The Fireproof Bible




What do you do when your world is so black that everything around you seems hopeless? I heard a good message on Alive in Christ Radio this week about this very thing. Deborah Lovett was featured and her topic was ”Breaking the Bondage of Despair. “ She told of the devastation of watching the home that she personally designed burn up in flames and with it everything she cherished. Imagine how it feels to lose family heirlooms, personal possessions and irreplaceable homemade items the children created through the years.

Deborah shared her spiritual journey of how she overcame this time with God’s comfort and His Word. She told of returning to the smoldering hot ashes days after the fire and retrieving her Bible which miraculously remained intact! The crux of her message was that when we find ourselves in oppression, there is help for us. Her advice was right on: “your attitude means everything.” If we want to win a victory when everything around us is falling apart, we must choose on purpose how we will respond. Lovett knows first-hand that God’s Word, prayer and praise defeats the enemy when he tries to keep us down. Her suggestion is to find one verse in the Word that is personal and cling to it with all your might!

Then she said something very profound. Finding her Bible so miraculously preserved amidst the fiery flames was a picture of the church today! It’s true. Many are hurting deeply right now. God has victory in store for us. It is His Word that will comfort, direct and help us in the fire!

Do you have that one promise you are clinging to? I have mine:

Isa 49:25 says:
But this is what the LORD says: “Yes, captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save.



I’m so glad I caught this interview; it encouraged me. I hope these words inspire and support you if you are hurting. This post is linked to Spiritual Sundays hosted by Charlotte and Ginger. Click here.

Comments

  1. "When I open my hand I provide for all that I have created." Psalm 145:16. I love the promises of God and throughout the years I have claimed many of them. It thrills me to know that God will provide for me. I don't think the Psalmist just meant daily needs, but also love, joy, peace...

    Blessings,
    Pamela

    ReplyDelete

  2. Hello Mary,
    What a wonderfully encouraging post! I'm glad I have Him and the assurance of His love. He's as close as the mention of His name and I call upon His name many times throughout my day. Thank you for your sweet comment today. Friends like you make blogging very worthwhile. Thank you for your prayers and have a lovely weekend, dear friend.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

    ReplyDelete

  3. What an encouraging post, Mary! Thank you.
    I think I'm going to keep your verse for my own.
    God's omipresence and unchanging nature are my most favorite attributes of His that I find myself being the most grateful for.
    Carol

    ReplyDelete

  4. Good post with a great message. Thanks for posting. This kind of message is needed. Have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete

  5. Thank you for sharing this wonderful message. I am clinging to dear life to God promise that he will make a way, when there seems to be no way.
    Isaiah 43:19 says, “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

    ReplyDelete

  6. Such an encouraging post! Thank you for sharing this. I say it was definately a miracle her bible was in tact. God knew she would need it to comfort her in the loss of her home.

    ReplyDelete

  7. Favorite promise: "For I know the plans I have for you", says the Lord. Plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." We've seen many instances of this promise in the lives of people after the disasterous tornado in Joplin, Missouri.

    ReplyDelete

  8. Favorite promise: "For I know the plans I have for you", says the Lord. Plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." We've seen many instances of this promise in the lives of people after the disasterous tornado in Joplin, Missouri.

    ReplyDelete

  9. Favorite promise: "For I know the plans I have for you", says the Lord. Plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." We've seen many instances of this promise in the lives of people after the disasterous tornado in Joplin, Missouri.

    ReplyDelete

  10. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

  11. Great message, Mary!
    I'm going to look for and identify "my" own promise in the coming days ... a sort of treasure hunt, as it were!

    ReplyDelete

  12. Love this post Mary! Love it when you hear a Word like this and it touches so many people! So anointed!

    I LOVE Romans 8:28. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to HIS purpose!

    Reading this just reminds me that no matter how bad things may seem God will work it for HIS good and glory! Such Peace and I have seen this play out sooo many times in my life!

    Love you Mary! Have a blessed Sunday

    ReplyDelete

  13. There are too many promises of God that I hold to, to list here but I am grateful for every single one of them. I'm thankful for our GOD and His fireproof Word to us!

    Thank you for sharing this amazing post with us! God is good!

    Blessings to you and your family Mary! Much love.

    ReplyDelete

  14. this is a good message...attitude is everything. I often need to tell myself that....to let it go...and trust and know He's in control no matter what

    ReplyDelete

  15. I love God's perfect timing for anything that we need. I'm going to work in half an hour and decided to visit where He leads me to be rejuvenated by Him through friends' posts before going to work in the dark place, yes, a place of oppression at this time.

    Thank you for this encouragement and glory be to God! Wow! That's figuratively and literally that "His Word lasts forever!" :)

    Have a great Sunday sister. Love and blessings.

    ReplyDelete

  16. I could not imagine going through something so drastic without the Lord.What a wonderful message you heard.
    God Bless,
    Ginger

    ReplyDelete

  17. I don't remember ever reading that verse from Isaiah, it is very encouraging!!We always need to hang on to the Word of God, what would we do without it?

