​Life can heat up in a hurry.
You and I know this all too well!
Stress. Pressure. Change. Challenges. Setbacks. Sudden illness. Financial reversals. Tests. Trials. Heartbreak. Loss. Misunderstanding. Conflict. Opposition. Suffering. Persecution. All these life events will raise the temperature of our emotions and our spirit, testing our resolve to respond with faith as God guides us through the fiery trials.
In the Bible, the Apostle Peter writes in I Peter 4:12-13 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing as though some strange thing were happening to you, but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.
Peter’s word to Christians: fiery ordeals (trials) will come because you serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Do not be surprised when they show up. When your faith is tested by fire, rejoice because you are sharing in Jesus’ suffering. When the Lord is revealed in His glory, you will rejoice with extraordinary joy for having passed the fiery trials tests.
Peter’s bottom line: fiery trials test and purify our faith.
One of the most inspiring, uplifting and encouraging examples of trial by fire is found Daniel chapter 3. Here we are introduced to Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. I remember first learning about the faith of three young Hebrew men when I was a little boy in Sunday School. They were thrown in a fire pit because they refused to worship a false God.
My friend, if you need some zip in your faith, a boost in your spirit, an adjustment in your attitude or a bounce in your step, read the whole chapter. If you are like me, you will jump out of your chair and give praise to God for such tremendous, immovable, inspiring faith under fire.
Highlights of Daniel 3

• King Nebuchadnezzar, an evil king, erected a false idol and ordered all his subjects to fall down and worship the golden image. If not, a trip to a “blazing furnace of fire” awaits you.
• Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego said no thanks. “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered and said to the king “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O King. But even if He does not, let it be known to you O King, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. “Daniel 3:16-18.

 
Their bold response: No way king. Our God will deliver us and if He does not, we will not fall down and serve your gods and worship your golden image.

• The enraged king, full of wrath, ordered the furnace to be turned up seven times hotter. The three defiant, faith-filled men were tied up and tossed into the blazing inferno. (Be sure to read verses 24-30 and chapter 4:1-3).
• Nebuchadnezzar peered into the pit and saw four men in the fire. One looked like a god. The surprised, confused king pulled them from the fire. The young men’s clothes were not burned, their hair was not singed, and they did not smell like smoke!
• Nebuchadnezzar’s response: “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego , who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the King’s command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God.” Daniel 3:28.
• The king acknowledges the God of the three young men. He is converted to the Jewish most High God. He makes a decree that no one will stand against the Hebrew God without penalty.

Oh my! Spiritual goose bumps are popping up all over me! What faith! Our God will deliver us, and even if He does not, we will not abandon our faith in Him.
Faith under fire, literal and spiritual, carried the day. The young men’s faith stand was a powerful witness to an unbelieving king and nation.
****God stood with Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego because they took a stand for Him.
How about you? How about me? When the heat is on will we take a stand boldly and firmly in faith for Jesus Christ? Will we trust in the Lord no matter how hot fiery trials become? Will we believe in Him even if His deliverance is not the way we think it should be?
I know I am searching my soul after reading about Shadrach, Meschah and Abed-nego’s faith. My faith could be tested like theirs in my lifetime. Jesus said His followers would be hated and persecuted for His name’s sake. Would I stand tall like the three Hebrews? I pray to God I would.
Life heating up? Turn up the thermostat of faith. Meet life’s trials head on with trust in the Lord.
“I am with you to deliver you says the Lord.” Jeremiah 1:8
“That the proof of your faith being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” I Peter 1:7
A Word For Your Week: You and I can manage life’s heat because Jesus is with us.

​Tragedies happen.
A tragedy alters life. What was, no longer is, because something horrific has happened resulting in people’s lives being turned topsy-turvy, inside out and upside down.
Tragedies shock. Stun. Break hearts. Wrench guts. Crush spirits. Boggling minds. Tragic events shatter the peace, stability and security of our lives. A tragedy is a surprising, unwelcome event.
Heinous crimes, natural disasters, senseless accidents and unexpected death happen suddenly and are seldom, if ever, predictable. Tragedy catches us off guard and throws us into an emotional tailspin.
Sadly, tragic events occur every day and in many ways.
Media personalities sensationalize and dramatize tragedy to get the most bang out of their warped obsession with breaking news. Tragedy is no longer something that happened way over there. Human tragedy is up close and personal, in our face, whether we like it or not.
As a pastor for over forty years, I have witnessed and come alongside good, godly, precious people who have experienced unimaginable tragedies in their lives. Each time my heart has been shaken to its core. I have wept with those who were weeping. I have held those close who were stunned in disbelief. I have sympathetically listened to the anguishing emotional outbursts and the unanswered questions as to how this could have happened and why.
In the chaos of tragedy, I have done my best to ask the Lord what do the victims need most and how can I minister to them in Your name.
How should Christians respond to horrific tragedies that invade our and others lives? What do shocked people need in a personal crisis?
First, they do not need a sermon or pious platitudes that make you, the caregiver, feel better. They do not need to be ignored. They do not need to feel bad that they are emotionally upset. Do not try to answer the “why” questions. Do not feel you have to speak for God.
Secondly, they need people with caring hearts. Listening ears. A shoulder to cry on. A word of comfort. A word of assurance. A simple prayer for God’s assistance. They need to be asked what I may do for you and then you do it. They need to know that you will be there for them in the days ahead when the grief will be heaviest.
When the Lord put this topic on my heart to write about, the Holy Spirit directed me to II Corinthians 1:3-4.
“Blessed be the Father and God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all of our affliction that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
The context of verses 1-10 is dealing with suffering, depression and even despair. Paul lined out a comforting process in verses 3-4.

