Has it been too hot for you lately? Well just think about the fire of hell. You certainly don’t want to experience that.
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Welcome to God's Toolbox The Bible. Today's topic is fire. You know, as in Earth, Wind and Fire. Or for us older folk, maybe you remember the song Fire Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom Boom from the Ohio players. Well, the last few days have felt pretty fiery hot, some of the hottest on record, and it got me to thinking about fire. In the Bible, fire primarily represents God's presence. Remember how Moses noticed the bush that was burning but never consumed? God was in that bush. In Exodus three, God used a pillar of fire to lead his people in the wilderness. A fourth person that looked like the Son of Man appeared with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. And in Acts the tongues of fire represented the Holy Spirit of God. Hebrews twelve and twenty nine even says for our God is a consuming fire. So what does this mean to us? Well it means several things. First of all, think about a raging fire and the way it sounds, almost like a living, breathing animal, devouring everything in its path. Likewise, God's power is a force that can consume all of us, devour us, and reduce us to rubbish. Our God is not to be played with. We must have a healthy respect at all times. Deuteronomy four twenty three and twenty four says for the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. Secondly, fire is mesmerizing, comforting, beautiful, and often necessary for life. God is the same, loving, kind, beautiful, and also necessary for life. He controls everything associated with us, for in him we live and breathe and have our being. Thirdly, there is a refining aspect to fire. Followers of God are refined by fire, but not consumed by it. Just as fire purifies gold, the fires we walk through in our lives strengthen us, burning away the falsehoods, the lies, the pettiness, materialism, and the immaturity that stagnates us and keeps us from our created purpose. Finally, remember the showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18? The enemies of God saw firsthand God's consuming fire and knew it to be a judgment against them. So too was judgment by fire set forth on Aaron's sons, when they disregarded God's holiness and disobeyed by offering a strange fire in the tabernacle. They were destroyed by fire in Leviticus ten. Also in Revelation twenty and fifteen, it tells us that those whose names are not written in the book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire. All who call on the name of Jesus will avoid this all consuming fire. You know, some people don't believe hell is a real place, and that hell fire is something that can really be felt. But do you really want to find out? Think about how hot it's been lately. Fire is not to be played with, and neither is your salvation. If you have not done so already, accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Let him save you from the fiery inferno, and instead set your heart on fire for God as we fix our eyes on things above and become empowered by his Holy Spirit. Think about it. God bless you. Join us next week for another edition of God's Toolbox, the Bible.
