I have a wood stove
New to country life
I had one before when I was in the city
Back then, I often had seasoned kindling
and I purchased firewood or compressed wood built to light up and stay lit due to the various chemicals or additives they had
With regular, old wood, you need a few things
The wood has to be dry
Kindling and paper are good to have
but the thing that surprised me a bit is
that wood will not burn well without another piece of wood
You can have the most lovely piece of wood, nice and dry,
good, as far as fire needs are, but without a friend,
it will be hard to start the fire and harder to keep it going
Just like us
If you want to make a good, useful fire for warmth and ambiance,
you won’t do so well with just one log or one perfectly cut piece of wood
Fire burns brighter and hotter when there are at least two pieces of wood
and preferably more
I also noticed, some pieces seem to hold the spark and burn more rapidly
They seem to have the ability to bring the others along with them,
to get the fire really going
Jesus sent the disciples out two by two
Paul talked about, and just a notation, all scripture is inspired by God,
brotherly love, and they had communities in the book of Acts
We are encouraged to confess our faults, one to another,
and pray for one another, that we may be healed
Whenever two or more gather in My name, there I am in the midst of them
Jesus used the metaphor of fire in Matthew letting our light so shine
Revelation as candles and being hot for the Lord
In the Old Testament, Fire was used in the burnt offerings
The Lord swallowed up all the water on the altar Elijah built
and the wood and the sacrifice
God led the Israelites by a pillar of fire by night
God spoke to Moses by the burning bush
and there may be other examples of fire that do not come to mind right now
That is how the world will end, by fire
And, the evil will be cast into the lake of fire
Stay on fire for Jesus and find those who can encourage your walk
and for whom you can do the same
Scriptural References:
And He called unto him the twelve,
and began to send them forth by two and two;
and gave them power over unclean spirits;
Mark 6:7
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking,
correcting and training in righteousness,
2 Timothy 3:16 NIV
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9
Neither was there any among them that lacked:
for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them,
and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
And laid them down at the apostles’ feet:
and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
Acts 4:34-35
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another,
that ye may be healed.
The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
James 5:16
For where two or three are gathered together in My name,
there am I in the midst of them.
Matthew 18:20
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 5:16
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
Revelation 2:5
So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,
I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Revelation 3:16
Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice,
and the wood, and the stones, and the dust,
and licked up the water that was in the trench.
1 Kings 18:38
And the Lord went before them by day
in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way;
and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
Exodus 13:21
And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire
out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold,
the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight,
why the bush is not burnt.
And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see,
God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
And He said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet,
for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
Moreover He said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
Exodus 3:2-6
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;
in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise,
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat,
the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2 Peter 3:10
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Revelation 20:14