The Cold, The Fire and Coffee...

  "Yes people, it is still cold outside!"

  But that has truly never stopped me or anyone else from driving or walking a couple of miles to get a cup of coffee. Here reccently, the state of Texas experienced some of it's worst weather in 20 years. The ice was the worst of it really. Texas people claim they know how to drive in this weather, but the truth is, THEY DON'T!!!

  It all started on early Tuesday morning with freezing rain. I heard it coming, but the result of the rain came the next day with alot of ice. Every bit of it was frozen like Lake Placid. I woke up that day and bundled myself up really good. The wind was blowing hard, the roads were solid ice and the snow was coming in.

  Now, I walk to work just about everyday. I have some great friends that have helped me or have offered to help me get home or to work in the past. Most of the time, I walk because that is my little alone time with God. One friend asked me, "Jeremy, why did you walk in this weather?" The truth is that I was the safest one on the road because of the weather. I saw cars, trucks and semi-trucks go into the ditch because of the weather and the roads. But here is a funny truth about walking in the cold. I never felt warmer walking in walking to work in the cold...

  "Jeremy, you are messed up in the head! It was so freaking cold, I didn't leave the house!"

 The truth is that when your in the Presence of God, you really have no idea what is going on around you because your not focused on the surroundings. You are focused in on God. I always put my praise and worship songs on while I am walking to work. It helps me get in a better mood if I am in a bad mood. It re-shifts my focus onto God instead of myself. Once I get myself out of the way, then that allows God to do a work in me. I have rebelled so much here lately in the things of God, that it has literally robbed me of some great things that God has for me. But I noticed that when I was walking to work in the bad weather, that there was an "inner fire" that burned within me. The internal thermometer in me never got cold or "hypothermic." I was in His Presence...

  Now your thinking, "God is with us always." And that is true. But we are not always in His Presence. I think back to Old Testament times where the high priests had to dress a certain way in order to enter into God's Presence. Yet here I was bundled up in some old work clothes, gloves and a scarf and I was still able to enter into God's presence. I like to think that the "fire of the altars" burns in me today.  If I am willing to sacrifice myself and lay down my needs versus the needs of the Father. Now the real reason that the fire that burns in me is that once I felt a touch from God.

 Now there is nothing that could ever compare to the warmth, the Presence and a touch from God. When I say nothing, there is NOTHING!!! To sit here and say that there is a "warm, fuzzy feeling" when God puts His arms around you, it's a lame term to use. Walking to work in this bad weather may have sucked in the natural, but the truth is that God kept me warm the entire way to work and going home. Now even though it was great to drink a cup of coffee when I got to work or when I got home, it doesn't compare to the feeling of love and warmth to our Heavenly Father.

I liked the story of the "Burning Bush and Moses." The fire and warmth of God was so pure, that the bush did not burn nor did it bring harm to Moses. It was a symbol of God's enduring fire and Presence in our lives. Moses entered  into the Presence of God and was told to remove his sandals for he was walking into His Presence. But Jesus provided a way for us to enter into and leave our sandals on. When the Blood was shed and then poured on the Mercy Seat, Jesus tore the veil or opened the door for us to enter into the Holy of Holies or His Presence. That is how awesome God really is.

So it's okay to sit by the fire and get warm, drink a cup of tea or coffee to help you feel better. But when it comes right down to the truth, the "enduring fire and warmth" that burns within us can only come from God. That fire can only come from God and the desire to chase after Him. I like to use this term, "the desire brings and burns the fire." But the desire and the burn can get cold and slowly die when we don't chase after Him. Chase the desire and keep the fire. That's what is going to keep you warm.

So when you go home or go to work, look at your coffee cup and ask yourself this?

"What is keeping me warm these days?"