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Connecting Fire – Day Seven – Show & Tell

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Day Seven – Show & Tell


Meanwhile keep the fire on the Altar burning; it must not go out. Replenish the wood for the fire every morning, arrange the Whole-Burnt-Offering on it, and burn the fat of the Peace-Offering on top of it all. Keep the fire burning on the Altar continuously. It must not go out. Leviticus 6:12-13

Fire was an ever-present part of the life of the people of God. The temple fire especially was important, as sacrifices of various kinds were burned at the altars. Also, when a battle was won, the gold and silver from the plunder had to pass through these fires to be shown acceptable and clean. Remember that a community’s fire during these days also held a central place that the people rallied around and depended on.

Twice in these verses, God tells His people to never let the fire go out. The temple fire was always to be tended and cleaned, refueled by the different priests, and stoked to full flame each day.
For us today, the fires of sacrifice have already been satisfied. We don’t have to burn “whole-burnt-offerings” or “peace offerings” over and over day after day – Jesus gave Himself completely to save us completely and He has made peace between us and the Father in heaven. There is another fire that we need to maintain and fan to full flame and never allow to go out. It is the fire of disciple- making, and each day we are responsible for passing along the flame of God’s Good News to the next generation of Jesus followers.
Can you see how important your life is in passing along this flame? You and I may keep busy in the work of ministry but, if we don’t pour our lives into others we will not accomplish His most important command – make disciples of all nations.
What was Paul’s practical response (read Philippians 4:9)? Who is the young man or woman you meet with to show and tell him or her how to walk with Jesus?

All For Him – Rick

Connecting Fire -Day Eight – Faith Fire

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Day Eight – Faith Fire


Back and forth they talked. “Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?” Luke 24:32


After you read this verse, go back to Luke 24 and read it in context. These two Jesus followers were unique to this story. Who were they? When did they say yes to Jesus as the Messiah for their lives? Did Jesus heal one when he was let down through the roof of a house? Was one a former demoniac who used to cut himself in the graveyard? Did they follow Jesus because John the Baptizer had told them Jesus would baptize them with fire?
One thing is for certain. Their physical eyes had convinced them that who Jesus claimed to be was finished – it was all over at His grave! But as they listened to the risen Messiah explain things once again, the fire of faith connected all the dots for them. They now knew it wasn’t all over – it really was just beginning.
Faith fire comes when we read God’s Word and believe that life can really be like Jesus designed it to be: full of joy, a walk of mercy, spiritual hunger quenched, relationships of unconditional love, a life of high impact and purpose.

Journal your hopes in Christ today.

All For Him – Rick

Connecting Fire – Day 10 – Fires of Affection

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Day Ten – Fires of Affection
Regarding Zion, I can’t keep my mouth shut, regarding Jerusalem, I can’t hold my tongue, Until her righteousness blazes down like the sun and her salvation flames up like a torch. Foreign countries will see your righteousness, and world leaders your glory. You’ll get a brand-new name straight from the mouth of God. You’ll be a stunning crown in the palm of God’s hand, a jeweled gold cup held high in the hand of your God. No more will anyone call you Rejected, and your country will no more be called Ruined. You’ll be called Hephzibah (My Delight), and your land Beulah (Married), Because God delights in you and your land will be like a wedding celebration. For as a young man marries his virgin bride, so your builder marries you, And as a bridegroom is happy in his bride, so your God is happy with you. Isaiah 62:1-5

Isaiah’s fire from the early days only got hotter and more compelling as he served and walked with God. In this passage, he cannot contain what God has shown him. Righteousness is a deep sun-fire. Salvation flares up like a torch all around the land. The results of such an uncontainable holy fire? Nations will recognize that God is in the land from the lowliest servant to the leaders of the world!
There have been times in history when God’s fire fell in ways that the culture was changed and the nations and rulers took notice. During the early local revivals and the places this fire spread, newspapers would publish daily reports of how the revival was spreading and affecting their culture. Nations and leaders were often transformed during these revivals.
Notice what happens to God’s people in the above verses when this revival fire falls. God changes what we are called – no longer are we called what the Enemy spent years drilling into our minds we were called. God transforms what we are worth – no longer a broken clay pot meant for the trash bin, but a treasured cup and crown designed for royalty. God changes what we are destined for – no longer rejected, separated, good for nothing and joyless. Now we are His delight. We are not just invited to the wedding – we are in the center of His ravishing gaze.
Face it: this kind of love and affection from God the Mighty Creator makes us nervous. I mean, He really has better things to do than meet me and pour out His passionate affection on me. Today, your discipline practice is to read through as much of the Song of Songs as you can stand. Read it as a love song to a lover. More importantly, read it as a love song from the God of all Power, to you. Underline what he feels for you, and read it back to Him as an expression of love from you to Him. The fires of His affection are directed to you and wouldn’t that be a shame to miss out on.

