Have you ever been "kissed" by the sun?  What I mean is have you  really, really, really experienced an intense sun burn?  I have.  Here in a few moments you'll see for yourself.  However, my blog today references Daniel 3:19-30.  It's about three men who wouldn't bow down to an angry king named Nebuchadnezzar...angry and wayward.  The three men pledged their lives on the altar of the One True God.

What is so amazing about God in this story is when these three men were faced with a choice to deny God and bow to the king, they chose the opposite, to die to self and trust God to protect them.

What happened?

Read the song "Burn Us Up" by Shane & Shane from their album Pages.  This song was inspired by the passage reference that is listed above.  I encourage you to purchase it and add it to your playlist:

There were three
Before the king
There were three who wouldn’t bow to him
For when you heard
The music play
And you were standing you would burn.
They looked at him and said…

Burn us up! Burn us up! Burn us up!
Oh king won’t you burn us in the furnace of
Your desire
We give up! We give up! We give up!
Oh king won’t you burn us in the furnace of
Your desire!
Won’t you throw us in the fire!

The king enraged
At what they said
Sent the three away to find their death
The palace stopped in unbelief
When the guilty raised their hands to sing
They looked at him and said…

You are able to deliver from the fire of affliction
It’s the declaration of my Lord
You’re not an image of gold
You’re the God of old
You have made us
Come and save us
We are Yours
But even if You don’t, we will burn!

What a powerful song!  I get chills after I listen to it.  God is so faithful.  Even when you and I face heavy trials and struggles, God is ever-so-present to walk us through.  He dances over us.  He celebrates us when we deny ourselves, deny the temptations the world invites us to experience, and fully embrace Him.  God is the banner over us to trust Him in all things.  He alone is the one who sets us on fire, not like Nebuchadnezzar, but the fire of His love, holiness, and compassion.

Remember my question about being kissed by the sun...well here you go...my experience of walking through a day of fire...a.k.a. Track and Field Day in 6th grade as I was trying to stay protected from it's harmful rays by hiding myself under aluminum bleachers for three solid hours...yeah, not one of my brightest days...

JWes Crockett, Minister of Students