Keep The Home Fires Burning

"Moses and Aaron then went into the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell face down." (Leviticus 9:23-24 NIV)



"The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest is to add firewood and arrange the burnt offering on the fire and burn the fat of the fellowship offerings on it." (Leviticus 6:12-13 NIV)


The altar ... a symbol of death, the means to atone for the sins of the people. The fire ... the life force, the power used to consume and carry out the act of sacrifice and obedience. God gave specific orders to the priests that were to carry out the gruesome task of sacrificing the bulls on the altar, but the lighting of that initial fire was His job. Do you realize that God Himself lit the flames that consumed the sacrifices? Leviticus 9:23-24 explains to us how "the fire came from the presence of the Lord" and after that the priests were told "the fire on the altar must be kept burning" (Lev. 6: 12-13).

The priests had to do whatever was necessary to keep that flame alive. If it meant staying up all night to fan those flames, then they did! If it meant shielding them against the elements, I guess they had to be a little uncomfortable to accomplish it. Think of yourself as that altar. We are called to be living sacrifices, are we not? (Romans 12:1) How weak are we when it comes to fanning the flames that God has ignited in us? 2 Timothy 1:6-8 tells us, "For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline." (NIV)

Now, let's go back even farther in the Old Testament to Genesis and the account of God's creation of man. "The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7, NIV) Here we have a mass of nothingness. All that man started from was a formed pile of dust. It wasn't until "God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" that man was anything at all. Another account of God imparting His glory to us - His fire, His life. In John 20:21-22, Jesus, before he ascends into Heaven, breathes on his disciples, giving them the long awaited Holy Spirit. Do you see the parallels?

So many times we would love to take credit for everything. Our lives, our callings, our fire that burns within us. Then when they flicker and threaten to die out, who do we want to blame? God. We think He doesn't love us anymore or that He's far away from us. Maybe you find Him boring and unworthy of your time and attention, but who was given the responsibility to keep those flames alive? Here's a blunt, but true statement... it's your own dumb fault that your fire is nothing more than a wimpy, match stick blowing and dimming with every passing breeze.

What are you doing to keep His flame alive inside you? Do you open your Bibles on days other than Sundays? Do you speak to Him daily, even when there is nothing wrong in your life that you need Him to fix? Keeping the flames and life breath alive takes an attitude adjustment. It means doing whatever it takes to keep those things protected. What are you watching? What are you listening to? Or to whom are you listening? Do you seek Godly wisdom from more mature believers or do you take the advice of the people that tell you what you want to hear? Are you avoiding church? Would you rather take a comfortable road rather than the one that will most encourage your flame to become a raging fire?

Better get some wood and feed that fire through your daily devotions, prayer time, and sitting under a good God fearing, Bible preaching pastor. Grab those billows and infuse those flames with the inspired, breath of God - His Word. Winter is upon us and the storms of life are threatening to put out your flame. Can you feel yourself flicker or are you ablaze? Just imagine how we can light up this dark world if we were all the raging fires He called us to be.