Part 1: Fanning the Flame!!

Remember your favorite toy as a child? What was it? Maybe it was a truck or a doll or a puzzle perhaps that you received as a gift at a birthday party or Christmas. Do you still have it?  Did you play with it for a while or a short time?   Your dad and mom knew you well enough to know what you needed and wanted.  Was there a time when you did not get what you really wanted? I am attempting to paint a mental picture in your mind...0nly you know the answers as you search your memories for your favorite gift.

Now I would like to switch over to writing about spiritual gifts with a few scriptures from God's Word Translation:

All of you must turn to God and change the way you think and act, each of you must be baptized in the name of Yeshua Christ so that your sins will be forgiven.  Then you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift.  Acts 2:38

So, when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, you will receive the "gift" of the Holy Spirit.  This is a promise that God has given us in His Word. God does and will NOT break the Promises in His Holy Word.

God never changes His mind when He gives gifts or when He calls someone. Romans 11:29

Some translations of this Romans scripture even say that God gives our gifts and callings "without repentance", and even use the word "irrevocable!!"

What more can be said on this...God gives His every word or His promise that we will receive this gift. Just like we receive a gift in the natural, God, in fact, gives us gifts of the supernatural that you cannot see with the naked eye.  You will have to recognize the invisible yet tangible hand of God upon your life as He distributes your giftings. As for the Holy Spirit we all receive this gift when we are truly born again.

I became a true believer on September 27, 1982 after church that night alone in the church courtyard.  I broke down and wept and quoted the sinners prayer from memory and receive a great deliverance (washing and cleansing of my soul...mind, will and emotions). I believe that I received the Holy Spirit that night.  The next night I told my friend Anna what had transpired the night before. I was raised in the southern Baptist denomination. Anna went to an Assembly of God church. She took me to her pastor.  The pastor got his bible out and proceeded to show me the scriptures about the gift of speaking in tongues. My heart was very humble and open and receptive as I soaked in and hung onto every word the pastor spoke to me.  Then he and Anna started speaking in their heavenly language and the pastor guided me by the Holy Spirit and the gift of tongues was opened as I received it. I was stammering and stuttering as my tongue was loosed. It was a glorious time; I started going to church with Anna's family and friends were made at that time. That is when I switched my denomination over to Charismatic.

My family was not aware of what had transpired with me. I kept a lid on it and prayed alone when I was home and soaked in the Word of God from the Holy Bible. I am not sure why I did that...Possibly would not have been accepted very well. 

I still have these gifts; they never left over time. My prayer is that you can and will have them too. This will be the first part of this series of blog posts I will call Fanning the Flame. I hope you enjoyed this writing, and I will be posting more as I sense God prompting me to type out what I believe He wants to say....through me at this time!!

Maranatha,

Until next time,

Richard T Hicks