fire Archives - Pastor Terry Lema's Daily Devotions

2 Chronicles 7 tells of the dedication of Solomon’s Temple. “When Solomon finished praying, fire descended from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. The priests were not able to enter the Lord’s temple because the glory of the Lord filled the temple of the Lord. All the Israelites were watching when the fire descended and the glory of the Lord came on the temple.” [vs1-2 HCSB]

How glorious that must have been. I cannot even imagine what it must have been like to the onlookers at that moment when the fire came down and the glory of the LORD filled that temple.

But the Bible speaks of another temple. “For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: ‘I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” [2Corinthians 6:16 HCSB]

And again, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?” [1Corinthians 6:19 HCSB]

And it speaks of another fire as well. “Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit….” [Acts 2:2-4a HCSB]

As glorious as it was when the glory of the LORD filled Solomon’s temple, how much more glorious is it when God fills us – living temples — with the power of His Holy Spirit.

There was heart-breaking news out of Mississippi last week. The First Pentecostal Church in Holly Springs, Mississippi burned down Wednesday. It was a total loss and arson appears to be the cause. Someone spray-painted on the parking lot in front of the destroyed church “Bet you stay home now, you hypokrits.” (You can read the article on the Daily Citizen blog’s link below.)

This church simply wanted to meet together. They were originally cited by the city following an in-person Bible Study but after filing a suit, they were granted the right to meet in the parking lot. The city even changed its ordinance to allow that to happen. Still, someone apparently became outraged at these Christians, so they burned down their building.

This may be an isolated incident, but again, it may not be. It may be the beginning of an outrage flare against the church in our nation.

I wrote yesterday about forbearance. Paul reminded us in Colossians 3:13a that we are to “bear with one another,” meaning we are to put up with, or politely or patiently restrain an impulse to do something. The society in which we live is not marked by forbearance. We are increasingly impulsive, angry, and prone to react without thinking.

As Christians, no matter how provoked we are, we cannot respond in like manner. We are called to model a higher mindset, the attitude of Christ Jesus. “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats.” [1 Peter 2:23]

I genuinely think we are entering an age when we are going to see two things happening. (And it does not take a prophet to see this in our future; just look at history and what is already taking place in our world.) The church is going to be refined during these difficult times and thus become more alive, more on fire, and returning to the classical Christianity that has been lacking in so many areas. Because of that, this society will become increasingly opposed to an awakened church and will retaliate in ways we have only seen elsewhere.

Beloved, we must not respond as the world does, with outrage, but we must respond as Christ would – by speaking the truth with courage and grace, by prayer, by love, and by the power of God’s Spirit within us.

https://dailycitizen.focusonthefamily.com/mississippi-church-that-sued-over-covid-19-meeting-restrictions-burned-down-arson-suspected/

fire

The Temple

Fire