June 11 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

What does it mean to be baptized with the Spirit and fire? Fire is a metaphor expressing the extent of the Spirit’s work. It is a wonderful picture when we consider what fire does. Fire purifies and refines. The fire of God’s refining Spirit burns up and destroys all things that do not belong in our lives. The Spirit’s fire warms our hearts and allows our lives to be reshaped and reformed by the power of Christ’s word.

On the day of Pentecost, the Lord Jesus baptizes His disciples with the Spirit and fire. The result is a process of separation, the separation of the wheat from the chaff. Describing the character of Christ’s work in greater detail, John uses another analogy familiar to those gathered around him: “His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Luke 3:17)

During the harvest the grain was gathered and brought to a flat, hard floor. The farmer took a large flat shovel, thrust it under a pile of grain and threw the grain into the air. The wind blew away the lighter chaff and straw. The grain, being heavier, fell straight down to the ground. At the end of the process the grain was piled in the middle with the chaff lying on the perimeter. The grain was taken to the barn, and the chaff was burned with fire.

There you have a description of the decisive work of Christ. Not only does He take the chaff out of our personal lives, He also separates believers from unbelievers through the refining fire of the Holy Spirit. Jesus will thoroughly clear the threshing floor with His winnowing shovel. The golden grain will be stored in the barn and the chaff burned. This is the character of Christ’s work; you either fall into the pile of grain or the pile of chaff. There is no third destination. His winnowing shovel is in His hand. Currently, we still have opportunity to respond to what the Spirit says to us. His words of exhortation and encouragement are always good for us to hear. What are you doing with the words of the Great King? Are you listening and taking them to heart?