Out of the Fog

As they walk through the thick blanket of fog,

All that is heard is their vulgarity toward God.
Repeating to spew the poison from their tongues,
As the blood diminishes to cover their sins they enjoy dwelling in.
More continue to walk into this venomous fog, lost in their disobedience.
They walk blindly pretending to see what is ahead, a nose too high obstructing the view.
Not knowing that their reality will end in a second or two, like the hasty winds.


 As they walk through the thick blanket of fog,
There boastful season has ended, for they feel nothing to walk on.
The ground was absent, the realization that they have fallen off an unseen cliff.
Was the lawlessness well worth it? With no hand of God to catch their fall,
To fall and continue to fall, only to be devoured by the darkness too many have swarmed to.
An end is the end, not when personal possessions have been lost but when a soul was never found.
Must it be too late to find out the truth, lost children? To grieve the Father as He sees His children pouring down that cliff.

 

 But then...silence! What can be heard through this thick blanket of fog?

One!... Two!.. Three! Out of the thousands. The only voices praying to Him pleading to be rescued!
Singing and searching for their Maker, the hearts that refused to hardened.
Knowing of their own disobedience, they continued to seek the One who forgave.
For the love and joy gleamed from His heart,
To know His children who were looking for their way back home.
He steered his way toward their voices, clearing the fog and shining is light.
Then to proceed the way back home to finally know what content is; anchored in His wholeness.

By R.E. Smith(ConsumedinFire)

To Be, or Not To Be... Obediant with God

August 29, 2014 to September 2, 2014

The last few days have been one complete nonstop trial. And all I have been able to do is praise God in all of it because it has mentally and physically exhausted me. The only resource I have left to keep my chin up is to look up to God and praise and worship through all this turmoil.

Wednesday August 27, 2014

After dropping of my sister to pick up her own car from a U-Haul center my rundown 1999 Hyundai Accent nicknamed “The Miracle” decided to act up on the road. I turned my car into a Winco parking lot to check liquids or to see if there was anything out of the ordinary. Everything seemed alright, that is until I tried to reverse to get out of my parking space to go back home. No reverse, nothing, nada. My wonderful transmission went out. On top of this, I decided to go out without a cellphone and no money so I couldn’t call anyone and I was sure I was not going to walk home in 104° heat. So I placed my car in neutral, pushed my car back (with these poorly used muscles), quickly jumped in and drove home at 10mph. I was praying and asking God to get me home safely. Most of what I was telling God was “Holy, Holy, Holy, Hallelujah, Praise the Lord” and that I was promised that I would get home safely and I praise God I did. Once I arrived home, my heart felt like it wanted nothing to do with me and jump out and run away. It took a while for this heart murmur to calm down; I had to sit down for a while to catch my breath. This was the first thing that the Lord used to try to make me get out of my stubborn decision of moving somewhere he did not want me to be.

Friday August 29, 2014

Moving Day. 

I need to make one thing clear. I asked the Holy Spirit if I should move back to Texas (but this time in San Antonio) and he clearly told me “NO”. No reason, he only told me “NO”. Once I continue on with my story of all the things that went wrong this week, I hope there is some understanding of why it is so important to be patient and be obedient to the Lord. Because if you want to do things your way (in which this case that is clearly what I did) things are going to go wrong, they are things that the Lord wanted you NOT to go through.

So this is the day was had to start driving down to Texas from California. It was my eldest sister, her daughter and me. My sister was going to drive a 17ft U-Haul truck with a car dolly to haul my little car. I was going to drive behind her in her car. When we were trying to drive my car on the dolly, I did not feel comfortable with hauling it at all. I didn’t think it was worth it to haul a car that had a broken transmission 1400 miles to another city were I didn’t know anyone who would be able to fix a transmission (at a good price). I had brought my car so many times to a close friend of my Dad’s that he has known for years and I had confidence in is work because he was also a mechanic for a major car dealership in town. I didn’t have enough time to leave it with him so he could fix it. I regret not listening to the Holy Spirit of making the decision to leave my car. He clearly knew what was up ahead. So we packed our things, said our goodbyes and that Friday night we were off to Texas.

