God’s fire

There is a story in everyone’s favorite Bible book, Leviticus (insert sarcasm here) about Nadab and Abihu. In the story, Nadab and Abihu offer “unauthorized” sacrifices before the LORD. God’s response is that, “fire came down from the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.” (Lev. 10:2).

In the past, this always confused me. Weren’t Nadab and Abihu trying to honor God by what they were doing? However, in reading Leviticus, God is giving people a way to interact with Him. He is so Holy, that it is dangerous for people to come into His presence on a whim. As I reflected on this passage this week, the thing that stood out to me the most was what followed in verse 3:

“Moses said to Aaron, ‘This is what the LORD has spoken:
I will demonstrate my holiness
to those who are near me.
and I will reveal my glory
before all the people.’
And Aaron remained silent.”

I was reminded of all the times Yahweh showed up in fire in Exodus (the burning bush, the pillar of fire, on Mount Sinai). It is recorded in Chronicles that fire descended from heaven as “the glory of the LORD filled the temple (2 Chron. 7:1).” The fire of the LORD burns up the sacrifice when Elijah is testing Baal against Yahweh (1 Kings 18:38). On the day of Pentecost, God shows up in a wind and a fire, however the big difference here is the people are not burned up. Instead, they are filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4).

As I was reflecting on the story of Nadab and Abihu, I was flabbergasted of the scene found in Acts 2. God shows up as a fire, but the people do not burn up, much like the burning bush in Exodus. They become a sign pointing to Jesus as they share the gospel in different languages. God demonstrates His holiness and reveals His glory before all the people in a familiar but also new way.

Over the years, God’s Spirit has worked in my life to bring transformation from the inside out. There have been times when I wanted transformation faster than God provided. I wanted it on my timetable and not His. However, a realization hit me. Would pieces of me be destroyed in the process that God actually wanted to redeem had He worked quicker than He did? He also used the slow process as a way of drawing me closer to Him. The process of God’s gradual “burning clean” of my sin is His mercy and justice transforming me from the inside out.

How is God transforming you? Do you want the transformation faster than it’s happening? Take heart, God is at work!

The Trust Test

I’ve been sick this week. Some days were spent just resting with my brain not capable of much. Other days, however, were spent with some meditation. I’ve been going through the Bible Project’s class “From Adam to Noah” (you should check it out), and as has happened, my perspective on things I’ve been taught in my faith walk are shifting yet again.

Undeserved Love?

There are some things that I was taught as a Christian that I don’t think are true. I think they actually hinder being a disciple of Jesus and miss the mark in regards to love and grace. One of the things that I have been taught to believe is that I don’t deserve God’s love. I think this is a common teaching meant to inspire humility, but I think in many cases it just feeds into a shame cycle.

Redeeming Regrets

Have you ever watched a movie or TV show where you’ve felt a sense of dread or uncomfortableness? Maybe there is a movie or show that you return to, but there are moments in the storyline where the thought comes to your mind, “If only they never would’ve done this, everything would’ve been okay.” I really like The Office, and that show is filled with those types of moments – especially with the boss, Micheal Scott. There are moments so uncomfortable that I cringe. Here’s the thing, though…I’ve lived and participated in moments like that. In all likelihood, we all have.

Back to the Core

We’ve all heard the trope that people are like onions: we have layers. We aren’t one dimensional, but we have multiple different facets of who we are. Recently, I thought of this a little different.

In the beginning, God created people and He saw that it was good. People were a good creation created for a good, Holy purpose. Even more, people were created in the image of God. At our core, we are image bearers. Something happened, though.

Looking Out the Well

Silence as a writer builds up. As it builds up, its paralyzing. The last two years have made it worse. Even though I felt things welling up inside me to write, I stayed silent. I was scared, and there were voices that were already saying what I was feeling. So, I figured I didn’t need to just be another voice. I could just listen and be encouraged that someone else was stepping up to the plate. In some ways, I was content to watch from the sidelines. However, I still felt like my silence was somehow wrong.

Those Darn Dandelions

Last Sunday, I was pulling some dandelions out from a small garden area we have under a maple tree in our front yard. I wasn’t planning on this as I just wanted to have the first mow of Spring. However, mowing didn’t take long and my wife was weed eating. So, I got down on my hands and knees with the “weed digger” and started picking.