Keeping the Fire

On Sunday, January 22, I was worship leader at church. The theme for the morning was "Lose the Weight of Fear" and the hymn prior to my remarks was "Holy Spirit, Come With Power," #26 in the Worship Book. The Spirit is active in our lives--especially when we need help for a challenging task. The second verse of the hymn fit perfectly with my words of welcome. but I wrote them before I'd seen the hymn. Below are my comments and prayer:

I’ve been keeping a fire in our fireplace most days this winter. Keeping the fire has become a ritual of my day. I literally "keep the home fire burning". Once or twice a week I fill the woodbox from our large woodpile. Each morning I carry armloads of wood inside and early in the day I scrape & shovel ashes from the hearth, lay the fire, and light it.

As the day wears on, I check the fire from time to time, stirring it and adding wood. Sometimes the flames die down and the fire seems to be going out. Then I add a fresh log or two. Taking the poker, I stir the logs to rearrange them. In no time, a nice flame is burning again.

Sometimes when I’m stirring the fire I think of the words at the beginning of 1st Timothy. "I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity—of fear--but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. "

I think with gratitude of the people in my life who encourage and support me in my faith. Just as Timothy had his devout grandmother, Lois, and his faithful mother, Eunice, I too have been grateful for those who help me use my gifts. The darkness of our world seems to grow in our minds. News headlines day after day are like a smoldering fire that makes us feel cold, weak and worried. But this morning we’ve left newspapers and television talk shows. We’ve joined together here to contemplate the Good News.

God stirs the fire—the flame within us. We have the warmth of Christian fellowship to rely on and The Good News to fill our hearts with hope.

Prayer:
“Holy Spirit, come with fire, burn us with your presence new. “
As we gather this morning Be among us and burn within us.
Open our hearts to receive the good news you have for each one of us .
Stir the embers of our souls so we will respond in new ways to your truth. AMEN