A Life AblazeSample

Day 2: Ablaze With God’s Word

Today, we’re going to look at the primary fuel that will make all the difference in your spiritual life — the Word of God. If you try to live a life of spiritual fervor and intensity without it, your flame will soon go out.

The Bible is a book that holds the very presence, power, and the fire of God inside of it. In Jeremiah 20:9 KJV, Jeremiah writes, “…His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones…” The Bible itself is a fire, and when you take it into your heart, it drives out darkness, provides illumination, brings warmth, burns away rubbish, and spreads its flames to others nearby. There’s absolutely nothing to compare to the intense fire of the Word of God!

Luke 24 KJV records the account of Jesus and the disciples walking on the road to Emmaus. They didn’t yet recognize the risen Savior, but Luke 24:32 KJV tells us that their hearts burned when Jesus offered His presence and His words to them. This word “burn” is the Greek word that literally means to be ignited, to be set on fire, or even to be consumed with fire. So you could actually translate the verse like this:

“Did not our hearts feel ignited within us as He spoke about the Scriptures with us? Didn’t our hearts burn within us and feel consumed in a blaze of fire as He spoke?”

Jesus opened the Scriptures to these two disciples, and the result was that their hearts were set ablaze. That’s because the Bible is fuel, and even more than that, it is itself a carrier of divine fire and presence. Martin Luther once said, “The Bible is alive; it speaks to me. It has feet; it runs after me. It has hands; it lays hold of me.” There truly is nothing like the Bible. When you take it into yourself, you can’t help but be spiritually stirred up and transformed from the inside out.

Psalm 119:28 KJV tells us that when someone takes in the Bible, it imparts power to him. It imparts energy and divine strength. If you feel like a weakling, God’s Word will transform you into a spiritual giant. If you feel that your fire is smoldering, take the Scriptures into you, and they will release their fiery effect and cause you to come alive again with the fire of God. On a steady diet of God’s Word, you will sustain your spiritual fire for years to come.

For Your Consideration:

• Jeremiah the prophet wrote that God’s Word was as a fire shut up in his bones. What did he mean by that statement?
• As fire in the natural world burns garbage and other debris, how does the Word of God, when read, studied, and acted upon, burn away things from our lives that need to be removed?