Consumer or Consumed?

Bible Reading & Meditation

Why do you come to church – to be blessed, or to meet with God and bless him – to be a consumer or to be consumed with adoration and praise?

Have you ever looked into a fire and been mesmerised by the images you see being formed by the flames? On the one hand we seem to be drawn, moth-like, to the beauty of flames; on the other hand, flames scare us and we keep a safe distance lest we might be consumed.

The Bible often compares the presence of God with fire, and tells us that God himself is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:28-29). Yet when Moses met him in the wilderness, the bush was not consumed (Ex. 3:1-15). Go figure!

God is beautiful in his love, but he’s also holy, just, awesome and just a little bit scary. We gain wisdom and understanding when we learn to have a healthy fear of our Lord (Prov. 9:10). In “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” by C S Lewis, Susan asks if Aslan (the Christ-figure in Narnia) is safe. Mr. Beaver replies, “Safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King.”

How do you think of God? Is he soft and cuddly, or is he fierce and scary? Or is he both at once? If we don’t have the right concept of who God is, we’ll never be able to relate to him properly, and our faith will be weaker as a result.

Pray over the following passages, paying special attention to words and phrases that talk about what God is like. Ask God to reveal himself to you out of them.

Exodus 3:1-15; Ezekiel 1:4-9; 25-28; Daniel 7:9-10;
Psalm 78:12-16; Isaiah 6:1-8; Hebrews 12:18-28

Prophetic Focus

I believe that God wants to say – “I want to consume you with the fire of my presence. I want to cleanse you, purify you and transform you, so that you can carry my fire into the world around you. I want you to be a cleansing and purifying influence to your family, friends and workmates. Let me consume you. Look into the flames of my Spirit and be filled with Him to the exclusion of all other desires.”