Tested by Fire

Sometimes the purifying fires that will test and try your ministry and your moral character are the very fires of hell itself. A fire that is strong enough to destroy everything it touches except that which is truly righteous. A fire that will either destroy the seed of hope and ministry you have been given, or prove its undying existence.

Sometimes God will allow the flames of Hell to sweep over us so that it may test the very nature of who we have become. Just like the fiery furnace tested the three Hebrew children’s lives and commitment to service. Nothing can quite test you like the enemies flames. They will try your very call and challenge your desire to stand for what is right when it threatens to take everything for such a stand.

Rest assured that when such testing comes nothing fleshly will be able to rescue you or bring true relief and comfort. Only Christ can stand and give relief to those who find themselves in its flames. With His hand you can not only survive in the test but flourish and come out unscathed. When the flames die down you will re-emerge to the awesome testimony of God’s power to keep His promise against all odds.

The true testimony of the three Hebrew children is that despite what you are told and led to believe by the vast majority, compromise and a willingness to tolerate sinful actions to save face will cost you more than being willing to stand for the truth. This may require your willingness to stand alone, remembering that you cannot be destroyed despite the trying flames. Your testimony will not be silenced and cannot be killed by the fiery furnace you may find yourself in today.

We must ask ourselves, what is my struggle revealing about my fleshly nature, my attitudes, and my life? If struggles do not cause you to inspect your true motives and attitudes of your heart then your refining process will lead to your failure and not your success. Only when we are willing to go through the pain of allowing all of our selfish and worldly ways of thinking to burn away can we ever become refined and walk as Christ desires.

We have always learned as a child that if you ever find yourself in a dangerous situation and your clothing catches on fire you are to stop, drop, and roll. It is critical that you extinguish the outer garments as quickly as possible to prevent your body from being burned. So when we are going through a test in our lives we should stop long enough to evaluate our situation and determine if our test is natural, self inflicted, or part of the refining process. We should then drop to our knees and allow Christ to examine our hearts and submit to His leading. It is then and only then that you can roll out of the trying fires unharmed.

The next time Hell comes knocking on your door just realize that it can only take from you the unrighteous characteristics that already belong in its pits. Everything that is in Christ will survive its flames, and when all is said and done the end result will lead to life and not death. Sometimes we are required to experience the worst in life so that we can give God our best.

About Reverend Dwayne Harris

Dwayne Harris is an Ordained Minister and Evangelist and has been active in pulpit ministry for over 10 years. He is also employed in full time Law Enforcement with specialized services in SWAT and Crisis Intervention. Dwayne has been married been for 15 years to his wife Stacey, and has two sons and a daughter.

Reverend Dwayne Harris
Fresh Outpouring Ministries
dwayneandstacey@yahoo.com

Gaining Truth Via God’s Commandments

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT)

If I discover truth from the Bible, how do I know the Bible is true? There’s a world of objective evidence, both external and internal, that says the Bible is true.

External evidence proves the Bible is a historical book that you can rely on. There are 5,366 copies of the Bible dating from the time it was written to just 70 years afterwards. That fact dispels the urban legend that the Bible was changed as it passed through generations and languages.

External evidence also includes many archeological discoveries. For example, historians used to say that Solomon couldn’t have had the horses the Bible says he had because no one had horses at that time. But then thousands of horse stables were found in an archeological dig.

There’s also the internal evidence of the Bible itself. In a court of law, a prosecutor with two or three eyewitness accounts has a good chance of making his case. The Bible is filled with eyewitness accounts. Moses was there when the Red Sea split; Joshua was there to watch Jericho fall; the disciples saw the resurrected Jesus.

The internal evidence of the Bible also includes the fact that it tells one story with consistency – though it was written over 1,500 years on three different continents by 40 different authors from every walk of life. No human being could account for that. It’s an amazing example of God’s abilities.

The Bible says, “There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.” (2 Timothy 3:15-17, MSG)

By: Rick Warren
http://www.purposedriven.com

Dr. Rick Warren is passionate about attacking what he calls the five “Global Goliaths” – spiritual emptiness, egocentric leadership, extreme poverty, pandemic disease, and illiteracy/poor education. His goal is a second Reformation by restoring responsibility in people, credibility in churches, and civility in culture. He is a pastor, global strategist, theologian, and philanthropist. He’s been often named “America’s most influential spiritual leader” and “America’s Pastor.”

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