Why we remain in the fire
‘Since you have purified yourselves by your obedience to the truth, so that you show sincere brotherly love for each other, from a pure heart love one another constantly, because you have been born again — not of perishable seed but of imperishable — through the living and enduring word of God. For All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this word is the gospel that was proclaimed to you.’ — 1 Peter 1:22-25
Purified: remove contaminants from (cleanse. filter. stain. sift. redeem. sanctify. free. unburden. deliver. rescue.)
Good morning friends!
Here we are, on this beautiful Wednesday morning. We are in 1 Peter in this series which has been eye opening and also convicting. But I believe if after reading his word you don’t get up feeling encouraged by His kindness to live in such a way where the holiness of God is seen in your life by those in your home and outside of your home, then why read, why journal, why listen to podcasts, why remain in community? The whole reason God tells us to remain in Him is because He desires to use us to be a light here on earth so that the world may know Him, desire Him, and abide in Him. We can only be a light if we are in the light.
Today, the title is remain in the fire. Yay, the fire. You may be thinking no thank you, and I will agree with you. But when we look at the reason of why fires are necessary then we will change our minds. Not maybe change our minds, but will. So let us se why the fire is necessary.
When we talk about ecosystems, fire is necessary because it reduces dead vegetation, stimulates new growth, and improves habitat for wildlife. There is one reason. Another reason is that fire creates heat, heat to keep us warm, heat to build materials needed for hunting, construction and cooking our daily food. Some jewelry that we where need the heat of the fire for it to form and even hold it together.
“Fire in a diamond is like seeing a rainbow after a heavy rain.”
Take some time to read the following Scriptures:
'Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to give you an answer to this question. If the God we serve exists, then he can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he can rescue us from the power of you, the king. But even if he does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.” Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times more than was customary, So these men, in their trousers, robes, head coverings, and other clothes, were tied up and thrown into the furnace of blazing fire. and he commanded some of the best soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. Since the king’s command was so urgent and the furnace extremely hot, the raging flames killed those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell, bound, into the furnace of blazing fire. Then King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm. He said to his advisers, “Didn’t we throw three men, bound, into the fire?” “Yes, of course, Your Majesty,” they replied to the king. He exclaimed, “Look! I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire unharmed; and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and called, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God — come out!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire. When the satraps, prefects, governors, and the king’s advisers gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men: not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them. Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel and rescued his servants who trusted in him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I issue a decree that anyone of any people, nation, or language who says anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be torn limb from limb and his house made a garbage dump. For there is no other god who is able to deliver like this.” Then the king rewarded Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.' — Daniel 3:16-30
'But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will be able to stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire and like launderer’s bleach. He will be like a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. ' — Malachi 3:2-3
Let’s sit in Daniel for a little bit.
What would you have done in the moment of choosing between worshipping the living God and a god people thing is real but has done nothing for them. You will go through a testing of who you truly worship. Will you remain faithful in the fire or will you run out of fear?
King Nebuchadnezzar saw their loyalty to God, whether they live or die their life would be a testimony to all those in the land forever that after the Lord saved them, the King made a new law stating that if anyone spoke against their God they would be torn apart. Just wow. His words, “no other god is able to deliver like this.” He knew this was different, he knew that his loyalty to an unable god was useless and would never be able to endure in the way those three did. They are what we call ‘a different breed.’ One that has placed their hope in the God who they have seen keep them, care for them, provide for them and now in this story, very true story, save them. Why did he save them? So, that they would be able to be an example to all people of what it is like to serve and worship God alone.
When I read this story I sincerely ask myself, am I ready to endure in that way? Am I 100% in? What keeps me from saying a confident yes? Well, to be honest I look around me and I love the blessings the Lord has given me, in my life, my husband, my kids, the close friends he has given me. The one thing I need to hold onto is that we have been given this life to represent the love of God to all we come into contact with that don’t know him. So, how am I doing that with the family he has given me?
Questions to ask ourselves today and everyday:
will we endure until the end?
will we deny our earthy desires and wants to desire only the everlasting?
will we allow the Lord to use our lives no matter what that looks like?
will we remain in the refining fire?
“Though we may be harmed here on earth, we will be safe, secure and well in eternity.”
Okay, so if we have been purified only by the precious blood of Jesus, and we have been born again by his mercy and grace, why do we continue to turn back not just in big ways but even in the small ways? Do we forget that God sees the small and the big as the same? Our God desires us to live in such a way where nothing will put out our flame but that everything we do and go through our flame will increase that others are able to run to the light and see Christ. He desires us to live in the redemption He won for us, in the freedom from we have only in him, there is no freedom outside of him, no matter how hard we try to take hold of it.
There is rest in freedom.
There is trust in freedom.
There is peace in freedom.
There is joy in freedom.
We have been born again. We have been given new life. We no longer have to live bound by is. We no longer have to try hard enough to make it into heaven, we have been sealed by Spirit of God and have been welcomed in as His sons and daughters. We can rest in trying, we can now endure and walk in such a way where His name is lifted high through us because of what He has taken us out of and where He has rescued us from. So, now as we live born again we can trust him to walk us through every season and know that if we abide in Him nothing can extinguish us, nothing can take away His love for us, the gift we have been given can never be stolen, it is ours and others can also take hold of it and know for a fact that it will not get taken from them.
“since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for all flesh is like grass and all its glory like a flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
Abiding: lasts a long time, enduring.
What have you purchased that has lasted a long time, that has endured every move, every fall, every update? Nothing. Everything we buy never lasts. We have 4 girls. So, we have lots of shoes, clothes, blankets, and all of it grows, all of it tears, all of it shrinks or gets stained, so we have to buy new things for them because they outgrow them or just plain old ruin them. What happens when your phone or computer stop updating? It gets slower and it doesn’t function as well as you would it too. So what do you have to do? Make the purchase!
For us to rest in the truth that this world is not our home and that are eternal is waiting, we need to make the commitment to the one who died in our place for it to be possible for us to rest.
God’s word is super clear, it’s alive and active. What we see happening all around the world today is real and it has all been written, it’s not a fairytale. The end is coming. And what we see now will not endure the judgement, it will all burn and all that you treasure more than Christ who is our treasure will burn too. Nothing in this world is worth dying for only Christ!
If you have truly tasted and see of the goodness of God, you would only want to live for Christ alone, all you would do is for the advancement of His kingdom alone.
Many don’t know what awaits their end, but we do and it is time to proclaim from the mountaintops, the enemy wants to silence you from doing so because He now has been destined to be separated from God and wants everyone to suffer with him. May we choose the gift of grace and mercy that we have been given!
So, why do I choose to go through the fire?
Because I know that going through it I will be refined, I will be purified, I will be all the more clear headed. Going through it I know I will come out closer to Jesus and stronger to endure all the trials we are promised to go through and my proclamation of His excellences will get louder and louder, more unashamed.