    ReplyDelete

  18. This woman's experience touched my heart. Such a hopeful, encouraging post! Thanks for sharing this with Spiritual Sunday. Blessings!

    ReplyDelete

  19. Bless you for sharing, such a beautiful post. I love you.

    ReplyDelete

  20. That's so awesome, Mary! Love that!

    Have a wonderful day in His Presence!

    Blessings,
    Lisa

    ReplyDelete

  21. AMEN, Sister!

    Something I often do is sleep with my Bible. I know it sounds silly, but it brings peace to my heart in deep times of trouble.

    Continuing to pray for your family. LOVE YOU,
    andrea

    ReplyDelete

  22. Thank you for sharing this encouraging post. It's amazing. And I really like the photos in your header. Very nice.
    Blessings,
    Charlotte

    ReplyDelete

  23. Like many others, I am sure, my favorite promise is Jeremiah 29:11 - "For I know the plans I have for you, declared the Lord, plans to bless you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope."

    ReplyDelete

  24. This is so well written. A wonderful message of faith. It's amazing how with God's help we can let go of the things that we thought meant everything to us and realize that truly there is only One who means everything.

    The verse from Isaiah is beautiful and I too will cling to that promise...

    Blessings, Debbie

    ReplyDelete

  25. Hi Mary -

    I much loved this piece and the testimony about the preserved Bible.

    That is so GOD. Glory to His awesome name.

    One of my favorite scriptures is Revelation 12:11 - KJV
    "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death."

    ReplyDelete

  26. Dear Mary
    This is an amazing story, I am sure God allowed the Bible to be preserved to encourage her heart.

    Thank you for sharing the nugget of truth in your post today. TO keep holding on to a promise... God is a promise keeper.

    Love
    Lidj

    ReplyDelete

  27. Actually I don't need to "imagine" losing everything, because we did, through a robbery (a stolen moving van with everything we had in this world) Baby pictures, family heirlooms, etc.

    And there was a fire involved, in that the police, when they arrested the robbers found they had made a bonfire in their backyard and burned all our family photo albums, etc. They had already sold all our furniture and musical instruments.

    The verse I held onto during that awful time was Jeremiah 29:11.

    ReplyDelete

  28. Such an encouraging post.. Today.. I will "choose on purpose how I respond"... God has great things planned for all of us!

    Blessings,
    Misty

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Feeling the Love

Image
It’s our wedding anniversary today.  We’ve been celebrating all weekend!  Yesterday we woke up early, got dressed and headed to the Sedona Red Rocks.  I climbed up those red rock hills determined, even in my dress, to breathe in the fresh morning air.   The sturdy jagged mountains, copper colored, spotlighted from the warm morning sun surrounded us; I experienced a rush of gratitude.  God blessed us generously over the last forty-five years!
Our trek in the steep red elevation exhilarated us.  We drove through town and found a cute cafe for breakfast.  A burly, outgoing man, the owner, welcomed us while the woman drinking coffee at his table complimented my dress. 
“We’re celebrating today.  It’s our 45th wedding anniversary,” I replied.
The little cafe filled up quickly and we were surprised when the owner stopped by our table and loudly exclaimed that he had an idea to make “our” day special!  He burst into song: “Happy Anniversary to you…”
Everyone chimed in and serenaded us, clapped…
Read more

A New Truck

Image
If the phone rings late on a Saturday evening especially if the caller turns out to be our daughter, I get suspicious and my imagination goes wild.   I ask my husband if the kids told him why they are coming over in 15 minutes.
I heard the knock at the back door and a sweet “hello” greeting from the kitchen.  I bumped into my son-in-law in the hall.  Mark hugged me like a big bear and I asked him if they came over to tell us they’re going to have a baby.  He laughed and said: “Not yet!”
Then I asked him if they got a puppy.  His embrace still tight he whispered: “We just bought a truck.”
We all piled in the truck and took it for a joy ride.  We made loud oos and awes from the back seat to compliment their rich interior upgrades.
We got back to our house and sat around the kitchen table talking about the day’s events when our daughter, Amy, told us an incredible story.

Amy set out that morning to keep company with a girlfriend whose husband had surgery in a hospital in a mountain city north…
Read more

Father's Back

Image
Mark’s dad died in a work-related accident.  A steel girder fell on his head during construction of a bridge.   He left three children, all under the age of four.  My son-in-law, Mark, the oldest, has two younger sisters. 
When I think of family love, I see the upside of this tragedy.  Mark’s family grew up in a large Victorian home with other family members.  Also, cousins lived close by.  The family did life together and, even today, lives in close proximity.  I enjoy them on Facebook; my feed rolls with photos of their antics and laughter.
Mark and Amy asked us to drop by their house to feed their cat when they drove up to the mountains to spend the weekend with his siblings and cousins.  They celebrated a cousin’s birthday.  One heartfelt present brought tears to Amy’s eyes when she told us about it when they came home.
The gift, a box of old photos, entertained the group as they each reached in and grabbed a handful of memories from their youth.  Gail, the youngest sister, broke in…
Read more