Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful,

 and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,

for “our God is a consuming fire.”

Hebrews 12:28-29

Wow, Hebrews is intense! I am becoming more and more aware of that since I’ve been sauntering through its pages. I see that even God’s man Moses, at the base of Mount Sinai (12:21) said, “I am trembling with fear”.

Whew—thankfully, past tense. We have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God (12:22). It is a kingdom that cannot be shaken, rock solid and secure because you have Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant (12:24).

However, we cannot ignore the idea that “our God is a consuming fire.”  You won’t want to have any of your family or friends consumed in that fire and miss out on heaven. It is certain that, at the end of time God will have done all the shaking and burning off He needs to do.

Ah, but then the celebration will be beyond all imagination. Then and there the thousands and thousands of angels and those whose names are written in heaven…the spirits of righteous men made perfect (12:23) will assemble joyfully. Do you see how thankful we must be (for Jesus)? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God (12:28, MSG).

Go to the psalms, find your favorite, and linger there for a bit. This came to mind:

Praise the LORD, O my soul;

 all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

…who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,

   who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,

   who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

 so great is his love for those who fear him;

 as far as the east is from the west,

 so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on his children,

 so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.

 —Psalm 103:1-5,11-13

Full circle it is! With reverence and awe we worship the King of Kings.

Nancy P

All Scripture quotations are from the NIV 1973, 1978, 1984, unless otherwise noted.