Reflection  ·  November 3, 2026

Tuesday Bible Course  ·  Night in His Presence

Citizens of HEAVEN · Living on Earth

“How do we keep walking faithfully with GOD after the moment of encounter has passed?”

Pastor Hector Boucet opened this Tuesday’s teaching where the series left off. Last Tuesday the church heard about restoring the altar and returning to our first love. Sunday it heard about carrying the fire. Tuesday night, Pastor Boucet took the next step: the priest had a continuing responsibility to maintain the altar, and likewise our relationship with GOD must not depend exclusively on Sundays. It is not about coming in, punching a card, and punching out. It is about a daily walk with JESUS, every single day, not once in a while.

The teaching rests on five Key Scriptures Pastor Boucet put on the screen: Leviticus 6:12-13, 2 Timothy 1:6-7, John 15:1-8, Galatians 5:22-25, and Acts 1:8. The first sets the pattern: the priest burned wood on the altar every morning, because the fire was never to go out. Our part, Pastor Boucet said, is the same kind of continuing responsibility — tending the fire after the service ends, not only while the music is playing.

Leviticus 6:13 (KJV)

The first point is Paul’s charge to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:6-7: stir up the gift of GOD. Pastor Boucet pictured a barbecue fire gone down to smoke: you fan it, and in a matter of time it is burning again. We have to do the same thing continuously, he said — not only fanning the fire here in church, then walking out and putting it down and forgetting about HIM. Fear and discouragement would hinder the calling; the SPIRIT GOD gave us is not timid, but gives power, love, and self-discipline.

2 Timothy 1:6-7 (KJV)

Then came the trap that keeps the gift unused: comparison. Do not measure yourself against the person next to you, Pastor Boucet said — that is exactly what the enemy wants. Do what you do for the LORD, not for people, whether your voice is loud or shy, whether anyone notices or not. This is not a competition, and we are not here to put on a play. A spiritual fire is not uncontrolled emotion, he said: it equips us to live courageously, love faithfully, and serve wisely. And he left three questions on the screen for the week: what gift or ability has GOD entrusted to you? What has sometimes kept you from using it? And how can you serve someone this week — intentionally, not by accident?

The second point turns to John 15:1-8, the vine and the branches. Pastor Boucet told the story of his own avocado tree: knocked down by a hurricane, split open at the base, yet kept green and strong because he keeps feeding it — rainwater, peelings, care, day after day — and shares its fruit with his neighbor. Our spiritual lives work the same way, he said. We cannot sustain ourselves through determination alone. We must remain connected to JESUS and depend on HIS grace. Prayer, Scripture, worship, fellowship, and obedience cultivate that relationship. Spiritual maturity is not measured by excitement alone, he said; it is seen in growing faithfulness, love, obedience, and CHRIST-like character.

John 15:4 (KJV)

Then he pressed the point home: apart from HIM, we can do nothing — not some things, nothing. If HIS WORD remains in us, and we do things according to the WORD in obedience, we will bear much fruit, and that fruit glorifies the FATHER. And he left two more questions to carry into an ordinary week: what does abiding in CHRIST look like when nothing special is happening? And how do you distinguish genuine spiritual growth from simply being busy with church activities? You can be very active in the church, he warned, while the relationship itself has drifted far away.

The third point is the fruit test in Galatians 5:22-25: if we live in the SPIRIT, let us also walk in the SPIRIT. Pastor Boucet named three areas to examine our spiritual lives: holiness, hunger, and humility. Holiness asks: am I allowing GOD’s WORD to shape my character and conduct, and am I willing to repent and obey HIM? Hunger asks: do I desire to know GOD more deeply, or do I seek HIM only when I need something — only in the tough moment, when I feel I do not deserve what I am going through? Humility asks the hardest one: am I teachable? Can I receive correction, admit when I am wrong, and serve without needing recognition? No one likes to admit being wrong, he said, but once you acknowledge it, the HOLY SPIRIT comes alongside to help you through the fire, and you learn to say, LORD, I am trusting in YOU.

Galatians 5:22-23, 25 (KJV)

The fourth point is the purpose of it all, from Acts 1:8: the HOLY SPIRIT empowers us to be witnesses of JESUS CHRIST. The purpose of seeking GOD’s presence, Pastor Boucet said, is not to impress people or to chase an experience. It is to know HIM, to become more like CHRIST every single day, and to faithfully share HIS love with others. When people keep finding themselves around you, week after week, do not dismiss it: ask the LORD for a word for them, and trust the HOLY SPIRIT to give you the words. The only way you will know is by saying it.

Acts 1:8 (KJV)

He told the story from San Germán, three weeks earlier: a 65-year-old man stopped him to ask about a strange piece of equipment with six antennas — an internet router he was carrying. Seven minutes about the router became half an hour about JESUS. Pastor Boucet spoke to him about Romans 10:9 and asked whether he wanted to receive JESUS as his LORD and SAVIOR that day. The man said yes. It was not a coincidence, Pastor Boucet said — it was a life, and a party in heaven over one person. That is why the church must be ready, he said, including when it gathers outside its four walls: people will come up to you with questions, and you must be willing to show them who JESUS is.

— Pastor Hector Boucet

Pastor Boucet closed with practical steps, not just talk: set aside intentional time with GOD — commit to at least half an hour, and let it run over if it does. Read and reflect on Scripture every day, and talk with GOD about it. Respond where HE is calling for obedience, even where your heart is closed and you do not want to surrender that area: LORD, control my life, and give me wisdom and discernment to go according to YOUR will. Remove a distraction that crowds out time with HIM. And serve: encourage, help, or pray for someone, and ask the LORD to put people in front of you — start with one, then three — trusting the HOLY SPIRIT to give you the right words when you open your mouth.

Keep the Flame Alive is not a message to admire and forget. It is a message to answer — by stirring up the gift, abiding in CHRIST, walking in the SPIRIT, and letting the fire point someone to JESUS this week. The most important part of all of this, Pastor Boucet said, is what we do out of these walls.

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