Saturday August 30, 2014

We drove all Friday night and stopped in Needles, Ca. I don’t know how hot it was but it felt like a blow dryer on high heat out there. I totally thought I lived in the hot Mojave Desert in Lancaster, California but I knew nothing of what a real hot Mojave Desert was like until that day. Terrible. I stayed in the hotel until we left that night and it was still hot late at night. To the citizens of Needles, California; you deserve a Badge of Bravery.

Sunday August 31, 2014

As we were driving through New Mexico I noticed that a cover that goes over the dolly tire was breaking off. I got a hold of my sister to pull over and we bought some duct tape to keep hold of the cover (duct tape fixes everything). If I had ignored it, the cover would have broken off completely and one of the tail lights would have been gone as well.

So far it all seemed like a smooth ride. Things were going slow but we were safe.

Monday September 1, 2014

I feel I need to write this down at this moment about Monday, so far one of the toughest painful days I have had in a great while. It was painful…very painful. I failed to mention above that we were also taking a dog along with us. I have another sister who lives in Texas with her daughter, and Jack is their dog. They also lived in California before but moved to Texas but did not bring Jack with them. They gave me the responsibility of taking him to them. Jack is a Chihuahua-Wiener mix, loyal, and very well-trained.

We arrived in Texas at about noon. We stopped at a Love’s Truck Stop in Pecos, Texas to take a walk and buy some water. The U-Haul truck and car were driven for quite some time and it was about time to give them a rest. We waited there until about five in the afternoon. We took off and stopped at a picnic area between Pecos and Ft. Stockton. My sister and her daughter decided to fly a kite and I decided to let Jack out for a walk. Jack loves, absolutely loves to walk. He loves to sniff everything, he is very adventurous.

So… I decided to let him lose, off his leash.   

I was completely sleep deprived but I don’t see it as any excuse for the mistake I made that moment. I sat down to take a breather, my sister and her daughter were playing with their kite and I took my eyes off of Jack for a slight moment. Speed limit in this stretch of road is 75mph. There is no time to react when an animal is crossing the road. Jack wanted to discover the other side of the road and he went for it and was hit by a car.

I have never cried over a dog but I cried, I’m still crying. I always thought it was a bit silly for someone to cry over a dog. It’s only a dog… an animal. But Jack always thought he was human. To have to call my sister and tell her that Jack was dead because of me was so terribly painful. I don’t know exactly what my sister told her daughter that Jack was not going to make it but I pray wholeheartedly that they forgive me. I know he meant a lot to my niece and my sister; he was going to be their “Man of the House”.

I cried as we drove through the night. I was telling God that it was my fault, while he was trying to comfort me and help me understand that it was more than fine that Jack was in Heaven with him. That he was happy and still alive, his adventure never ended. He was home with his creator.

After a few hours of driving we stopped at a gas station in Junction, Texas. I was able to stretch my legs but I felt very lonely not having Jack around to allow him to get some exercise as well. He was supposed to be with me.

We were a few hours away from San Antonio, so we decided to continue with our trip. It was about two in the morning, we drove back onto Interstate 10 from Junction. As we almost left the city I realized that my Hyundai on the dolly was riding on one side of the dolly, not in between. I quickly called my sister to pull over the truck. We could not grasp what we saw. The platform that holds the tires down of my Hyundai was completely unhitched from the trailer. If my eye did not catch the trailer and if we had continued on our trip, it would have been more than likely that the car on the platform would have completely slid of the dolly and onto the interstate hitting me first since I was following behind the U-Haul truck. So we were in the pitch black night, figuring out how to get the car off the platform and the dolly. The car on the platform was teetering on one side of the dolly so if we made the wrong move to take the car down, it could have fallen to the side. We decided to get two tire jacks to lift up the platform so that it would even out with the dolly. This isn’t what made my head hurt the most, it was the fact that my car had a broken transmission and it could not reverse off the dolly ramp. So there was no way to reverse the car to get it off the dolly. The Holy Spirit new this was going to happen, but I didn’t listen. So I drove my sisters car back into Junction (looking like a beggar, for how dirty I was from crawling under the car dolly) to find a chain or rope. We connected the ropes from the back of the Hyundai (the car that doesn’t reverse) to the front of my sisters’ car. I steered my Hyundai that was on top of the dolly and my sister pulled my car of the platform and onto the dolly. But I steered too much to one side and my car fell about half a foot from the ground, thankfully nothing was damaged.

