Psalm 119:20 (NIV) My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times.

The Bible describes God as a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29). We must approach Him with reverence and awe. But when we approach Him reverently and in the name of Jesus, then the fact that He is a consuming fire takes on an awesome meaning. The verse above, which many scholars believe was written by David, is one example. David was consumed with love for God's Word, which came from a heart that was consumed by God's love for him. God is an awesome God. To those that reject Him, He is awesome in a frightening way. But to those that know Him and love Him, He is awesome in, love, mercy, compassion and grace.

What the Lord consumes in those that He loves is all that is ungodly and that would harm us. We all have a sinful nature that drives us to do wrong things, which leads to bad consequences. Everyone living and breathing has gotten themselves into trouble because of their sinful nature. But as we surrender our lives to Jesus, He begins to consume that nature and replace it with His divine nature. Then he begins to consume our thinking, our affections and our actions. While this may seem ominous to those that do not know the love of Jesus personally, those that do know it know that it is the most awesome and liberating way to live. God doesn't consume us to the point of obliterating who we are, but on the contrary, He begins to consume all the things in us that make us prone to harm ourselves, harm others, and that leave us miserably unfulfilled and feeling hopeless. Jesus said that He came to free us, and that freedom comes through Him consuming the sin in us and then consuming us with His love, mercy and grace. That kind of consumption is a sight to behold. It's like the bush that Moses saw that was burning but not consumed. In the same way, there will be a fire burning in us for the good, so that in the end, we will be consumed and become like Jesus, which happens to be God's original design for us from the beginning.

Be consumed by the Lord Jesus. Love Him with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength, and you will enjoy freedom, peace, hope and joy like you never have experienced, while tasting of God's fathomless love, which is what our hearts and souls were longing for all along.

Pastor Joey Vazquez