A Burning Heart

What is a burning heart?

A burning heart is one that is on fire with the things of God. What are the things of God? Jesus said in Luke 2:49, “Did you not know that I must be about my father’s business?” He was twelve years old.

I was twelve years old when I first heard the call of God. I told my mother that I guessed I had to be a preacher. She said, “That’s wonderful, George.”

The late Charles Stanley once said, “I have to preach. I can’t do anything else.”

Well, you say, “George, I am not called to preach.” No, but if you are born again, you are called to live and proliferate the Gospel. Like Jesus, you can say, “I must be about my Father’s business.” If you are born again and not busy spreading the truth of God, you are not truly happy. Why? Because you have the Holy Spirit living within you and the Holy Spirit carries the yearning of God’s great heart that those without Christ should be saved and come home to the kingdom and the family of God.

If you are not in some way involved in the winning of the lost to Christ, then you have a divided heart, one that is pulled in two ways, one way is to be fully given to God and to His work, the other way pulls you toward the attractions of the world . . . and they are many.

Too many Christians are taken up with the business of life, and with the sensual pleasures of social media, to the point that God’s priorities are pushed to the back burner. I’m a news guy and when I get into the latest news on You Tube, I sometimes stay there too long. It’s easy to do, to get distracted, and waste precious time. The Bible teaches “all thing in moderation.” Too many times, moderation turns into obsession.  I would guess that most of us can relate.

If you are fully into the things of God, then you have a burning heart, burning with the desire to do God’s work.

There is nothing in this life more satisfying than to be immersed in God’s work totally and completely. If you have not experienced the burning heart, give yourself over completely to the Holy Spirit’s control. Do it! You will not regret it! Do it soon!

What will happen to you if you do that? Firstly, a great peace will fill your heart. No more fighting the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Instead, you will be in harmony with Him, doing His biddings.

Awe, what a life to be fully surrendered to Christ. There is nothing like it. Being led by the Spirit is a great adventure. Many times when I have preached, I have said, “Being in the Lord’s work is more exciting than being a double agent.”

In 2008, Dawn, a young mother in our church was a counselor at one of my Reach For More events. She counseled a tall young man, leading him in the sinner’s prayer. When he was done, the tears ran down his face at the joy of salvation. Five years later, I asked Dawn to describe that experience. She couldn’t say anything, still being overwhelmed with emotion as she recalled that event.

Just think about it. Heaven rejoices at one sinner who comes to Christ (Luke 1:7). That means heaven has a party when one sinner repents and becomes a child of God.

In 2002, I produced a Reach For More event in Neillsville, Wisconsin. At the invitation to come forward and receive Christ as savior, a full 25 percent of the audience came forward. The next morning as I was sitting in the hotel lobby, the joy of heaven descended upon me and stayed for a full two hours. I was experiencing what heaven was experiencing . . . they were having a raucous celebration for all those who had become children of God the night before. God was letting me in on the spiritual realm, what happens when a large number of people pass from spiritual death to spiritual life.

Satan does not want you to experience leading someone to Christ . . . no way, no how. Because when you do, you will not want to do anything else. You will want to lead others to Christ.

When your heart is on fire for Jesus, you want to consume the Bible. My close friend, when he was eighteen years old, attended a missionary conference . . . and his heart caught fire. He went home and read Good News For Modern Man (a contemporary version of the New Testament) from cover to cover.

A burning heart comes from a “close encounter” with the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ.

Luke 24 gives the account of certain women who went to the tomb of Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion and found it empty. They went to the disciples and told them what they had seen. Later in the day two of the women were walking on the road to Emmaus. They met a man, and he asked them what they were talking about. The man was Jesus, but supernaturally, His identity was hidden from them.

They told him of going to the tomb but that it was empty. Then He explained to them the mission of the Christ throughout the scriptures.

They then asked Him if he would stay and eat with them, which He did. He broke bread and gave thanks, and suddenly it was revealed to them that this was the risen Jesus. Then he vanished.

This is what they said about their encounter: “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

Have you been with Jesus? Have you been close enough to Him that your heart burned within you?

We’re Growing!

There have been many exciting developments. This last month another station, KCAM in Glennalen, Alaska, subscribed to our radio show, Those Who Have Gone Before. We now have 17 stations all around the U.S. , from California to Seattle, to Minesota, Iowa and northern Ohio. It continues to Detroit, Upper Maine, and West Virginia. We have five stations in Florida and two in Alaska.

Our website traffic is growing. Overall visits in the U.S. have increased by about 40 percent in the last two months. Regular returning visitors have increased by about 30 percent. We have gained a very large number of visits from China. Many visitors read articles two years old or older, which is unusual.

We have in recent weeks heard from folks on our mailing list that we hadn’t heard from in years. Many of these have had very positive words of encouragement for what we are doing in the ministry.

How are we doing?

Our spirits are high. However, giving was down in January. This is typical. Usually, people are recovering from the Holidays, I guess, so typically the early months of the year are difficult from a cash flow standpoint.

We ask that you consider a generous contribution in February.

A big and hearty thanks to all of you who have stood behind us in recent months and throughout this last year.

It is you that keep this ministry going!

Children’s Ministry with Lorraine

Every Sunday, when children are present, I have a 10 minute-ish lesson for them. I try to keep things fresh and different to keep them excited about learning about Jesus. Last Sunday I had made a word search with attributes of God for them to work on while George gives the message.

The children range from age 2 to 7 and it is always a challenge to try to have something that each and every one will find engaging.

The two year old is probably the most challenging to figure out an engaging lesson for, but I am learning. I figured out that she likes to sit on a small chair. So, I had one ready for her and she sat through half of the lesson, very still on her chair. The Lord brought it to my attention that if I had a hand puppet to help share the lesson that too would probably help keep her engaged and that the adults would like it too.

In His Service

George and Lorraine Halama

Photograph designed and taken by Lorraine