Devotions

Jesus never baptized anyone with water. Why? Because the baptism He would administer was the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire (see Luke 3:16). Don’t mistake those words as indicating two baptisms, one of the Spirit and another of fire. Instead, Luke was using imagery — fire as a symbol representing the Spirit — to describe one baptism. Jesus baptizes in the consuming fire of the Holy Spirit.

If you light a match and set a piece of wood on fire, the fire will penetrate the wood. That’s what the Holy Spirit does in our lives. He goes beyond surface appearances to the root of our beings. The Spirit doesn’t put Band-Aids on anything — He goes to the core of our problems to provide help. Likewise, preaching that is anointed by the Holy Spirit is fiery preaching. That doesn’t mean beating people down or condemning them; rather, it means ministry that penetrates the heart, reveals sin, and vividly shows the need for Jesus Christ. Without the Holy Spirit’s fire, preaching can descend to mere entertainment or displays of oratory.

When Peter preached the first sermon of the Christian era, those ineloquent but fiery words produced deep conviction and a response of, “What shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). Teaching aids that help preachers communicate are useful, but without the Spirit’s fire, hearts will never be humbled and broken before the Lord.

In Jeremiah, God asked, “Is not my word like a fire?” (Jeremiah 23:29, emphasis added). The Word preached with the Spirit’s fire cuts through the clutter and deals with the troubled condition of our hearts. Many people probably have little interest in experiencing God’s fiery word; they prefer entertaining services and sermons that aren’t confrontational. But the Spirit’s fire always cuts to the chase and deals with the hindrances that keep us from the blessing of God.

Jim Cymbala began the Brooklyn Tabernacle with less than twenty members in a small, rundown building in a difficult part of the city. A native of Brooklyn, he is a longtime friend of both David and Gary Wilkerson. 

Our faith in troubled times obtains for us the testimony of “a good report.”

“For by [their faith] the elders obtained a good report” (Hebrews 11:2). The Greek word for “obtained” here means “to bear witness.” Our ancestors in the Lord had a settled, anchored faith. And their unwavering faith became a testimony to the world of God’s faithfulness in the midst of troubled times.

Think of what our ancestors endured: floods, mockery, bonds, imprisonment, fire, torture, warfare, lions’ dens. Through it all, their trust in the Lord never wavered. Why? Because they had an inner witness that God was pleased with them. Our forefathers knew God was smiling at them, saying, “Well done! You have believed and trusted in Me.”

“Without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Whenever we hold our faith position through hard times, we receive the same affirmation from the Holy Spirit: “Well done! You are God’s beloved testimony.”

As you rest in Him through storms, holding your faith position, you are obtaining a “good report.” And you are serving as a beacon of hope to those around you. Those who watch your life — at home, at work, on your block — are learning that hope is available to them. As they observe you in your hour of crisis, they realize, “There stands someone who hasn’t lost his faith in God. He has no fear whatsoever. What enables him to trust through such upheaval?”

Our God has supplied us with everything needed to sustain our faith, even as calamities increase. We have been given the witness of the Holy Spirit, who abides in us, and God’s fully revealed Word in the Scriptures. These will sustain us, obtaining for us the testimony of a good report even as the world shakes.

When you’re in the midst of a battle, Satan will send accusations at you. He’ll remind you of every past sin, every dark moment, every foolish thing you ever did. It is no wonder Paul calls such accusations fiery darts or “flaming arrows” (see Ephesians 6:16). The translation is “enflamed rage.” Many saints know the pain of mean and hurtful words coming at them from those around them. Such thoughtless accusations are truly flaming arrows of enflamed rage.

At times you may think you are the only one under such severe attack. In such times you feel alone, isolated in your suffering. Even those who care for you most deeply cannot seem to understand all you are going through.

The apostle Peter reminds us: “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy” (1 Peter 4:12–13).

Finally, Paul instructs: “Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench [extinguish] all the fiery darts of the wicked one” (Ephesians 6:16).

What exactly is the shield of faith? It is an impenetrable armor built from the promises of God and burnished with our faith. This shield is our great protection against every devilish, hurting word spoken against us. To hold it up against the enemy’s onslaught is to extinguish every voice of fear and unbelief. It is a defense that states with confidence, “Devil, I am not ignorant of your devices. Nothing — not blinding pain, not shaky finances, not world chaos — can separate me from the love of God.”

Paul advises, “Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one” (Ephesians 6:16). Paul elaborates on how we are to do battle with the enemy, who sends tormenting thoughts of fear.

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:11–12).

Beloved, the conflict we are in is not a human struggle that can be fought in an earthly sphere. This battle takes place in a supernatural realm. The truth is, if you are in Christ, then you face the wrath of Satan. Do not mistake this demonic wrath for the judgment of God. The wrath you’re up against is that of a devil gone mad because he knows his time to come against God’s people is short.

Satan’s attacks are aimed especially at those who have devoted themselves to walk faithfully in the Lord. Again and again, the Psalmist boasts, “I take refuge in the Lord.” Here is a picture of a righteous saint who fully trusts in God. Yet, because of this very testimony of trust, he is targeted by Satan. His unswerving faith is the reason for the fiery arrows sent at him from hell. “The wicked [Satan and his minions] bend their bow . . . that they may shoot secretly at the upright in heart” (Psalm 11:2).

So, what are the fiery arrows out of hell that are directed at you and me? They are fearful, disturbing thoughts about our future and about God’s care for us. The devil is a liar and an accuser, and his every assault is aimed directly at our faith.

When you are distressed — when you feel overwhelmed with fear, laid low by great affliction, troubled by concerns for your future — God says there is a secret hiding place. It is a place of comfort where we find composure for our souls.

Where is this secret hiding place? It is a chamber in your mind that Isaiah describes this way: “You [the Lord] will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3, my italics).

When God tells us, “Shut the doors,” this is what He means. He is showing us the need to shut out the many troubling voices in our head. We are to close the door to all thoughts about tomorrow, about world events. Jesus told us, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things” (Matthew 6:34). The Lord who has faithfully brought us this far will not fail us in the days ahead.

Consider these cries of the Psalmist:

“Be merciful to me, O God . . . for my soul trusts in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by. I will cry out to God Most High, to God who performs all things for me. He shall send from heaven and save me; He reproaches the one who would swallow me up. God shall send forth His mercy and His truth” (Psalm 57:1–3, my italics).

“When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me” (63:6–8).