All Consuming Fire

Greetings!!!

Have you ever sung these words and meant them? "All Consuming Fire, Your my heart's desire, and I love You dearly, dearly Lord." When you think of that All-Consuming Fire, what comes to your mind? Is it a flickering flame like a candle? Perhaps a campfire or bonfire is more like the fire that comes to you mind. Or perhaps, just maybe, something like this Alaska wild fire is more like the image inside your head and heart. As I thought about God's all-consuming fire in church on Sunday, God spoke these words to my heart, "My fire is not one that can be controlled. It is bigger than even the largest wild fire that has been on the Earth. It cannot be controlled by man."

(Picture taken from http://tiee.ecoed.net/vol/v3/issues/frontier_sets.yellowstone/img/forest_fire%5BHR%5D.jpg)

There are two accounts of God and fire that immediately come to mind. The first is Exodus 3:1-4. "Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, "I must turn aside now, and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up." When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush, and said, " Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."

The second passage is Exodus 20:18-20. "And all the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance. Then they said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen, but let not God speak to us, lest we die." And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin."

When you consider God's all-consuming fire, what will you do? Will you shrink back in fear like the Israelites, or will you, like Moses, press in and get as close as you can to it so that God can have His way with your life? It is God's desire that you draw near and press in, never forgetting that this fire is not a fire that you can control. You must allow God to consume everything that needs to be consumed in your life. You must give Him free reign. You will not regret it.

The LORD bless you with willingly stepping into His fire.

I love you,

Ruth