1. God is a God of mercy and comfort. His great love for us moves Him to extend mercy and comfort to those who are hurting when tragedy strikes.
2.  God comforts Christians (you and me) in all our suffering. I am so thankful that my Father in heaven comforts me when I need comforted. His comfort is comfort indeed.
3. God comforts you and me so we can comfort others with the comfort we have received from Him. God is THE BIG Comforter and Christians are LITTLE COMFORTERS.

In John 14:7-15 Jesus told His disciples He would send another Comforter, a Helper, the Holy Spirit when He returned to heaven. The word Comforter means “one who comes alongside to help.” Spirit-filled believers can comfort people hurt by tragedy by coming alongside and sharing the love and comfort of Christ with them.
Tragedies are opportunities for Christians to comfort hurting people with God’s comfort.
When I was called upon in emergency situations, as I drove to the scene of the tragedy or the hospital, I prayed my socks off! With all the faith I could muster up, I called upon my Heavenly Father to send the Holy Spirit right now to comfort these hurting, devastated people. Lord, please fill me with your Spirit that I may love them with Your love to minister to their needs compassionately and wisely.
The Lord always came through in timely, wonderful ways to comfort those who needed comfort. Isaiah 53:3 says of the Messiah, (Jesus) He would be “A Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.” Jesus knew sorrow and grief, therefore, He can understand and minister to those sorrowing and grieving.
When tragedy strikes your life, a loved one’s life, or the lives of people you know, do not shrink back from helping because you feel inadequate or ill-equipped. God will use you just as you are to be a conduit of His love.
Listen with your heart to a person’s hurt.
My friend, do you know someone who has experienced a tragedy? Pray for them. Ask the Lord how you can be a minister of God’s love, comfort, mercy, peace, strength, encouragement and hope. Serve them in whatever they need in Jesus’ name.
Tragedy does not have to triumph when we trust God to heal our hearts and help us move forward with faith in His goodness and faithfulness in times of difficulty.
“This is my comfort in my affliction that Your Word has revived me.” Psalm 119:50        
  A Word For Your Week: When tragedy strikes ask Jesus to comfort the hearts of those affected.

​(Author’s note: I first wrote this piece in 2010.)
 
It is always time to pray. Especially on the heels of our Independence Day celebration.
 
Now my friends is the time to pray for our nation.
 
America is on the fast track to destruction. Our moral train has derailed. Moral and spiritual erosion is leading to a national implosion of a country once known for its lofty standards of moral virtue, spiritual stability, resilient strength and indomitable courage because our Founding Fathers founded our Constitution upon Christian truth and biblical principles.
 
 A tsunami of anti-Christian and anti-Constitution sentiment is subtly yet swiftly sweeping over “the land of the free and the home of the brave.”  
 
Our verse for this week is an incredible promise from God.
 
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. “II Chronicles 7:14
 
It is a proposed. An if, then conditional invitation. In other words, if we meet certain conditions, God will do something on our behalf.
 
The “If” is our part. Our part as Christian people is to humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and turn from our wicked ways. The “Then” is God’s part. God’s part is to hear from heaven, forgive our sin and heal our land.
 
Instead of complaining and whining, Christians should be on their faces worshipping, weeping, waiting and calling upon the Lord to heal our land and save us from destruction.
 
 Are we too proud to pray? What ever happened to humility? Are we too comfortable to turn from our wickedness? Has complacency and compromise rocked us to sleep spiritually? Are we too ashamed to seek God’s face? Are we embarrassed and think our Heavenly Father is all out of mercy and grace? Have we become so sin-tolerant that we have forgotten what it cost our Savior to save us from sin?
 
Do we really think that our nation can heal itself? Can man save himself from sin? The answer is a resounding no! That is why we must pray. Elections are not the magical, medicinal elixir we need. Economic upturn is not the cure for our national ills. Seeking the face of God for personal revival and renewal is.
 
It Is Time To Pray for the United States of America….
 
            …. When the One True Living God of the Bible is blasphemously mocked; His faithful followers are openly and shamelessly ridiculed, belittled, derided and marginalized while our biblical roots are savagely and gleefully uprooted in the name of humanism, secularism and religious diversity.
 
            …. When a nation chooses death over life, leaving unborn babies unmercifully unprotected in their mother’s womb.
 
            …. When perverse, abominable sexual immorality is promoted, flaunted and accepted as the new normal and sexual predators are granted license to stalk the land and steal our children’s purity and innocence.
 
            …. When political correctness is extolled as worthy of worship while common sense wisdom established by our Creator is disdained and those who propose it are demonized.
 
