Manna and Coffee

“You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns darkness into light.” Psalm 18:28, NIV

Has God given you a burning heart?   If your heart’s desire is to know Jesus more intimately, and you feel compelled to read and share God’s Word with the rest of the world, then you have a burning heart.   In the Gospel of Luke Jesus appeared incognito to two men who were traveling from Jerusalem to Emmaus.  They had just witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus three days earlier, and they were downcast.     The Word of God says that Jesus began with Moses and the Prophets and, “explained to them what was said in the Scriptures concerning Himself.” (Luke 24:27, NIV)  The men soaked up everything that Jesus taught them, and they begged Jesus to stay with them longer.  Jesus agreed to their request, and as He broke bread during the evening meal, their eyes were opened and Jesus vanished the moment that they recognized Him.

I think that the main point of this story is the comment that the men made to each other immediately after Jesus disappeared from their sight.  They looked at each other and said,  “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32, NIV)  When the Holy Spirit ignites your heart with Truth from His Holy Word, it changes you.  As you begin to understand the extent of God’s love, your heart begins to burn with a Holy passion for God and for those around you.   You begin to long to be with Jesus and to feel His heart burning within you.

Notice that it required talking with Jesus and understanding the Scriptures for the two travelers to experience a burning heart.  Prayer and God’s Word are the only fuel for a burning heart.  I know that some of you may say but what about art, music, nature, service to others and a baby’s smile, don’t they cause a heart to flame too?  I would agree that all of these excellent things in life cause a person to feel passion.  The problem is that passion can be felt apart from Christ.  The light that these wonderful things produce is a smoldering wick in comparison to raging fire that is sparked when we begin a relationship with Christ.

Just as a fire produces heat, a burning heart produces intense love for God and others.  If we want to keep our lamps burning brightly for God, we must spend time praying and reading the Scriptures every day.  When the Holy fire in our hearts burns down to embers, don’t be downcast, just pray and read, and the flames will spring back to life.  It is God’s will for every one of His children to have a burning heart, not a smoldering wick.  He wants to use you and me to bring light into this dark world, one heart at a time.  Are we ready?