The Cleansing Fire

Here in Dallas we reached 40 consecutive days of plus 100 degree heat. We fell two days shy of the record set in 1980 of 42 days. If you drive down any of the highways or look at lawns the grass is burnt and dieing. With the extreme temperatures also comes extreme draught conditions. Therefore the likely hood of seeing fires is very high. I noticed the other day there were small patches of black grass on the highway. Obviously there was a fire and it burned a small patch of the grass. Thankfully it did not spread. You may be asking why am I talking about this? Each day I drive by this same section of highway, I see the same dead burnt grass. When I get to the section that was burned by fire amazingly enough there is green grass growing back quickly. Each day it shows that it can survive and thrive because of the positive effects of the fire.

I begin to reflect on what may have occurred that day the fire broke out. I imagine it burned for a short time, fireman came and used water to contain the fire and extinguish it. Shortly after we begin to see new life begin to grow. Is this not the same thing that happens to us when we allow our heavenly father to burn off all of our old ways of living. If we are willing to let him, he begins to burn off all of the chaff, he thoroughly cleanses us from all of our sin and shame. During the fire it may not be exactly what we expect or want. I imagine it is not comfortable by any means. 1 Peter 1:6-7 says "In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." However, as soon as the father puts out the flames he floods us with his Holy Spirit to fill us with his presence. Ephesians 5:25-27 says Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

As I studied the effects of forest fires and there positive effects it is truly amazing that some tree buds do not even open until they are exposed to extreme temperatures that can only happen during a forest fire. We see the visible effects immediately after the fire is extinguished. God is always working this out to bring about new life. Remember that intense heat truly brings to life who you are in Christ. I leave you with this thought, next time you feel like your in the fire, rejoice, knowing that this is temporary. You will be able to stop and look back at how our awesome father in heaven was willing to make you more like him.

God's Voice

Ever since the beginning of time, the serpent has been creating doubt in believers minds about the voice of God. If we start in the beginning with Eve in the book of Genesis 3:1 it says, Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, You must not eat from any tree in the garden?" If we stop to reflect on our own lives it's easy to question whether we are hearing from the father or not. The devil would like nothing more than to bring confusion to us in regards to God's will for our lives. The Lord is constantly speaking, directing and guiding our lives. We must choose whom we are going to follow. The bible says in 1 Corinthians 14:33 "For God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. It's imperative as believers that we focus on the truth. God's word will always direct our paths. If we know that the devil will come after our thoughts to try and bring confusion we need to use the sword in our defence. The bible says in 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete. That scripture says two things, we must protect our thoughts and we must learn to attack versus being on the defense. See Christ gives us the most powerful tool on earth, his written word! When we speak out the written word of God, mountains tremble and the earth shakes. When our father created the heavens and the earth he SPOKE the world into existence. Therefore, we have been given tremendous power to use the sword, the word of God. When Jesus was tempted by the devil, his response to each of his commands were, IT IS WRITTEN!!! If Jesus spoke the word to the devil, why do we not stand on the word of God with faith? Hebrews 4:12 says For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. God's word is alive, it is powerful and everlasting! When we question in our heart if we are hearing God's voice, open his word. John 1:1 says In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. When we speak the word into our situation, we actually speak God into the situation. We literally speak life when we speak the word of God!
So the next time you question are you hearing God's voice, stop and open his word!