            …. When our Constitution is pillaged and ransacked by arrogant, ego-centered, self-absorbed elitists whose fundamental goal is the transformation and ultimate destruction of all that is godly, moral, decent and socially redeeming.
 
            …. When the innocent and poor are exploited by power mongers who deceive unsuspecting people into believing that the anointed ones are their deliverers and saviors.
 
            …. When greed runs rampant, and money and materialism replace “In God We Trust.”
            …. When comfort, convenience, and complacency supersede commitment, character and courage.
 
            …. When avowed, bloodthirsty enemies of the United States who are committed with demonic zeal to the complete annihilation of our nation as we have known it are admitted, welcomed and accommodated in the name of chicken-hearted diplomacy.
 
            …. When good is called evil and evil is called good. When right is wrong and wrong is right. When indecency supplants decency. When rudeness, crudeness, crassness, prejudice and hatred is the order of the day. ……….. IT IS TIME TO PRAY!
 
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray…” is the paramount issue of our day.
 
If we are not praying, we are playing. If we are not seeking God to revive America spiritually and morally, we will continue to sink into a stinking abyss of moral destruction from within from which we will never recover.
 
Pray or perish is our choice.
 
As a Christian who loves the Lord Jesus Christ and this great nation that I am privileged to raise my family in, I implore you to join me in praying fervently for the salvation of our nation before it is too late.
 
“First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
 
This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony borne at the proper time.”                                                 I Timothy 2:1-6
 
A Word For Your Week: Pray now or pay later.

​Life can be draining. Stress can weigh us down.
 
Spiritual, emotional, and physical energy levels run low from time to time, needing a boost.
 
Jesus knew that. The Lord understood living in a fallen, sinful world would drain the souls of men. Compassionate and sympathetic to our plight, He graciously provided the way for us to be redeemed and regularly renewed.
 
In John 12:32 Jesus foretold the type of death He would die. “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Myself.” The audience He addressed knew being “lifted up from the earth” meant crucifixion. Jesus’ agonizingly painful, sacrificial death on the uplifted Cross reveals His great love for us.
 
In dying there is drawing. The Cross is a magnet for our souls. Love at Golgotha draws us to the very heart of God.
 
Obviously, salvation is the first priority of Jesus drawing all men to Himself. He died to save us. Jesus is the focus of this life-changing truth. Note the emphasis in the Lord’s words on Himself. He uses personal pronouns three times. He, being lifted up above the earth on a cruel wooden Cross, is the agent of salvation. His promise is clear: “I will draw all men unto Myself.”
 
Thank God His death was followed and vindicated by a glorious resurrection three days later! (Matthew 28)
 
In resurrection there is renewal. Resurrection provides renewal and restoration for weary believers. When life needs a lift, the uplifted, Resurrected One draws men to Himself, renewing them with His resurrection life and power. Resurrection power flowing through Jesus’ glorified body draws us to the renewing and restoring energy of the Holy Spirit.
 
When we feel drained, we need to draw near to Jesus. James 4:8a reads “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” Through dying on the Cross, Jesus draws men to Himself. Through faith in Him, we draw near to God.
           
Life gets a lift when we look to Jesus who was lifted up.
 
Three Steps To Giving Life A Lift
1. Take your eyes off your problem. Spinning our wheels trying to solve our problems by ourselves drains energy. Turn negative energy into positive energy by looking to the PROBLEM SOLVER. His name is Jesus.
 
 Stop focusing on what ails you. Start focusing on the One who prevailed for you! Jesus Christ is the answer to every challenge you or I will ever face.
 
2. Lift your eyes to see Jesus. Believers look to Jesus and are saved. Hebrews 12:2a exhorts us to keep “Looking (fixing your eyes) unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith…” Why? Because life drains us and we need our faith revved up on a regular basis.
           
The Lord is not finished with you and me. The Cross is indeed a done deal. But Christian maturity and perfection in Christ is an ongoing process. The redeeming and renewing power of Christ’s death on the Cross lasts eternally. By faith, we can draw upon Him daily to find relief and be renewed from life’s drain.
 
3. Lift up the name of Jesus. Looking for a surefire way to get out of the dumps and lift life to another level? LIFT UP JESUS! Lift Him up through personal praise. Lift Him up through sharing your faith with unbelievers. Lift Him up through serving others in His name.
 
Lift somebody else up and you will be uplifted. Focus your heart on the harvest of souls that is ripe for the taking. Lift up the uplifted Christ to people in your life….and He will draw them to Himself!
 
Jesus is our load lifter.
 
I do not know what load or loads you might be carrying today. They may be light or could be very heavy. You know what they are. You have tried to lift the load by yourself. The load is still pressing in on you and stressing you out. Take a moment right now. Look to Jesus. Surrender the load to Him. Let the load go into the hands of the One who was lifted up for you.
 
When life needs a lift, remember to look to Jesus who died for you and rose again that you might have abundant and eternal life. This glorious truth is a life lifter!
 
“Come to Me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; for you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My load is light.”                  Matthew 11:28-30
 
A Word For Your Week. Life’s load lifts when we lift up Jesus Christ.