[Difference Makers ls] A Graceful TouchSample

Purifying Fire

Here we have the touch of the lips of the prophet Isaiah. In Acts, we have the touch of the tongues of fire on the apostles, to enable them to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Do you see the Bible coming together? All these things are connected. What does fire represent? Fire represents purity.

Think about some point when you’ve had a splinter. Someone lit a lighter, or a match, and put a needle in the flame. Then he or she used the needle to try to get that splinter out. The needle was purified when it was put in the flame, which burned off all the bacteria and impurities. Fire brings purity.

Many years ago, before we had kids, my wife and I spent the summer in East Asia. We stayed on a college campus and ministered to the people there. It was a great, amazing, mind-blowing time in our lives. We got really comfortable there. We’d jump in a cab and head downtown, without even a translator. We could not speak the language, but we had a little book and we could point to words that we knew. The book told us how to say “chicken,” and we could point at chicken and get chicken. And our hosts told us, “Here's how you know where to eat: always eat where you can see fire. If you can see the flames, and the kebab coming out of the flames, no problem. You must make sure it is not raw, you must make sure it is burning. If you cannot see fire, don’t eat.” Why? Because the fire is purifying the food, and now you can digest it, and not get sick. We want to dine on the things of God, because His is a fire of purity.

The throne of God has an altar with flaming coals. Why? Because God is holy, holy, holy. God’s primary attribute is holiness. It is not love, nor is it grace. God is holy, and from His holiness come His love and justice. That is why you have a holy Bible, with a Holy Spirit, with a holy God, who sent a holy Savior . . . and the angels cry out, “Holy, holy, holy.”

Do I see God’s holiness and purity? Am I willing to submit to God so that He can burn away the impurities in my life?