Burning Bush
Greetings from Me and My House,
The destruction of passion and desire is so subtle. It is worn away, by a slow erosion until it no longer appears the grand mountain it once was. Many times, its grandeur is not only lost, but also forgotten.
Perhaps it is better said, a mighty fire roars within us. Like the bush we’re to burn but not be burnt up or out. We’re to feed on the energy of the flame as we pursue its pull on our heart. That flame of passions and desires brings our life meaning and purpose. But little by little the raindrops of life can slowly quench the flame, until there remains only a flicker. Many times that flicker is buried in a pile of ash, dormant, apparently dead. Now and then rekindled in a pocket of sparks here and there as the gentle breeze of the Spirit seeks to revive it. But largely quenched and buried. It no longer burns hot and bright, a brilliant blaze. It no longer is able to give of its light, warmth and comfort.
Perhaps someone, perhaps it was you, felt its heat, and deemed it out of control and splashed it with buckets of water to purposely quench it. Or perhaps it was just the droplets of life that gradually turned your roaring blaze into a pile of cold wet ashes.
But can there be Life without fire? What is Life without fire? Not living. Without fire there is no direction, no purpose, no meaning. Without direction, purpose, and meaning there is not Life – for these are the issues of the heart and without a beating heart, the issues of life cannot flow.
Turn your ear, burnt out one, to the Word of Hope, the Truth that will set you free. As Paul exhorted Timothy, “stir up that gift that was placed within you.” Allow the wind of the Holy Spirit to fan into flame that dying ember. Allow the blaze to burst forth, knowing that it is fed by the Breath of the Spirit. He will not fuel a destructive, wild fire. But will contain its hot burning blaze. The bush burned. Its light drew. But it did not consume all that was around it. It wasn’t even consumed itself. Its flame did not turn to ash. As the wind of the Spirit fed the fire it continued to burn, as brightly in the end as at the start. Its light drew. It gave warmth and comfort, as well as light. And he who encountered the blaze came away from the bush a man changed forever.
Forgive my horrendous paraphrase on revival, “People will come to see a fire. Set yourself on fire, and they will come.” It is the bush that burns that offers light, warm, and comfort. It is the bush that burns that draws others near. It is the bush that burns that has something to offer that will change lives.
It is “safe” to just be a bush. It takes vulnerability to be a burning bush. It takes being a living bush to not be consumed. The dry bush can quickly turn to ash. But the bush that is continuously drawing up the Living Water of Life, will burn and not be consumed when ignited by the blaze of the Spirit. It takes this balance of the Spirit and the Word to live a burning life of passion, that doesn’t burn up or out.
Many fear that their passions, when allowed to burn deeply will only draw prideful attention to themselves. That passions are self-centered and selfish. That they are only about “doing what I want”. Perhaps that is true of the dry bush. The dry bush that sets itself on fire, will probably draw attention to itself but then turn to ash quickly. But this is not so of the living bush, drawing on the wells of Living Water, that is ignited by the Fire of Heaven Himself. Think, what was seen by Moses? It was the Fire that drew him, not the bush. He could tell there was a bush, but he came near because the Fire was different. It was the Glory of the Fire that changed his life, not the bush itself. The bush was only an instrument for the Fire to flow through.
Where do passions and desires come from? The flesh? Oh yes, there are many fleshly passions. But we are not talking of those passions that consume you, those passions that prey on your dryness and quickly turn you to ash. We are talking about the passions of a living bush. The burning desires of the heart of one who delights himself in the Lord. “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Who gave you the desires of your heart? Or worded differently so you can really catch the meaning here, Who put the desires into your heart? He did! Yes, when you delight yourself in Him, He will place the desires He wants you to have in your heart. Your heart will burn with passion for the things He desires to give you. Your desires will be His desires. And as you allow the Breath of His Spirit to blow upon them, they will ignite into the blaze that does not consume.
Oh bush, are you dry? Draw from the well of Living Water. Quench your thirst by the Word of God – the Living Word - Jesus and the Spoken Word - the Bible. Love the Word – the Living and the Spoken. Fill your life with it, with Him.
Oh living bush, have you or the circumstances around you caused your fire to grow dim? Allow the Breath of the Spirit to blow once again on you, to ignite your passions. To fan those embers into a blaze.
What are those passions He has placed inside you of which you always said, “I could never do that?” What are those desires of which you always said, “Oh, that is just me?” What sparks has He placed inside of your heart that you have feared allowing them to be fanned, for you couldn’t see how it could be. Those are the desires He gives to those who delight themselves in Him. Those desires that cannot be accomplished on our own. Those desires that will take His Spirit, His All-Powerful Spirit, to accomplish in our lives.
What have you been told you cannot do? He can do it. Living bush, dare to allow the fullness of Life through the Water and the Fire to set you ablaze but not be consumed, an unquenchable Fire. Dare to dream. Dare to desire. Dare to pursue your passions. Dare to allow the Fire to bring purpose, direction and meaning to your life. Dare to Live. Dare to be a Burning Bush.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Deep calls unto deep." It is our desire to provide thought provoking ideas that will draw you to seek deeper in the Spirit, to gain Clearer Vision as you pursue a Life of purpose through Passion, Purity and Power.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Legacy is... equipping our children - spirit, soul, and body - to face, stand, and shine in a world of cunning deception."
Want to know how you can best glorify God? Shine!!! It's your highest calling. "Let your light so shine before men that you may glorify your Father in heaven."
