may have just lost my best friend. I was with some guys in the hallway at school today when Daniel walked by. One guy made a bad remark about Daniel—loud enough for him to hear. Then they all laughed. Daniel looked right at me . . . and I just stood there and laughed with them.”

Dad put his arm around Cesar. “I see,” he said.

“I don’t know why I did it . . . except that these were the popular guys, and I guess I wanted them to like me,” continued Cesar miserably. He stared ahead at the fireplace.

Dad spoke softly. “Cesar, you remind me of that fire.”

“What do you mean?” asked Cesar. All that was left of the fire was a dull orange glow beneath the charred logs.

Dad crouched in front of the fireplace and blew on the glowing embers. While he blew, he added a few scraps of paper and small pieces of wood. Soon the flames were flickering brightly again. “You’re a Christian, Son,” said Dad, “but you failed the Lord as well as your friend Daniel. When we become weak and fail, we need God’s forgiveness and help. Just as I had to rekindle that fire, you need to ask God to rekindle your spiritual fire.” Dad patted Cesar’s shoulder. “Talk to the Lord—tell him all about what you did. Talk to Daniel, too. You owe him an apology.”

Cesar settled back and prayed silently while he basked in the warmth of the crackling fire. In a few minutes he would leave the warm room and make that tough phone call to Daniel. But he was sure the warm feeling in his heart would remain. AJS

How about You?

Do you need your spiritual fire “rekindled”? God will give you strength to correct some specific problem or to help you continue doing what’s right. Reading God’s Word each day and praying for the power to do what he expects of you will help you be on fire for him.

Memorize:

“Fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:6-7

Ask God for Spiritual Strength