Consistent Burn
“A lamp that is trimmed correctly causes the flame to burn consistently.”
I said this recently in a message. It was one of those statements that comes out after speaking in three services; and as soon as I said it, I knew it was God speaking to me.
“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.” - Matthew 25:6-7 NKJV
Now, I’ll admit that in my free time, I don’t usually study lamp trimming. I don’t expect you have either. But when it comes to this topic, I did, and it’s fascinating.
Did you know there are expert lamp trimmers?
Seriously, it’s an art form. It basically is removing anything that would hinder the lamp from burning correctly. When trimmed right, the lamp burns brighter, longer, and more consistently. It also allows the lamp to burn without smoke.
We all struggle with consistency and intentionality. At times, we are spiritually ablaze; and then other times, we are barely kindling.
At times like these, we need to trim those lamps. We need to remove all the junk, the distractions, the extra, and get back to simplicity. In other words, we need to be pruned, not just spiritually but also in other areas of our lives. We need to go back to the basics.
I want to share one more thing….
They trim lamps so that they don’t smoke. We are meant to be the fragrance of Christ on the earth.
“Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.” - 2 Corinthians 2:15 NLT
What do I smell like? Do I smell like smoke?
At a time in my life that came after a really hard season, I was speaking with my life coach and he said to me, “Aaron, you smell like what you’ve been through. You smell like smoke!”
Then he said, “Remember those Hebrew kids that were thrown into the fire by King Nebuchadnezzar?” I said, “Yea.” He said, “When they came out of the fire, the Babylonians were amazed because their bodies weren’t burned, their clothes weren’t singed, and they didn’t even smell like smoke.”
We all go through things. We all have good seasons and hard seasons, but the truth remains that we aren’t meant to smell like what we have been through. It’s a part of our story and our testimony, but it’s not our fragrance or identity. We can’t smell like Jesus if we smell like our past.
Allow the Holy Spirit today to clean the lamp of your life. When we allow Him to do that, we smell like Him and not us. We burn brightly for Him and that flame is consistent.
“A lamp that is trimmed correctly causes the flame to burn consistently.” Wow.
I said this recently in a message. It was one of those statements that comes out after speaking in three services; and as soon as I said it, I knew it was God speaking to me.
“And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.” - Matthew 25:6-7 NKJV
Now, I’ll admit that in my free time, I don’t usually study lamp trimming. I don’t expect you have either. But when it comes to this topic, I did, and it’s fascinating.
Did you know there are expert lamp trimmers?
Seriously, it’s an art form. It basically is removing anything that would hinder the lamp from burning correctly. When trimmed right, the lamp burns brighter, longer, and more consistently. It also allows the lamp to burn without smoke.
We all struggle with consistency and intentionality. At times, we are spiritually ablaze; and then other times, we are barely kindling.
At times like these, we need to trim those lamps. We need to remove all the junk, the distractions, the extra, and get back to simplicity. In other words, we need to be pruned, not just spiritually but also in other areas of our lives. We need to go back to the basics.
- Word. Worship. Prayer. Communion.
- Read His Word.
- Worship Him.
- Pray.
- Commune with Him and other believers.
I want to share one more thing….
They trim lamps so that they don’t smoke. We are meant to be the fragrance of Christ on the earth.
“Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.” - 2 Corinthians 2:15 NLT
What do I smell like? Do I smell like smoke?
At a time in my life that came after a really hard season, I was speaking with my life coach and he said to me, “Aaron, you smell like what you’ve been through. You smell like smoke!”
Then he said, “Remember those Hebrew kids that were thrown into the fire by King Nebuchadnezzar?” I said, “Yea.” He said, “When they came out of the fire, the Babylonians were amazed because their bodies weren’t burned, their clothes weren’t singed, and they didn’t even smell like smoke.”
We all go through things. We all have good seasons and hard seasons, but the truth remains that we aren’t meant to smell like what we have been through. It’s a part of our story and our testimony, but it’s not our fragrance or identity. We can’t smell like Jesus if we smell like our past.
Allow the Holy Spirit today to clean the lamp of your life. When we allow Him to do that, we smell like Him and not us. We burn brightly for Him and that flame is consistent.
“A lamp that is trimmed correctly causes the flame to burn consistently.” Wow.
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