Satan covets what he does not have.

The devil desires that which he can never receive.

The evil one seeks to devour all testimonies, all witness of Almighty God.

Why would we EVER allow the devil a ‘toe-hold’ into our lives? !!!

&

Why would we EVER not give Our Father the proper place in our lives HE DESERVES? !!!

Good morning, today.  Let us consider the fiery trials of life that seem to want to consume us.

I love the mournful sound of a bagpipe playing in the distance, and when watching The Crown, I found it fascinating that Queen Elizabeth loved the sound too.  As she prepared for her funeral, she asked for the Royal Bagpiper to perform the song he would play on her day of death and at her funeral.  She listened & prepared IN ADVANCE & she seemed to enjoy hearing the melody BEFORE THOSE who attended her funeral HEARD.  My daughter finds it humorous that in each Bible I have studied and carried for the last few years has contained “The Plan” (my funeral plan).   We laugh about this often, especially since “The Plan” keeps changing.  Now, maybe you are reading these words and wonder just what exactly what “The Plan” refers to that I mean.

Inside the front cover of my Bible, I pen the procedure, the songs, the things I desire for my funeral—you know, for when I die.  Recently, I have been really considering a cremation rather than a burial of my body.  Ashes to Ashes.  Dust to Dust. Right now, inside the cover of the new Bible I gifted to myself on my birthday in August 2023, there are only five words written. A bagpipe playing “Amazing Grace.”

Even though “The Plan” may keep changing, “The Place” where I am going DOES NOT EVER CHANGE!

&

Although “The Plan” may keep altering as I age, “The One” I adore above all others DOES NOT EVER CHANGE!

In reading the biblical account of Shadrach, Meshach,  and Abed-nego, I find it a little humorous that the Babylonian king who was in rule over them REQUIRED they bow to HIM whenever they heard “the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, . . .”

Not only did King Nebuchadnezzar command this place of worship over his subjects, but he also gave everyone listening an ultimatum.

“to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well.

But if you do not worship,

[worship the gods of this world, the gods that earthly king demanded they worship]

you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire;

and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?” (The Book of Daniel 3: 15b NASB)

In the Word of God, we can read numerous accounts of how dangerous it is to walk apart from the Creator, from the Father, from Almighty God.  Just consider a few:

1. Adam & the eating of the forbidden fruit.
2. Noah & the story of the building of the ark and of the flood.
3. Abram & the decision to have a child with Sarai’s handmaiden.
4. Lot & the selecting of the ‘better’ territory of Sodom & Gomorrah.
5. The children of Israel & the wandering in the desert for 40 years.
6. Moses & the striking the rock with God’s staff when the children of Israel were thirsty.
7. David & the staying back at his palace and seeing Bathsheba, when he should have been with his men on the battlefield.
8. King Solomon & the taking on numerous foreign wives who worshipped other gods & the pleasing of the king to set up idols of worship for them all.
9. Judas Iscariot & the greediness and desire to ‘sell-out’ his soul for thirty pieces of silver.

Child of God—We must Be TOTALLY ‘Sold-Out’ for GOD!

Christian—We must Be FAITHFULLY ‘Walking’ with our SAVIOR!

Disciple of Christ—We must Be DEVOTED to our FATHER!

Believer—We must Be AMBASSADORS, ALWAYS READY in the leading of the HOLY SPIRIT!

Jesus shows us—

HE is present in every fiery trial we face!

God reveals to us how—

HE is our protector and deliver!

Our Father provides so many examples for the world to see—

HE truly is a miracle-working God!

These three boys infuriated the Babylonian king, and he immediately commanded his valiant warriors to tightly tie the hands of these three & throw them into the blazing fire in the furnace.

• They remained dressed:  trousers, coats, caps, and outer coats.
• The fire was so extremely HOT that the flame leaped out of the furnace and took the lives of the king’s warriors.
• The king peered into the furnace & HE SAW A MIRACLE OF ALMIGHTY GOD!

• We cannot be conformed to this world, but we must be a walking, breathing disciple of Christ Jesus!
• We cannot be consumed by the fiery trials of life, but we must be leaning on and trusting in the presence of Our Father who sustains us through everything!
• We cannot be constantly following the whims of our fleshly desire, but we must be daily denying ourselves and taking up the cross of Christ!
• We cannot be caring only for our own salvation, that we are SAVED from the fires of hell, but we must be ready to share with another God’s Amazing Grace!

We Must Be TOTALLY ‘Sold-Out’ for GOD!