Keep the Fire Burning

From my journal entry - February 07, 06
SCRIPTURE:
Leviticus 6: 8 - 13
The LORD said to Moses: 9 "Give Aaron and his sons this command: 'These are the regulations for the burnt offering: 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. 10 The priest shall then put on his linen clothes, with linen undergarments next to his body, and shall remove the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed on the altar and place them beside the altar. 11 Then he is to take off these clothes and put on others, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially clean. 12 The fire on the altar must be kept burning; it must not go out. 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. 13 The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.
OBSERVATION:
Throughout this section of scripture we are introduced well to the details or sacrifice and God's prescription for repentance and the acts necessary for our sins to be covered. The prescription is long and today we are all to be grateful to Jesus for His work on the cross and the fact that He has removed our sins. We are not forgiven by works but by faith. We are not forgiven by following the details of Leviticus but by turning from our sin and turning to the Lord. It is as we follow Him we are found and given our redemption.

• Romans 3:25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—(NIV)
  
• Ephesians 5:2"...and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." (NIV)I John 4:10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (NIV)

One thing that stands out to me (verse 12) is the phrase: The fire on the altar must be kept burning - it must not go out. This phrase is repeated in verse 13. - It must not go out! Why is it so important to keep the fire burning on the altar? If it goes out, you light another one. Perhaps the fire is more than combustion; it resembles God. "The Eternal your God is a consuming fire" (Deuteronomy 4:24, 9:3). And that might be why God twice instructs Moses and Aaron to make fires that must always burn: "Have the Israelites bring the clear oil of beaten olives for lighting, for kindling a perpetual flame" (Exodus 27:20, Leviticus 24:2). And now we learn that there is also supposed to be a perpetual fire going on the altar - a fire for consuming sacrifices and with them, the designs of men. Surely if they get consumed, then the request had been accepted (consummated?). Fire is the core symbol of transformation, the process whereby matter becomes energy, right before our eyes. Remember, the possibility of being consumed is ever present. It takes any "somethingness" and turns it into "nothingness."From Kushner and Mamet, Five Cities of Refuge: Weekly Reflections on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy (New York: Schoken Books,2003), p. 85.

This fire may well be symbolic of the presence of God in our lives and the power of Jesus and His sacrifice for us. The fire coming down from heaven, was to be perpetually preserved, and not allowed to be snuffed out or to be limited. The fire also reminds us that the sacrifice that was placed on the altar was acceptable. God brought the fire down. Jesus is a fully acceptable sacrifice and when we are in Him we too are found acceptable. The scripture refers to "Every morning" — the morning is only mentioned, because then the altar was cleansed, and the ashes taken away, and a new fire made. Each day as we arise let's set our hearts to making room for the fire God has for us that day and to keep the fire burning inside of us. Let God's perpetual fire on the altar of our hearts, consume us. We are to draw close to God and allow His fire of love, grace, the Holy Spirit work in us and through us. We always need to be conscious of what we bring to our worship, prayer, meditation times before God. It is not enough to just show up at church and expect the fire to stay ignited and deep growth take place. Like the perpetual fire on the altar, we must strive to make connection with God always, each day, throughout the day in and outside of church. Continually stoking the fire of our souls and keeping that fire burning always. It is the fire that we keep burning on the altar of our heart that assures that, when we are ready to bring that which we have to offer, it will be fully accepted by God. With a committed heart towards God our fire can stay lit and our hearts stay warm - rather than grow cold. We will all face opposition at times and be tempted to run on yesterdays fire - but each day we need to rise up and clean out the ashes and get stoked for God. Let our lives burn brightly for Him and see the fire in us bring glory to God and blessing.
Consecration is a matter of the heart.

APPLICATION:
May it be that we invest the time to keeping God a priority and our fire - He in us burning. May we all come to Him in such a way that we deal with our "ashes" our sin and quickly repent of our wrong doing and move to the prescription of His Son being our sacrifice. Only Jesus covers and then erases sin.

PRAYER:
God, forgive us for the times that we allow the fire to go out - time in which we believe we can run on yesterdays fire and times we allow the cold effect of our sin to distance us from you. May you give us courage to confess our sin, move to the sacrifice, Jesus and ignite a new passion for you as we are forgiven. May our hearts be on fire for you and filled with fresh consecration and commitment to you. In Jesus' Name, Amen