Being a “Christian on Fire”

Daily Devotional: Day 166

“Quench not the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19, KJV).

The Spirit given to us at our new birth is meant to be a flame in our hearts; a flame constantly burning, enabling us to radiate the love, beauty and holiness of God. On the Day of Pentecost, one of the manifestations of the Spirit’s outpouring was “tongues as of fire” (Acts 2:3). The Father’s will for us is to be ablaze with the Spirit always. How do we do that? By offering ourselves to God as a holy and living sacrifice (cf. Romans 12:1). Practically, this means obeying the voice of God and letting the Holy Spirit use us as God pleases.

“Christians on fire” is what pleases Jesus. This isn’t about signs and wonders. Unfortunately, in our time, when many Christians speak of “fire,” they’re thinking of charismatic euphoria, speaking in tongues, and signs and wonders. But, that’s not the point of the Spirit’s fire. We can perform signs and wonders and not be on fire; likewise, we can be on fire and not perform signs and wonders. The two things don’t necessarily coincide. The Spirit’s fire is a fire that ignites in us a passion to live a life that pleases Jesus; a life of total surrender and unqualified dedication to Jesus.

Toward the end of his First Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul admonished the believers, “Quench not the Spirit.” This means you can do (or not do) things which will extinguish the fire of the Spirit. You can quench the Spirit through spiritual laziness, lack of prayer, disobedience and a life of sin. The Spirit’s fire doesn’t work automatically. How much work the Spirit will accomplish in your life depends, in part, on your voluntary cooperation. The Spirit is about keeping you holy, setting you apart as a living sacrifice unto God. He can’t do this, if you’re constantly resisting Him. But He will will do great things with you if you yield to Him in obedience, self-denial and humility.

In the Old Testament, regarding the fire of the burnt offering, God commanded, “The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out” (Leviticus 6:13). Just as God didn’t want the fire of the burnt offering to be put out, so now He doesn’t want you to quench the Spirit.

God is looking for “Christians on fire.” Keep your fire burning.

May the Lord bless you and let His face shine upon you. Amen.

For further study: Revelation 3:14-22