His Word Burns in My Heart

August 11, 2014

His Word Burns in My Heart

“But if I say I’ll never mention the Lord or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!”

Jeremiah 20:9

God’s first stirring of my call to preach was through this passage. These words of Jeremiah resonated deep within my soul. These words of Jeremiah sustained me through thirty-two years of pastoral ministry. They also terrified me because I thought that the fire in my bones would consume me if I didn’t have an opportunity to proclaim the word of God. Having a heart attack six months after leaving the pulpit only intensified my feelings.

The fire still rages within me, but two understandings helped me make peace with the fire. The first is fairly obvious: I get to proclaim God’s word through the publication of these meditations five days per week. Through email, my BLOG, Amazon Kindle, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn I am reaching more than one thousand souls each day. I am blessed to receive feedback from all these media to affirm God is still using this calling He put on my life.

The second understanding is in the popular axiom, Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words. This saying is attributed to Francis of Assisi, although there is no record anywhere that he ever uttered these words. Nevertheless, they are still a rule or principle that we can accept as true. I’ve internalized this axiom by wrapping it in the words of Saint Paul: “so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4:11b NRSV). In God’s economy, the preacher boldly proclaiming the Gospel to thousands gathered in an assembly hall is not greater than the greeter opening the door of the church for you. Their welcoming smile and ‘Good Morning’ is as vital to building the Kingdom as the pastor’s hand offering you the bread and cup.

Each and every day we get to be co-laborers with Christ, building for the Kingdom of God. Pray today that the Holy Spirit will give you the sensitivity to see all of the opportunities He will bring across your path.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.