Seeking the Fire

I want to be self-indulgent tonight and write of my own longings and prayers, which have been with me since a very young child.  There are times when the Ruach stirs those latent embers in my heart again and tonight is one of them.

I have sincerely prayed for revival for our nation and loved ones since primary school in Tasmania.  Joining in with the church's prayer and fasting roster, half nights of prayer and camp meetings was a real delight and I often experienced the weight of YHVH's presence.  These were moments that have held me fast to Him my entire life.

As I was washing tonight's dishes the thought "don't throw out the baby with the bathwater" zinged in my spirit and it was related to the thought of the Christian concept of revival.  As we have been led out of Christianity and embracing the fullness of His torah there are many doctrines and concepts that I have put aside.  The trinity, rapture, communion and celebrations have all been scrutinised and found wanting.  But what is to be done with this longing to see His presence inhabit our hearts, homes and meetings to such an extent we are undone and willingly lay all else aside to honour Him?

Life has a habit of eroding away what is eternal and of primary importance.  Family commitments, entertainment, relaxation, work and business interests all chip away at time and invariably focus and priority.  Why is it that the Creator of all is relegated to a lower priority day-by-day?  Why is it that the ones who He has placed me with are relegated to a lower priority day-by-day?  Why is it strangers on the street, contacts in my work email list, faceless Facebook friends are treated with more courtesy and earnestness than those who I profess to be my family?  Oh my God, arrest my soul!

I have read of revivals, listened to revival preachers of old, prayed for revival, but what is revival to me now I'm walking the ancient paths?   It is the same desire for purity and righteousness, and to walk with the Maker of all; for there to be such a fire of His presence that all else is burnt up and discarded.  But not that churches would be full or that there would be a mass harvest, but rather that individuals would seek Him and that the fire of the Ruach haKodesh would cleanse and set them apart.
You could do worse than set aside an hour or so and listen to Mary Peckham speaking of her experience as a young woman in the Hebrides revival.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS2Gw4u_Tv4  Ignore the Christian doctrine and listen to the passion, the longing and conviction. That originates in the heart of YHVH and is the fire of His presence.

We are anticipating Shavuot and desperately in need of the fire of His love and righteousness to power our service for our family, for our community!  We've been hearing about the primary importance of having the fruit of His Spirit being expressed through us so I cry out, Father let your torah burn in my heart again!  Just as I am, without one plea but that thou blood was shed for me, and that thou bid'st me come to thee, oh Lamb of God, I come!

What a travesty if the Messianic journey is littered with 'babies' that have been thrown out with the bathwater.  We need more preachers who deliver the Word with power and fire to convict.  We need older men and women to pray, pray, pray.  We need younger people to run with passion and conviction.  We need the joy of YHVH be our strength - not positive affirmations, not Dutch courage but the abiding fruit of His presence.

The days are becoming shorter and more difficult.  Those of us in the Western world live a privileged and soft life and naturally I'm grateful.  But will it hamstring me when my reliance on Him will be tested?  Will all the distractions and cares of life shift my attention away from the eternal?  What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?

John 13:34-35  I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, so also you must love one another.  By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

In my own strength I am very limited, so I'm grateful that His Ruach is here to compel me to seek Him and ask for His firey presence so that I can run the race, and run with the team He has placed me with.  The enemy of our souls is a roaring lion who picks off the vulnerable so I teshuvah and run to the mercy seat again.

I remember a few years ago we were gathered at Hebron on the first day of Unleavened Bread and the presence of YHVH was very weighty.  He met and ministered with us that day and one person's revelation of that time has never left me.  This person testified that the Spirit revealed to him that Lazarus needed other people to remove his grave clothes.  

Such a simple but profound sentence revealing the essential nature of community.  How sad that this person has now removed himself from any fellowship and allowed bitterness to cloak him.  

So my prayer during this time as we wait for Shavuot is that the Spirit and fire of the torah would fill my heart and life again.  How grateful I am for the cyclic nature of YHVH's feasts to remind, exhort and encourage because my human nature all too often slowly but surely drowns out His voice.

So yes, I'm banging on about the need for community again.  We don't need empty platitudes and nor do we need to run ourselves ragged, but at this time we desperately need our Father's love to burn in us and through us, and what a love it is.  Powerful and selfless; able to seek out one lost lamb and able to split a sea to save a nation. 

Let us be counted as a wise virgin whose lamp is burning brightly when the Messiah returns.  As Keith Green wrote, Oh Lord, please light the fire that once burnt bright and clean, replace the lamp of my first love that burns with holy fear.

What a blessing and joy that the Creator of all things gives us His Word and then accompanies it with the fire of His being to guide us, fuel us and empower us!