FIRE
Now Think On This
Steve Martin
“After this, I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity. Your sons and
daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions; and also on male and female slaves in those
days I will pour out my Spirit. I will show wonders in the sky and on earth —
blood, fire and columns of smoke.” (Joel 3:1-3, Complete Jewish Bible)
Fire is an amazing creation of the Lord. When mankind discovered how to
make it, and keep it burning, he was able to heat his body and home, cook his
food, and scare off marauding enemies that tried to attack him and his
community. As knowledge increased, fire was harnessed and used for constructive
purposes, by generating power to operate machinery, and in time, electricity.
Destructive fire can burn down populated areas and destroy years of
growth in forests. In the later part of 2016, we have seen fires consume vast
amounts of acreage in some areas that are not usually known for wildfires, such
as in the mountains of North Carolina and the land of Israel. These fires can
remove accumulations of underbrush and overgrowth, which is a good thing, but
if not gotten under control, they will also emblaze people’s habitations and
livelihood.
Arsonists, such as those responsible for the Israeli fires, are bent on
destroying that which good people have spent years planting and building up. The
hell fire of hell itself lives within their hearts. They seek to kill and
destroy, just as their god does.
In the scriptural context of Joel’s prophetic words (verses above), he wrote
of both the natural and spiritual fires that were to come upon the earth. In
recent decades those fires have already begun to be released, both as a
consuming fire for destruction, and a consuming fire for revitalization of
human spirits.
"It will come about after this (Note:
the return of the Jews to the Promised Land in Joel 1-3) that I will pour
out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your
old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on the male
and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. "I will
display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire and columns of smoke."
The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great
and awesome day of the Lord comes. "And it will come about that whoever
calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered; for on Mount Zion and in
Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as the Lord has said, even among the
survivors whom the Lord calls.” (Joel 2:28-3:1 NASU)
On the day of Pentecost, as recorded in Acts 2:3-4, Peter exclaimed that the
spiritual fire that had come upon them (…and
there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they
rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance)
was a fulfillment of that very declaration of Joel’s prophecy, about that baptism of fire that was coming.
“But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and
declared to them: "Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let
this be known to you and give heed to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose,
for it is only the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through
the prophet Joel:
'AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' God says,
'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND;
AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY,
AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS,
AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS;
EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN,
I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT
And they shall prophesy.
'AND I WILL GRANT WONDERS IN THE SKY ABOVE.” (Acts 2:14-19, NASU)
As it happened in Peter’s time, during the birth of the church, so again
it has happened, and will continue to happen, in our time, in these end times, as the fire of the Lord has once again come in
spiritual power. This consuming fire is to empower His people for the fulfillment
of His perfect plan and purpose – that of salvation for both Jew and Gentile in
all nations of the world.
While we pray for protection from the natural, destructive fires, at the
same time we must pray for the full release of the God of Israel’s supernatural
fire – to bring His kingdom upon the earth.
Now think on this,
Steve Martin
Founder
Love For His People, Inc.
P.S. I would be
most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and
friends. They might need it. You can easily use the social media icons below.
Thanks! Steve
We are blessed when the ministry receives gifts to support
the families that we do, primarily in Israel, Hungary, India, Pakistan and the
hurting ones here in the USA. You also can share out of the abundance you have
been given.
Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA humanitarian
organization started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations.
If these messages minister to you, please consider
sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us
bless families we know in Israel, whom we consistently help through our
humanitarian ministry. Your tax deductible contributions receive a receipt
for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.
Contribution checks can be sent to:
Love For His People, Inc. P.O. Box414
Pineville, NC 28134
Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.)
Please share Now Think On This with your
friends.
Email: loveforhispeople@gmail.com
martinlighthouse@gmail.com
Facebook pages: Steve Martin and Love
For His People
Twitter: martinlighthous, LovingHisPeople
Now Think On This - In the Year of our Lord 11.25.16 - #269
–“FIRE” – Friday 1:30 pm
All previous editions of Now Think On This can
be found on this Blog, and on the website: Now Think On This
Again, I would be most grateful if you'd share this
encouraging word with your family and friends. You can easily use the social
media icons below. Thanks! Steve
forward thinking God. He establishes the time frames for the future and then strategizes to bring His purposes to fruition. If you think of a chess board, not only is God moving His pieces, He owns the chess board! The enemy cannot outstrategize God! (Photo via Unsplash)
The deliverance from Egypt and the conquering of the Promised Land reveal two different levels of freedom. The first level involves freedom from slavery. The second level involves possessing our inheritance. Both levels involve intense desire for freedom. (Photo via Pixabay)