Bearer of the Flame

• Printable Version - Share on Facebook - Posted by Dion Todd July 7, 2020 - Filed in Devotional - 4,713 views
  Of the angels he says, 'Who makes his angels winds, And his servants a flame of fire.' Hebrews 1:7 WEB
  
  When the preacher walked past our row of seats, it seemed like you could feel heat coming off of him. When he looked at you, it was as if he looked straight into your heart and saw how black that it really was. You felt as if he could see everything that you had ever done wrong in your life. It was uncomfortable, and I could not help but look away.
  
  I was not used to this. You could usually sleep through the service at our church and no one would notice. Though I was saved and had attended church for years, this visiting speaker whom I had never seen before or since, walked in an anointing that I did not even know existed before then.
  
  I had a friend with me that day who visiting our church for the first time. The preacher called him up front and began to tell him about the three car accidents that my friend had been in, and how God had spared his life three times so that He could use him today. He had never seen my friend before this, yet he was spot on about his past. I could see that God shared secrets with this man.
  
  After this he called me up front and told me that one day I would be in the ministry, so to begin to prepare myself for it. He said that God had given me a mathematical mind and an ability to understand things complex, that I would pioneer new things in ministry.
  
  I was around twenty years old when he gave me that word and I earned a living by painting houses. I believed him so I began attending bible college at night and earned a degree, but when I graduated, every door in ministry seemed supernaturally closed. If they did schedule me to speak at church, then they would cancel the night before.
  
  One of my hobbies was working on computers in the afternoons. Eventually that became a career, and I spent most of the next twenty years working with computer networks, websites, and the supporting infrastructure. After a while I forgot about ministry altogether. I figured that I had either missed Him, or wrecked His plan for me somehow.
  
  Many years later, our computer business dried completely up, and after months of job searching, I could find nothing. Finally the week came when we were preparing to move out of our house, and I was suddenly pushed into full time ministry as a pastor. It was the furthest thing from my mind at that point, but it was the only job available to me.
  
  'Prepare yourself' meant a lot more than attending bible college. It took over twenty years, but here I am today. Now I use the technical skills that I learned along the way to build the online church here, to send out our devotional each day, and to host live, interactive church services over the Internet. Refreshing Hope maintains its own micro server farm built by us, running code that we wrote, and we are using it all to spread God's word around the earth.
  
  I wrote all of that not to build myself up, but to say that my outlook on Christianity changed a lot that day when I watched a man minister under a heavy anointing by God and prophesy things that came true twenty years later. He was the genuine article and he carried the Holy Spirit like a flame. I want that, but it costs everything. Total commitment.
  
  I learned that day that there is a level of walking with the Lord that not everyone has. Sure, we will make it to heaven, but there is an anointing for those that press into the heart of God right now. There is an intimacy to be had, while we are still living here. Let's get the flame.
  
  Prayer: Heavenly Father I know that You are there for me, and I want to be here for You. Please use me Lord. Speak to me and through me. Help me to encourage others in their walk with You. Let me lead others to You. Anoint me to help bring in the harvest and guide my steps today, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen!
  
  Note: For those participating in the Creation Photography weekly themes, here is this week's challenge from group leader, Dianna Wyles: Psalm 113:3-5 "From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised. The Lord is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high" ~ Our next fun theme will be 'Sunrise to Sunset' and is open wide for creative interpretation as always. Also, we encourage you to post anything else that inspires you as well. I challenge you to look for reasons to praise and exalt our Lord each day this week and see if you feel a shift in your heart. Have a fantastic week y'all, God Bless! Here is the link: Creation Photographers
  
  
  

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