After getting the car off the dolly, my sister had already called a 24 hour U-Haul service truck to re-align the platform and dolly. He was going to take about 30 minutes to arrive, so my sister told me to drive my Hyundai up about half a mile on Interstate 10 to a picnic area. The transmission wasn’t working well, no reverse and all I could go was about 5mph up hill on a busy interstate. I was completely exhausted and still in pain from what happened to Jack. It was difficult to keep focus when I was going through all of this on only two hours of sleep. As I was driving slowly up hill, I cried and praised God.

All I had left in me was to praise God and sing to him. I couldn’t do anything more than to praise and worship God. What good would it have been to lose faith, to doubt or curse my God who has rescued me from trials like this time and time again before?

As I was climbing up the steep road, I was worried that my car would not make it because it felt so weak.  It was then I asked God to help my car, I was close to giving up. He told me that his angels were already there behind and on the side of my car pushing it uphill. I could not help but to laugh because the Lord was there the whole time. When these angels were helping me, I could feel it on the gas pedal and I can see it on the rpm’s that my car was going uphill so easily. I saw it spiritually how they were on each side of my car and behind the car pushing it up slowly up hill. It was beautiful to have experienced His angels helping me. I finally reached the picnic area and tried to sleep. I didn’t have a phone, food, blanket or water as I was waiting there. It took about an hour and a half for my sister to finally arrive. We took rest there but I could not sleep. I was so tired of being tired that I could not sleep. I looked up to the night sky to the stars and they were beautiful, I had to keep looking for something beautiful to find some peace. I had a long day behind me and the next day was already there. Dawn was there and the sun began to rise, I don’t know what is ahead but I pray for calm in this storm. I praise God for being with me; I wouldn’t have been able to keep going without him.

So now I am in San Antonio, Texas and I am not sure what is coming next. I don’t have a car that is working, I need to find work as soon as possible and I am currently staying at a very cheap inn. It would have been prudent to have a house ready waiting for us before we came out here. But I still have faith that things will go well.

The picnic area in the early morning hour.

Disobedients may not seem like a huge sin but God only wants to keep you from things that you do not see up ahead. God can see the big picture, he can see the enemy’s plans of what he can use to try to steal, kill and destroy. I know when I have disobeyed the Lord before this; it wasn’t such a big deal. For me to say that “it wasn’t such a big deal” to disobey God is clearly Pride speaking out of me, a very stinky flesh. I have definitely learned the hard way of why it is so crucial to obey the Lord. If I had listened to Him and patiently waited until He said it was fine to head back to Texas, none of this would have happened. When the enemy is working hard to take so much from you, keep your faith that God is also working hard to bless you and keep you safe. And when you are at a moment that you must make a very important decision, ask the Holy Spirit. Ask Him, converse with him so that your plans or decisions are aligned with his plans and the path he wants you to take.

The One Answer

My heart feels so heavy immersed in such woefulness,

If I sigh, if I hurt, if I deny,

Would it fix these trials of tribulation?

If I try, if I curse, if I cry,

Would it fix these trials of tribulation?

 

My heart has betrayed me, for it bleeds in throbbing pain,

As much as I try, As much as I weep, As much as I cry,

I must find strength deep in this heart to keep life.

As much as I scream, As much as I exhaust, As much as I dream,

I must find strength deep in this heart to keep life.

 

My heart knows the truth, with full assurance that You are the answer,

The Healer to this pain, The Healer to his hurt, The Answer to this rough terrain.

I seek your Light, for I cannot deny that You are my only true path.

The Good song to my distress, The Good song to sweep away sorrow, The Melody I cannot suppress.

I seek your Light, for I cannot deny that You are my only true path.

