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SCRIPTURE:
Hebrews 12:28-29 Since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.
OBSERVATION: What may appear to be a devastating fire can be the start of new life. In many areas, fires burn away the dead underbrush that prevents new plants from growing or animals from reaching the soil. The fire destroys the old, dead things and makes way for the new. Jesus baptizes us in fire (Matthew 3:11-12). As he does, He refines us (Malachi 3:3) so we can love Him more and be more effective in His kingdom.
God doesn’t play. He is merciful but also just. He is our Father, but also our judge. He forgives but also searches the heart and mind and knows our secret motivations. He loves us but hates the sin that unmakes us. He will send the fires of adversity to purify our motives. If we refuse to repent of our sin, however, we will ultimately receive judgment because we are holding on to what He is burning away. Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt because her heart was still in Sodom. When God judged that city, her heart, as well as the rest of her, also died in that judgment.
APPLICATION: He pleads with us to buy for Him the pure gold that has been refined in fire (Revelation 3:18-19) – to resist the impulse to turn and run. He wants to send us – for us to go for Him (Isaiah 6:8, Matthew 28:19), but we must first endure His purifying fire as Isaiah did (Isaiah 6:6-7).
We must love and fear God more than our sin and the pain that the removal of it causes. This involves prayer, fasting, pursuing His presence, and spending time with Him on a regular basis. When the Lord puts His finger on your sin, be wise, let it go (Luke 17:32-33)!
PRAYER: Jesus, I Love You. Thank You for today. You are Holy. You are a consuming fire. I ask that you burn away my sin, selfishness, self-righteousness, and religious pretense. Teach me humility and give me the grace to endure Your refining, knowing, like Job, that I will come out as pure gold. I trust You. Have Your way in me so that I can see and hear You more clearly, to follow You more closely, and to go where You send me. Teach me the fear of the Lord that I may be pure and that I may bear fruit that endures. Amen.
WORSHIP: