The Burning Heart 3-22-2010

March 22nd, 2010 by JDVaughn Leave a reply »
March 22, 2010
The Burning Heart
Did not our heart burn within us . . . ? —Luke 24:32

We need to learn this secret of the burning heart. Suddenly Jesus appears to us, fires are set ablaze, and we are given wonderful visions; but then we must learn to maintain the secret of the burning heart— a heart that can go through anything. It is the simple, dreary day, with its commonplace duties and people, that smothers the burning heart— unless we have learned the secret of abiding in Jesus.

At CO2 we call the secret of abiding; “connection”. When we are connected to God , the Spirit of God within us connected to God, we are abiding in Jesus. We stay connected (although not all the time it seems) by staying in communion with Him through our study and prayer together and other daily disciplines. We understand that the disciplines are not the connection, nor are the worship activities of the day or week. However, we also know that regular disciplines that help keep us in the word,  prayer and fellowship also help keep us connected to Jesus…..even when our own nature struggles againist our connecting. And when we fail to get or stay connected, the grace and mercy of Jesus helps guide us back as we are reminded that suddenly our peace is gone.

Jesus can kindle our fires just as he did the discipiles on the road to Emmaus, (they were connected walking and talking in communion with Him),  when we stay in His presence. JDV/DJR 

Much of the distress we experience as Christians comes not as the result of sin, but because we are ignorant of the laws of our own nature. For instance, the only test we should use to determine whether or not to allow a particular emotion to run its course in our lives is to examine what the final outcome of that emotion will be. Think it through to its logical conclusion, and if the outcome is something that God would condemn, put a stop to it immediately. But if it is an emotion that has been kindled by the Spirit of God and you don’t allow it to have its way in your life, it will cause a reaction on a lower level than God intended. That is the way unrealistic and overly emotional people are made. And the higher the emotion, the deeper the level of corruption, if it is not exercised on its intended level. If the Spirit of God has stirred you, make as many of your decisions as possible irrevocable, and let the consequences be what they will. We cannot stay forever on the “mount of transfiguration,” basking in the light of our mountaintop experience (see Mark 9:1-9 ). But we must obey the light we received there; we must put it into action. When God gives us a vision, we must transact business with Him at that point, no matter what the cost.

We cannot kindle when we will The fire which in the heart resides, The spirit bloweth and is still, In mystery our soul abides; But tasks in hours of insight willed Can be through hours of gloom fulfilled.

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