HOLY FIRE IGNITE!

Years ago, I was in a Bible Study and the discussion of revivals came up. We talked about what people had to do to start a revival and how we needed to “catch on fire” for the Lord. One of the ladies made the comment “You realize, God don’t need no match to light a fire.” At the time we thought that was pretty clever and we adopted that quote as our motto. I was reminded of that quote the other day while I was reading my journal.

For a while now, I have been thinking about how God moves among His people and how awesome it would be if He lit a fire in each of us and started a revival. When I was a kid growing up, we used to have revivals in our churches. I remember that a guest preacher would come to our church and preach every night for a week. My parents always invited our pastor and the other pastor to our house at least one of those nights for dinner. As a child growing up, I didn’t really realize what a revival meant. I just knew that we had to go to church every night for the whole week, well, usually at least from Monday through Friday.

I’m wondering, why don’t churches have revivals anymore? Why did we stop doing this? Those types of revivals were good to have, but I really don’t remember anyone catching on fire for God. Exactly, how does one catch on fire for God? Do we have to do something, or does God have to do something? In my journal entry, I was asking God to take control of my life, not to be in my life, but to actually take control of it. I gave my life over to God totally and completely and asked God to make me like Jesus and to light a holy fire within me.

The week long revival was the match that churches used in order to try and ignite a fire within the congregation, but God don’t need no match to light a fire. He can easily light the fire of revival within us, but we have to be willing to give Him our life so that He can have free reign over us to lead us and to mold us and to shape us into what it is that He wants us to be. If every Christian in all of the churches today asked God to light the fire of revival within their hearts (and truly meant it), what do you think would happen? I think the flood gates would be opened and millions of people would be saved! I think that Satan would have to call in emergency backup.

In Luke 23:31-32 Jesus says to Peter "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." I think that we as Christians have been sifted enough don’t you? Satan has pretty much had his way with us and this country. I think it is time that we stand up, that we stand firm and that we look to God for our strength and guidance. I think that it is time that we say NO to Satan and time that we throw off our shackles and make a stand for Jesus Christ. What really strikes me in this passage is that Jesus Himself prayed for Peter and I believe He prays the same for each of us, that our faith will not fail. And He would also tell us, as He told Peter, that when (not if) we turn back to Him that we are to strengthen our brothers and sisters.


Let’s start a revival in our churches, let’s start a fire that can’t be quenched, let’s together, all of us, rise up with one heart and one voice and proclaim to the world that our God lives and that through God we can do anything. God wants us to turn back to Him. God wants us to give our lives over to Him completely and God wants to see the fires of revival burning within our churches. He will give us this if we truly desire it, if we give ourselves over to Him completely, if we ask Him to light the Holy fires within us, He will! God don’t need no match to light a fire!