Happy New Year! You will hear that phrase many times today. Maybe 50 times. 100? Who knows. No doubt, there will be some people who actually mean it. They are sincere in wishing you a happy 2019.

But there are others who say it just because it is a good thing to say. They are using a cliché. Just hollow words.

I don’t mean to be negative minded today. Personally, when I hear that phrase, it will be fuel to my fire.

When I say fuel to my fire, I am referring to two verses in the New Testament.

II Timothy 1:6-7

“6For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”

2019 can be a miraculous year. See my last post for details. Anatomy of a Miracle

Those verses have been familiar to me for most of my life. Very recently though, they took new meaning for me.

Catch the second part of verse 6. These words can be revolutionary.

“…which is in you…”

Everything God needs to accomplish His will is already in you. He put it there when you were being formed in the womb. All your life, you have had the skill, talent, ability, resource, etc. for exactly what God will have you do.

But sometimes it is easy to forget that fact.

So whether the ‘Happy New Years’ you hear today are heart-felt or empty words, remember this: fan into flame the gift of God!

Let those clichés turn into kindling!

Make the choice to use the stuff of life to grow the fire in you.

Who knows, something might just catch on fire!