Lips on Fire
Lips on Fire
Having in his hands a burning coal… He touched my mouth. Isaiah 6:6-7
When you encounter the manifest presence of Christ, you are shaken to the core.
When the prophet Isaiah met God in the fire, he was shaken to the core in one of the most dramatic fire-encounters in the Bible (Isaiah 6). Virtually every sensory perception was activated—his eyes were opened to see the Lord high and lifted up (v.1), his ears were opened to hear the angels singing Holy, Holy, Holy (v.3), his touch receptors were activated to feel the threshold shake (v.4), and his sense of smell was activated to smell as the incense smoke filled the temple (v.4).
Not surprisingly, Isaiah felt exposed. The incinerating presence of Almighty God consumed his defense mechanisms, and he cried out, Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips (v.5). An angel immediately grabbed a burning coal from before the altar of God and touched Isaiah’s lips and announced, Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin is atoned for (v.7).
So why the tongue? Why did God press the flaming ember against Isaiah’s lips? Obviously, Isaiah needed his mouth cleansed and his lips purified because he was called to be a prophet. There was, perhaps, something even deeper than the obvious. The Bible says, “No human being can tame the tongue” (James 3:8); but the Holy Spirit can tame the tongue! Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). To cleanse the tongue is to cleanse the heart. To set the tongue on fire is to set the heart on fire.
Lord Jesus, touch my tongue and my heart today with the fire of Your presence. Change my heart from within by an encounter with Your manifest presence, for out of my heart, my mouth speaks.
YEAR ON FIRE
© Fred A. Hartley, III
All rights reserved
Unless otherwise indicated, the English Standard Bible (ESV) is used.
This daily Christ-encountering, fire-starter is not intended to replace your daily Bible reading and prayer time, but rather to motivate you to spend extended time in His presence.
Having in his hands a burning coal… He touched my mouth. Isaiah 6:6-7
When you encounter the manifest presence of Christ, you are shaken to the core.
When the prophet Isaiah met God in the fire, he was shaken to the core in one of the most dramatic fire-encounters in the Bible (Isaiah 6). Virtually every sensory perception was activated—his eyes were opened to see the Lord high and lifted up (v.1), his ears were opened to hear the angels singing Holy, Holy, Holy (v.3), his touch receptors were activated to feel the threshold shake (v.4), and his sense of smell was activated to smell as the incense smoke filled the temple (v.4).
Not surprisingly, Isaiah felt exposed. The incinerating presence of Almighty God consumed his defense mechanisms, and he cried out, Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips (v.5). An angel immediately grabbed a burning coal from before the altar of God and touched Isaiah’s lips and announced, Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin is atoned for (v.7).
So why the tongue? Why did God press the flaming ember against Isaiah’s lips? Obviously, Isaiah needed his mouth cleansed and his lips purified because he was called to be a prophet. There was, perhaps, something even deeper than the obvious. The Bible says, “No human being can tame the tongue” (James 3:8); but the Holy Spirit can tame the tongue! Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). To cleanse the tongue is to cleanse the heart. To set the tongue on fire is to set the heart on fire.
Lord Jesus, touch my tongue and my heart today with the fire of Your presence. Change my heart from within by an encounter with Your manifest presence, for out of my heart, my mouth speaks.
YEAR ON FIRE
© Fred A. Hartley, III
All rights reserved
Unless otherwise indicated, the English Standard Bible (ESV) is used.
This daily Christ-encountering, fire-starter is not intended to replace your daily Bible reading and prayer time, but rather to motivate you to spend extended time in His presence.
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