 

I know not of what lies ahead, but I sing praise to You my King.

I give up doubt, I give up the worries, I praise and shout,

You have rescued me from this abandon well time and time again,

I see that You are the answer, I know You are my God, I taste that You are my flavor,

You have rescued me from this abandon well time and time again,

 

My heart is a magnet towards You, it is filled with joy when You are near.

If I sigh, hurt, or deny; I must pray and worship the most High,

These trials of tribulation are nothing, for I am a child of the King.

If I try, curse, or cry; I must keep You close for your love will not run dry,

These trials of tribulation are nothing, for I am a child of the King.

 

By R.E. Smith (ConsumedinFire)

Groundless Mind

A mist of confusion and loss has rolled in,
Resembling defiant clouds that will not part.
Lord, I ask for understanding that comes from Your heart.
Let me not hear Satan's whispers of lies and guilt of my sin.

Forgive me, to come out and say,
This mind seems to run in chaos and nonsense each hour.
I plead for peace and clarity, these demons desire to devour.
I cannot continue to walk this path, darkened by the gray.

I see so many walking opposite, away from You.
Let me not be them, I know You are the way.
Guide my path, I truly desire to walk with You each day.
But this mind with voices so loud, takes me off Your path that is true.

I ask for purity in this mind, clarity clearer than water.
I ask for calm in all the chaos, to see through all the blur.
I ask for understanding, to hear Your voice and no voice other.
I know. I do know. Even when a dark fog would like to smother,
You will always be the answer and path, my One and only Savior.

By R.E. Smith (ConsumedinFire)

For He Is

 

A Letter From the Lord June 12, 2014

A letter from the Holy Spirit; there has been a struggle in my heart between God’s truth and Satan’s deceptive lies. The Lord has led me to write this, hopefully it is a blessing for others who are struggling because of their temptations or want to be uplifted by the Lord.

To my beloved child,

You will not inherit the kingdom of God if you continue to go down this path, my child. Sin is sin, and God your Creator despises sin. It is filth, it is soiled, and it is impure. My child, if you want to come into my Kingdom and have ever lasting life, you must truly come to me. True repentance equals true purity in the heart. Jesus Christ, my Son is your true purity. You cannot find purity through self and self-strength, but through my Son. My beloved, I don’t want to see you go down this deadly destructive path. It is not everlasting. Sin only cares about now, being fulfilled (falsely fulfilled) at this very moment. It is hasty, it is impatient, and it does not care about consequences. My truth is everlasting, it has worth. It is not needy, impure, or hasty. My truth makes wise decisions for a future benefit. The temptations are great, and I know they are difficult to struggle with. Don’t believe that I know nothing of what you are struggling with. But resist the enemy and he will flee. It may be difficult but it is not impossible to resist the temptation. Your God, your father wants you to be with him when it is time to come home. He does not want to see your name absent in the Book of Life. Oh what joy he will have to know and see that your name is written and that you will be attending his wedding feast. In the times of temptations, weigh the temptations versus everlasting life. See that my home, my truth has more value than any sin that the enemy wants you to fall into.

 

And I have been hearing your prayers, my beloved. The enemy has been telling you that I have forgotten you; that I do not want to hear you anymore or that you are a lost cause. My beloved place your faith in me. With all you have or don’t have, uphold me as you Lord and Savior. Know that I have listened to your cries. Seek me, seek purity, seek my heart, seek truth, and seek my everlasting life. Stop worrying about where you need to go and feeling like life has fled from you. Why are you in such a haste to get somewhere I don’t want you to be? I have my plans and you have yours. But my child, my plans are far greater and fulfilling. It may not be what you want because it isn’t what your driven heart has made you yearn for. My plans for you will make you content and fulfilled; content to be in me and my presence and not trying to make everyone around you content. I want to fill you up with my love and strength. Satan will give you measurements of what is enough to make you feel like you are bigger than a “somebody”. My child, with me and in me, your life will be far greater and worth more than the measurements of success in this world. Remember that time is short, my Son is coming soon! Come to me and allow me to show you the path I want you to take. Let me teach you so you may spread my word; spread my wealth of truth to my children who are lost and confused. Don’t depend on self; don’t look at self for I will take care of your worries and problems. Give me your heart and mind, so the enemy does not have such a stronghold to cause confusion or bitterness. Speak to me daily and hourly, let me hear what you have to say. Don’t bottle it up inside for it will spoil your heart. A drop of bitterness and misery only grows into an ocean if it isn’t given to the Lord. Allow him to purify that ocean into his ocean of love, wisdom and understanding. Come to me, my child and let me open your eyes. Allow me to take your hand and walk you into my presence. Let me fill you up with my joy in this time of sorrow and oppression. I have saved you before and I can do it again, and again, and again. Because I will never give up on you! Never, ever, ever! You are mine, so come to me my beloved. Come to me!

