One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far nto the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God.  There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up.  “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.” When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” “Here I am!” Moses replied. “Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.  I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Exodus 3:1-6 (New Living Translation, NLT)

God appeared to Moses in a burning bush. Fire in the Bible can represent the presence of God. Moses and others in the Old Testament experienced the presence of God externally. They interacted with God, but it wasn’t until the New Testament that believers were able to experience God on the inside. Then, God was in the bush and in the pillar of fire that led the children of Israel in the wilderness. Now, God is in each of us. The fire has moved from the outside to the inside.

For our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:29 (KJV)

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is known as the baptism of fire. In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit filled the early believers and appeared as flames of fire upon each one. With the Holy Spirit dwelling in us and filling us to overflowing, the fire of God can flow from us to others. Being on fire for God doesn’t just mean hooting and hollaring. It means having a devoted passion for the presence of God that comes from a heart full of the Lord Himself. Abraham and others used to speak to God and Moses even wanted to see God’s face, but now we actually have Him INSIDE us. The fire of God burns in our hearts. And as we pray in the Holy Spirit, the flames are fanned and fire burns brighter- until everything that is not of God is eventually burned away.