Pastor’s Corner: “Ignition”
Leviticus 6:13 (NLT) – 13 Remember, the fire must be kept burning on the altar at all times. It must never go out.
Definition of Ignition: the action of setting something on fire or starting to burn.
In the Old Testament, God instructed the priests to ensure that the fire on the altar never went out. The fire was to burn continually in season and out of season. In the New Testament, our hearts can be likened to the altar in the Old Testament. God’s love for us and our love for Him—is the flame! Therefore, as believers we have a responsibility to sustain the fire that the Lord burns in our hearts. We need to tend to this ‘fire’ daily.
Too often in our Christians lives, our spiritual temperatures fluctuate. The fire of love for our Savior may never be fully extinguished, but the fire is at a low intensity and the embers are losing their heat. Some people lose their passion for God because they only pay attention to this ‘fire’ once in a while. Often, when we are born again the fire of God’s Spirit burns the brightest, but then life happens and faith loses its fuel and is smothered by the lacking of hope’s oxygen. Bustling activities tend to push Christ to an “as needed role”—as a spiritual EMT. “Jesus, I’ll involve you in my life when I can’t control it.” Distracted Christian’s fall into a routine that doesn’t rock the boat of status quo, and they forget to stoke the fire of God’s gift, as it turns cool and stale within their soul. 2 Timothy 1:6-7 (NLT) – 6 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
STEP IT UP A NOTCH! Christianity without passion or love for God is just religion.
We may know the truth about Christ, but do we have fire in our hearts? How do we get a fire in our hearts, a fire that is continually growing within us? Maintaining our passion for Jesus is a deliberate act. Each day, we must do what it takes to maintain the fire God sets in our hearts.
The fire in our hearts comes from seeking to know the Lord, and living in faith and obedience as He works in our lives. Seek Christ every day and start doing what He has called you to do as He reveals it in your life, one day at a time. We put out the Fire and Passion for the Lord by seeking our own road rather than the Jesus Road that Holy Spirit reveals to us.
I Thessalonians 5:19 – Don’t put out the Spirit’s fire. Disobedience puts out the Fire of and for the Lord! If we continue to serve the Lord, ministering to souls with a heart of love, the fire in our hearts becomes an all-consuming fire. Romans 12:11-13 – Never let the fire in your heart go out. Keep it alive. Serve the Lord. When you hope, be joyful. When you suffer, be patient. When you pray, be faithful. Share with God’s people who are in need. Welcome others into your homes. Paul is telling the Romans to never let the fire in their hearts go out. He is telling them to keep the fire alive by serving the Lord, ministering to others, and always trusting the Lord. This keeps continual growth of God’s love in our hearts which fuels the fire in our hearts.
In His Grace,
Pastor Hamilton