“Fire
blazed forth from the Lord's presence and consumed the burnt offering and the
fat on the altar. When the people saw this, they shouted with joy and fell face
down on the ground.” - Leviticus 9:24
When I read in Leviticus
9:24 that God lit the initial fire in the brazen altar, I was as amazed as the
Israelites. Once He lit the fire, then God constricted the tribe of priests
called the Levites into the service of keeping that fire lit at all times as
they ministered in His Tabernacle.
When we ask Christ to
forgive our sins and to come and dwell in our spirit, God lights His holy fire
within us too. Then He constricts us as His priests (1 Peter
2:5,9) into the service of keeping the
passion of our heart fires lit. It is not by our own self-effort that we do
this, but by daily seeking first the Kingdom of God (Matthew
6:33), by being led by His Holy Spirit
moment by moment throughout the day, and by ministering God’s love and mercy to
the people in our home, neighborhood, workplace and church as God gives us an
opportunity to do so.
The Word of God clearly
states that the Kingdom of Heaven is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy
Spirit (Romans 14:17). The
Kingdom of God is not about the tangible physical aspects of life, but about
our spiritual passion resulting from God moving into our spirit. He immediately
starts His sanctifying work in our soul – our mind, will and emotions; calling
us to allow Him to work in and through us as we walk in His holiness.
If you are like me, you get
discouraged sometimes when you do not see the fruit of your labors. When your
efforts are rejected or if your words go unheeded, you want to quit doing the
Lord’s work. However, the book of Hebrews tells us not to cast off our confidence
(Hebrews 10:35).\, because if we
do not grow weary, we will reap a great reward (Galatians 6:9).
These words admonish us to have patience, so that
once we do the will of God, then we will receive His promise. So often, we lose
persistence, hope and confidence in our ministry for the Lord. We allow the
passion of our fire for God to go out, and we end up forfeiting the promised
rewards that come with serving Him.
God calls us to walk out our
own salvation, but He also promised to give us the power both to have the
desire and the ability to do His will and to bring Him pleasure (Philippians
2:12-13). Therefore, when we get
discouraged, we can refocus on God’s plan and purpose for our lives, we can
confidently do the works God calls us to do, and we can keep the holy fire
burning within us, leaving the results of our ministry to the Lord.
Prayer:
Lord God, You gave us a simple job to do, to be light and salt in the earth (Matthew 5:13-16). This is impossible, however, without Your Spirit dwelling within us, perfecting us and enabling us to be ready in season and out of season to do Your will (2 Timothy 4:2) to preserve Your truth in the midst of sinful humanity and to share Your light in a world of darkness.
Thought for the Day:
The
most powerful force in the world is a heart on fire for God.
