January 25.
In The Middle Of The Fire

Matthew 18:20

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Jesus says he is there in the midst for many reasons. Not only does he show up in the midst to heal and deliver but he also appears in the midst to correct. Occasionally, a church fighter will show up at church. Critics will make their appearance. People with negative attitudes and negative dispositions will arrive. And the Lord knows how to handle that each and every one. Sometimes your enemy is sitting right next to you and can’t bother you because the Lord is in the midst. When your enemy tries to come up against you he stumbles and falls. That’s why you don’t have to walk around with a 357 magnum. No, you don’t have to have your switchblade; just leave it to the Lord. Your enemies can come behind that switchblade or magnum, but they can’t overpower the Lord. He has all power. And a God that’s got all power, I want him on my side. And definitely I want Him to know I am on his side.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, three Hebrew boys, got in trouble because they would not bow in worship to a golden image of an earthly king or worship his gods. They were willing to make a stand and even die for their faith if necessary. These young men were bound and thrown into a fiery furnace that was so hot that even the mighty men who threw them in died from the heat. When the king looked in the furnace, he saw not three but four persons all walking and rejoicing free from their bonds. The princes, governors, captains, and the king’s counselors saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was their hair singed. The Lord arrived on the scene and corrected the situation. It’s amazing how when the Lord shows up he makes little numbers, big numbers. You see God plus any number is a majority.