The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”  Luke 3:15-17

There’s a big difference between water and fire.  Water is used to clean something, but fire is used to destroy.  It’s an important distinction that John is making.  His water baptism in itself will not destroy the sin and the effects of sin in the lives of those he baptized.  But Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, will bring about a baptism of fire that can do so much more than what John could do.  Through the power of Christ sin is destroyed, not just cleansed.  The fire of God will destroy all that is not of Him.  Sin will be destroyed.

Too often in life we are willing to settle for a faith in Jesus that only cleanses the sin from our lives, but doesn’t destroy it.  We are willing to let Jesus clean us up, but we are not always willing to let Him change us – to transform us through His Spirit into the men and women we were created to be.  But Jesus wants to give us more – he wants to not only clean us up, but change our hearts.

True faith comes when we are not only willing to be cleansed by Jesus, but willing to let Him burn away the sinful desires that we cling to and replace them with His will.  This is a difficult and sometimes painful process, but it is the only way that we will ever become who God created us to be.

David, David, David… what are we going to do with you?  One day, you’re described as a man after God’s own heart and it seems like the next you are caught up in a scandal of sex, deceit, and murder that is almost unrivaled in history!  How can these both be!  I’m always amazed when I re-read the story of David.  He’s one of the real, flawed people of the bible that God uses for great things.  And just as easily as he seems to follow God, he seems to fall into sin.  I, as I’m sure many of you, can relate.  It seems like I go from close to God to far away from Him on a regular, sometimes even daily, basis.  But as much as the story of David can and should be a warning to us that no one is free from temptation and sin, so too it is a story of hope and grace.  Just as God accepted David when he repented, so too God accepts us even when we fall from His perfect will.  God isn’t looking for perfect people, just people who are willing to turn to Him.  He wants us to live rightly, but He doesn’t reject us if we fail.  In fact, in all our reading we can continually see God calling people to return to Him and a promise of new life if we repent.  God rejects us when we reject Him.  If we are unwilling to turn back to God, then God is willing to let us suffer in our sin.

David wasn’t perfect, and neither are we.  But God gives us grace, just as He gave David.  It is up to us to accept that grace and live to honor God in the future.

When King David was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all the surrounding enemies, the king summoned Nathan the prophet. “Look,” David said, “I am living in a beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of God is out there in a tent!”

2 Samuel 7:1-2

It’s amazing how God gives us scriptures at the right time.  This week’s reading from 2 Samuel came on the same day that we held a dinner for leaders to talk about the capital campaign for debt reduction.  The story is of David and his desire to build a temple, a desire which is fulfilled later by his son, Solomon.  It occurred to me while reading it that our calling is very similar.  Just as God has blessed us, so too we are to fulfill our hearts desire to build a place that honors God.  When our hearts are in line with God, then we can honor him with our gifts.

I hope that God is speaking to you through our readings.  Stay focused and on task and God will bless your time with Him!

Sometimes you read scripture, and sometimes scripture reads you.  Here’s what God spoke to me through our reading today:

He came back and found them sound asleep.  He said to Peter, “Simon, you went to sleep on me?  Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour?  Stay alert, be in prayer, so you don’t enter the danger zone without even knowing it.  Don’t be naive.  Part of you is eager, ready for anything in God, but another part is as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.” – Mark 14:37-38 (From The Message)

This verse hit me like a ton of bricks!  Jesus may well have just been speaking to me.  I am ready and willing – I want to grow deeper in Christ and I want to be the man that God created me to be.  But, if I am honest, there is part of me that just wants to lie down by the fire.  I feel comfortable where I am, so why should I challenge myself to grow?

The truth is that the greatest hidden enemy of faith is indifference.  If we aren’t actively seeking to grow in God and actively seeking to spread His good news, then we are just as guilty as Peter of disappointing Christ.  God’s desire for us is that we live a vibrant life, not a life filled with distractions and excuses from fulfilling His will.

How are you living out your faith?  Does your life match your desire to grow in Christ?  Get up and actively seek the will of Jesus!