Thorns

His winnowing fork is in his hand, 

and he will clear his threshing floor,

gathering his wheat into the barn

and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

Matt 3:12 (NIV)

Our house was left vacant for 18 months.  During that time bats took over the patio, rats moved into the basement and the yard became overgrown with thorns and thistles. What a chore cleaning the house, getting rid of the critters and clearing all the brush and thorns to make the house habitable. 

Our lives are like unattended houses until Jesus moves in.  When he comes in, he begins the process of cleaning out all the debris, kicking out the rats and bats and clearing our yard of thorns and thistles.  We think of Jesus as a restorer, one who builds us up, but in order to do that work he has to be a destroyer removing from us the things that are useless, destructive and hurtful. 

Thank you for for being a consuming fire that thoroughly cleans our hearts of all the things that would harm or destroy.  

 The Lord, the Light of Israel, will be a fire; the Holy One will be a flame. He will devour the thorns and briers with fire.Isaiah 10:17 
"Our God is a consuming fire."

Heb 12:29 (NIV)