Fan the Flame

Fire is fascinating. My husband and I love to sit in our back yard around the fire pit in the evening and watch the flames. They are mesmerizing. Maybe deep in our DNA we recognize fire's importance. It's probably safe to say that without fire, our ancient ancestors would have perished.

If you've studied survival techniques or watched survival shows on television, you know that fire is one of the first requirements of surviving in the wild.

Starting a fire isn't easy without matches. Even expert survivalists can struggle to start a fire. If conditions are wet or if there is a lack of tinder, it's next to impossible.

No matter how it started, one thing is certain: without fuel every fire goes out. Fires must be tended. In a survival situation, once you get a fire going, you do everything you can to keep it going. That means it needs to be stoked every night before going to sleep. It might mean adding fuel during the night. It certainly means adding fuel every morning.

Don't let a fire go out if you want to survive.

Without enough fuel, the fire gets low. If your fire is too low, it is ineffective. You can't boil water. You can't cook food. You can't warm yourself.

The Bible is literal and historical. At the same time, there are many parallels that can be drawn from scripture: an additional meaning or application beyond the literal or historical account. There are many scriptures referring to fire; I think we can draw a parallel interpretation from many of them.

From the days of Moses until the death of Christ, the Israelite people lived under "the law" and were instructed to keep the fire burning in the temple.

Continuously Burning

"The burnt offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout the night, till morning, and the fire must be kept burning on the altar. 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. The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out." [1]

Watch for Fire to Descend

David, King of Israel (reigned ca. 1010-ca. 970 B.C.) was a warrior, a poet, and a musician, as well as a King. He lived during a time when animal sacrifices were required for sin. But beyond the temple's bloody sacrifices, he saw a heart application.
"Every morning
I lay out the pieces of my life
on your altar
and watch for fire to descend." [2]

Fan into Flame

Hundreds of years later, another man, the Apostle Paul, told Timothy to    
"Fan into flame the gift of God." [3]

The parallel here is that the life of Christ within us, the Holy Spirit, is like a fire.

If you are struggling to survive, it is time to tend the fire.

If you are feeling cold, it is time to tend the fire.

If you are hungry, it is time to tend the fire.

If you are thirsty, it is time to tend the fire.

Years ago, I was a counselor at Bible camp. I had six girls in my cabin. One night, back in the cabin after chapel, one of the girls told me that her heart had grown cold to God. She told me that she knew she needed to get her heart right with God, but she didn't even feel anything anymore. Not a thing. Her heart was a stone.

I cared about these girls and when she told me this it broke my heart! It also shook me up. What could I say to her? What could I do to help her?

I didn't have the answer, but I knew the one who did. I started to pray and asked the other girls in the cabin to start praying, too.

After a few minutes, God dropped words into my heart for this girl who had grown so cold.

"You need to call on God," I told her. "The Bible says that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." [4]

I, and the other five girls in the room, sat on the floor around her and continued to pray. She sat there silently with her eyes closed.

I think about 20 minutes passed this way. All of a sudden, a raspy cry rose up from somewhere deep within her, and she cried out, "Jesus! I need You!" With those words, Jesus came, and changed her completely. She was no longer cold. Her heart was set ablaze.

Maybe the fire is burning low in your heart. To you I say what Paul said to Timothy: fan the flame.

Maybe the fire has completely gone out and your heart has become cold, or maybe you've never opened your heart to God. To you I say: it is time to call on God. It is time to seek the truth. 

If you seek for the truth, you will find Him.

Do you have a story to share? Feel free to post it in the comments below.

1. From Leviticus 6, New International Version
2. From  Psalm 5:1-3, the Message
3. From 2 Timothy 1:6, New International Version
4. Romans 10:13

Living Proof

Religious leaders admitted that the body of Christ had gone missing.

"Without Jesus, I don't think any of us would be here." 

So said one of my Adventure Rangers, the class of fifth and sixth grade kids I teach on Wednesday nights at church. 

That's a powerful statement. We are all - individually, and collectively - living proof of a risen Savior.

