The Apostle John saw resurrected and glorified Jesus standing in the midst of the Church like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band, His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire… (Revelation 1:13-14)
One of my favorite worship songs begins, There is Fire in His eyes, and a sword in His hand…
The Fire before the Throne of God is Holy Spirit, and that Fire flames through the eyes of God the Son!
Never forget where that Fire emanates from! We are to keep our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, even as His flaming Eyes of love are transfixed upon us…! The Fire of God is a consuming Fire: He burns away the chaff in us as a refining Fire, and He burns with a passion for us, His bride, that transforms and transfigures us into His likeness.
We are coming to the end of 2019, The Year of Fire. What a year this has been! We have walked through a year of transition that would have consumed and destroyed most congregations, yet by God’s grace, it simply purified, unified, and clarified our little flock!
The Fire was and is God’s idea—in fact it is God Himself! With Fire in His eyes, Jesus has led this congregation into the very heart of His Church, His Bride, His Beloved. He has spoken to and directed our Angel (Rev. 1:20) and confirmed us as part of the 7 lampstands (the true Church) (Rev. 1:20), calling us to perfection and completion in these last days…!
2020 will have a new focus, yet one that flows from and burns with the Fire that Flames in the eyes of the King of kings and Lord of lords. We are not leaving the Fire or trying to “cool off;” on the contrary, we are moving forward as a congregation that burns with the same Fire that burns within our Lord.
All this Fire is a gift—we can’t even create a spark on our own. But the Fire of God is calling forth a people who desire to catch on Fire until the whole world is drawn to watch us burn!
Let me express my gratitude for a congregation that would rather burn with the fiery Love of Father Son and Spirit than just play church. I am honored beyond words, and humbled by your willingness to follow me as shepherd as I have followed those eyes… into Kaleo, into Appalachia, into a future and a destiny, and away from a system of programs and marketing that quench the Fire of God (the mainstream American Church) and a denomination hell-bent on being… hell-bent. You have displayed extreme faith in God and have paid a price… So did the First Church almost 2000 years ago.
This will be my last Blog in 2019, The Year of Fire. But my prayer is that we may be so consumed by the Fire of God going forward into 2020 and beyond that it could be said of us, too, that our eyes were aflame… Burning with love for our Lord, the Groom of Heaven, and burning with a passion to see His Bride united, purified and ready for His return!