by Wendy Elizabeth Middleton
I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! Luke 12:49
What does it mean to be 'on fire' for the Lord?
We had to cut a tree down two years ago. The trunk was cut up and hauled away for firewood. The limbs were piled in the back of the yard. This year we began burning up the limbs. Pile after pile of twigs and small limbs. Seasoned wood, two years dead and dried out, and it burns pretty well. At the end of the day we hose the pile down, rake through the coals and hose it down again.
Getting the embers in the center of the pile exposed and hosed is a bigger chore than hauling the limbs down to be burned. Ashes cover embers and keep them warm. If we don’t get the whole thing hosed down it could blaze up again in the night.
That got me to thinking about our ancestors, not so long ago there was no electricity, all heating and cooking took place in wood burning stoves and fireplaces. At night the ashes were carefully piled over the embers so they would stay hot all night. The next morning they would be uncovered and first kindling and then a pile of new wood would be laid on top of the embers and the fire would blaze without having to ‘start’ a new fire. The fire, in essence, never went out.
This is what it is like to be ‘on fire’ for the Lord.
On Fire
Remember the moment when you first believed. You asked Jesus into your heart and it was energizing! The whole world opened up before you and you couldn’t wait to tell somebody how wonderful you felt. A passion for Jesus blazed up within you and you were eager to know more, feel more, have that feeling never end.
But the fire banked and the blaze subsided. This is where many new believers falter. They let the fire go out. They do not carefully cover it with ashes to keep it warm, they do not add kindling or new wood.
That got me to thinking about our ancestors, not so long ago there was no electricity, all heating and cooking took place in wood burning stoves and fireplaces. At night the ashes were carefully piled over the embers so they would stay hot all night. The next morning they would be uncovered and first kindling and then a pile of new wood would be laid on top of the embers and the fire would blaze without having to ‘start’ a new fire. The fire, in essence, never went out.
This is what it is like to be ‘on fire’ for the Lord.
On Fire
Remember the moment when you first believed. You asked Jesus into your heart and it was energizing! The whole world opened up before you and you couldn’t wait to tell somebody how wonderful you felt. A passion for Jesus blazed up within you and you were eager to know more, feel more, have that feeling never end.
But the fire banked and the blaze subsided. This is where many new believers falter. They let the fire go out. They do not carefully cover it with ashes to keep it warm, they do not add kindling or new wood.
The Bible is a huge and daunting book, reading it becomes a chore. Studying it is becomes confusing and frustrating. They attempt to pile green wood on the glowing embers and the fire goes out. Green wood is full of sap. That is why we waited two years to burn the tree limbs. We waited for the wood to dry out, to season, until it was ready to be burned.
Trying to read the Bible in one sitting is not possible. It is not only a big book but nearly every sentence is packed with meaning. Trying to understand it without talking it over with God is impossible.
Banking the fire
When the first blaze dies down it is necessary to bank the fire. Pull away the ashes of the first blaze, expose the hot embers, and then add kindling, kindling, and not logs. Kindling is small pieces of wood, twigs and leaves. If reading the Bible is giving you a headache – STOP – go back to where you started and read it again – SLOWLY – one little piece at a time. Add kindling to your fire.
Trying to read the Bible in one sitting is not possible. It is not only a big book but nearly every sentence is packed with meaning. Trying to understand it without talking it over with God is impossible.
Banking the fire
When the first blaze dies down it is necessary to bank the fire. Pull away the ashes of the first blaze, expose the hot embers, and then add kindling, kindling, and not logs. Kindling is small pieces of wood, twigs and leaves. If reading the Bible is giving you a headache – STOP – go back to where you started and read it again – SLOWLY – one little piece at a time. Add kindling to your fire.
Underline the verses that jump out at you – this is your kindling. You may have to cover your fire with ashes to keep it warm while you build your stack of kindling. You may have to season your wood for a year or two before it is ready to blaze up again. That’s Okay, so long as you keep the embers glowing and keep adding kindling to keep the embers fresh.
Keep reading the Bible. Pick out the kindling and set it aside, let it season. Talk to God and ask Him for understanding. Seek out a body of believers to help you gather the wood.
Building the fire
Once you have a good pile of kindling set aside start gathering wood. You don’t throw a tree on the fire and expect it to burn. You have to cut the tree into pieces. Fire logs, especially need to be seasoned. It takes time for a log to dry out enough to burn properly. Read the stories in the Bible, one at a time. Don’t pile them up willy-nilly either. Lay them out, side by side, so that every log dries out. Every log needs to be seasoned not just the ones on top of the pile. Pile them up and the light of the sun cannot penetrate the ones in the middle. They stay damp and won’t burn.
The stories in the Bible need Son-shine in order to season. Lay them out, one by one, and turn them over every once in a while so that all sides of the story are exposed to the light.
The wood pile
The woodpile isn’t really a pile, it is carefully stacked, layer upon layer. Now that you have your Bible stories carefully laid out and seasoned begin stacking them together.
Keep reading the Bible. Pick out the kindling and set it aside, let it season. Talk to God and ask Him for understanding. Seek out a body of believers to help you gather the wood.
