More Fire
And the fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order on it; and he shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. A fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out. – Leviticus 6:12-13 NKJV.
Recently, I did a brief study in the Book of Leviticus, and it was a challenge. An important thing to remember about Leviticus, is that it is a book meant not just to be read, but to be studied. There are many lessons in Leviticus for us today as Christians. One of those lessons is the need to keep the fire burning, it should never die out. Every morning the Old Testament priests would lay more wood on the fire so that it would “never go out.”
While the fire of the Holy Spirit may never really go out in the life of a child of God, it may appear that way. I think we all know some Christians who at least on the surface have very little spiritual life left. They were once on fire for God, assembling with other believers, teaching classes, witnessing to all who crossed their paths. Maybe something traumatic happened, a death, an illness, a job loss, a marriage failure, or something else, which led to the dimming of their fire. Or, maybe it was just the lack of new fuel being placed on the fire every morning?
We need the fuel of God’s Word placed upon our spiritual fire every day. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).” We need the spiritual fuel of communing with our Lord God through prayer every day. “…men always ought to pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1).” It is not a daily thing, but we do need the spiritual fuel of assembling with other believers when it is possible “in order to stir up love and good works (Hebrews 10:24b).” We also need the spiritual fuel derived from serving our God because “we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us (2 Corinthians 5:2).” Have you done the work of an ambassador lately?
It is vitally important every day, every morning, to lay some more fuel on your spiritual fire. I know with our busy lives it is very easy to become distracted and rush by doing what we need to do. Here is what I do every morning, to make sure I have some new fuel on the fire, in case the urgencies of life interrupt my having a more lengthy quiet time. While I am preparing for the day, taking a shower, dressing, making my breakfast I am going to spend 20 minutes or more in prayer, and go through out loud or in my mind 36 to 50 memory verses. You may not have that many verses memorized, but you have some. Here are a few that you may have memorized that you could go through every morning.
John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Matthew 21:22: “And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
Start with the verses you know, even if they are only a few, or even just one. Go through them several times every morning. Try to add a verse every few months to your list. This will build your spiritual fire and build your faith because “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).” So, if you haven’t already done so, throw some more wood on the fire!