KEEP THE FIRE BURNING
“My fire is my responsibility”
“Give Aaron and his sons the following instructions regarding the burnt offering. The burnt offering must be left on top of the altar until the next morning, and the fire on the altar must be kept burning all night. In the morning, after the priest on duty has put on his official linen clothing and linen undergarments, he must clean out the ashes of the burnt offering and put them beside the altar. Then he must take off these garments, change back into his regular clothes, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean. Meanwhile, the fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must never go out. Each morning the priest will add fresh wood to the fire and arrange the burnt offering on it. He will then burn the fat of the peace offerings on it. Remember, the fire must be kept burning on the altar at all times. It must never go out.“
Leviticus 6:9-13 NLT
Every Christian wants to have a relationship with God that is alive, real and fervent. But the reality is, in the ebbs and flows of life, that fervour can diminish, that vibrancy can die out, that fire can diminish.
But as we read in this obscure Old Testament passage, like the physical altar the Levitical priests were responsible for - THE FIRE MUST NOT GO OUT!
Unfortunately too often, when we find ourselves in that space, where the flame is down to a flicker and our fervour is waning, we expect someone else to reinvigorate us. We are want a pastor, a parent, a peer or a programme to stoke the fire.
And they can all help. But when push comes to shove…
MY FIRE IS MY RESPONSIBILITY
KEEP THE FIRE BURNING
Today I want to write about who is responsible to keep the fire burning, and some simple but essential tips on how to do so.
Because we want the fire - WE NEED THE FIRE.
The FIRE of the Holy Spirit is the fuel to live the life that God has called us to.
The fire of the Holy Spirit is the power that pushes us forward.
The fire of the Holy Spirit is what enables us to persevere, to endure, to overcome and to conquer!
I WANT THE FIRE!
THE FIRE MUST NOT GO OUT!
KEEP THE FIRE BURNING!
Amen!
Here’s the thing to grasp today:
MY FIRE IS MY RESPONSIBILITY
This passage in Leviticus is so detailed, so intentional, so powerful.
It’s a picture, a guide, a template of sorts.
“THE FIRE MUST NOT GO OUT, KEEP THE FIRE BURNING.”
That is actually up to us. My fire is my responsibility.
He is the flame. WE STOKE THE FIRE!
I want the flame!
I want to be baptised by fire.
I want to live a LIFE OF POWER!
BUT, MY FIRE IS MY RESPONSIBILITY.
IT IS UP TO ME TO PUT ANOTHER LOG ON THE FIRE.
Too many of us settling for a life without mission and purpose. God has an assignment for you!
A CALL. A GRACE. A PURPOSE. A MISSION.
YOU ARE NOT WITHOUT MEANING - AND WE ARE ALL INTERCONNECTED!
WE NEED YOU ON MISSION - I NEED YOU, YOU NEED ME.
Yet too many of us settling… we have a God-given assignment but we aren’t fulfilling it. And then too many are on assignment but without the necessary fuel to sustain it!
WE ARE TRYING TO DO IT IN OUR OWN STRENGTH
We are trying to do a God-assignment without a God-deposit.
”Then he said to me, “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” - Zechariah 4:6 NLT
A GOD-ASSIGNMENT REQUIRES A GOD-DEPOSIT
To stay on assignment requires me to stay with the Spirit. I need the fire or I will fizz out.
Remember: MY FIRE IS MY RESPONSIBILITY!
In Leviticus chapter 6, this was the role of the priest. They had specific duties. They did this on behalf of all the people.
Yet in the New Testament, the Apostle Peter says we are now all “royal priests.”
Ie. It is no longer something someone does on your behalf
YOUR PASTOR CAN & SHOULD URGE YOU AND ENCOURAGE YOU AND TEACH YOU ABOUT HOW TO KEEP YOUR FIRE BURNING…
BUT THEY CAN’T DO IT FOR YOU.
YOUR FIRE IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY.
YOU NEED TO KEEP PUTTING LOGS ON THE FIRE.
LOGS ON THE FIRE = THE WAY OF JESUS
The passage in Leviticus was specific about a couple of things:
The clothes the priest was wearing
And that they were to keep putting logs on the fire.
CLOTHING WAS FULL LINEN (not mixed fibres). This was to symbolise purity, the touching of the divine to the mortal.
There could be no mixture - just being one… This was to reinforce the need to not in the world and in God.
GIVE HIM EVERYTHING, NOT JUST SOME THINGS.
IT IS UP TO US TO DETERMINE OUR OWN PURITY OF HEART.
