A while ago I wrote about Cain and Abel. While I was searching scriptures I came across a verse that stuck out to me. I add it a long list of scriptures to go back and seek the understanding of. One such verse is:
13 Fire must be kept burning on the altar continually; it must not go out. Leviticus 6:13
The context of the verse was concerning sacrifices. As a person or people brought a sacrifice, the priests were to make sure the fire never went out on the sacrifice.
As I was thinking about this verse I thought about how we are to present ourselves as a living sacrifice to God. Our lives are given to Him to trust Him completely and to trust that he has a purpose and will for our lives. As I was thinking about this I drove by a familiar goat herd. It hit me! My desires for life have completely CHANGED! Sure I love goats! I think they are neat. But this need to have a goat herd is not diminished, just replaced. Somewhere along this journey my desires have changed to:
God, if goats are your way for your will and purpose in my life, I trust you will open that door.
I could put a lot of things in the place of goats. A job. A place to dwell. A family of believers to worship with. A community. I am no longer focused on what I want…. rather God, if you can use this in your purpose and calling, I trust you will open that door and give me strong desire to pursue it. I pondered the changes in my heart. Where did this change?
Can I just be honest? I feel like my heart is on fire. My heart and my desire are to serve my Heavenly Father. I just want His will and purpose to be worked into me. To serve Him. It is like a fire that cannot be quenched. Where did this come about?
32 They said to each other, “Weren’t our hearts burning within us while he was talking with us on the road and explaining the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:32
If you are familiar with these passages, we meet up with two disciples. They were headed to Emmus after Jesus had been raised from the dead. They were speaking about Mary having said, Jesus had been raised from the dead. Jesus came into the middle of this conversation and they did not know who he was. They come to Emmus and ask this “stranger” to stay with them. This stranger begins to explain to them the Old Testament scriptures things concerning Him.
There was something going on in the hearts of these two men and they wanted to know more. As Jesus sat with them and He took bread, blessed and broke it, he gave it to them. Immediately the scriptures say their eyes were opened and they knew it was Jesus. Jesus disappears and they make a very powerful statement in verse 32. They then left for Jerusalem and went immediately to the 11 disciples and spoke what they saw. Jesus then appeared with them.
The key take away, I believe is when they were in the presence of Jesus, and he spoke and revealed scripture, their hearts were set on fire. I believe that the gift of fire is a gift from our Heavenly Father. That verse above, keep the fires going, God gives us the transformation we need in our hearts to be fully in His presence every moment of the day. As we sit in His presence, read and listen to His word, our desires begin to change.
When we identify to the world that we are Christians, the world has a standard they think they know us by. They watch carefully ay everything we do and say. If what we say does not match what we do, why would the world ever want to have anything to do with Jesus? Christian is a lifestyle, not a label. All who claim to be a disciple of Christ are living walking breathing testimonies of Christ. We reveal what we believe. Our thoughts reveal to us what we believe. Our talk and actions reveal to others what we believe. Going to church on sunday and living in disobedience the rest of the week is exactly what the world expects of Christians.
The fire spoken of above I believe is the fire God wants all of us to have. We are to sacrifice ourselves daily and keep the fires burning. Are we intentional about keeping our fire burning bright? Do we sacrifice ourselves daily to God with the intent to hear from Him and obey His calling?
11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Matthew 3:11
Are we presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice everyday? Are we feeding God’s gift of fire with righteous wood? Or are we consumed by our own selfish desires and throwing water on that fire?
If your fire is barely a spark, God’s Word tells us how to feed that fire!
Make Jesus Priority
The answer is simple. Look at your priorities. What is most important and what do you devote your time to? Your job, relationships, etc. Yes, these are good, but the top of the list should always be Jesus. When we make Jesus top priority, His Spirit starts to work within our hearts. You have to intentionally make Jesus number one in your life. We have to intentionally seek and pursue God daily.
Prayer
The start to turning that small ember into a blazing fire is regular prayer – communication with him. God is seeking communication and fellowship with us and we need to respond to Him by communicating back. God begins to open our heart to know Him personally and intimately. The more we get to know Him, the more the fire burns and the desire shifts from ourselves to Him.
Fully surrender your heart and mind to God. Ask God to show you how you can seek Him in all that you do. Ask Him to fill your heart with a desire and hunger for more of Him. God is a consuming fire, let your heart be set ablaze by being in prayer with Him.
Meditate on God’s Word
The Word of God must come alive within you. A sunday sermon is not enough. By the middle of the week we find our tank empty and it is a struggle to get to the next sunday. Be in His word daily. This does not necessarily mean read 15 chapters a day. Allow God to lead you where to go. As you ask Him to help you, do not just expect it to come to you. There are 66 books full of everything you could possibly ever want to know. As you diligently seek Him in scripture, His Word will begin to jump off the pages at you. As you lend your mind over to Him, and you meditate and ask for help, he will open your mind to understanding.
Serve Others
Be the hands and feet of Jesus. It can start as something simple like volunteering in your local body of believers. It can be volunteering to help out in your community. OPen the door to begin to serve others. When you follow Christ’s example and serve other people, you will see God’s love in action and it will stir your heart closer to God’s.
Fellowship with Others and Become Vulnerable
I believe it is our purpose to bring new believers into the family of God. We do this by sharing personal testimony. If you have no transformation, no change, no real testimony of overcoming or how Christ has made your life better, then perhaps this is a good starting point for your discipleship. The Holy Spirit uses testimony to bring others to Christ. When we make ourselves vulnerable to others, it is not weakness, it is the strength to testify what you were and how Christ came in and radically and dramatically changed your life. People need to see to hear. Being vulnerable is not scary when you have the assurance of Christ and know that the purpose of the before is the testimony of today.
Hope and Faith In Christ
The firewood to our fire is the finished work of Christ. Have we truly put our hope and trust in Him? Is he building our faith or are we building another platform that will be destroyed by the next hurricane?
Rekindling your faith means putting off your old self and taking up your new identity. You must focus on being Christ-centered and displacing your self-centeredness. Then and only then can Jesus fill your heart and set it on fire to do what He has called you to do. Be intentional about setting your heart and mind on the things above. Remember the joy of being in the presence of the Lord. You’ve tasted and seen that God is good. You’ve felt His presence. Now live on fire for God!
16 Your words were found, and I ate them.
Your words became a delight to me
and the joy of my heart,
for I bear your name,
Lord God of Armies.
Jeremiah 15:16
It Starts Small 
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