Putting Out the Spirits Fire
Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. I Thessalonians 5:19-22
Picture a warm fire and imagine its glow and its radiating heat bringing all around calm and comfort. If you see that picture you are getting the experience that the Holy Spirit wants to bring to you and others through you. Now go back to that fire and imagine some dude douses your fire with a five gallon bucket of water. What feelings would that bring up in you, what would you say, what would you do?
When we look at this scripture passage and surrounding verses carefully we see three ways in which the fire of God is stoked or extinguished in our life. The fire stokers would include all expressions of worship, talking to God in all matters and in all moments of life, and an attitude of gratitude. These act like a highly flammable spiritual accelerant with your journey with God, the Holy Spirit will prompt you to practice all three as a way of life to help to keep his fire burning hot.
On the other side, the fire extinguishers would include an uncooperative spirit, an unteachable spirit and an easily diverted spirit. Instead of recognizing the spiritual war for our soul and filtering what we let into our mind we adopt cultural ways of thinking and blend them with our faith, we are all tempted in these ways otherwise the admonitions wouldn’t be there. Every day we will either be a fire stoker or a fire extinguisher of his work.
Father, thank you so much for the power of choice, thank you that my mind doesn’t control me but you have allowed me to control my mind.