“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful…” — 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV84)
Like many of you, I read through the One Year Bible for my devotions each morning. I’ve done this for over 20 years. Sometimes, as I’m slogging through Leviticus, it is difficult to find a “meaningful” verse that applies to my every day life. Let’s face it, there are just so many ways you can apply verses dealing with offerings, skin infections, sacrifices, and atonement! Some days, I feel like I’m just going through the motions.
My goal this year is to get one verse each day from this book of the law. What I’ve found is that if I dig deep enough, I can find some real gems! For instance, some verses that really spoke to me recently are in Leviticus 6:12-13. They say, “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. The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must not go out.”
How does this apply, you may ask? For me, the power of this verse is that (just like the priest who had to get up early every single morning and stoke the fire on the altar near God’s tabernacle), I need to make a choice to “stoke the fire” of faith in my soul by choosing to be near God every day. I do this by praying fervently and reading His Word. I must not let this fire go out.
I’m sure the priest would have loved to hit the snooze button or let someone else do his job. He probably even considered just skipping a day or two – what could it hurt, right? It was most likely cold in the morning and he was tired and cranky. Sounds like me when I wake up. Every day, I have a choice to make. Will I get out of my warm bed and draw near to God? Will I stir myself up and stoke the flame of my soul so that God becomes more real to me? I need to make that choice daily.
How about you? Will you choose to “stoke” the fire and stir up your faith every day?
Stirred up for God,
Bill
Posted in A Word from the Pastor