Do You Want the Fire?
If you want to burn with the fire of God in your life for decades, you need to do the work to construct a fireplace.
The Flash or the Flame?
Who among us hasn't witnessed it? That person who burned bright for God—their passion infectious, their gifts undeniable—only to watch them fizzle out months or years later. A flash in the pan. A momentary spark that never became a sustained flame.
Here's what I've come to understand: Nobody starts their journey with God hoping to become a fizzle. We often begin because we hunger for change, that transformative grace from the Holy Spirit. We want to be living temples for God, with altars where His presence dwells. But an altar without fire is purposeless—and fire without a structure to contain it is dangerous.
Before Pentecost Came Purpose
Consider this: Jesus discipled His followers for three full years before He sent the fire of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Three years of teaching, correcting, shaping, and forming. He wasn't just preparing them for a moment; He was constructing a structure in their lives that could contain and sustain the flame for the rest of their lives.
Too often, we can pursue spiritual manifestations, gifts, and mountain-top experiences with God (and don't misunderstand me—I'm absolutely for all of these things) but at the expense of a well formed life. I want to encounter God. I want experiences with Him. I want the fire. But when our gifting outweighs our character, when we pursue power without building the structure to hold it, we set ourselves up for collapse.
The Cost of Construction
Growing up, my mother worked for a prefabricated fireplace construction company. She sold and helped install fireplaces in homes throughout our area, so I learned a thing or two about what goes into building one. Let me tell you—constructing a fireplace is neither exciting nor cheap. It's one of the most expensive features you can add to a house.
But it's also one of the most vital.
Why? Because for fire to safely exist in your home—to provide light and warmth without burning the whole structure down—you need absolute confidence in that fireplace. The venting must properly remove smoke. The mortar must be secure with no gaps where flames could escape. Every detail must be methodical and intentional, because this structure will contain something powerful and potentially destructive.
The same is true for our spiritual lives. If we want to house the fire of God, we must be intentional, methodical, and willing to invest the time and energy required to build a proper foundation.
Building Your Spiritual Fireplace
So what does this fireplace represent in practical terms? It's a grounded, structured life built on timeless principles:
Stewardship of Time: Being intentional with the hours God has given you
Stewardship of Resources: Managing what you have with wisdom and generosity
Stewardship of Relationships: Investing in people with purpose and love
Stewardship of Calling: Understanding and walking in your God-given purpose
These aren't the exciting parts of ministry. This is the unglamorous work of character development, discipline, and daily faithfulness. It's the prayer in secret, the study when no one's watching, the serving when there's no recognition. It's constructing the frameworks of your life to actually contain and sustain fire.
The Altar Comes First
Here's a truth that echoes throughout Scripture: God never sends fire without there first being an altar. From Abraham to Elijah, from the tabernacle to the temple, the pattern remains consistent. First comes the obedient construction of an altar by a man or woman of God. Then comes the fire from heaven.
The altar—your fireplace—is your prepared heart, your disciplined life, your cultivated character. It's the structure that says, "I'm ready to steward what You want to pour out."
The choice before us is clear. We can pursue quick spiritual highs, seeking fire without a fireplace, and likely experience a brief blaze followed by burnout. Or we can do the patient work of construction—building a life that can contain and sustain the Holy Spirit's fire for twenty, thirty, forty years or more.
This isn't about dampening our hunger for God or settling for less of His presence. It's about becoming the kind of vessel that can hold more of Him, sustainably, powerfully, and for the long haul. It's about having such a well-built fireplace that when the fire comes, it doesn't just flash—it burns steady and bright, providing light and warmth not just for you, but for everyone around you.
The Work Worth Doing
Whether you lead in your family, your workplace, or your church community, this foundation matters. The ability to sustain God's fire over a lifetime doesn't happen by accident. It happens when we're willing to do the unexciting but necessary work of fireplace construction—the daily disciplines, the character formation, the patient stewardship of all God has entrusted to us.
So I ask you: Do you want the fire? Really want it? Not just for a moment, but for a lifetime?
Then let's build a altar worthy of the flame. When we build well, we can burn long.
