Our God is an all consuming fire, and fire is part of His creation.
God uses His fire as He pleases.
"This
description of God, as a consuming fire, is a description of His very
nature. “Consuming fire” is God’s holiness manifested in judgment. God’s glory, God’s holiness is likened to a devouring fire in, (Exodus 24:16, 17) “The glory of the
Lord abode upon Mount
Sinai , and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day He
called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. And the
sight of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of
the children of Israel ”. God’s judgment is described as a consuming fire to
destroy Israel ’s
enemies in the Promised Land. We
read in, (Deuteronomy 9:3) “Understand
therefore this day, that the Lord thy God is He which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire He shall
destroy them (Israel ’s
enemies) and He shall bring them down before thy face: so shall thou drive them
out, and destroy them quickly, as the Lord hath said unto thee'".[1]
Deuteronomy 4:24 and 9:3
Hebrews 12:29
The burning bush
God didn't send for a Yellow Cab when He wanted to
bring Elijah to Heaven.
Elijah and Elisha were walking
together, " And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and
smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two
went over on dry ground. And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah
said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from
thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon
me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing:
nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto
thee; but if not, it shall not be so. And
it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there
appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder;
and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My
father, my father, the chariot of Israel Jordan
With a Pillar of fire by night, and a pillar of cloud
by day, God lead Israel
How can God use fire?
Elijah and the prophets of Baal. 1 Kings 18:25
"Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a
prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let
them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for
themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under:
and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under:
And call ye on the name of
your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord:
and the God that answered by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered
and said, It is well spoken. And Elijah said
unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it
first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire
under. And they took
the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name
of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no
voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.
And it came to pass at noon,
that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is
talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleeps,
and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and
cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood
gushed out upon them. And
it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of
the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to
answer, nor any that regarded. And
Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came
near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was
broken down. And
Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of
Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came,
saying, Israel shall be thy name: And
with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord:
and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of
seed. And he put the
wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and
said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on
the wood. And he
said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do
it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the
altar; and he filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of
the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and
said, Lord God of
Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in
Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy
word. Hear me, O Lord,
hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God,
and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell, and
consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and
licked up the water that was in the trench. And
when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord,
he is the God."
The fire from Heaven consuming the offering, the wood, the
stones and the water.
Meshach, Shadrach and Abendego
The fire burnt
off the ropes that bound Meshach, Shadrach, Abendego, while not burning them or
their clothing. The fire was so hot that it killed the guards who threw them
into it. There was a fourth man seen in the fire.
God spoke to Moses from a burning bush
Fires to avoid
Refining fire
The fire of the Holy Spirit
Today, and
since the time of the Pentecost, "let the fire fall" has a new
meaning. I reference here the cloven tongues of the fire of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit, and His fire, are what Jesus promised He would send from the
Father. Luke 3:16 tells us: "John
(the baptizer) answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water;
but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to
unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:"
The armor of God protects us from the fiery darts of
the enemy.
Ephesians
6:10-17
Ephesians 6:16
Our desire for today: Lord please, help me live my life
filled with you.
Jesus asked us to "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to
every creature. He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."[3]
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