I greet you in Jesus' precious Name. It is Sunday morning the 26th of November 2023, and this is your friend Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We started in Exodus 24:17:

"The sight of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel."

Then we go straight to Hebrews 12:29

"For our god is a consuming fire." 

He's not a God to be trifled with. He is not a God to play the fool with - we are talking about a God who is a consuming fire. That's what the Bible tells us. We need to be ready to meet the coming of the Lord.

Now, I can relate to this so much. You know, we live in the beautiful green hills of Natal, and Shalom Farm is situated right in the middle of many, many forests. We have pine plantations, eucalyptus and wattle plantations - beautiful trees, 30 years old and more before they get felled. But we have to be ready in the event of a forest fire. It is a terrible thing to be part of - when that fire gets going. The signs are always there. It's normally in the middle of Winter. There is a blowing wind, and there's been no moisture for weeks. People are ready; it's going to come. The foresters literally sleep next to their radios, waiting for the fire tower to make that call - fire! The game is on. By that time, we should have all our fire breaks in position. We should have all our water carts full, hitched up to our tractors - all our fire fighting equipment should be ready for action. We have to do it beforehand if we want to stand a chance in saving our homes and our farms.

The question I want to ask you today, and the question God is asking us this morning is: "Are you ready for the coming of the Lord? When the Lord comes He will come like a consuming fire. It says, in Joel 2:11

"The Lord gives voice before His army,
For His camp is very great;
For strong is the One who executes His word.
For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible;
Who can endure it?"

I want to plead with you today to make sure that your house is in order. Make sure that your life is in order. That your children, your dependents know who Jesus Christ is because when that fire starts it is too late to try and get things in order. Do it today.Don't be caught out.

Jesus bless you, and have a wonderful Sunday. Goodbye.