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MORE BAPTISMS By Larry Kreider BAPTISM OF FIRE Yet another kind of baptism mentioned in the New Testament is the baptism of fire. John the Baptist mentions this baptism in Luke 3:!6. "John answered them all, ''I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." We learned earlier that the baptism with water signifies repentance. Here we see that the coming of the Holy Spirit is proof of the presence of God. Fire is a biblical symbol of purification and power. John the Baptist said that Jesus will baptize us with the Holy Spirit and fire. Let's talk about the baptism of fire first, specifically in the way it can purify us. Trials or difficult times that we go through are a type of baptism of fire. After John said Jesus would baptize us with the Holy Spirit and fire, he explains it more fully in the next verse. "His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Luke 3:17) A fan or winnowing shovel was used to throw grain into the air so that the chaff would blow away, while the clean kernel fell back to the threshing floor. The Lord tells us that He will "clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn, and burn the chaff." In other words, our God is committed to cleaning out of our lives all of those unwholesome things (chaff) that may still be clinging to us. this could be habits from our past or old ways of thinking that are contrary to God's Word. This cleaning process is not always easy! Sometimes new Christians are shocked when they have to face trials in their lives. They assumed that the Christian life was going to be a life of ease. I grew up on a farm, so I clearly understand the importance of the chaff being separated from the wheat in order to get a clean product. When wheat harvest came each year, we had a large vibrating screen that the wheat was poured onto which literally shook the chaff free as it was separated from the wheat. God is looking for good fruit (wheat) in our lives. Sometimes He allows us to be in circumstances to "vibrate" us a bit until the "chaff" in our lives can be blown away. On the family farm, I also learned a similar lesson while welding. I remember taking a torch and heating metal utnil it was very hot. When it was hot, the impurities came to the top. We called it slag. When the slag surfaced, we would scrape it off, or it could keep the two pieces of metal from being properly welded together. Again, this is a picture of a separation of the good from the bad so that we can find purity. There are times when we need the slag skimmed out of our lives in a baptism of fire. When we go through these fiery trials and hard times, the impurities will "come to the top" in our lives. The wrong attitudes, those things that irritate us, the critical spirit, lack of love, lack of joy, lack of patience, fear -- all "come to the top." When the "spiritual slag" is revealed in our lives, we can receive from Jesus the ability to repent and get rid of the impurities. Other related Scriptures: Isaiah 48:10 Philippians 1:29 2 Corinthians 5:7
REFELCTION: What is some "chaff" in your life that God is cleaning away? ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________
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