Tag Archives: faith

Connecting Fire -Day Eight – Faith Fire

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Day Eight – Faith Fire


Back and forth they talked. “Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?” Luke 24:32


After you read this verse, go back to Luke 24 and read it in context. These two Jesus followers were unique to this story. Who were they? When did they say yes to Jesus as the Messiah for their lives? Did Jesus heal one when he was let down through the roof of a house? Was one a former demoniac who used to cut himself in the graveyard? Did they follow Jesus because John the Baptizer had told them Jesus would baptize them with fire?
One thing is for certain. Their physical eyes had convinced them that who Jesus claimed to be was finished – it was all over at His grave! But as they listened to the risen Messiah explain things once again, the fire of faith connected all the dots for them. They now knew it wasn’t all over – it really was just beginning.
Faith fire comes when we read God’s Word and believe that life can really be like Jesus designed it to be: full of joy, a walk of mercy, spiritual hunger quenched, relationships of unconditional love, a life of high impact and purpose.

Journal your hopes in Christ today.

All For Him – Rick

Connecting Fire – Day Nine – Fire of Mercy/Fire of Calling

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Day Nine – Fire of Mercy and Calling


“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips, your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah 6:5-8

Isaiah’s calling started with fire. He recognized his unworthiness and unfitness, and the Lord sent a fire of mercy and forgiveness. Because he had experienced this fire, he was able to say YES to God’s next words. One who has been given a great gift like unconditional love and mercy, truly has something to tell others.
For this time of devotion, I want you to revisit your calling. When did you first sense that, because God had forgiven you, your life would never be the same? When did you know you had to serve Him with all you had inside you? What was it that drew you to use your gifts and passions and talents to make Jesus famous in our day? If you have never written this down, write it in your journal or blog and give this story to someone who has not heard it. Your story is a part of His story, and that’s worth telling!

All For Him – Rick

Cleansing Fire (Day 5) – Plows, Stones & Sowing

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Day Five – Plows, Stones and Sowing
Listen to me now.
Give me your closest attention.
Do farmers plow and plow and do nothing but plow?
Or harrow and harrow and do nothing but harrow?
After they’ve prepared the ground, don’t they plant?
Don’t they scatter dill and spread cumin,
Plant wheat and barley in the fields
and raspberries along the borders?
They know exactly what to do and when to do it.
Their God is their teacher. Isaiah 28:23-26

Let’s change the metaphor this time, from fire to farming. Have you watched the local farmers working their fields in the spring? Some are plowing land that was cultivated as recently as last year. Some are plowing fields that have lain fallow for a long time. Others are claiming new land for fields and turning soil that hasn’t been farmed before. There is one element that is consistent in all three of these kinds of fields: rocks, rocks, and more rocks. The fallow and unfarmed fields have more rocks; but the recently tended fields give up their share of stones, too. It amazes me that rocks seem to rise up from beneath the topsoil to cause problems, even in a field that has been plowed recently. But they have to be discovered and removed if the field is to produce what it ought to and holds potential to produce.
Jesus compares our lives to soil in a parable, and one of the hindrances to receiving the seed (the truth of God) from the farmer (the Father) is the rock beneath the soil. You and I will go through seasons of plowing, planting, producing – and again plowing, planting, producing. The plowing may hurt, and rocks that have been under the surface may come up – but God has a plan for removing those rocks, those hindrances. It’s called repentance & forgiveness. The steps are simple: admit, submit, and know. Admit the rock, or the sin, is there and you can’t move it yourself. Submit to His touch and forgiveness as He removes it. Know that, when you ASK for forgiveness, He always forgives. He promises. Don’t forget to journal what He is saying to you.