I have the opportunity to teach the Adventure Rangers group every Wednesday night at my church. This year, we studied Lee Strobel's "Case for Christ for Kids." It was a great study that really grabbed the minds and hearts of the kids.

When Jesus walked this earth during the three years of his ministry leading up to his death on the cross, he used many names for himself - Son of God, Son of Man, the Way, the Truth, the Life, the Bread of Life, and many others.

We asked the question - how do you know Jesus is who He says He is? 

Or, to put it another way, how do you know Jesus is the Son of God, and not just a great man?

That's a really good question and one that my Ranger group grappled with over the weeks.

When I posed the question, there was a huge outcry in the room - it says it in the Bible!

I countered - how do you know the Bible is true?

A hard question for fifth and sixth graders, as well as for adults! It is a question that every Christian should be able to answer with conviction. It is not enough to say that we believe because our parents believed. Each of us must believe for ourselves and be fully convinced in our hearts.

We talked it through and came to a resounding, unshakable conclusion: the Bible is definitely true and Jesus is THE SON OF GOD. 

How did my class reach that conclusion? Well, here are a few of the many powerful supporting facts that are indisputable and which they, and every Christian, can stand upon:

• There were about 60 important prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament. Jesus fulfilled all of them!
• Jesus performed miracles in front of thousands of people. At the time the gospels were written, many of these eyewitnesses were still living and could have disputed the gospel accounts if they were not true. (And let's not forget that Jesus still performs miracles today!)
• If Jesus was not the Son of God and was lying about himself, he was willing to die for that lie. This simply makes no sense - who would die for a lie? 
• Although his tomb was guarded by professional Roman soldiers, his body was missing. The Jewish leaders admitted the body was missing.
• More than 500 people saw Jesus after he had risen from the dead, including all his disciples.
• The men who were his disciples were radically changed by being with him. They were not educated men - just common people who made an enormous impact on the world.
• All of the disciples, with the exception of Judas (who killed himself) and John (who was exiled to Patmos) were killed for their belief in Jesus. Again - who would die for a lie?

Around the globe this Easter Sunday, millions of Christians will gather: 

• in churches large 
• in churches small
• in churches adorned with stained glass windows 
• in churches adorned with a plain, rugged cross
• in churches that meet outdoors
• in crystal cathedrals
• in country churches with plain old wooden pews 
• in city churches that meet in schools and use folding chairs
• in main street churches or secret underground gatherings
• praising the risen Savior in thousands of languages

All around the globe - all worshiping Jesus - the Son of Man, the Son of God, sent into the world to save us from our sin.

"Without Jesus, I don't think any of us would be here."

Absolute Truth

Truth is absolute, whether or not we see it that way.

Ignore it at your own peril. Embrace it and live.

In the 21st century, it seems like everything is relative. It all depends...we say. That's your opinion...we say. I believe...we say.

I put before you a simple statement: we must know - and live - the truth, or in the end, we will have a sad awakening.

Here's a silly example that I hope will help me make my point.

If I look at a chair and say that it is a treadmill, is that OK? I could stand on the chair and move my feet up and down, racking up as many steps as I wanted. "See," I say, "it is a treadmill." If I believe that it is a treadmill, and use it as one, does that make me right? No. It makes me foolish, ignorant, uninformed, and possibly stubborn.

Would I not be better off to ask myself, "could this be a chair?"
Would I be hurting my self image and worth by admitting that I may have missed the truth?

When I read the gospels, I often ask myself, how the Pharisees could have been so blind. Couldn't they see that Jesus was the Messiah? Did they ever stop and ask themselves, "could Jesus be THE ONE spoken of by the prophets?"

I recently finished reading the book "Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus" by Nabeel Qureshi. Born into a devout Muslim family, Nabeel found himself searching for the truth during his college years. That search eventually led him to the truth: Jesus is the Son of God and the only way to salvation.

Eventually, the truth will find us, whether we seek for it or not. 

Do you know the Truth? Jesus said, "I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE." Seek the truth and you will find Him. Or, close your eyes and keep walking in ignorance. The choice is yours.

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/69065182@N00/11435153375">Tell the Truth</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)</a>