‘You, LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.’ (vv28–29) Psalm 18:25–32
As a child, I remember travelling on steam trains. The engine takes hot steam from a boiler, which expands under pressure and the heat energy is converted into work. It’s much like the life of every disciple. We require the fire of God’s love in the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:3) to inspire us to live creative lives of service.
The fire is maintained by encountering Christ in Scripture and the prayer with such reading inspires us to rise from our lips, in worship and intercession. Consequently, our lives may confound human wisdom and accomplish remarkable things for God. Of course, there are always distractions that require our attention, and because of which we fail to attend to stoking the fire of God’s love within.
It’s remarkable that in a competitive world the gospel is a great leveller. For God does not measure us against our natural ability, privileged status or academic accomplishments. Jesus called regular people to become His team on earth and promised that they would accomplish greater things than they witnessed in His ministry (John 14:12).
Through the grace of God, whoever believes in Jesus will contribute to the extension of God’s kingdom on earth. Good news, indeed; we are each called, commissioned and capable of making a Christ-like difference in this world.
SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER: 1 Chron. 16:8–18; Isa. 41:8–20; Eph. 5: 8–16; 2 Tim. 1:3–14.
AN ACTION TO TAKE: How are you daily stirring up the fire of God’s love within your life?
A PRAYER TO MAKE: ‘Lord, I pray that my life will be daily invested in living Your way and announcing Your promise of hope. In the name of Jesus, Amen.’
Photo by Nathan DiMartino from Wikimedia Commons
