Fire in the Belly

My spiritual journey in these days has taken me from a "Big Tent Revival Meeting" as contemporary as today to a evangelistic service at a campground I was told was two hundred years old.  The singing at both was spirited and each preacher had fire in his belly.  In some ways it seemed like I had stepped back into what I often call the good old days.  They are definitely old although they may not have actually been as good as I remember them.  But, I will humor the old man that is in me and declare that the good old days were as good, if not better, than I remember.    

What I do know about these last few nights is that the worship brought a renewed spirit to this old preacher.  The first preacher sounded a theme which contrasted the difference in doing the religious things as a substitute for a personal relationship with Jesus.  And the second one used the third verse of Jude as a text.  "I...appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints."  It was a word which kept calling us to forget what people said about the Scripture for the sake of reading it ourselves.   Both preachers seemed to know about my heart.    

I will be the first to confess I needed these powerfully evangelistic messages.  I left my place in the pew renewed and wondering why I do not hear more sermons that are filled not with fire and brimstone, but the fire of the Spirit and a fervor that makes for passionate preaching.  Listening to these young guys almost made me want to get back to preaching!  Almost.  I did leave grateful that God was raising up some young preachers who could preach persuasively and with passion in these days when such is so desperately needed in the church.