All For Him – Rick

Cleansing Fire (Day 4) – Cleaning & Refining

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Day Four – Cleaning and Refining Fire
But John intervened: “I’m baptizing you here in the river. The main character in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will ignite the kingdom life, a fire, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out. He’s going to clean house—make a clean sweep of your lives. He’ll place everything true in its proper place before God; everything false he’ll put out with the trash to be burned.” Luke 3:16-17

Try to imagine this picture at the river shore. John, a forceful character if there ever was one (and maybe even a “driver” of sorts), is preaching and baptizing everyday. His message is clear. In brief: The Messiah is just a few steps behind me; the Kingdom of the Messiah is bursting onto the scene; believe the truth, turn from the wrong path, and give God His rightful place as Lord.
No one alive in John’s day had seen or heard someone like John (there had not been a real live prophet in Israel for 400 years.) Could John be “the One?” Is he the Messiah?
John may have been strong, but he knew he couldn’t change anyone from the inside out. It takes God to do that.  Read his words again. The Holy Spirit within you is a cleansing, purifying fire; and He – God, the Holy Spirit – longs to transform you.  He can burn the dross, the waste, the refuse, the stuff that has no value in our lives because it devalues you and me; and He can refine you so you’ll be more of who God created you to be. Give the cleansing fire room to work, since it is God’s method of creating space in our lives for His Spirit to work in and through us.
One writer compares our lives to a house, with different rooms and doors that are either open or shut to God’s presence. Each room represents a part of our lives, and each room either has a “Welcome” sign for Jesus or a “Do Not Enter” sign hung on the knob.  This has been the first of two “fasting days” in our fifteen days. Take extra time out of your day to spend with Him in His Word and in Prayer. Picture the elements of your life as a house. Is your den (spare time room) or your kitchen (friendships) cleaned up and straightened? How is each closet of your mind? What about your game room or movie room? Has God been speaking to you about a room that needs His touch, His cleansing and loving touch?  Take that room to Him and let His light reveal what needs to be transformed and cleaned up, and allow His cleansing fire clean it. Choose a friend to tell how He is transforming this room in your life. It may be that, during the retreat, He was very clear about a room that needs “Welcome” hung on the door. He waits for the door to open.

All For Him – Rick

Cleansing Fire (Day 3) – Big Tests & Pop Quizzes

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Day Three – Big Tests & Pop Quizzes
Suddenly King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm and said, “Didn’t we throw three men, bound hand and foot, into the fire?” “That’s right, O king,” they said.
“But look!” he said. “I see four men, walking around freely in the fire, completely unharmed! And the fourth man looks like a son of the gods!” Nebuchadnezzar went to the door of the roaring furnace and called in, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the High God, come out here!” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walked out of the fire. All the important people, the government leaders and king’s counselors, gathered around to examine them and discovered that the fire hadn’t so much as touched the three men—not a hair singed, not a scorch mark on their clothes, not even the smell of fire on them! Daniel 3:24-27

There are some incredible miracles and stories of how God showed up for His chosen people in the Bible, but if they were ranked according to the “WOW” factor – this one would be near the top! These three young men took God’s plan and made it their lifestyle, and when the BIG TEST came, the daily choices they made to trust and honor God (the little “pop quizzes” that come our way each day) had laid the right foundation to stand firm when facing the furnace. And who meets them in the fire? Some say an angel (the appearance of an angel was so “other-than-earthly” that people often thought they were gods.) Many scholars say, however, that this is an “epiphany,” or a pre-Bethlehem appearance of Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus met them in the middle of their biggest test!
For us, everyday has its tests or little pop quizzes; but occasionally the BIG TEST comes, when we have to choose to say “Its God’s way, all the way.” Stand firm in faith during the daily tests, and let the truth of God be the banner over your life that says to the watching world that Jesus is Lord. And when the bigger trials come, you can have the attitude these three guys had before facing their trial: “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (3:17-18) Thank God for test and trial, because it is in the trials that the watching world sees real faith and authentic Christianity. The fire is hot, but Jesus is visible in you when you stand in faith. Journal your thoughts from this.
Note: Tomorrow, Day Four is a “Fast Day.” If you are already practicing regular fasting, keep it up as it keeps you close in to Him. If this is new to you, choose to skip breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner tomorrow. Give Him the extra time with extra Bible reading, study, prayer, and worship. Make notes on your day in your journal.

All For Him – Rick