All For Him – Rick

Cleansing Fire (Day 5) – Plows, Stones & Sowing

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Day Five – Plows, Stones and Sowing
Listen to me now.
Give me your closest attention.
Do farmers plow and plow and do nothing but plow?
Or harrow and harrow and do nothing but harrow?
After they’ve prepared the ground, don’t they plant?
Don’t they scatter dill and spread cumin,
Plant wheat and barley in the fields
and raspberries along the borders?
They know exactly what to do and when to do it.
Their God is their teacher. Isaiah 28:23-26

Let’s change the metaphor this time, from fire to farming. Have you watched the local farmers working their fields in the spring? Some are plowing land that was cultivated as recently as last year. Some are plowing fields that have lain fallow for a long time. Others are claiming new land for fields and turning soil that hasn’t been farmed before. There is one element that is consistent in all three of these kinds of fields: rocks, rocks, and more rocks. The fallow and unfarmed fields have more rocks; but the recently tended fields give up their share of stones, too. It amazes me that rocks seem to rise up from beneath the topsoil to cause problems, even in a field that has been plowed recently. But they have to be discovered and removed if the field is to produce what it ought to and holds potential to produce.
Jesus compares our lives to soil in a parable, and one of the hindrances to receiving the seed (the truth of God) from the farmer (the Father) is the rock beneath the soil. You and I will go through seasons of plowing, planting, producing – and again plowing, planting, producing. The plowing may hurt, and rocks that have been under the surface may come up – but God has a plan for removing those rocks, those hindrances. It’s called repentance & forgiveness. The steps are simple: admit, submit, and know. Admit the rock, or the sin, is there and you can’t move it yourself. Submit to His touch and forgiveness as He removes it. Know that, when you ASK for forgiveness, He always forgives. He promises. Don’t forget to journal what He is saying to you.

All For Him – Rick

Cleansing Fire (Day 4) – Cleaning & Refining

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Day Four – Cleaning and Refining Fire
But John intervened: “I’m baptizing you here in the river. The main character in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. He’s going to clean house—make a clean sweep of your lives. He’ll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he’ll put out with the trash to be burned.” Luke 3:16-17

Try to imagine this picture at the river shore. John, a forceful character if there ever was one (and maybe even a “driver” of sorts), is preaching and baptizing everyday. His message is clear. In brief: The Messiah is just a few steps behind me; the Kingdom of the Messiah is bursting onto the scene; believe the truth, turn from the wrong path, and give God His rightful place as Lord.
No one alive in John’s day had seen or heard someone like John (there had not been a real live prophet in Israel for 400 years.) Could John be “the One?” Is he the Messiah?
John may have been strong, but he knew he couldn’t change anyone from the inside out. It takes God to do that.  Read his words again. The Holy Spirit within you is a cleansing, purifying fire; and He – God, the Holy Spirit – longs to transform you.  He can burn the dross, the waste, the refuse, the stuff that has no value in our lives because it devalues you and me; and He can refine you so you’ll be more of who God created you to be. Give the cleansing fire room to work, since it is God’s method of creating space in our lives for His Spirit to work in and through us.
One writer compares our lives to a house, with different rooms and doors that are either open or shut to God’s presence. Each room represents a part of our lives, and each room either has a “Welcome” sign for Jesus or a “Do Not Enter” sign hung on the knob.  This has been the first of two “fasting days” in our fifteen days. Take extra time out of your day to spend with Him in His Word and in Prayer. Picture the elements of your life as a house. Is your den (spare time room) or your kitchen (friendships) cleaned up and straightened? How is each closet of your mind? What about your game room or movie room? Has God been speaking to you about a room that needs His touch, His cleansing and loving touch?  Take that room to Him and let His light reveal what needs to be transformed and cleaned up, and allow His cleansing fire clean it. Choose a friend to tell how He is transforming this room in your life. It may be that, during the retreat, He was very clear about a room that needs “Welcome” hung on the door. He waits for the door to open.

All For Him – Rick