CONSUMED BY GOD’S FIRE

Jer.20:9 – But if I say, “I will not remember Him

Nor speak anymore in His name,”

Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire

Shut up in my bones;

And I am tired of holding it in,

And I cannot endure it.

The Lord recently reminded us of the catastrophic volcanic eruption in the 1800’s at the mountain called Krakatoa. The eruption was sudden and catastrophic with world wide implications. In the same way when there are spiritual eruptions they too can be sudden and also have world wide implications. I think of the Azusa Street outpouring in Los Angeles in 1906. Thousands of people made their way from around the world to experience the atmosphere of those meetings. There was a fire that began to consume everyone that came to Azusa Street that begin to light other fires all around the world. 130 years later those fires are still burning around the world.

It is said that Krakatoa altered the temperature of the entire planet for the next year. Here is a quote from Google that confirms that.

Climate Cooling:
The massive amount of ash and debris released into the atmosphere caused a temporary global cooling effect, dropping average temperatures by as much as (0.9°F) for the year following the eruption.

As for spiritual eruptions, they raise the temperature rather than lowering the temperature. Maybe another spiritual Krakatoa is about to pour fire on his church again. Here is something Ambrose said about the fire of God.

“Indeed, Christ, loving Moses, appeared to him in fire, and Jeremiah, having in himself the gift of divine love, said, “There was a burning fire in my bones, and I have become weakened on every side, and I cannot bear it.” Love is good, then, having wings of burning fire as it flies through the breasts and hearts of the saints and consumes whatever is material and earthly but tests whatever is pure and with its fire makes better whatever it has touched. This fire the Lord Jesus sent on earth, and faith shone bright, devotion was enkindled, love was illuminated, and justice was filled with splendor.”

The outpouring of the Spirit is literally a deluge of God’s love. If you are caught in its eruption a love for God will enflame you. It’s His infinite love for us that brings us to repentance, fills our hearts with a love for Him, and causes us to walk a life of purity.