Exercise, Develop and Expand!

As a kid growing up in the 1960’s, I have many fond memories of my dad barbecuing in the backyard.  He didn’t get a gas BBQ until way after my older siblings and I married and began families of our own.  So, my childhood remembrances of barbequing included the bag of charcoal briquettes, the black BBQ kettle, lighter fluid or most times… waded up news paper under the mountain of coals arranged in the center of the grill… and… a folded newspaper that dad vigorously swung back and forth over the smoking coals in order to stir them up into a nice, white, hot glow!

One of the first prized possessions that I purchased as a young adult was a single wide portable hibachi so that I could barbecue the steaks that Piper and I would treat ourselves to - once a month - while attending college at Chico State University.  We would go up to the upper portion of Bidwell Park, find a secluded picnic site along Big Chico Creek and while away the day by enjoying each other’s company, feasting on a delicious meal and then hiking together in the park.

And just as my dad had done, I always included a folded newspaper in order to fan the coals into a flame that resulted in white hot briquettes…at just the right temperature to perfectly cook the meat!  I hadn’t realized until recently of how much our time together, away from home, on our own, while attending school at CSU, established many traditions and other foundations for our marriage.  We may have been housed in different dorms, but we basically did everything together and depended on each other as we traversed through that preparatory time in our lives!

The remembrance of those times at Chico State brought an instant smile to my face this morning as I read from a longtime favorite portion of scripture in 2 Timothy 1:6-7 where the Apostle Paul reminded Timothy that,

“I’m writing to encourage you to FAN INTO FLAME and rekindle the fire of the spiritual gift God imparted to you when I laid my hands upon you.  For God will never give you the spirit of fear, but the Holy Spirit who gives you mighty power, love, and self-control.” (TPT) 

Paul’s imploring of the young pastor Timothy to “fan into flame” the things of God that he had inside of him, the gifts, talents, abilities, Biblical teachings and the developing understanding of those truths, caused me to recall the amount of physical effort it took to consistently fan a newspaper over unevenly lit coals in order to reignite a solid flame under them.

A glance over at the Remedy translation gave me a greater and more practical understanding to the meaning of “fan into flame.”  It more vividly details this process by explaining that we need to,

“…continue to EXCERCISE, DEVELOP and EXPAND the enabling and gifts God gave you when I laid hands on you.” (Remedy)

So, just like it took consistent effort to fan the charcoal briquettes into a white-hot flame, it takes consistent effort to EXERCISE, DEVELOP and EXPAND our personal gifts, talents, abilities and Biblical training, in order to continue to develop and mature in the daily walk of our Christian faith.

Piper would sometimes laugh at me when I would diligently work at (and purposely over-emphasize my actions) when “fanning into flame” the charcoal briquets in our little hibachi… but you know… her smile and sweet laughter would make the effort all the more worth it… especially as we sat at the picnic table when all was prepared and enjoyed our tender, juicy and perfectly cooked, delicious steaks!

Likewise, the extra effort and diligence we take to regularly “fan into flame” the faith of our personal Christian beliefs, the more time we take to EXERCISE, DEVELOP and EXPAND our knowledge and understanding of God’s promises to us… the more we can enjoy the sweet victories that are available to us, as we stand firm in the truth of God and His Word… in the face of the trials and tribulations that come our way in the world around us.

Have a great weekend while you make the effort to EXERCISE, DEVELOP and EXPAND the ever-growing truth of God in you… and as you do, keep EXPECTING God’s BEST!