…the Lord God of the fire that burns in Zion and whose furnace burns in Jerusalem! Isaiah 31:9

This last phrase of this chapter caught my attention. “Whose furnace burns in Jerusalem”. A furnace is a place where an intense fire is created. The passage speaks of God dealing with the Assyrian enemy. He is promising to take away anything that would stop the sacrifices of Israel once ahead has restored them to their land.

Whenever we read of Jerusalem and Zion in Old Testament prophetic books we also see a future promise and application for us. God wants to ignite a passion that burns within us. A consuming within that burns away anything that distracts us or pulls us away from Jesus. I can feed that furnace in worship, in prayer, and meditating on scripture. I can ask the wind of the Holy Spirit to blow across the embers and ignite a flame. I believe God is doing this in individuals and churches and college campuses.

Working as a Chaplain for the Fire Department I’ve learned a little about Fire Science. There is a principle in fighting fires, especially forest fires where embers from one location are blown by the wind and ignite new fires. When these fires gather, get “Area Ignition”. This becomes a firestorm that is almost impossible to contain.

What if enough of us embraced this time and pressed into God’s presence more intently? What if the embers of God’s presence blew into others? I mentioned a few days ago Jesus challenged Jerusalem about how they had missed their time of visitation. Let’s not miss ours.

This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. 2 Tim. 1:6