The Light in Darkness

The force of hesitation has kept me far from you my King,

The doubt has kept me underwater; my hardened heart has made me cold and dead.

Floating through the waves but slowly drowning, not knowing what joy is or what is suffering.

The waves crash on me to and fro, looking at the dark skies with glass eyes that can't be read.

Water has become heavy; the ripples have shadowed me from your Light,

All that can be done is to wonder at the stars, for they answer "There is a Mighty God"

Lord, may I pray "Rescue me from this sea, I no longer want to dwell in the night".

The heaviness of the water has clenched to my breath, "Lord save me with your golden rod ".

The weeping tears have deepened the tides of sorrow, "Lord deliver me soon ".

If this is the end to my Earthly life, "Lord wake me to Eternal life, take me to your shelter",

I've closed my eyes, 'I'm ready Lord, deliver me from the harshness of war under this moon".

The dark through my eyelids were no more, to open them to the sight of my Savior.

His Mighty hand swooped down to carry me out of the murky water that I dwelled in for too long,

Murky water filled with depression oppressed within my heart and mind.

Finally my eyes were not deceived; my Shepherd has heard my prayer and song.

He lifts me up, soaring on his wings of warmth, my woefulness left behind.

He takes me to his home, his realm that holds his Honorable Throne,

The weights of the world, the anguish from the pain, and the demons have left my head,

They fled from the Light of God, His light shining brighter than any rhinestone.

The Lord takes my hand and walks me through a gentle path beside a riverbed.

"Come walk with me, and accept my complete honesty,

I did not give you life on Earth, so that Darkness could take a hold of you.

You are mine, you were always mine, and I say this truthfully.

Satan has lied to you, to say you were worth nothing so you would not pursue,

He saw the danger of you, a Child of God after my own heart.

Your passion and eagerness to seek me was strong,

But Satan fed little lies in your mind and heart to take you apart.

He told you to give up; life was not worth it, that you did not belong.

That you were worthless, abandoned, and forgotten,

Making you believe that you were too broken to fix; that you were lonely, depressed, and unseen.

Satan condemned you when you stumbled with sin to make you think you were so rotten,

He wants to drag my children down; Satan's plans are ever obscene.

My Child, hear my voice and take these words to heart. You are not an error or weak!

My beloved, I treasure you. I take delight in having you with me.

Don't shut me out; let me in your heart. Let me hear you speak.

Speak to me of your concerns, allow me to lead the path, I ardently love thee.

Go back to your temporal home; don't allow darkness to seep into your heart and soul.

My beloved, I have given you purpose. Be my servant and spread my love.

Don't look right or left, I am your straight and narrow path. I am the end goal.

Seek my truth, bear good fruits and know that I am all around you, in you and above.

 

By R.E. Smith (ConsumedinFire)

An Everlasting Train

Sitting and absorbing what I see, as the numbness creeps within me,

Feeling like a flightless bird missing out on imaginable prosperity and security.

On this bench too ample for one person, blindly witnessing.

Having seen friends and masses load on that train.

A ticket in hand, a train I nearly took, a chance I did not obtain.

How can I forgive myself for being in this place in life, tears falling like rain?

 

I see the train, moving down the rustic railroad pathway.

And I feel a loss, as if I have been left behind.

Trying to figure out what other paths can be taken on this colorless rainy day?

