Consuming Fire

"The sinners in Jerusalem shake with fear.

Terror seizes the godless.

'Who can live with this devouring fire?' they cry.

'Who can survive this all-consuming fire?'

Those who are honest and fair,

who refuse to profit by fraud,

who stay far away from bribes,

who refuse to listen to those who plot murder,

who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong--

these are the ones who will dwell on high.

The rocks of the mountains will be their fortress.

Food will be supplied to them,

and they will have water in abundance."

Isaiah 33:14-16 NLT

God is love (1 John 4:16).  He is patient, compassionate and faithful (Exodus 34:6).  He is merciful, not giving me what I deserve (Psalm 103:10).  I get the feeling that God is cuddly and soft, warm and fuzzy, comfortable and tame.  But God is not a teddy bear.  Rather, He is a dangerous lion as Aslan, the archetype of Christ, is described in the C.S. Lewis classic The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, "He's wild, you know.  Not like a tame lion."  God is able to consume me with His holy fire (Hebrews 12:29).

While I'm protected from His wrath by the blood of Jesus, I don't want to take advantage of His grace, taunting and testing Him, flaunting my sin to see how deep His grace and mercy goes.  In the same way its not wise to provoke a seemingly friendly lion or gorilla at the local zoo, I must always keep in mind that He is not altogether safe.  He is good but still dangerous.  When I take Him lightly, playing around with Him as if He were under my thumb or wrapped around my little finger, I am not showing respect for His might and holiness, nor gratitude for His gracious gift of life and salvation.  When I realize His danger, I will be more careful to yield to His Spirit.  And when I let Him lead me, amazing things will happen.

Honest.  It's not always easy to do the right thing.  Sometimes I want what's easy not what is true.  I don't want to rock the boat or be the odd one who doesn't go along with the crowd so I don't act when I should.  Or I may gain from adjusting the numbers on my tax return thinking no one will know so I cheat. Or I'm unusually hard on some while giving others another chance; I'm not always fair.

God's Spirit convicts me of these things and when I take Him seriously, I pay attention to His gently prodding, the uncomfortable feeling that comes when I go outside His will.  Instead of pushing it aside and pretending I don't know any better, I stop doing what is wrong, submitting to His holy nature that's guiding me away from unrighteousness.  

When I keep God's holy and righteous fire in mind, I respond to His Spirit leading me to live honestly, fairly and to do what is right in His eyes.

Trusting.  I've become pretty good at working the system, at milking it for all it's worth, at getting what I deserve, my fair share.  Growing up in America, I learned that to get my piece of the pie I sometimes have to manipulate things.  Sometimes that means fudging the numbers when reporting the private purchase of a vehicle so I can keep more of my money instead of giving it to Uncle Sam, other times it means taking a free handout when someone else needs it more.  I often don't trust God to give me what I need, always thinking of ways I can have more.

God's Spirit gives me a different perspective when I take Him seriously.  It's easy to justify my actions, telling myself the kind of fraud I partake in is not so bad in order to appease my guilty conscience.  But if I realize how I grieve His Spirit with my wandering eye, my jealous spirit that sees my neighbor's life as more fulfilling or desires a different kind of blessing, I would stop yearning for more and start trusting Him in His provision.  Instead of failing to be happy with what He's graciously given me and looking for ways to get more, I can learn to be content in what I do have.

When I keep God's holy and righteous fire in mind, I respond to His Spirit leading me to walk in gratefulness where He is enough to satisfy.

Temptation.  Maybe I think I'm stronger than I am, or that I would never fall into "that kind of sin", or that I'm immune in some way.  Whatever the reason, I often don't take temptation seriously, thinking I could never give in.  When I do, I see the importance of doing whatever it takes to stay away from temptation, running in the other direction if necessary.

Jesus said "If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away.  It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell"  (Matthew 5:29). This is the kind of seriousness I must go about avoiding the temptation to lust, or lie, or doubt, or gossip, or hold a grudge, or a myriad of sins.  It is important that I avoid even looking upon evil much less taking part in it.  How many movies have I watched that depicted adulterous relationships, sexual exploits, or murderous plots?  I must not even have a hint of such things in my life for when my heart is involved, its the same as if I physically took part in such acts (Matthew 5:17-48,Ephesians 5:3, 1 Corinthians 6:9).

When I keep God's holy and righteous fire in mind, I respond to His Spirit leading me to stay away from temptation, not making provisions for sin or viewing others taking part in evil.

It's easy for me to get too comfortable with God, thinking of Him as a cuddly Santa Claus-type character.  In reality, He is a consuming fire, dangerous to play around with.  Keeping this in mind, I will better listen to His inner promptings and find a desire to live honestly and righteously, to trust Him enough to be content with His provision, and to flee all kinds of temptation.  In these ways I've shown that I understand God's full character, and that He is a consuming fire.

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I not only see God in a way that makes me comfortable, but in His true state.

How do I ignore His promptings, assuming He won't mind if I don't always listen?  

How am I not content with what He's given to me?