It was one of God’s many instructions to Israel, but this admonition concerns the Jews’ WORSHIP of the Lord.

“The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.” Leviticus 6:13, the huge altar made of brass being the focus here. Where the animals (or parts thereof) were burned unto the Lord.

Never let the fire go out!

That alone shows that sin is a constant, even in the lives of the Israelites! (Even in our lives as Christians, too!) That specific altar is where atonement was made, the blood was shed.

The altar must always be ready!

But my emphasis this morning is not on the altar, or the sacrifice … but the FIRE itself.

Fire represents many things in the Bible … fervency and purity and diligence … being three of them.

Flaming embers, fire … is not a LUKEWARM issue! Neither is it COLD! It is CONSUMING and BLISTERING and even COMFORTING (on cold days) at times!

Now with those thoughts about this necessary, ever-present FIRE on the altar … I now add 2 Timothy 1:6 to our discussion. Paul asks Timothy to be diligent in this sense: “That thou STIR UP the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.”

“Stir up” some things in your life, Timothy!

Oh, that verb “stir up” is thrilling … a blend of “ana” and “zoe” and “pur” in Greek.

Literally, “KEEP ALIVE THE FIRE” that’s “in” you!

“Zoe” means life, keep the fires burning, alive!

“Pur” is the noun for “fire” itself.

And “ana” is a little preposition meaning (at times) “among” or “in!”

Put it all together … Timothy, the “fire” kindled down in your heart when you were fully dedicated to Jesus, when you were perhaps the closest to Him you’ve ever been … do not let that fire go out!

Keep that flame alive!

Our King James men, scholarly translators … as we must do to any fire … STIP UP those coals, keep the flames vibrant, hot!

How so, to us Gentiles now?

Do not allow the fires of loving the Bible grow low!

Do not allow the fire (warm and satisfying) of the Holy Spirit ever be quenched in your life! (“Quench not the Spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 5:19)

Do not allow the fire of your prayer life to grow cold.

The list goes on and on, of course … the Holy Spirit, however, is the Best Counsellor … concerning what most needs stirring in your heart, in your existence as a Believer in Jesus!

Anybody growing “lukewarm” today?

Then revive (what a good word, Revival) those flickering flames!

Peter even wrote that some day (when God judges the earth) … “The elements shall melt with FERVENT heat.” 2 Peter 3:10, which fierce condition must somehow involve fire!

That’s the word I want, “fervent!”

Paul encourages us to be “fervent in spirit.” Romans 12:11, where “fervent” actually means “hot, boiling.” Love that has been around the fire, apparently!

Even keep you heart/soul/spirit alive … with those embers of fiery devotion!

Back to where we started … “The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.”

Amen!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Wow!

.

God directly asked the Prophet Jonah (twice in fact) … “Doest thou well to be angry?”

See Jonah 4:4 and again Jonah 4:9.

Now undoubtedly, there are times when anger is NOT a sin. In fact, occasionally I submit anger can be righteous!

Jesus got angry when healing a man with a withered (paralyzed) hand! He “looked round about on them (his skeptical enemies) with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts.” Mark 3:5 (I will guarantee you there’s no sin in that kind of anger, Jesus being spotless!)

Paul even wrote … “Be ye angry, and sin not.” Ephesians 4:26

And how about this little Nugget? “God is angry with the wicked every day.” Psalm 7:11

But, having said that … most of the time our anger is not a good thing!

“Doest thou well to be angry?”

Impatience, a rash spirit, a loose tongue, maybe even a hard heart … all contribute to our sinful anger!

Proverbs 14:17 … “He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly.”

Proverbs 21:19 … “It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.”

Proverbs 22:24 … “Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go.”

Proverbs 29:22 … “An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.”

Proverbs 12:16 … “A fool’s wrath is presently known.”

Proverbs 14:29 … “He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.”

Proverbs 19:19 … “A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.”

Proverbs 27:3 … “A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.”

Many more Bible instances/warnings could be cited, of course.

But finally just this … the “fruit of the Spirit” … does NOT include anger! That emotion is rather a … “work of the flesh!”

Doest thou well to be angry?

Probably not!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

(Jonah sure didn’t!)

.

The word has has many interpretations, I realize.

But essentially (for the Christian) it means “to be made holy.” Or “to be consecrated, dedicated, set apart” (from the world.)

