God Brings New Life Out of the Fire

Current Teaching Series Unshakable: Thriving No Matter What Hits You

God Brings New Life Out of the Fire By Rick Warren — Oct 21, 2017 “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God” (Daniel 3:28 NIV). When you trust God in spite of suffering, you’ll point unbelievers to him. How you handle pain is a great witness to the world. Frankly, you and I aren’t much of a witness when life is good. Anyone can serve God during those times. But tough times are a different story. Remember the story of Daniel’s friends being tossed into the fire? They trusted God, and he rescued them in a miraculous manner. These guys impressed the king with their faith. And the king was the most powerful emperor of that age. The king said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God” (Daniel 3:28 NIV). King Nebuchadnezzar recognized that these guys were willing to defy his order and risk death because they trusted God. What are you willing to die for? If you don’t know what you’re willing to die for, you’ll never truly live. You’ll only exist. Did you know that some trees only sprout after a forest fire? The jack pine tree of North America is like that. The seeds are in the cones so tightly that they won’t come out unless intense heat comes along. It’ll melt the resin, then the seed drops, and then it germinates. Without heat, it wouldn’t happen. The same is true with us. Sometimes God brings new life to others because we trusted him through the fire. PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk It Over How have you drawn closer to God by seeing other people’s responses to times of suffering? What are some things you’d be willing to die for? Why are we often a better witness in tough times than good times?

Our Gift: Verses of Hope Scripture Box Are you ready to transform your spiritual life? A great first step is to memorize Scripture. And that’s why we created a custom tool to help you enjoy the process of learning God’s Word. We want to send you our specially designed Verses of Hope Scripture Box to thank you for your donation today. This gold, vegan-leather Scripture box comes with a set of 40 full-color, graphically-designed Bible verse cards – plus 64 artfully-crafted blank cards with lines for you to write additional Scriptures – that help you . . . • Say no to temptation • Make wise decisions • Be strong under stress • Find comfort when you're sad • Be a bolder witness to unbelievers LEARN MORE

Complete Audio Series (Purchase) Includes nine full-length teaching CD's from Pastor Rick's series Unshakable: Thriving No Matter What Hits You. LEARN MORE

Series Summary Session 1: When Your World is Shaken Up Session 2: When You're Pressured to Conform Session 3: When Your Beliefs are Belittled Session 4: When You're Asked to Do the Impossible Session 5: When the Heat is On Session 6: When God Tests You with Success Session 7: Are You Learning from Those Who Came Before You? Session 8: Will You Stand Strong for God Publicly? Session 9: The Kind of Prayer God Answers PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST

Pastor Rick Warren

Enjoy today's Devotional? Listen instantly to the full radio message at Daily Hope Radio. Did someone forward this devotional to you? Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional. This devotional is based on the current Daily Hope radio series at pastorrick.com. Rick Warren has helped people live with hope and on purpose for more than 40 years. He’s the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California and author of several books, including The Purpose Driven Church and The Purpose Driven Life, which has been translated into 137 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. He created the PEACE Plan (plant churches of reconciliation, equip servant leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, educate the next generation), which is used by churches in 196 countries. His radio teaching and daily devotional, Daily Hope, is offered around the world. This devotional © 2017 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe at any time by changing your e-mail preferences. Update your preferences  |  Unsubscribe