FEBRUARY 19

OUR PERSONAL PROMISES

********** ***********

Hebrews 12:28-29

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.  For our God is a consuming fire.”

Exodus 9:23

“And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt.”

Exodus 19:18

Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.

Ephesians 2:8-9

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (no one can be ‘good enough’ to get to heaven.  It’s only by repenting of sin, proclaiming Jesus as your one and only Lord and Savior,  believing that God raised Him bodily from the dead, and that He is coming again.)

John 3:17

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

John 10:9

“I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”

Psalm 80:3

“Restore us, O God; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!”

Psalm 107:13

“Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses.”

********** **********

Our book for this month  is called “100 NAMES OF GOD”  written by Christopher D. Hudson.  Each day we’ll take one Hebrew name for God as given in the Bible to study and relate to.

AKAL ESH

CONSUMING FIRE

“For the Lord your God is a consuming fire a jealous God.”

Deuteronomy 4:24

Few things are as terrifying as a massive wildfire.  In the face of a raging inferno, there’s nowhere to hide, nowhere to run.  Often our most sophisticated fire-fighting tools are impotent.

So when God describes Himself in Scripture as a “consuming fire,” it’s enough to make us sit up and pay attention.  What does this mean?  Why would God say such a thing?

God first revealed that He is a consuming fire when insisting that His people worship Him ALONE. 

God gave Himself the name JEALOUS ~  ~ EL KANNA ~ ~ in Exodus 34:14 and 20:5.   He is NOT OK  with us using Him for what we can get, then turning around and giving our hearts to other things in this world.  God wants us for Himself – not because He’s insecure or needy, but because it’s obscene and absurd for creatures to reject their perfect Creator in favor of something less.

And yet we are all guilty.  We turn away from God and look elsewhere for salvation and satisfaction.  This is why the Bible is full of fiery imagery – fire typically represents judgment.  God, in His holiness, MUST judge sin.  Throughout the Old Testament, we see fire literally consuming rebellious people in judgment.

The fact that God ‘is a consuming fire” would be terrible news if not for Christ. 

On the cross, Jesus willingly endured the FULL WRATH of God’s righteous judgment against sin.  He took the fiery punishment we deserved.

 As a result, those who trust in Jesus, believing that He paid the price for their sins on the cross, that He died in their place, and was resurrected bodily,~~  when they repent of their sins,  and  make Him the Lord of their lives, they no longer have to worry about the consuming fire of God’s judgment.  In Christ we are forgiven.

For believers, God becomes, as it were, a different kind of consuming fire ~ ~ He’s a PURIFYING fire.  At salvation, He consumes our sin and guilt.  Then for the rest of our lives, He purifies and transforms us, through His indwelling Spirit, in the same way impurities are burned away during the refining process of gold.  We see a picture of this in the Old Testament as God dramatically removed negative influences  from within the Hebrew camp in Numbers chapter 16.

It comes down to a choice:  Either we trust the God who is a consuming fire to consume our sin and guilt in Christ’s sacrifice, or we rebelliously reject Christ and experience the consuming fires of divine judgment forever and ever.

What Biblical stories remind you that God is a consuming fire?

*** ***

PRAYER

Lord God, I need you to burn in my life.  I have imperfections that hinder me and hold me back.  I can’t wish them away.  They can only be removed by Your refining fire.  Amen

SALVATION PRAYER:

Father God, I know that Your Son Jesus Christ, the second person of the Holy Trinity, took on the cloak of humanity in order to  pay the horrible price for MY sins, died, was buried, and was resurrected, all in my place so that I may take on His righteousness as He took on my sinfulness, so that I can live forever with You, Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit forever.   I repent of my sins and go forward in the power of the Holy Spirit to live with Jesus Christ as my True Lord and Savior, looking for the day that Jesus comes again to take me home.   I thank You and praise You for Your plan of salvation, Your Word, and Your great love for me.   Amen..

Published by liveinthelightofourlord

View all posts by liveinthelightofourlord