Stoke the Fire!

A wintry night at our river cabin, Christmas 2014

"So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the
 word of God. " (Romans 10:17)

        It took an hour and a half of feeding on the word
of God this morning before my pitiful mind shifted 
from cares of life to the fruits of the Holy Spirit (love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
humility, and self-control).

        The Bible, my friend, is to faith in Jesus as fuel is 
to a fire. When the wood supply is cut off, flames dim 
to embers, which over time die and grow cold. So it is 
with faith. Without a steady supply of God's truth, faith 
in God sinks to doubt and discouragement, which over 
time falls into stone-cold unbelief.

Beloved, have you stoked your faith fire today?

From The Schoolhouse, by me:

               I curled in a rocker by the fireplace for a long 
while after the others went to bed. The oak logs 
hissed and crackled in the heat of blue and yellow 
flames. I sat mesmerized by the red glow of hot coals 
beneath the grate and jumped when a sudden pop 
launched glittering sparks up the chimney.

         Before teaching at Shady Grove, I believed 
I could accomplish anything alone. Watching 
neighbors pull together and work as a team to save 
my school, however, helped me realize the need for God 
and community.

               I opened my Bible to Ecclesiastes and in 
the dimming firelight read, "Two are better than one 
because they have a good return for their labor. For 
if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion...
a cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart."   

               On that wintry night, King Solomon's proverb 
penetrated my heart as never before. I added a log 
to the fire before heading to bed and then peeked through 
the lace curtains to discover a snow-globe wonderland...

Illustration from The Schoolhouse
by talented artist, Cami Monet Webb