PLEASE READ THIS FIRST: Matthew 3

What do you sense the Lord saying to you in this passage?

“He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Matthew 3:11)
I was baptized with water as a baby.
This was not baptism with water for repentance, like John’s baptism.
But was it a baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire?
I’ve never really thought of it this way… but I think it was!
To be baptized is to be covered by, immersed in, and filled with God’s love.
Not just God’s loving thoughts and prayers, but God’s presence and power.
Something divine happens in me, like a spiritual encounter.
The Spirit of God claims me, stirring within my spirit, renewing me.
It was the power of God’s promise, not my repentance, that was working.
The fire of God’s Spirit is like a grass fire, slowly spreading at the edges.
Not a raging inferno, but a spark of life, a smoldering wick (Matthew 12:20).
Unless of course I put out the Spirit’s fire (1 Thessalonians 5:19).
“Fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you…” (2 Timothy 1:6)
Jesus will not snuff my smoldering wick out… am I?
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, your Spirit is in me, burning away impurities and igniting love, joy, peace, etc. Help me to fan this gift into flame, and not to snuff it out!