AND THEN THEY WERE TO KEEP THE FIRE BURNING BY ADDING WOOD.
Everyone say: “PUT ANOTHER LOG ON THE FIRE!”
How to put another log on the fire:
Go to church services.
“I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”” - Psalms 122:1 NLT
The holy habit of regularly and consistently attending church services is sometimes brushed over. Yet we need to gather to worship God together and to receive Biblical teaching.
There is a reason that God established this pattern in both Old and New Testaments! Over the past couple of generations, this log on the fire seems to have become a negotiable. Statically three generations ago, committed Christians would attend church services approximately 3 times per month. That is no closer to once a month - for the committed ones!
You need to keep putting that log on the fire!
Here’s a question for the parents: is this a log that you are putting on the fire for the kids but not for you?
YOU NEED TO REGULARLY AND CONSISTENTLY BE IN THE HOUSE OF GOD
“The fire must not go out…. It must be kept burning…”
David said that he witnessed the power and glory of God in His sanctuary (Psalm 63) - I want to be in that environment.
PUT ANOTHER LOG ON THE FIRE!
Prayer.
“Jesus replied, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer.”“ Mark 9:29 NLT
For many years, prayer was not my strongest spiritual discipline, I know, shocking for a pastor right?!
I did feel a sense of failure about that, but I had to shake that off, and instead use the conviction to form change. Over the past 5 years I have cultivated a deeper prayer life than ever before, both in communing with God and in bringing needs and dreams and hopes before Him. Now it is a source of life - it’s a log on my fire!
I started prayer lists, I read and listened to teaching on the topic, I was inspired by my wife and others who had a prayer culture …
I’m still growing!
WE NEED PRAYER. WE ARE DESIGNED FOR PRAYER.
WHY? BECAUSE PRAYER IS AOUT INTIMACY WITH GOD
More of Him. Closer to Him. Honest with Him. Listen to Him.
Consider this, if I stopped talking with my wife, what kind of marriage would that form? I remember talking to a friend who was in a different country from their spouse for TWO YEARS due to Covid travel restrictions! Distance is one thing - and it was not easy - but if there had been no means to communicate, it would have been so much worse!
This is why we have moments in the church calendar to focus on prayer - to build habits - to glean off one another…
WHEREVER YOUR PRAYER LIFE IS CURRENTLY, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO TAKE IT TO ANOTHER LEVEL THIS YEAR.
PUT ANOTHER LOG ON THE FIRE!
Fasting.
We need less of this world, and nothing achieves that like fasting does.
I’ve heard it said, “our human cravings and desires are like rivers that tend to overflow their banks. Fasting helps keep them in their proper channels.”
Paul writes: “You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.“ (1 Corinthians 6:12 NLT)
Fasting humbles us. It reminds us of our humanity. In a world that endorses consumerism and self, fasting brings us back to decency on God.
. David said “I humbled my soul with fasting.” (Psalm 69:10)
AND WHEN WE HUMBLE OURSELVES WE INVITE THE GRACE AND POWER OF GOD!
PUT ANOTHER LOG ON THE FIRE!
Personal devotion
If we start getting to church services every week that is awesome, more logs than before!
But one log a week ain’t gonna keep the fire burning. You need worship and the Word at home too.
Our passage in Leviticus said, “Each morning the priest will add FRESH wood”
That means you need to get new wood today, not rely on wood from yesterday.
God HAS new for you, new mercies every morning, the Bible says.
Looking at Christ’s example, a helpful framework is to set yourself a certain a time and a certain place where you will spend time with Jesus. Perhaps with worship music, or silence, or reading or listening to the Bible… setting a regularity of time and place means you will build a rhythm and habit that will consistently stoke your fire.
PUT ANOTHER LOG ON THE FIRE!
BACK TO BASICS
I’m sure many read those four points on how to keep your fire burning and perhaps felt a little let down. Those are some fairly basic spiritual disciplines. And that is the point!
To keep your fire burning there are tried and true, time tested, Biblically inspired holy habits that act as firewood.
The reason the fire goes out for many Christians is they neglect their personal priestly duty of putting fresh wood on the fire. We get distracted or duplicitous (mixed fibres) and allow the flame to become a flicker that turns to embers and can peter out…
My prayer is that this article reminds you:
GOD DESIRES YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM TO BE BURNING
TO KEEP YOUR FIRE BURNING IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY
THE LOGS FOR THE FIRE ARE SIMPLE & EFFECTIVE
Be blessed as you stoke the fire this week!
BK