Our Father in His infinite design chose to demonstrate His love for man in the man Yeshua (Jesus) Christ. He inhabited flesh on a tree and died for you and me. He offered Himself as a burn offering before God. He stood afar off outside the camp to show His unfailing love. All things were possessed by Him in exact proportion to the counsel of God. Levity and stars were at His feet as He ascended into heaven. A glorious day it was when He led captives free and put to death death itself! A glorious hope was prepared for us that believe and a stamp of perfection on His believers. I myself have seen this glorious work demonstrated in perfect rhythm to God’s timing.
He opened the box of grace and released from His person the divine Spirit that works in believers today, establishing His kingdom. And life upon earth will never be the same. OH God how great are Your works from everlasting to everlasting! Amen.
A while back I cut down a branch that was growing onto our roof. The branch was pretty big and all I had was a reciprocating saw so I decided to drag it in the back yard and cut it up later. Well, a couple weeks ago, I decided to cut up the branch and burn it in our fire pit.
As I was in the process of getting wood to start the fire, I explained to JT (our oldest son) how to properly start a fire. I explained to him that you start with small twigs and as they begin burning well, you add larger sticks, and as they begin burning well you add larger until finally you put logs on that will burn longer.
So we started the fire in the hopes that we would be able to roast hotdogs and marshmallows on it eventually. And I followed the procedure I gave JT, starting with the smaller sticks until eventually adding large sections of the branch.
I didn’t want to burn all of my big pieces because I wanted to save them for later. So what I found myself doing was adding small pieces from the branch to keep the fire going. I nearly wore myself out trying to do this, for as we all know, the smaller the piece you throw in, the faster it burns up and burns out.
While all this was occurring I began contemplating how this relates spiritually. We too sometimes scramble trying to keep the flame burning within us. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 teaches us not to “quench” the Spirit, yet that is what often times happens. Why is that?
I think we all are guilty at times of trying to keep the fire burning with twigs. We might say a prayer in the morning or a quick one before we eat. If we spend any time in the scriptures, its not for long and is just light reading. Also, the only time we worship is three hours in the week (at church). And yet we wonder, why are we not experiencing the fullness of the Spirit in our lives?
It’s the same reason I was struggling to keep the fire burning in my fire pit. I wasn’t adding anything with sustenance. And the few things I had added previously that had any sustenance had already began to burn out. I needed more.
Instead of quick prayers here and there, we need to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17). Deep, heart felt prayers to our Maker. Praying while walking to our car. Praying while in our car. Praying when going here and there.
Instead of light reading of scriptures here and there, we need to read thoroughly with deep meditation and personal inflection. To allow the scriptures to come alive and to ponder what we read throughout the day.
Also, instead of relying on three hours of worship a week, consider every moment of our day as a opportunity for devotion and praise. To make our life a worship service.
In other words, we need some logs. Twigs might help to get us started, but what we truly need is deep sustenance. Then and only then will the Spirit’s fire burn brightly within our souls.
After the fire burned down and the work was done, I was able to enjoy the fruits of my labor. Delina, the boys and I finally got to roast our hotdogs and marshmallows and sit back and relax. Spiritually speaking, if we will work hard to keep the fire burning, we will one day enjoy the fruits of our labors (2 Tim 4:7-8).