Building the fire
Once you have a good pile of kindling set aside start gathering wood. You don’t throw a tree on the fire and expect it to burn. You have to cut the tree into pieces. Fire logs, especially need to be seasoned. It takes time for a log to dry out enough to burn properly. Read the stories in the Bible, one at a time. Don’t pile them up willy-nilly either. Lay them out, side by side, so that every log dries out. Every log needs to be seasoned not just the ones on top of the pile. Pile them up and the light of the sun cannot penetrate the ones in the middle. They stay damp and won’t burn.
The stories in the Bible need Son-shine in order to season. Lay them out, one by one, and turn them over every once in a while so that all sides of the story are exposed to the light.
The wood pile
The woodpile isn’t really a pile, it is carefully stacked, layer upon layer. Now that you have your Bible stories carefully laid out and seasoned begin stacking them together.
Genesis is the beginning, Revelation is the end, but everything in the middle is kind of a jumble. Many of the middle books talk about things that happened at the same time, but from different perspectives.
Kings and Chronicles both (all four really because there are two Kings and two Chronicles) talk about the time of the Kings of Israel but Kings and Chronicles approach the same time frame from different perspectives.
All four Gospels talk about the life of Jesus, from four different perspectives. So it’s a good thing that you have set your stories side by side, rather than trying to read the whole Bible as if it were a straight beginning to end book.
Now you need to start stacking your stories so that they are ready to throw on the fire when the fire gets low. Your fire needs to be carefully fed. If you throw all the wood on the fire all at once, no matter how seasoned the wood is, you will choke the fire and the fire goes out. That is why you should spend the whole summer, chopping wood, seasoning it, and carefully stacking it. With a wood stack stored close by it is easier to slowly feed the fire through the winter, keeping it lit and the whole house warm while storms rage outside.
Chopping the wood
As you begin to stack your stories on the woodpile you may notice that some of them are too big for the fireplace. You cut the tree down and some of the stories are smaller limbs, but the trunk of the tree is huge. Even though you have cut the tree into pieces the pieces are still too big so now you have to chop the trunk size pieces into smaller fireplace size pieces.
You need a wedge. You drive the wedge into the center of a big piece of wood and break it apart into smaller pieces. You can only split one log at a time and it takes muscles to swing the sledgehammer and drive the wedge into the wood.
Now you need to start stacking your stories so that they are ready to throw on the fire when the fire gets low. Your fire needs to be carefully fed. If you throw all the wood on the fire all at once, no matter how seasoned the wood is, you will choke the fire and the fire goes out. That is why you should spend the whole summer, chopping wood, seasoning it, and carefully stacking it. With a wood stack stored close by it is easier to slowly feed the fire through the winter, keeping it lit and the whole house warm while storms rage outside.
Chopping the wood
As you begin to stack your stories on the woodpile you may notice that some of them are too big for the fireplace. You cut the tree down and some of the stories are smaller limbs, but the trunk of the tree is huge. Even though you have cut the tree into pieces the pieces are still too big so now you have to chop the trunk size pieces into smaller fireplace size pieces.
You need a wedge. You drive the wedge into the center of a big piece of wood and break it apart into smaller pieces. You can only split one log at a time and it takes muscles to swing the sledgehammer and drive the wedge into the wood.
Luckily you’ve built up your faith muscles while chopping down the tree and sorting and hauling the wood. You’ve been talking over the whole process with God and He has shown you the different uses for each piece of wood. The Holy Spirit is the wedge. He begins to break down each story into its many layers of meaning.
As you break up the logs and stack them you begin to see the need for each piece, twigs for kindling, logs for a roaring fire, ashes to keep the embers glowing, embers to keep the fire lit.
As you break up the logs and stack them you begin to see the need for each piece, twigs for kindling, logs for a roaring fire, ashes to keep the embers glowing, embers to keep the fire lit.
Your fire is a necessity, you need it to stay warm in the winter and cook food in the summer. You must tend the fire every day, if you neglect it, it will go out and you don’t have a match. If the fire goes out your faith is dead.
The spark
Jesus is the spark of life. He kindled the fire when He moved into your heart. God grew the tree and taught you how to break it down into useable pieces. The Holy Spirit taught you how to shape those pieces into an everlasting source of fuel for your fire.
If you don’t have a fire run to Jesus, beg him for forgiveness and ask Him into your heart to warm your soul.
If your fire has gone out run to Jesus, beg him for forgiveness and ask Him to rekindle your heart to warm you soul.
I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! Luke 12:49. “How I wish…” Jesus is eager to start your fire, all you have to do is let Him in.
Simple – Ain’t – Easy
Keeping the fire lit is a daily effort
But the warmth is worth it.
Wendy
The spark
Jesus is the spark of life. He kindled the fire when He moved into your heart. God grew the tree and taught you how to break it down into useable pieces. The Holy Spirit taught you how to shape those pieces into an everlasting source of fuel for your fire.
If you don’t have a fire run to Jesus, beg him for forgiveness and ask Him into your heart to warm your soul.
If your fire has gone out run to Jesus, beg him for forgiveness and ask Him to rekindle your heart to warm you soul.
I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! Luke 12:49. “How I wish…” Jesus is eager to start your fire, all you have to do is let Him in.
Simple – Ain’t – Easy
Keeping the fire lit is a daily effort
But the warmth is worth it.
Wendy
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