"Feeding the Fire" October 31 Readings: Ezekiel 7-8, 1 Timothy 4, Psalm 119:89–96, Proverbs 26:20–21

 

 

Reading the Bible in 2023

Each day this year we will read a selection from the Old Testament, the New Testament, a portion of the Psalms, and part of Proverbs. By the end of the year, you will have read the entire Bible. We read this way to give you a bit of variety. In reading four portions of God's word in a day, one of them is bound to speak to your life!

NOTE: If you get behind, do not give up. Read today's readings and try to catch up when you have a chance. The goal is not to "accomplish a task" but to meet God in his word. Read the word. Also, if you are short on time, READ GOD'S WORD and skip my devotional!

Bible Readings: Ezekiel 7-8, 1 Timothy 4, Psalm 119:89–96, Proverbs 26:20–21

    Scriptures linked to Bible Gateway in ESV version 

Daily Devotional: Feeding the Fire 

Nothing like a good campfire in the chilled fall air, is there? A group of friends and family sitting around the crackling fire talking and roasting marshmallows to make smores. Makes for a great night. Of course, if you want to keep the fun going, you have to constantly add wood to the fire. The logs burn away and turn to dust, and if you don't feed the fire, it goes out.

Solomon told us that the same thing happens with gossip and quarrels. Look at the vivid pictures he draws in Proverbs 26:20-21.

Without wood, fire goes out;
without a gossip, conflict dies down.
 As charcoal for embers and wood for fire,
so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife.

He differentiates between two options on how to respond to quarrels. We all get upset, have spats, and argue. That quarreling is part of our fleshly nature and the Spirit works to replace it with love, patience, and kindness. But it is still a reality in our lives. But how we respond to those quarrels is the key.

When a quarrel blazes to life, there is a simple solution. Don't feed it. The fuel for a fire is wood. The fuel for a quarrel is gossip. When we involve others in the quarrel, when we spread rumors, gossip, and slander concerning the issue, and when we take sides, we add fuel to the fire. A small flame can then become a conflagration that destroys families, divides churches, and hurts people. That's what happens when you let gossip fuel the fire.

Better to just let it go, let it die. The Spirit of God can give the redeemed the power to do that, to turn our hurts and griefs over to him instead of spreading them around with gossip and slander. Blessed are the peacemakers, Jesus said. A large part of peacemaking is simply not to share gossip and fuel the fires of anger.

Father, help me to be a peacemaker, not one who feed fires with my tongue. May the Spirit control my tongue and may it praise you and bless the Body of Christ. 

Consider God's Word:

Did one of these passages speak strongly to you today? Which one? 

Is there sin in your life that needs to be confessed and dealt with that was revealed in one of these passages? 

Is there a struggle in your life that one of these passages spoke to? 

Are you a gossip - one who spreads information about others?
Is your tongue under the control of the Holy Spirit?