I am super excited about an event coming this Sunday evening (11/10 at 4:30 PM)! I have invited any guys (youth, young adult, and dads) who want to come and experiment with forging steel to my house. We have set up several small, temporary forges and makeshift anvils. We will try our hands at bending, forming, twisting, and moving steel with heat, hammers, and tongs! I believe we are going to have a ton of fun!

But as much as I like having fun, that isn't my main purpose. I am looking forward to the opportunity for men and guys to build relationships, encourage, and challenge each other. At first, the idea for Fire and Iron was one centered around a couple of guys who had an interest in blacksmithing. My passion for this event grew as the Holy Spirit sparked insights into how a couple of spiritual principles relate directly to forging steel.

The first principle is about the nature of the Holy Spirit's move in our lives. John the Baptist said that Jesus came to "baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." The fire in the forge heats steel to a temperature that allows the blacksmith to reshape it without breaking it. The physical structure of the steel is changed at a molecular level through heating and cooling processes to strengthen and harden the steel. The Holy Spirit does much the same in our own lives. As we embrace the fire of Holy Spirit in our lives, we are made pliable to God's plans and we are strengthened in our faith and character.

Second, the process of shaping and sharpening of a blade by a blacksmith is a powerful visual reminder of how God moves in our lives! When the fire of Holy Spirit has heated us, the blows and buffets of difficult circumstances, questions, or even attacks of our enemies are no longer damaging - they are forming! Romans 8:28 says "in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[i] have been called according to his purpose." Like the blacksmith loves the steel and works it to create something beautiful and powerful, God loves us and uses every hammer blow to create something beautiful and powerful out of our lives. 

Not only does God use the hammer to form us, but He also sharpens us. Proverbs 27:17 tells us "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." Our relationships with other believers, other seekers, and all the people around us sharpen us like steel! My hope and prayer for Fire and Iron Night - and beyond - is that we will continue to sharpen each other to be fully formed in the image of Christ as men, sons, brothers, fathers, and friends!