A Brand Plucked From the Fire

UV 856/10,000 A Brand Plucked from the Fire Zec 3:2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? When satan who is the accuser of the brethren brings up accusations against the people of God, the Lord our Redeemer who has redeemed us from the fire of hell will rush to our defence. He will rebuke satan for remembering the very wrongs for which we were forgiven. The Lord knows that our clothes are filthy or that our deeds are unworthy of Him but He has plucked each of us like a brand out of the fire. When we are plucked out of the fire, we will know to whom our true allegiance belongs, in whom we can fully trust and who is the real sovereign in our lives and all of human history. It is like a man who has just escaped death in an experience only by the skin of his teeth. The flames have licked him and seared his soul, destroying every element of doubt or reluctance or confusion or fear. When a firebrand burns in the fire, it gets blackened with soot but the Lord is able to renew our lives and give us the opportunity to be a firebrand for God instead. He will give us the brand new clothes of salvation to wear. He has chosen us to be part of the new Jerusalem, the city of Heaven. Satan will attempt to resist our spiritual progress but the Lord will always be at our right hand to overcome the resistance of satan. He will not let satan to push us back into the fire. Now we will realize that instead of burning in vain or burning for nothing or for no clear purpose, we can burn with zeal and passion for the Lord. When I survived the heat, shock waves, shrapnel of the bomb blast at Sriperumbudur, the Lord rebuked satan who was trying to destroy my life from childhood. He had chosen me from my mother’s womb. He knew my clothes were filthy but like the father in the story of the returning prodigal son, hastened to adorn me with a ring of authority to rebuke the powers of darkness on behalf of the Lord, the new shoes to travel places for God and proclaim the good news that others too could be similarly redeemed and renewed in life, the clothes of salvation- the belt of truth for we are tied to God by Jesus, the helmet or a head full of confidence that the Lord had indeed redeemed us from a terrible fate, death or end, the s-word or the spiritual word that convicts both the speaker and the listener, the 360 degree protective shield of faith. Prateep V Philip