In the Hottest Heat

Genesis 18:1 "The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day."(NIV) "God appeared to Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent. It was the hottest part of the day." (Message)

Daniel 3:19-25 "Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them in to the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzer leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king." He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."

I find it really interesting that in both of these situations, and probably countless other times, the Lord actually appeared in the heat. Not just the heat....the hottest heat. It's so true that when we are in the midst of the hottest fire we've ever been through...so much so that we feel like we can't take it anymore...suddenly the Lord appears. He gives us a promise to hold on to...or he just simply keeps us in survival - acutally, not just in survival...in victory, in freedom! The men in the furnace were walking around UNBOUND and UNHARMED. Praise God! I know there is so much more to this but I am going to keep it simple for my blog. Our theme for camp meeting was "Manifested Fire: The Heat is On." It's really exciting to know that it's in the heat that the Lord's presence is manifested!