Happy Valentines Eve

Stumbling out of bed in our shivering cold bedrooms, just as the red glow of the sun was slowly edging above the darkness at the horizon, we were drawn to the two places in our house where we would be warm and could be fed. One of those was the big room we called “the house.”  “The house” was Mom and Dad’s bedroom, our family room, and gathering place. The other one, of course, was the kitchen on the opposite end of the frame house.

“The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out” (Leviticus 6:13 KJV).

Keep that Fire Roaring?

My wife, Betty, and I are working our way through the book of Leviticus during our daily devotional reading. It is almost an understatement to say Leviticus is challenging to read and digest! It helps to think of it as the third “r” in the 3-R nexus of the first three books of the Bible. The first “r”, Genesis, describes man’s ruin through sin. The second “r”, Exodus, reveals his redemption via the power of God and blood sacrifice. Then Leviticus, the third “r”, illustrates and provides a way for sinful, corrupt man to be in a relationship with God through sacrifices, a system of laws, and prescribed practices.  One of those prescribed practices is, “The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar” (Lev. 6:13). 

But wait! That was the Old Testament—right? In the New Testament, Jesus offered Himself upon the altar of the cross as the once and for-all supreme sacrificial offering. Thus, burning animal sacrifices on the altar is no longer required. So, doesn’t that mean that the fires of the altar can stop burning? No!  The man-made inanimate altar provided a way for the people to have access and be in fellowship with God. Our hearts are now the altars upon which the fires must forever burn.

When the fire burns on the altar of our hearts, we are constantly drawn and connected to the roaring fire that is the life-sustaining power and love of God! It casts a light that allows sinners to see the glow of the Son above the darkness that is below the horizon where Satan has them. The altar fire in our hearts will allow someone to find their way out of the darkness of sin and unite in fellowship with the sun! In other words, someone whose life has been ruined by sin will see the fire burning in your heart and be redeemed so they can live in fellowship with and have a relationship with God!

In dismal times like the present when the nation is under a cloud of wickedness and our energy is being zapped as we try to keep track of the latest act of insanity, we must not allow the fire on the altar to go out. And if you are drained and weary from the daily grind and battles of life, still get up in the morning, as my Mom and Dad did, and make sure the fire is burning on the altar so that those who are shivering in the cold, even “the least of these” who are being trampled upon can be drawn, even if they are stumbling, to where they can be in fellowship and be warm and fed. Keep that fire roaring on the altar of your heart! I hope this makes sense to somebody!

Focus Quote: “And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

                                                                          –Exodus 3:2 KJV

The new book (a devotional anthology) by Alton Sumner, Standing on the Promises has now been published by Broad Wing Press, and will be available shortly!

altonesumner.com – an inspiring motivational ministry.

Reminders: 

Please continue to join us at 5:14 p.m. each day as we pause to pray. 

Blessings, Peace, and Love,

Alton

(301) 921-6060

Listening to the Soul! Lightening the Heart! Lifting the Spirit!

Dr. Alton E. Sumner

(301) 921-6060