What other path can I take? And Hopelessness tells me "I'm out of plans",

Is that train the only one that will take me where I can fly away?

The places I yearn and desire to go.

 

All this time however, I was blind in only seeing broken dreams and a false legacy.

Sitting here on a cold stone bench, mourning in my own self pity.

There in front of me was He, the Holy One, looking at me.

He patiently waited to get my attention, to approach me with His key.

He was waiting for me to give Him permission to sit right next to me and set me free.

Wanting to reassure and comfort me, that He has a treasure for His bride-to-be.

 

As He graciously sat next to me, my worries and my dreams began to fade,

For He has a pearly white train filled with significance that is unswayed.

A train that will take me places that He wants me to go, all expenses paid.

His train is one that few and far between ever take,

Because the masses have set their hearts on their own selfish ambitions and never awake.

He offers me a spiritual bouquet full of acceptance and encouragement, I accept it without debate.

 

For there is no other way, that I will be fulfilled. He is the answer to the emptiness.

The answer to broken dreams and broken promises.

I accept Him as my Lord and Savior, this is our Genesis.

I've climbed into His train and He swept away the heaviness, for His dreams for me are ever endless.

 

By R.E.Smith

My Offer

 

 
My cageless song bird let me show you,
What I offer, so you may be encouraged to stay true.
I offer you my son, Jesus Christ, who died for all sinners.
So that when the enemy comes in full force, they will come out winners.
I offer you my love, a love so deep it has no end.
A love so deep, you may find hard to comprehend.
I offer you my mercy, so that you may repent,
To crucify your sins on the cross to find content.
I offer you life, so you may see my creation
All the woods, seas, and prairies for your admiration.
I offer you direction and counsel, so you may walk on this narrow road
Without fear of being lost through Satan's hypnotizing load.
I offer you my Kingdom, a home to rest.
To let go of the loads and burdens, to be blessed.
I offer you my home, so we can take a walk in my gentleness and glee
Through grass tips gleaming with diamonds and my white as snow trees.
I offer you wonders, of flowers dancing to praise,
Of singing angels for all of God's eternal holy days.

 

By R.E.Smith (ConsumedinFire)

 

Seeking a True Path

Where do I go Lord?
Will you take me to the unexplored?
Or should I unwearyingly wait for the next open door?
Let your path be the way Lord, let mine be done for.
The decaying Doubt in my heart, if you will come through
Has made me stumble for fear of unworthiness, from this worldly view.
The Fear in my heart, trembles to your might.
Fearing your plans to bring me more into your light,
For you promised "I will take care of you",
And I so dearly want to see the morning dew.
Lord, I ask if I can see what you see
At least something I can hope for, to get me out of this sea.
Shine the lighthouse, call me to your direction,
"Come my love, come to my house of protection".
Let me thirst and hunger for your truth and understanding,
Help me sail this ship to your safe landing.

By R.E.Smith (ConsumedinFire)

The Well-Grounded Garden

As I walk through my garden,
I can't help but feel content.
To have sown those good seeds in the soil,
And watch them grow.
Saturated with light and sweetness,
They try to touch the sun.



(My White Sonora Wheat in my Garden)

The wheat has grown- Oh so tall!
To joyously dance and sing in the wind.
Without a care in the world.
Because they know with a confident assurance,
That they'll always be replenished.
That they'll be fed with light, God's light.
To take part of God's plan, even a small one.
And they are content.

And if at times there is a drought,
And the heat becomes suffocating.
They continue to breathe freely,
For they know this is not their true home.
In the Kingdom of God, it is truth.

 

 The soil is rich with Love,
And the light has a dash of Comfort.
The wind has an aroma of Completeness,
And the water abundant in Joy.
The Father comes around to see them,
To caress His loved one.
And to breathe on them a waterfall of Acceptance,
Because they stood true to him on Earth,
And they knew that He was the Living Water.

 

By R.E. Smith (ConsumedinFire)

Finally Home by MercyMe

 

MercyMe has been one of my all time favorite Christian Bands. When I first came to Christ, they were the first Christian band (and maybe some P.O.D)  that quickly made me thirst for more Christian music.

