A Call to Holy Fire

Beloved, a tempest is gathering, and the hour approaches when no philosophy, no fleeting debate, no fleeting pleasure, nor any tangled web of theological dogma will sustain you. What your soul will crave—nay, demand—is an all-consuming, holy love that blazes with unyielding fervor, a faith in Christ that surges ever upward, and a pure, weighty fear of God, kindled by the Holy Spirit as you yield in absolute surrender and unwavering obedience. You must have joy unspeakable, radiant with glory, a fire that cannot be quenched. Without cleaving to the Lord your God with every fiber of your heart, soul, mind, and strength, you will falter, unable to endure to the end. The cares of this world will choke you, its deceits will sweep you away in a torrential flood, and when persecution crashes like a storm, you will stumble into a bottomless pit, finding no bottom for your feet.

KEEP YOUR FIRST LOVE BURNING! Do not let it flicker. Some of your pursuits—endless debates, idle fascinations—are like hurling bricks into the sacred fire that the Spirit of God once ignited in your heart. Remember that moment when your eyes were opened, when you saw the stark vanity and sinfulness of your ways? You cried out to God, tasted His grace, and were stirred with holy awe to labor for His kingdom—preaching the Gospel, serving the broken, and studying His Word to stand approved. What fire are you feeding now? The divine flame that fell upon the altar of your surrendered heart, or the cold, eternal embers of outer darkness? What you sow, you shall reap. Are you spiritually starved, your strength waning? Examine what you scatter through the week—chasing fleeting ideas or shallow discussions? REPENT!

Are you a voice crying out, a hand extended to deliver the afflicted, the orphan, the widow, those dead in their trespasses and sins? Are you one heralding in the desolate wilderness of this world, “Prepare the way of the Lord!”—or are you adding to the chaos, the hypocrisy, the coldness, and the death that festers around us, justified by hollow words? Are you a blazing torch, piercing the shadows of streets, neighborhoods, and town squares, or are you blending into the darkness, sipping at its vanities while musing over novel ideas and clever disputes?

Does the weight of Christ’s heart press upon you daily? Can you feel the sorrow and grief that marked Him, the Man of Sorrows, so intimately acquainted with the world’s pain? Walk with Christ, and when the hour of trial comes, you will lack nothing. Cling to Him, and His strength will be your fortress, His love your fire, His truth your unshakable foundation!