Leviticus 6:12-13 ‘’Meanwhile, the fire on the altar must be kept burning –it must not go out. The priest shall put on fresh wood each morning, and lay the daily burnt offering on it, and burn the fat of the daily peace offering. The fire must be kept burning upon the altar continually. It must never go out.’’ (TLB)
NOTES
One might ask, ‘’what ‘altar’ is being referred to here?’’
It’s our relationship with God. The secret place where we meet Him; that inner room where it’s just us; that place where we pour our hearts out to God and He in turn, tells us His mind. It’s where humanity meets divinity. It’s the place where we can stand naked and shameless before our Creator and tell Him what exactly is affecting us and how we are really feeling. No matter how close you claim to be to someone, there are some things you can’t share with them. It’s only God that knows what is going on in our hearts, even without us saying a word, but He wants us to come to Him as little children; clinging, sharing and never letting go of Him. He loves it when we depend on His love for us and never tires of us. In fact, He is in search of such people. 2 Chronicles 16:9a ‘’GOD is always on the alert, constantly on the lookout for people who are totally committed to him.’’ (MSG)
The Scripture in Leviticus chapter 6 also says that, ‘the priest shall put on fresh wood each morning.’ What is this ‘fresh wood?’ This is the Word of God. We can’t get in one day, all we need to stay spiritually on fire for life, so what do we do? Morning by morning, we give ourselves to the diligent search and study of God’s Word. Just like a baby (be it human or animal) needs daily food to grow and stay nourished; and a little tree needs nutrients, water and good soil to grow into a strong, healthy tree; so do we need to study God’s Word in order to stay spiritually agile. I am not talking about searching the Scriptures for general Bible study or for what to preach to others, no. I am referring to ‘eating’ the Word for your own self. There is something sweet and special and liberating and lovely about stumbling upon a Word for yourself, by yourself. No one had to teach you, you just discovered it on your own personal time. It’s God taking you on a private journey; showing you things from the Scriptures, you begin to see & understand deep mysteries you weren’t even aware of in the first place. Often times, while studying a particular verse you might have read before, light suddenly breaks forth and you understand what is being said to your spirit. I remember the first time I read my Bible through, kai! It was golden! I honestly was astonished at what I was seeing and I really did rejoice as one who had found great spoil. (Psalm 119:162)
