Let's talk a little bit about a campfire. Camping is one of our favorite pastimes, and sitting around the campfire is the best part of a campout. As the fire burns, there develops in the very heart of the fire hot, glowing embers. Should the flames of the fire go out, these embers can easily reignite the fire. All you have to do is blow really hard directly on the embers and the flames will shot up once again. Most of the time, campers will gently cover up the last embers of their evening fire to protect those hot coals from going out completely. In the morning, they will stir up the embers and blow on them to help start the morning campfire. This process is much easier than starting a fire from scratch because there is still a spark ready to ignite into flame.
Wikipedia says this about embers:
Embers can glow very hot, sometimes as hot as the fire which created them. They radiate a substantial amount of heat long after the fire has been extinguished, and if not taken care of properly can rekindle a fire that is thought to be completely extinguished and can pose a fire hazard...They are often used for cooking, such as in charcoal barbecues. This is because embers radiate a more constant form of heat, as opposed to an open fire which is constantly changing along with the heat it radiates.
Wow! What an image for us! Our passion for life and ministry may wane and circumstances may put our fire out, but if we stay rooted and grounded in Christ, relying on Him for our strength, then we can burn like the embers! We can radiate heat even when the flame of our passion is gone.
Here's another thing that wikipedia tells us about embers...
Embers play a large role in forest fires. Since embers are typically burnt leaves and thus small and light, they can be blown away by the wind. During a large fire, with the right wind conditions, embers can be blown far ahead of the fire front, starting spot fires hundreds of metres away.
Oh that our faith and our walk with the Lord would be like these embers...that we would spread the fire of God to others! Our ministry has the potential to reach far more people than we could ever imagine if we are ignited by the flame of the Holy Spirit and trusting Him to sustain us. He will send the embers of His flame ahead of us and prepare hearts and minds to receive the message that He has given us!
The greatest message here, is that we must keep the embers of our faith glowing with heat. If we keep in contact with the Holy Spirit, the source of our strength and the source of our flame, then despite our circumstance, we will not burn out. We must pray, we must read the Word, and we must worship. We must listen for the voice of the Father everyday in order to keep our fire from going out completely. If we are consistent with our relationship with Him, then we will always have those embers of faith and trust glowing brightly within our heart, even when we have no flame of passion left. When ministry drains you and the storms of life come, those embers will keep your faith alive and keep your ministry from becoming ineffective.
Jeremiah said:
But if I say I’ll never mention the LordJeremiah 20:9 NLT
or speak in his name,
his word burns in my heart like a fire.
It’s like a fire in my bones!
I am worn out trying to hold it in!
I can’t do it!
Despite all the rejection and ridicule that Jeremiah suffered, the Lord sustained him by His Word and kept the fire alive in him. It was a fire that he could not contain!
The men on the road to Emmaus said this after realizing that they had been walking and talking with Jesus:
“Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”Luke 24:32 NLT
The same will happen to us as we walk and talk with the Lord. As we continue to walk and talk with Him daily, that fire will be kept alive in our hearts. The Holy Spirit will open the scriptures to us and sustain us by the Word of God and WE WILL NOT BURN OUT!! Praise the Lord! We will burn like embers with constant heat and sparks that catch the hearts of others on fire for God.
Because I love Zion, I will not keep still. Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.Isaiah 62:1 NLT
In our lives and in our ministries, may we be like Isaiah here...constantly praying that others will catch the fire and begin to spread the embers!!
True!
ReplyDeletegreat post :)
I have been thinking about embers also, someone mentioned the word to me the other day :-D