It’s almost easier to tell what it does not mean (impure, careless living) rather than what it does mean (loving God so much you try to live for him hour by hour)!

But look, sanctification is the Work of …

Jude Verse 1 … “Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by GOD THE FATHER.”

Then Hebrews 10:10 … “We are sanctified through the offering of the body of JESUS CHRIST once for all.

Now let’s consider 1 Peter 1:2 … “Through sanctification of the SPIRIT.” This too … “But ye are sanctified by the SPIRIT OF OUR GOD.” 1 Corinthians 6:11.

See the Reality here?

The Work of Sanctification is so important, so essential that the Godhead Totally participates in it!

The Father!

The Son!

The Holy Spirit!

Living clean lives for Jesus!

Yielding ourselves to the Lord constantly!

This thought too …

Sanctification is both a past and a present Situation!

You were sanctified back when you were saved, positionally “in Christ Jesus.”

You are still being sanctified day by day as you commune with the Holy Spirit, obey God’s Word, and adore the Lord Jesus! This is practical (as compared to positional) sanctification, something we seek for our lives!

Lastly, it is GOD’S WILL that we live sanctified lives!

Paul writing in 1 Thessalonians 4:3 … “For this is the WILL OF GOD, even your SANCTIFICATION, that ye should abstain from fornication” … and from every other form of sin as the Apostle continues to explain in this Text, his Letter to the Church at Thessalonica.

Wow!

We used to sing an old Church Song, “Take Time to be Holy!” Wonder where that went?

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

.

Our Text today is from Psalm 28:1 … “O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.”

I think this holy writer of old just told the Lord of heaven and earth that he so depends on Him, on the God of Abraham, on the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ … that the poor psalmist would die if God ever became silent!

Yes, “to go down into the pit” is synonymous with the grave, physical death. Down into a hole in the ground. Into a “dungeon,” at least 11 times in the Old Testament!

He simply MUST live in communion with the Lord!

Should not the same be true of us Christians today?

And here’s some good news, real good.

God is not silent … when you read His Word! (“Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying …” Jeremiah 2:1)

God is not silent when you “live” in “communion” with the Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit! (“The communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.” Paul praying in 2 Corinthians 13:14!)

Of course you can’t grieve the Holy Spirit, or quench Him … and live in sweet communion with Him every day, every hour.

God is not silent when we listen for His “still small voice.” (1 Kings 19:12) I think this may be referring to God’s leadership of us through the daily events of life. (As in “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD.” Psalm 37:23)

In a way, God is not silent when I talk a walk on a beautiful day. Recently I preached outdoors on top of a mountain. I heard God a hundred times that day, through his breeze, His clouds, His rocks and trees and valleys below! (“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.” Psalm 98:4)

And if you’re reading here today saying “None of the above” … you’re in trouble, spiritually.

That’s because of this truth … “My sheep HEAR my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27

Then the saddest thing of all … many live (sinners and some professing Christians too) their days and weeks without hearing a single word form God!

And don’t even care!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

When is the last time YOU heard from the Lord?

.

“And God divided the light from the darkness.” Genesis 1:4

God made both, light and darkness, of course. But He “separated” them on the “First Day” of Creation Week.

And that is God’s Plan yet!

So … even in our lives as Christians this principle of God still holds true, should hold sway.

“And God divided the light from the darkness.”

So, while it is “day” in our journey, our pilgrimage Heavenward … we had best be busy. Listen to Jesus as He teaches in John 9:4 … “I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” See the distinction, day and night … or … light and darkness?

And particularly in the arena of holy living … Paul succinctly wrote: “Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.” (Romans 13:12) An ever clearer line of demarcation!

I think I might even say that for the Christin … that whole idea of a “gray area” (Is this thing/activity acceptable or not?) … might not be valid!

I am not saying God is color blind, His Grace is “manifold” (a Greek word meaning “many-colored”) … but I am forcefully saying God believes in “separation!”

Separation from sin, from the world, the works of iniquity, and a whole lot more! As we Christians are probably going to increasingly learn in any future time God gives us on earth.

But then this stipulation …

It’s not just separation “from” … as in “from the darkness!

It is also separation “unto” … as in “unto the light, walking in the light!

For example … “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7

Amen!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell

Just a little Bible Thought to ponder this cool Tuesday in November.

.