The angel remained with the three in the flames.
(Dr. Charles Stanley) “Your legacy is a reflection of your life.”
(Oswald Chambers) “Make a habit of enjoying the disagreeable. Remember what you are saved for – that the Son of God will be manifested in your mortal flesh.” Charles Stanley died at age 90 in April 2023. Oswald Chambers died at age 42 in 1917. The legacy from these two men continues to live on in us through the principles of God’s Word which were reflected in their lives.
So what kind of a legacy am I working on in my everyday life? What place does Bible meditation, prayer, and giving for the spread of the gospel have in my life? Am I unselfish and faithful in (Proverbs 3:3) mercy, kindness and truth? Am I constant in (Ephesians 2:10) carrying out the good works prepared for me to do? How will you and I be remembered when we are no longer here, what will our legacy reflect about us?
We can with unveiled face (2 Corinthians 3:18) behold as in a mirror the glory of God in the Word of God. As we do so, the Holy Spirit will lift us to higher levels of glory where we will become mirrors which reflect the God of glory in the Person of the indwelling Lord Jesus. My Bible is a mirror reflecting the Triune God to me and I am to increasingly be a mirror which reflects the glory, beauty and love of God to others in my world. Because He is incarnate Deity within me, I am the clothes that Jesus wears in the place where I live and wherever I go.
When something unpleasant or disagreeable happens in my life, I am not to give way to self-pity, grumbling and complaining. Self-pity is a monstrous sin because it accuses God of unfairness and puts self on the throne. I can choose to let my self-centered irritation show or I can keep my soul fit and be thankful for the opportunity to manifest the Life of the Son of God, My imagination works with my faith and develops pictures in my mind of the victory (1 John 5:4) my conquering faith will discover and own. As you read God’s Word picture in your mind what it is saying. Never – never imagine anything about Jesus that is not in the Bible. If wrongly used your imagination will lead you very badly astray.
Disaster and tragedy are flourishing in our world because people including children (2 Timothy 3:1-5, 2 Timothy 5:13) are getting worse and behaving more wicked by the day. Why is this? Because the world, not the created world, but the world system is (Dr. Stanley) “a society without God.” The whole world system (1 John 5:19) is under the total control of Satan and will be utterly destroyed by God. Whenever and wherever God is left out, nothing but destruction can follow. Sometimes God allows (Exodus 9:16) what looks like He is permitting evil to increase and go on unchecked, but the reality of history is that God Sovereignly uses these things in order to show His power and make His Name known to the nations of the world.
Jesus also gave us warning that when we would see all these fearful things, which we are seeing now, that this is the sign that Jesus is coming soon. How should we live as redeemed people in this increasingly wicked world?
We should constantly be listening to the teaching of the Holy Spirit and trusting in His power to live a life that will leave a legacy that will glorify God. There is no limit to what God will do if there is no limit to our obedience.
Pharaoh, Pilate, Putin and many other wicked men through our history, are all temporary tools in God’s hand for His glory in His set purpose in a particular predetermined set time. He is always in control and He has always declared (Isaiah 46:10) the end from the beginning. He always knows what He will do and when. Our faith should be mountain-high. The Lord used (Exodus 14:29) a huge wall of water to protect the Israelites and the very same thing as a weapon to destroy the pursing Egyptians in the Red Sea. Dry ground in the midst of the sea for God’s people but a killing torrent in the midst of the sea for God’s enemies. What have we to fear? The faith of the three young Hebrew men was even stronger after their ordeal in the fiery furnace. (Daniel 3:15, Daniel 3:17-18, Daniel 3:25). They saw the Lord waiting for them in the fire to bless them and He remained with them in the flames.
Is our relationship so right and so close with Jesus that nothing can distract our focus and our concentration on Him? Because God is Sovereign, I am as safe as God is Sovereign. My safety is equal to God’s Sovereignty!!!!
There is a high exalted Throne in heaven, a sapphire Throne (Ezekiel 1:26) which is encased by an emerald rainbow like a halo on the enthroned King. He is the almighty Sovereign God and he is the total absolute Ruler of everything everywhere and all the time in the universe. Why is this magnificent Throne (Hebrews 4:16) also the Throne of Grace? Because only the God of all Omnipotence, Omniscience, Omnipresence of matchless wisdom and love, could grant our requests. Our God reigns and He has all authority and ownership. Now here is wonder – pause in reverential awe. This Transcendent Sovereign actually (Romans 8:26, Hebrews 7:25) prays for us who have been born anew from above (John 3:3) and brought into the family of God. If our King was anything less or other than He is, there would be no Throne of Grace. We know that God is always perfect in everything. This makes me wonder and fills me with gratitude that He is always kind, loving and patient with me in my imperfection. In God’s Grace, He gives us what we don’t deserve and could never earn because Jesus paid the tremendous price for every answer to prayer. Never forget or ignore that cost when you come to pray at the Throne of Grace in partnership (Hebrews 4:16) with the Holy Spirit because our prayers would be incomplete without Him. He edits our prayers, fills in the blanks of our ignorance and adjusts every request to be in accordance with God’s will. To have the will of God come into force through our Spirit-filled and Spirit-guided prayers is incomprehensible fellowship and privilege. We can be fully confident because Jesus never mentioned unanswered prayer. Every prayer that is in accordance with God’s will, will always be granted immediately and will be enacted at God’s perfect timing. Why are we told to keep on (Matthew 7:7) asking, seeking, knocking? Not only because of God’s exact timing for the answer, but also because in continuing prayer God shares His heart with us so we can learn what to pray for and to become increasingly like God in our character. Never be so foolish as to be impatient in prayer. Wait for God (Psalms 37:7) and your intimacy with Him will continually become richer and deeper as you spend time in the Shekinah glory of His loving Presence.
Several years ago, while reading the song of Solomon, I wrote this little song and I’m still singing it to Jesus;
There is a garden where Jesus can be found,
The gentle breeze brings fragrance from, blossoms all around,
His arms are around me and His eyes are filled with love,
I’ll never leave this garden until I go, with Him, above.
Human logic cannot win over God’s eternal promises. God is love even when (Oswald Chambers) “Our circumstances seem to say that God’s love is a lie.” We can rise above all things, above anything, because in all these things God is pleased because the revealing of Jesus is God’s will and His Purpose and His reason for us to be here.
(Dr, Charles Stanley) “Power and authority are not the same thing.” God has all the power, the limitless power, and He has given us the keys (Matthew 16:19) the keys which are our authority to effectively draw on His power. Our legacy will not be complete and ready until our last breath so we need to watch our spending. How do we spend – expend – our energy, time, thoughts, sight, hearing, money, and all our blessings? If they are being spent for work in the (John 9:4) Kingdom of heaven, we have no need to be concerned about the legacy, we are continually constructing while we are still on earth. Everything we think – say – do, builds into our legacy.