1 Thessalonians 5:19
Quench not the Spirit.

Why would we ever try to subdue the Spirit of God or lessen His influence on our lives?  Certainly we don’t ever purposely do that.  But maybe some choices in our lives have that unintended consequence.  Let’s not dilute His power in our lives by saturating them with other things.  May we not douse the holy flame He lights in us with worldly pleasure and fleshly satisfaction, but seek to retain the fervency of love that produces obedience and service to our Lord.  May His continual leading bear fruit through our lives and produce an abundant harvest due to His abundant presence in us.

Let’s encourage the Spirit of God to have more and more influence upon us.  May our ears be ever more attuned to His voice and our hearts sensitive to His leading.  There is so much noise in our world today.  There are so many voices screaming to be heard above all the others, but His is that still small voice that we have to stop and listen for.  His is a voice we must purposely focus in on.  His is a voice we must deliberately seek.

And let’s not crowd Him out of our lives by filling them with so many frivolous things and fruitless pursuits.  The more we empty ourselves, the more room He can have to spread out and the more His touch and His influence will be upon us.  And when He is free to work, amazing things happen inside of us that spill over outside of us.  And when His power is evident in our lives, God can move in some amazing ways, all for His glory and the furtherance of His kingdom.

What is the state of the Holy Spirit’s influence on our lives?  Is it a small, flickering flame on a wick that could go out with the smallest breeze?  Or is it a flame big enough to encompass our whole lives and burst out of us to touch others around us, too?  Have we drowned Him out or relegated Him to some corner of our hearts, or does He have free course in our lives and plenty of room to work?  Are there things we need to remove from our lives that are quenching the Spirit within us?