Home by MercyMe, is absolutely one of my favorite Christian songs. It's about going to the Kingdom of God and finally meeting Him face to face. Our home is in Heaven and this song always reminds me to ask the Lord, "When am I going home? I really want to go, I want to see it all!". But God has his timing, so we must all wait patiently for the Groom to come and take us to the wedding feast.

You Belong with Me

When the treacherous Lion is chasing you
Do not set me to the side, run into my arms
His plans are to destruct and demolish good
Become one with me, I am true
He is deceitful, without favor
But my love is fireproof
You belong with me, do pursue.

By R. E. Smith (ConsumedinFire)

Flooded in Holiness

High School is a bit of a haze for me, but the Lord brought up a memory to give me discernment of what was going on and yet another thing to confess (another step closer to purity). Today I stopped to watch this video that my little sister was watching on Teen Nick, it was a clip of a Rave and many young men and women around my age dancing to this rave music. At my high school dances, we had many “rave” themed dances. And I remember learning how to dance to this type of music. It was exhausting! I may have danced to that type of rave music for maybe two or three school dances. I could remember how I felt liberated and free; almost unstoppable. After graduating high school, so many of my close friends would buy tickets to these tremendously large Rave concerts but I never had the chance to attend one. I thank God I never did. I would hear stories of people passing out on the floor, others getting high on ecstasy, and some people too drunk to even understand what’s going on. This may seem almost “normal” these days, or “normal” for a younger generation to go out in the world and feel free to experiment, because “Hey, we only live once”. But it is false.

It’s a false feeling of freedom on that dance floor. It’s a false feeling of liberation. It’s a false feeling of unstoppable. Because once you’re off that dance floor, out of that rave or out of that club, did you continue to sense the freedom? Or the liberation? I’m not sure about other people’s experiences but I would think no. Being able to escape from the world through these raves doesn’t solve anything and it doesn’t give you true joy; as well as a true feeling and knowledge of true significance.

All of this can relate to a song/sermon that I have heard from Beautiful Eulogy named “The String That Ties Us”.  

“Lets suppose that a kite could come to life and develop its own personality. On one hand, it would feel the exhilaration that comes from the surges of wind that direct it through the sky. On the other hand, it would almost immediately take notice of something annoying. The tugging of the string at its center, a feeling of constraint, resistance, and soon the kite begins to think to itself ‘If only I could detach, then I could really fly.’ To the kite it seems the string is limiting its full experience of freedom. But as any boy or girl who has flown a kite knows, were that string to suddenly snap, the kite wouldn’t soar free for very long. It would dart to and fro for a minute, maybe two, but very soon thereafter it would end on the ground in a pile of broken sticks and torn paper never ever to fly again. Rather, you see, it is the taught line between the kite and the one holding it that enables the kite to fly, that allows all the principles of aerodynamics to come into play so that the kite might achieve its full purpose. Christian love performs the very same function as a kite string. You take away the stabilizing force of Christian love and every towering gift, every supernatural power, every sacrificial act, every musical performance, you name it friends, it will all-ALL end up on the ash heap of eternal insignificance, without love.”

            When Gods Holy Spirit is looking through these raves and clubs, walking through, and observing, telling his beloved children “don’t take that drug”, “go home, don’t stay here”, “my love, what are you doing here”, it must be hard to see your children hurting themselves. It saddens God to see this; he yearns for his children to come back to him. His love is so deep and profound, it never stops. God weeps for his children but with even a deeper love than my parents or any parent will ever have. 

“Don’t cause the Holy Spirit sorrow by the way you live. Remember, he is the one who marks you to be present on that day when salvation from sin will be complete” Ephesians 4:30.

