For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.  Deuteronomy 4:24 HCSB

When you think about it fire is an interesting thing.  It is useful for things like heating and cooking, but can also be very destructive when it burns out of control.  My Dad loved fire.  He would sometimes burn his fields.  Now they looked horrible just after the burn, all black, but when the grass came back, it was a beautiful shade of green .  They came back looking renewed.

There is an expression, “like a moth drawn to a flame”,  well people tend to be the same way.  Many of us have fireplaces in our homes and firepits on our patio.  We can be mesmerized by staring into a flame. Some self defense classes teach students to yell “Fire!” in case of an attack.  Why? Because the average human will respond to fire much more quickly than to a situation with an attacker.

Now often times we compartmentalize God with water and living things and we associate the devil with fire.  But the bible describes God in our scripture passage as a consuming fire.  Hebrews 12:29 also describes God as a consuming fire.  In Luke 3:16, John the Baptist answered the crowd by saying that he baptized in water, that He who is mightier was coming and would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  Psalm 104:4 tells us that He makes His messengers wind and His ministers a flaming fire.

We use the word fire to mean numerous things.  When we say that someone is “fired up”  that can mean that they are really excited or really angry or both.  When we say someone is “on fire” for something, it means that they are so excited about it that they can’t contain themselves.  The prophet Jeremiah was sent to speak to the Jews in Judea and captivity and bring them warnings against sin and judgment as well as a message of hope and restoration.  Jeremiah suffered opposition, beatings and imprisonment.  More than once he wanted to resign as prophet, but faithfully proclaimed God’s judgement on Judah for 40 years.  In chapter 20, Jeremiah speaks of his desire to resign as prophet.  In verse 9, he says that if he says he won’t mention God any longer or speak God’s name that God’s message becomes a burning fire in his heart and shut up in his bones.  He said that he becomes tired of holding it in, and cannot prevail.

The other thing about fire is that it ranges from a little spark to a roaring flame.  So I ask you today, what is God to you?  Have you been to a church that has hurt your feelings and turned a firehose on you so that your fire for God has become nothing but a puddle of water? Has your heart been hardened into a stone that no fire can penetrate? Do you love the Lord, but just don’t want everyone to know it, so you try to keep your little spark hidden and hope that no smoke goes up?  Or, is your love for God an all consuming fire?  Are you trying to set fire to everything in your path?  Do you want everyone you know to feel the flames?  Do you want them to feel the peace, joy, love and warmth that you feel in the glow of God’s great fire?

I have been hurt by church, but I moved on to another one and rekindled the fire.  I have lived with that little spark that I didn’t want anyone to know about.  Be careful about that one, in Matthew 10:33, Jesus clearly stated that whoever disowns Him before others, He will disown before His Father in heaven. I am now proud of my Lord and Savior and grateful to Him for his mercy and grace.

Now if you have accepted Christ as your savior and you trust in Him and love Him with all your heart and soul and mind as we are instructed to do in Mark 12:30, then you will want to do as we were instructed in Matthew 28:19-20.  You will want to spread the fire by spreading the gospel.  You will be like Jeremiah, unable to hold it in.

If there is no fire, cry out and ask God to start a fire in you.  If there is a fire be sure that it is all consuming.  Do your best to love and warm those around you.  Sometimes the best way to show others Christ is simply to live as He instructed us to live.  My prayer for you today is that your fire is burning brightly and your flame is drawing others in.

Have a great day!