Transforming Fire
This Jesus God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses.
Acts 2:32 RSV
Witness the transformation in Simon Peter. He was so weak before Pentecost that, in spite of his bragging to the contrary, he swore and denied Christ. He was cowed by the crowd, shamed by a little maid, and took his place with the enemies of Christ.
But see him after he had been baptized with fire! He stands boldly before the same rabble that had crucified Jesus, and looking into their faces, unafraid, says, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).
Peter, the weak, was transformed into Peter, the rock. Saul, the slaughterer, was transformed into Paul, the missionary. All of the disciples were changed from ordinary individuals into virtual firebrands for God. Their faith and zeal started a conflagration which spread throughout Asia Minor, Europe, and the entire world. The world today still feels the powerful impact and influence of this little band of dedicated men who cared to expose themselves to the “Divine Flame.”
A bar of raw steel may be purchased for a few dollars. But when that bar of steel has been thrust into the fires and processed, when it has been tempered and forged and made into tiny watch springs for expensive watches, it is worth thousands of dollars. Fire and the skilled hands of the master artisans made the difference, enhancing the value.
Just as the sun by its heat and light performs a thousand miracles a day in the plant kingdom, God through the refining fire of His Spirit performs a thousand miracles a day in the spiritual realm. His regenerating power is ever at work in the world, taking the ashes of burned-out lives and changing them to dynamic channels, dedicated to winning the salvation of others!
Our Father and our God, I submit myself to Your empowering flame. Please make of me something more beautiful, something more enduring, something more valuable than I am by myself. I know that only You can do the miracle in my life I so desperately need. I come in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Billy Graham, Unto the Hills: A Daily Devotional (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2010).