Consuming Fire

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:28-29


This week we read about unshakable foundations in regards to our lives that are also considered houses. In this passage of scripture, we look at not only houses that are unshakable, but an entire kingdom! We will receive that kingdom if we know God with our hearts. We should worship and respect God for this. We should view God with awe!

That is because,"our God is a consuming fire." It doesn't say that God is a little warm or even that we serve a white-hot God, but that our God is a consuming fire.

To me that speaks of a fire that can destroy anything; a fire that can consume any matter that it comes into contact with. Hotter than molten rock or the surface of the sun, God is comparably that powerful. Actually even more powerful, our words are limited in our description, but His power is not!

I remember how hot the fire was that destroyed the Twin Towers on 9-11. I remember a fire so hot that it melted massive steel beams, glass, concrete, and various other materials. I remember the devastation from that consuming fire. But even that fire wasn't all consuming; it was eventually extinguished. But God's fire, His power, will never be extinguished.

And as mighty as the Twin Towers were, they were still laid to waste by heat;and so will everything that is not built on the foundation of God, an unshakable kingdom. Nothing will stop that. Our God is a consuming fire...

My challenge today is not to scare you into submission, but to really think about how powerful our God is. My hope is that this will inspire you to buid on solid rock in the neighborhood that is an unshakable kingdom. And I also want to challenge you to serve God with all that you have. Even in the small and seemingly insignificant ways. But serve a God that is a consuming fire with passion that is like-wise. Don't give a luke warm effort in service and worship to a God that has power to melt the sun. I challenge you to live as though you have the power, in God, to melt away any material that you come into contact with! Your ministries and communities will not be the same if you live your life with this philosophy. And even if your purpose seems small, it will be hot enough to burn away anything that opposes you, by the power of a consuming God who is treated with respect and awe; and one that has an unshakable kingdom.