Cold Hearts

In recent years there has been a rash of “celebrity Christians” who have renounced their faith and “deconstructed.” (I think it’s more accurate to say they have “self-destructed.”) What happened to these pastors, musicians, authors, and communicators? I remember a quote that said – “If you don’t feel close to God anymore, think about who moved.” Peter is the prime example of one who walked closely with the Savior, yet allowed himself to drift.

One of Christ’s most passionate disciples, Peter swore allegiance to Jesus when he announced, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death” (Luke 22:33). But Jesus knew that Peter’s bold talk would not sustain his resolve. He told Peter “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me” (v. 34). And sure enough, Luke 22:54-62 tells us that Peter did just as the Lord said he would.

How does one who walked so closely with Jesus turn away from Him so easily?

The last part of verse 54 gives us an important clue – “Peter followed at a distance.” He heads out to accompany his Lord and Teacher with the passionate heart of a disciple. But out of fear for his own life, he fell back, and the distance between him and Jesus began to work on his heart. When he separated himself, his passion for the Lord cooled, and rather than a heart warmed by his love for Jesus, he warms himself beside a man-made fire. His passion for Christ had chilled to the point that he openly denied the One he previously swore to follow to prison and death. Not once. Not twice. But three times.

It is the same with you and me – we allow the cares or the fear or the glitter of this world to draw us away from our Savior. It’s quite subtle at first. A thought here, a compromise there, a shift in priorities and soon our hearts begin to cool toward Christ. Rather than draw near to Him, we turn and warm our cold hearts at the world’s fires. God promised in His Word to never leave us, but you and I can certainly drift and lose our white-hot passion for Christ. Beloved, don’t let anything this world has to offer cause you to deny your Savior. Stay close to Jesus with prayer and Bible study and humble surrender. Be sure you’re not seeking the warmth of strange fires.

Shaken and Stirred

When I read about the first church and those who fled Jerusalem under persecution for the gospel (Acts 8:1-3) and the martyrs who died with the name of Jesus on their lips, and I think about the Christians in the east who are still tortured and killed for their faith in Christ, I am ashamed. Oswald Chambers rightly said, “Beware of the danger of spiritual relaxation.” Beware of the Lazy-Boy faith of the Western church today. The true Christian life is not safe.

If every day as a Christian is an easy-breezy-peazy day, then we are in trouble. Following Jesus is not intended to be some blissful nirvana. It’s a climb, a race, a battle, a challenge.  It’s a step-by-step, day-by-day, prayer-by-prayer trek over desert sand and rocky mountains and treacherous trails through hostile territory.  That’s the life the Apostles experienced.  That’s the life the martyrs endured.  Their faith was tried and tested in the fires, and it came forth as gold.  The Christians with the strongest, deepest faith are the ones who defy opposition, persecution, threats, and even death for the name of Jesus.  The most dangerous state for a Christian is when all is right in their little world. 

After grapes are crushed to extract the juice it is placed in containers and allowed to ferment.  During fermentation, the dregs, or sediment, settle at the bottom of the container.  After forty days the wine is “shaken up” – poured into another container to allow the dregs to be removed.  If the dregs remain, the wine becomes too sweet and thick and it is spoiled. The Lord spoke of Israel’s enemy, “Moab has been at rest from youth, like wine left on its dregs, not poured from one jar to another.  So she tastes as she did and her aroma is unchanged” (Jer. 48:11).  Moab had been largely at peace, and their turmoil-free life had made them spoiled.  The Lord said the same of Jerusalem, “I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs . . . (Zephaniah 1:12)”

Beloved, has your life – and your faith – been shaken lately?  Mine has. James says, “Count it all Joy . . .” (James 1:2).  God is sifting out the dregs, the dangerously sweet stuff that spoils you.  He is making your life an offering worthy of Christ.  Is it hard?  You bet.  Is it painful?  Without a doubt.  Is it worth it?  Just ask the saints who endured.  They’re the ones singing songs of Joy and praise around the throne.

Burning Ropes

In yesterday’s post, we talked about the refiner’s fire. Today is another hot devotional. Daniel’s three companions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow and worship the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had erected in his image. They declared their allegiance to the God of Israel and said, “The God we serve is able to save us . . . but even if he does not we will not worship your golden image” (Dan 3:17-18, para). That infuriated the king, and he ordered the men to be bound and thrown into a fiery furnace that had been stoked to seven times its normal heat. It was so hot it instantly killed the soldiers who tossed them in.

