Manna and Coffee

I’m not the handiest guy in the world but I fix stuff sometimes because I’m cheap. One of the things that I replaced recently was our ventless gas logs. We live in Indiana where the temperature can range from -20 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit from one week to the next during the winter. The old gas logs hadn’t been working for about six years (what can I say, I procrastinate sometimes), so it took a long time to bleed the gas line of air before the pilot light would ignite. Now that the pilot light is lit, the only thing I have to do to start a lazy man fire is click a button on a remote.

My faith journey is kind of like my gas logs. For the first part of my life, I went to church and believed that I was a Christian, but there was no fire in my heart. There were “logs in the fireplace,” but they were cold and broken. And then God sent a wonderful man who explained to me that God wanted so much more for my life than a cold, broken heart. He told me that God is passionate for me and wants to stoke a raging fire within my heart.

There were two men who walked with Jesus on a road to Emmaus after Jesus was resurrected from the dead. (Luke 24:13-35) The men were talking about Jesus, and thought that they knew Him… but when Jesus was in their midst they didn’t even recognize Him. Jesus had to explain the Scriptures to them and break bread before their eyes were opened and they realized that they had been talking about Jesus with Jesus. The Bible says that their hearts caught fire too. “They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

So are you talking about Jesus today or are you talking with Jesus? Is your heart cold and broken, or is it on fire with faith? Is the pilot burning but it has been a while since your heart has been ablaze with passion for Christ? Take some time and examine yourself. If you have never experienced the heat of His presence, and the passion of His purpose in your life, repent of your sinful life and cry out to God for mercy. Ask Him to replace your cold broken heart with a new living heart that burns for Him. Following Christ is not about what you have to give up. It’s about what you will gain. Jesus said, ” I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) Are you ready for a full life? A full, passionate life and heart is one decision, one prayer away for those humble and brave enough to make it.