            Another point the Holy Spirit has given me through this memory, is that through this false liberation from dancing, that it is the complete opposite of God’s liberation. God wants to fulfill every one of his children to the point that they are not dancing for their own selfish pleasure, but for him. He wants to take every load of weight, sorrow, spirits of depression, spirits of self-hate, spirits of uselessness in self, and so many other things, to give you and me the freedom in God’s wholeness. God wants to flood his children in his holiness and make them complete. I have found that jumping up and down; dancing for God is quite a beautiful thing. Just yesterday I played the song “Come On” by Rend Collective Experiment on full blast and I was telling God, that “I let go” all the pain, sorrow, guilt, shame, and everything that is keeping me from having a more intimate relationship with God. I didn’t have to worry about anybody watching me or trying to please another person through their eyes, but only take in every inch of joy and freedom that God had given me. Doing this every now and then gives me more insight that God is pure and good. That dancing for the Lord is so much more fulfilling, satisfying and gives me the freedom that I have always been seeking. Plus, I’m not grieving the Lord by my actions, only pleasing him.

Distinguished Plant

This imprisoned internal plant,
Held captive by this invisible stone wall
Who only takes in little light
Coming through a window enthrall
It's 'simple enough', it's 'almost', it thinks
Stuck in it's complacency above all
This is enough light, no need to go further
Spitting at the Lord, feeling so tall
Your water means nothing said pride.

This distinguished external plant,
Swaying about in the harsh storm,
Adapting and understanding,
Strong, not willing to conform.
Storm, you will not gain me!
My Lord knows I am not lukewarm.
I stand and live for Him,
So...Dark Storm, taking an intimidating form
Keep away, so I may sing to my Lord a hymn.

By R. E. Smith (ConsumedinFire)

Reclaimed

Why do you flee from my light?
All can be seen, all that is done in secret.
There is no way to become lost in sight.
My child, resist the temptation.
Let it go, all that is impure like the dark of night.

The cross is a place to die and give up your rights.
To place all the shame, conviction, and grime.
To crucify all of your sinful delights.
Come to my cross, let it go,
Allow me to walk you up those mountain heights.

Find satisfaction in me,
A meaningful intimacy with your Lord God,
More true repentance, so you me see
Face-to-face, the flood of God's glory.
There is no sin too unforgivable, to set your heart free.

By R. E. Smith

The Dawn of Consumed in Fire Blog

Greetings! Welcome to Consumed in Fire

 

I'd like to first come out and say that the Lord has compelled me to write this blog for him for a very long time. Every now and then for the past few months I would ask the Lord, “So, have you changed your mind about that thing you wanted me to do?” and of course he said “No”. So I've been running from this assignment for too long and I think I'm tired now, I've hit a dead end on this road. Either I turn my back on God and do as I please and go where I want to go or I completely go to the Lord and allow him to guide me and be an obedient servant for his glory… challenge accepted. I’m still learning how to let go many of my plans that I have clenched onto for so long, they’ve been programmed into my brain and really hard to let go. But I know God’s plans are good, so this is a leap of faith for me. I should also mention I really don’t know why God has me doing this when I’m not that great of a writer. Seriously! I keep asking God, “Maybe you have the wrong person? You do have 7 billion other children; it could be that other person over there” and of course he doesn’t have me mistaken for some other person, he knows me all too well. So I'm writing this blog, somewhat blind of what is up ahead (if there is anything up ahead, maybe it’s only a test of obedience). And the last thing I should mention is that I’ve known about the Lord since I was around the age of 6 but I really didn’t get to know and have a real earnest relationship with the Lord until I was about 16. I’m now 21, so my walk with the Lord hasn’t been a long one and I’m still learning. In this blog (from what the Lord has told me) I will be writing about… well I don’t know yet. The Lord has told me that this blog will be a blessing for the young people in my generation. I’ve once heard that our generation (millennials) are “The Lost Generation” because of the difficulty of finding a job, paying for over-priced college tuition and are still living with their parents. But the term “The Lost Generation” speaks to me on another level because it’s so true. There are so many that are lost without the Lord. They are lost in darkness and don’t know how to get out. I pray that this blog helps those who are lost and are looking for answers. If I could help at least one person to walk in the light and find the Lord with this blog, then I would be more than blessed to do this assignment. I will be sharing the things that the Lord wants me to share and also share some good music, I pray that God blesses this blog and everyone that ever stumbles upon this blog. God Bless.