But the king saw something unexpected in that fire. “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods” (3:25). When the men came out of the fire they were unharmed, “not a hair of their heads [was] singed, their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them” (3:27). How’s that for a miracle!

What stands out to me isn’t just that they survived but that the only thing that was destroyed by the fire were the ropes that were used to bind them. Just as we learned in Peter’s story, God often uses fire to free us from the very things that bind us and hinder our usefulness to the Kingdom. God’s enemy – Nebuchadnezzar – tied up the three Hebrew men. God’s enemy – satan – is still binding up the Lord’s people to destroy them and exalt himself as King over heaven and earth. But God uses the very flames that are intended to devastate us to instead free us.

I don’t know what ropes the enemy has used to try to tie you up (or down). It may be an addiction to alcohol, drugs, or pornography (or something “innocent” like eating, shopping, or gaming). It may be pride, habitual lying, shoplifting, or gossiping. It may be a hard, painful past or an overload of responsibilities that are crushing the life out of you. Whatever it is, it will take the fires of heaven to set you free. But don’t fear the furnace of affliction Beloved. Jesus will be in the fire with you and only the ropes will be burned. You will walk away without one hair singed and not even a trace of smoke.

When the Heat is On

A woman read in the Bible that God refines His people like silver and gold so she visited a silversmith and asked about the process of refining the precious elements. The smithy said he put the silver in a kettle and exposed it to extremely high heat that caused the dross, or impure elements, to rise to the surface where he could scoop it out. This process took intense heat and so she asked, “how do you keep from burning it?” The man replied, “I lean in very closely to the kettle and watch it carefully, using only as much heat as necessary until it is just as I want it.” She asked, “How do you know when it’s ready to be removed from the heat?” The smithy answered, “When I can see my reflection.”

You and I are called to be the reflection of Jesus Christ to the world and that image must be pure. God uses all sorts of “heat” – financial struggles, relational heartache, health problems, emotions, culture, rejection, persecution, consequences, and yes, often spiritual heat to bring the impurities in us to the surface where they can be removed. How do I know this? He’s been cooking some junk out of me for a while. Why would He do that to me? Because, like His friend Peter, some things in me need to be removed before God can use me for His Kingdom and His glory. Remember in Luke 22:31-32 how Jesus allowed His friend to be sifted by satan? He let His disciple go through the crucible of intense suffering to remove what was marring His image in Peter (Luke 22:54-62). Afterward, Peter became a mighty Apostle and preached the first Gospel message after Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 2:14-41. The Lord used a humble Peter mightily in the birth and growth of His church.

None of us welcome the seasons of suffering and pain in our lives but know that God is at work, purifying your faith and refining you to be His witness to the world. And you can be assured that in this time of intense heat, He is leaning in close and carefully watching over you, allowing just enough heat to accomplish His purpose – to see His Son reflected in you. And don’t forget that Jesus is praying for you (Luke 22:32). In the end you, Beloved, will come forth a beautiful vessel for His glory.

Proven Faith

Charles Spurgeon wrote: “The most precious [metals] are tested in the fire . . . ” The Psalmist said, “For You, O God tested us; You refined us like silver” (Psalm 66:10). Peter said, “These [trials] have come so that your faith – of great worth than gold . . . may be proved genuine” (1 Peter 1:7)
A “proving ground” is a military term. It is “an environment that serves to demonstrate whether something, such as a theory or product, really works.” Say a company has created something they want to market to the United States military. Do you think Uncle Sam is just going to take their word for it, buy this thing and put it into a soldier’s hands. No – they are going to take it into situations and places in which it will be used and they will put it through rigorous tests. They may discover a weakness and will work on that area to strengthen it. And they’ll test it again. Only after it stands up in the proving grounds will it be put into use.
When God wants to “prove” the faith of His child He uses the fires of adversity, struggle, trial, heartache, disappointment, discouragement . . . I think you understand. When you and I ask God, “What are You doing?” The answer will always be, “I am proving your faith. I am finding the weak places so that I can strengthen you. I am making sure you are fit for the good work I have for you.” God is not out to destroy you beloved, He is working to build your faith. The proving ground is the place where your faith takes root so you can produce fruit – fruit that will last. Fruit that will glorify the one who brought you all the way through the fire.