FIRE and GLORY!

I heard the Lord speak the words, "Fire and Glory", and I knew that He was speaking of a particular work of the Holy Spirit in the season/new year we've just entered. I perceived Him saying, "These are the best of times and the worst of times!"

EXODUS 24:17 - "And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountain top."

Over the past months, the Lord has been making "glory deposits" in His people. These deposits have had a purifying effect on those who have submitted to this work of the Holy Spirit to "make ready a people prepared for the Lord" (Luke 1:17).
We're actually being clothed in His glory as we allow the fire of the Lord to cleanse and sanctify us.

MALACHI 3:3 - "And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness."

This new mantle of Glory will be our protection in the times just ahead. But for the unrighteous (beginning first with the household of God), the fire and glory of His presence will bring judgment and loss. Every work that has not been built according to His Spirit will be revealed (1 Cor.3:10-15). Everything that does not bear fruit will be cut off (Luke 3:9).

MALACHI 4:1 - "For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff, and the day that is coming will set them ablaze," says the Lord of hosts, "so that it will leave them neither root nor branch."

NUGGET OF GOLD: These are indeed the best of times and the worst of times. The hour has come for those who have been baptized with Holy Spirit fire to shine like the sun. The Lord is sending us forth to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom, with signs and wonders following! He has "clothed us with power from on high" (Luke 24:49), and we are His witnesses. Let us be bold and confident, knowing that His Glory is upon us!