{"id":943,"date":"2020-09-27T23:15:30","date_gmt":"2020-09-27T23:15:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/shelteredingrace.com\/?p=943"},"modified":"2023-07-06T18:12:01","modified_gmt":"2023-07-06T18:12:01","slug":"zeal-lessons-from-a-campfire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shelteredingrace.com\/index.php\/2020\/09\/27\/zeal-lessons-from-a-campfire\/","title":{"rendered":"Zeal–Lessons from a Campfire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We bought a camper.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had never \u201cbeen camping,\u201d so the thought of supplies we would need and the ins and outs were a little cumbersome.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turns out, you can still have fun if you forget the ketchup.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can \u201cbake\u201d biscuits on the stovetop if you can\u2019t figure out how to get the oven to work.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can buy mattress pads to help alleviate the hardness so your bones don\u2019t crack when the sun rises.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, if you can\u2019t get the campfire going, you might be in for some disappointment.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building a campfire though is a process.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you use too much liquid encouragement, as soon as the liquid encouragement is \u201cburned\u201d off, you have no fire.  You can get it too hot and burn through every piece of wood you have.  The way you stack your wood can cause lack of oxygen supply or the fire ring can just be in a bad spot.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Our family around the campfire the first time we went camping. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This concept reminds me of the word zeal and our walk with Him. Zeal\u2014a burning desire to please God.  Zeal, in Greek means to be hit or have heat.  We are encouraged to have zeal in Romans 12:11. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNever be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Romans\u202c \u202d12:11\u202c \u202dNIV\u202c\u202c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But how do we \u201chave\u201d a zeal for God?  How do we keep our passion?  Living on earth is hard!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

James\u2014a great book for reflection. A section in the 4th chapter has \u201cstuck\u201d with me regarding this and I believe it contains the \u201cthree\u201d essentials of that burning fire and desire.  A fire needs 3 elements:  heat,fuel, and oxygen.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201c\u2026.Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, \u201cThe Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously\u201d? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: \u201cGod resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.\u201d Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u202d\u202dJames\u202c \u202d4:4-10\u202c \u202dNKJV\u202c\u202c<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Heat:  We see there in James\u2014He loves us! He yearns jealously for you.  As a matter of fact, what better love than to send His Son down to die on the cross for us to even have life! His passion for you is what should ignite your fire for Him.  He gives grace.  He gives mercy.  He is a consuming fire\u2026.(Hebrews 12:29).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fuel: Be humble. Your fuel is Him.  A car can\u2019t have \u201clife\u201d without the gas.  Ever been stuck on the side of the road with an empty tank?  He is what should give you your energy.  He is who you should be basing  \u201cwho you are\u201d.  He is the reason you have life.  Are you fueling yourself with wisdom from His words?  Are you serving lovingly in His name?  Are you \u201ccontending\u201d for THE faith?  Less of me and more of Him\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environment:  We are asked many times in this particular passage to purify ourselves.  There is corruption all around us, but what are you pursuing?  What is accepted in the world?  Or is it His commandments?  Those commandments are not burdensome.  His words should be our standard…not the influences around you.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zeal-a burning desire for Him.  Remember it is a process\u2014just like building the perfect campfire.  You can\u2019t push “it” or it will extinguish. Prepare your heart.    If the environment doesn\u2019t promote the fire, it will go out.  And keep tending it\u2014keep adding the wood.  Keep stirring the coals.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And share it with someone (S\u2019Mores are always fun around a campfire).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anchored to Him,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leigh Ann<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We bought a camper.   I had never \u201cbeen camping,\u201d so the thought of supplies we would need and the ins and outs were a little cumbersome.   Turns out, you can still have fun if you forget the ketchup.   You can \u201cbake\u201d biscuits on the stovetop if you can\u2019t figure out how to get the oven to work.   You can buy mattress pads to help alleviate the hardness so your bones don\u2019t crack when the sun rises.   But, if you can\u2019t get the campfire going, you might be in for some disappointment.   Building a campfire though is a process.   If you use too much liquid encouragement, as soon as the liquid encouragement is \u201cburned\u201d off, you have no fire.  You can get it too hot and burn through every piece of wood you have.  The way you stack your wood can cause lack of oxygen supply or the fire ring can just be in a bad spot.   This concept reminds me of the word zeal and our walk with Him. Zeal\u2014a burning desire to please God.  Zeal, in Greek means to be hit or have heat.  We are encouraged to have zeal in Romans 12:11.  \u201cNever be lacking in zeal, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[93,302,281,68,303],"class_list":["post-943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-anchoredinhim","tag-campfire","tag-focus2020","tag-shelteredingrace","tag-zeal"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/shelteredingrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/campfire-1031141_1920.jpg?fit=1920%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shelteredingrace.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shelteredingrace.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shelteredingrace.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shelteredingrace.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shelteredingrace.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=943"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/shelteredingrace.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1888,"href":"https:\/\/shelteredingrace.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/943\/revisions\/1888"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shelteredingrace.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shelteredingrace.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shelteredingrace.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shelteredingrace.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}