Men On Fire By Stephen MansfieldSample

Stephen Mansfield: Men on Fire Devotional Day 7

“The Fire of God”

Scripture reading: Isaiah 55:6-7

This week we’ve explored how men on fire are alight with…

· the fire of heritage—finding the good in their past and building on it

· the fire of battle—fighting for self-mastery and for the victory of good over evil

· the fire of destiny—striving to fulfill the purpose for which we were made

· the fire of friendship—hooking in with a band of brothers who can make us better men

· the fire of love—persevering in our most crucial relationships

· the fire of legacy—investing in others

But there’s one more fire we must consider: the fire of God. That is, submitting to and worshiping our Maker. 

We must connect with God if we are going to become the men we are made to be, if we are going to have the fires of noble manhood burning in our lives. And the reason is simple. God made us. This means he knows how we run best. He also designed us to function in connection with him. To try to be good men without him in our lives is like us trying to be elite athletes on a diet of cupcakes and Kool-Aid. It just isn’t going to happen.

What I’ve just said is true of all human beings. Yet I want you to hear this truth and apply it to yourself as a man. God made you a man. God made the nature of manhood. God created the way you think as a man, the desires you have as a man, your strength as a man, and your purpose as a man. He is intimately involved in all that you are as a man, and he is eager that you emerge as a righteous, fulfilled man.

God makes us men on fire as he realigns our inner mechanisms as men, he heals us of our wounds, he gives us resources we would not have on our own, and he grants us the authority to do what we are made to do. Yet above all of this, he fills our lives so we are no longer fighting an inner vacuum, no longer moving through this world like crazed addicts trying to get a new fix to cover the ache. He fills us with himself. This is how he also makes us men.

It is time for your heart to be on fire with the presence of the Maker of men.

“Seek the Lord while he may be found” (Isaiah 55:6). Choose the challenge that is right for you.

· If you’ve been distant from God because of offense with religion or some other force, come home. Get connected. It’s time. 

· If you are a man of faith but find yourself without help from that faith for being a man, then make the changes you need to make. Good men are standing by to help. Find them.