Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4
2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14
Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9
Luke 17:5-10
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FOREST FIRES OF THE SPIRIT?
"How long, O Lord? I cry for help but You do not listen!" —Habakkuk 1:2
Many of us are praying and complaining, as did the prophet Habakkuk, that our prayers are not being answered, that God is not helping us, and that we cannot continue in this way much longer. One of God’s most frequent answers to this complaint is: “I remind you to stir into flame the gift” of the Holy Spirit (2 Tm 1:6).
We don’t need the circumstances outside us to change as much as those inside. We have grieved the Holy Spirit through our sins (Eph 4:30). We have quenched the Spirit by giving in to fears (1 Thes 5:19), although “the Spirit God has given us is no cowardly spirit” (2 Tm 1:7). We must repent and live our Baptisms (Acts 2:38). Then we will see the smoldering remains of our life in the Spirit blaze into a blast furnace or even a forest fire of life-changing grace and world-renewing love.
What the world needs is Christians fully alive in the Holy Spirit. We need a new Pentecost. We need Christians docile to the Holy Spirit. We need Marian Christians who will invite the Spirit into their lives by saying: “I am the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me as you say” (Lk 1:38). Stop complaining (see Phil 2:14). Stir into flame the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer: Lord, "increase our faith" (Lk 17:5).
Promise: "Guard the rich deposit of faith with the help of the Holy Spirit Who dwells within us." —2 Tm 1:14
Praise: Praise our risen Lord Jesus, Who holds "the keys of death and the nether world" (Rv 1:18).
(For a related teaching on Don't Stifle the Spirit, listen to, download or order our AV 56-1 or DVD 56 on our website.)
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