At Jesus' feet,
Lisa @ Me and My House Ministries
The destruction of passion and desire is so subtle. It is worn away, by a slow erosion until it no longer appears the grand mountain it once was. Many times, its grandeur is not only lost, but also forgotten.
Perhaps it is better said, a mighty fire roars within us. Like the bush we’re to burn but not be burnt up or out. We’re to feed on the energy of the flame as we pursue its pull on our heart. That flame of passions and desires brings our life meaning and purpose. But little by little the raindrops of life can slowly quench the flame, until there remains only a flicker. Many times that flicker is buried in a pile of ash, dormant, apparently dead. Now and then rekindled in a pocket of sparks here and there as the gentle breeze of the Spirit seeks to revive it. But largely quenched and buried. It no longer burns hot and bright, a brilliant blaze. It no longer is able to give of its light, warmth and comfort.
Perhaps someone, perhaps it was you, felt its heat, and deemed it out of control and splashed it with buckets of water to purposely quench it. Or perhaps it was just the droplets of life that gradually turned your roaring blaze into a pile of cold wet ashes.
But can there be Life without fire? What is Life without fire? Not living. Without fire there is no direction, no purpose, no meaning. Without direction, purpose, and meaning there is not Life – for these are the issues of the heart and without a beating heart, the issues of life cannot flow.
Turn your ear, burnt out one, to the Word of Hope, the Truth that will set you free. As Paul exhorted Timothy, “stir up that gift that was placed within you.” Allow the wind of the Holy Spirit to fan into flame that dying ember. Allow the blaze to burst forth, knowing that it is fed by the Breath of the Spirit. He will not fuel a destructive, wild fire. But will contain its hot burning blaze. The bush burned. Its light drew. But it did not consume all that was around it. It wasn’t even consumed itself. Its flame did not turn to ash. As the wind of the Spirit fed the fire it continued to burn, as brightly in the end as at the start. Its light drew. It gave warmth and comfort, as well as light. And he who encountered the blaze came away from the bush a man changed forever.
Forgive my horrendous paraphrase on revival, “People will come to see a fire. Set yourself on fire, and they will come.” It is the bush that burns that offers light, warm, and comfort. It is the bush that burns that draws others near. It is the bush that burns that has something to offer that will change lives.
It is “safe” to just be a bush. It takes vulnerability to be a burning bush. It takes being a living bush to not be consumed. The dry bush can quickly turn to ash. But the bush that is continuously drawing up the Living Water of Life, will burn and not be consumed when ignited by the blaze of the Spirit. It takes this balance of the Spirit and the Word to live a burning life of passion, that doesn’t burn up or out.
Many fear that their passions, when allowed to burn deeply will only draw prideful attention to themselves. That passions are self-centered and selfish. That they are only about “doing what I want”. Perhaps that is true of the dry bush. The dry bush that sets itself on fire, will probably draw attention to itself but then turn to ash quickly. But this is not so of the living bush, drawing on the wells of Living Water, that is ignited by the Fire of Heaven Himself. Think, what was seen by Moses? It was the Fire that drew him, not the bush. He could tell there was a bush, but he came near because the Fire was different. It was the Glory of the Fire that changed his life, not the bush itself. The bush was only an instrument for the Fire to flow through.
Where do passions and desires come from? The flesh? Oh yes, there are many fleshly passions. But we are not talking of those passions that consume you, those passions that prey on your dryness and quickly turn you to ash. We are talking about the passions of a living bush. The burning desires of the heart of one who delights himself in the Lord. “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Who gave you the desires of your heart? Or worded differently so you can really catch the meaning here, Who put the desires into your heart? He did! Yes, when you delight yourself in Him, He will place the desires He wants you to have in your heart. Your heart will burn with passion for the things He desires to give you. Your desires will be His desires. And as you allow the Breath of His Spirit to blow upon them, they will ignite into the blaze that does not consume.
Oh bush, are you dry? Draw from the well of Living Water. Quench your thirst by the Word of God – the Living Word - Jesus and the Spoken Word - the Bible. Love the Word – the Living and the Spoken. Fill your life with it, with Him.
Oh living bush, have you or the circumstances around you caused your fire to grow dim? Allow the Breath of the Spirit to blow once again on you, to ignite your passions. To fan those embers into a blaze.
What are those passions He has placed inside you of which you always said, “I could never do that?” What are those desires of which you always said, “Oh, that is just me?” What sparks has He placed inside of your heart that you have feared allowing them to be fanned, for you couldn’t see how it could be. Those are the desires He gives to those who delight themselves in Him. Those desires that cannot be accomplished on our own. Those desires that will take His Spirit, His All-Powerful Spirit, to accomplish in our lives.
What have you been told you cannot do? He can do it. Living bush, dare to allow the fullness of Life through the Water and the Fire to set you ablaze but not be consumed, an unquenchable Fire. Dare to dream. Dare to desire. Dare to pursue your passions. Dare to allow the Fire to bring purpose, direction and meaning to your life. Dare to Live. Dare to be a Burning Bush.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Deep calls unto deep." It is our desire to provide thought provoking ideas that will draw you to seek deeper in the Spirit, to gain Clearer Vision as you pursue a Life of purpose through Passion, Purity and Power.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Legacy is... equipping our children - spirit, soul, and body - to face, stand, and shine in a world of cunning deception."
Want to know how you can best glorify God? Shine!!! It's your highest calling. "Let your light so shine before men that you may glorify your Father in heaven."
At Jesus' feet,
Lisa @ Me and My House Ministries
posted by Lisa @Me and My House @ 9/24/2003 08:13:00 AM
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