Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
A lot of people in this world get up to a nice warm house every morning during the winter time. This is because they burn things like propane or fuel oil which pretty much keeps the house at an even temperature all winter long. For twenty five years, our family has always had a wood cookstove in our kitchen that not only provides meals each day but heating for our home in the cold winter months. But there are many times in the middle of the night that the house will begin to cool down as the stove starts to burn out early in the morning. Because of this you will have to get up and start a brand new fire. In the early fall, I have taken a large pile of extremely dry twigs and small branches, and cut them all up about 6 in. long. Normally the sticks are smaller than a quarter inch in diameter, and I can take bailing twine and tie them all up into a tiny little log, with some birch bark stuffed inside. It’s very easy to make a couple hundred of them during your spare time, and then keep them stored away in a nice dry area. Then, whenever you have to start the fire in the morning, all it really takes is one match to light that starter, which will fire up all of your dry kindling and the split logs that are stacked on top of it.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
Lighting a fire each morning is something that is quite commonplace for people who live off the grid, but it is also a constant reminder of our relationship with God. Each morning, we must continue to kindle a fresh fire deep inside of our hearts, which will require seeking out the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Heavenly firestarter.
Psalms 63:1 (KJB) O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
In our home, one of the first things we do each morning is light a fire, but this is the same attitude that we must possess in regards to our relationship with the Lord Jesus. Early morning prayer is extremely important to keep our hearts filled up with the fire of the Holy Spirit, and He must be the first one that we diligently seek after every single day. Diligence is to perform tasks with a steady careful and persistent effort, and is often described as hard work and dedication. How diligently are you seeking after God? Is He first in your daily routine? When we diligently seek Him, the Lord fills up the firebox of our hearts with the Holy Spirit, and just like being rewarded with heat from an early morning fire, God will reward those who diligently seek Him.
Jeremiah 29:13 (KJB) And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
Proverbs 7:15 (KJB) Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
Hebrews 11:6 (KJB) But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Proverbs 7:15 (KJB) Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee.
One of the greatest downfalls in the Christian Life is putting everything else first before God. The cares and the desires of this Earth become more important during your day, and then snuff out the fire of one’s relationship with God. Like oil lamps, we must make sure that our hearts are filled up with the Holy Spirit every single day, so that we are burning brightly for Him and prepared for His return. Today is the day to seek God, and we must take the opportunity right now to fill up our oil lamps with Spiritual fuel. Those who put it off until later time will suffer for their own procrastination, and will be completely unprepared for what is coming in the future.
Matthew 25:1-13 (KJB) Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
Luke 12:35-37 (KJB) Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.
Unlike many people, I light a fire every day in my wood stove, but that is exactly what each of us must do each day inside of our hearts. It must be a regular routine that springs forth from a diligent, devoted and seeking heart. We must rise up each morning and light the fire once again, by calling out to God to ignite us with His Holy Spirit, because just like striking a match to the driest of tinder, our precious Lord is our Heavenly,…..
…….Firestarter
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
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