A FLAMING FIRE OR A FIZZLING FIREWORK
BREAD
14 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)
16 “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. 17 For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. 18 Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.” Luke 8:16-18 (NIV)
1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. 6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.” 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did–and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test the Lord, as some of them did–and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did–and were killed by the destroying angel. 1 Corinthians 10:1-10 (NIV)
33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 34 Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God–I say this to your shame. 1 Corinthians 15:33-34 (NIV)
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV)
18 Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. 1 Timothy 1:18-19 (NIV)
26 Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. 27 For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. 32 “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” Acts 20:26-32 (NIV)
10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 (NIV)
BUTTER
“Burn brightly without burning out.” Richard Biggs
“God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus.” Jim Elliot
“Give me the love that leads the way, The faith that nothing can dismay, The hope no disappointments tire, The passion that will burn like fire, Let me not sink to be a clod: Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.” Amy Carmichael
“Catch on fire with enthusiasm, and people will come for miles to watch you burn.” John Wesley
“A zealous man feels that like a lamp he is made to burn. Such a one will always find a sphere for his zeal.” J. C. Ryle
“Christian, why would you play with sin? Has it not cost you enough already? Burnt child, will you play with the fire? What! When you have already been between the jaws of the lion, will you step a second time into his den? Have you not had enough of the old serpent? Did he not poison all your veins once, and will you play at the cobra’s den and put your hand in the dragon’s lair a second time? Do not be not so mad, so foolish! Did sin ever yield you real pleasure? Did you find solid satisfaction in it? If so, go back to your old drudgery, and wear the chain again, if it delights you. But inasmuch as sin never gave you what it promised to bestow but deluded you with lies, do not be snared by the old fowler: Be free, and let the memory of your enslavement prevent you from entering the net again! It is contrary to the designs of eternal love, which are all focused on your purity and holiness; therefore do not run counter to the purposes of your Lord. Another thought should restrain you from sin. Christians can never sin cheaply; they pay a heavy price for iniquity. Transgression destroys peace of mind, obscures fellowship with Jesus, hinders prayer, brings darkness over the soul; therefore do not be the serf and slave of sin. There is still a higher argument: Each time you serve sin you are ‘crucifying once again the Son of God . . . and holding him up to contempt.’ Can you bear that thought?” C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg
“Life is a furnace and the faithful live by the Shadrach-prayer of only 4 words: ‘Even if He doesn’t’. This world doesn’t have anything that can burn down the faith of a heart on fire for God.” Ann Voskamp
“The purest robes, unless their purity be preserved by divine grace, will be defiled by the most sinful stains. Experienced Christian, do not boast in your experience; you will trip in spite of this if you look away from Him who is able to keep you from falling. You whose love is fervent, whose faith is constant, whose hopes are bright, do not say, ‘We shall never sin,’ but rather cry, ‘Lead us not into temptation.’ There is enough tinder in the heart of the best of us to light a fire that shall burn to the lowest hell, unless God quenches the sparks as they fall.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“As our Great Shepherd, He leads and directs His children in the way they should go. This is profitable for us, though often extraordinarily difficult, yet always for our ultimate good and His Glory – never one surpassing the other. Our lives are not our own. We have been bought with a high price and we are to honor God with our bodies. We are not to run ahead doing our own things, going our own ways, giving no thought to His perfect and pleasing will – which, BTW, is always for our best. This path will always lead to ultimate ruin. It matters greatly how we live our lives. Nothing done in the flesh sans His power is eternal. God will not own what mere flesh can accomplish. It will all be burned up. Seek to follow hard after the One who loves you with an everlasting love and rejoices over you with singing. You will not be disappointed.” BHY
“Why was Job born? He was born for the same reason Adam was created. He was born for the same reason the earth was created. He was born, in part, for the same reason Christ was born and suffered and was crucified. We all exist to glorify God. On the Day of Judgement, when the mangled, burned, corrupted, and crucified limbs of God’s faithful are resurrected and made new, and when voices that died crying in pain are restored singing in praise, even Satan himself will bow in submission to the Lord who deserves all praise. This life is no simple matter of little lives living private dramas. We are, since Eden’s loss, united in celestial warfare with eternal consequences. We were born to stand; we are armed to fight. The good news is just that, through faith in Christ, we were born to win.” Frances Poston Bennett
HEART SAVOR
• Burn brightly for the One Who saved your soul from the pit of Hell.
• Never go back to wallowing in the muck and the mire once you have been washed and cleansed by the blood of Jesus.
• Nothing we do in the flesh is eternal – it will all be snuffed out. Only those works of gold, silver and costly done through His indwelling power will make it through the fire which tests the quality of each man’s works.
Beth Yoe's Sharing Bread 