I greet you in Jesus’ precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 16th of March, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. 

“Do not quench the Spirit.” 
1 Thessalonians 5:19

In other words, do not put the fire out. We are talking this morning about the Holy Spirit. He is a gentleman, He does not force Himself upon us, He waits for us. It is like starting a campfire on a cold, wet night when you are in the bush alone. When you strike that match, you have got to be very gentle with that kindling to get it to ignite. You have to be patient with it, and you have to coax it. You have to blow very softly on it, you have to protect it, you have to fan it, encourage it. Don’t rush it! What happens? It will go out. Don’t put too much wood on the fire before it gets started, otherwise you will starve it. Give it time to ignite. 

In Central Africa, where I grew up, I used to be fascinated by the rural people, the way they could start a fire in no time at all. Even though the wood was wet, they would carry a few glowing embers, wrapped up in a piece of bark, from one campsite to another, with no matches or lighter or any firelighters. They would put those embers down, put some grass around it and slowly start to blow it, and then all of a sudden, it would ignite. They were masters at making fire. 

So it is with our beloved Holy Spirit. We need to spend time with Him. We need to be quiet. We need to listen to His still small voice speaking to us in our heart. We mustn’t speak too much, and then all of a sudden, we will start to warm our souls. I want to really encourage you today, my dear friend, to take time out to hear the voice of God speaking to you, your soul through His Holy Spirit, the Fire that will warm you, encourage you, and ignite you. 

Jesus bless you and have a lovely warm day!
Goodbye.