(Author unknown)

Malachi 3:3 says: ‘He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.’

This verse puzzled some women
in a Bible study and they
wondered what this statement
meant about the character and
nature of God.

One of the women offered to
find out the process of refining
silver and get back to the group
at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an
appointment to watch him at
work. She didn’t mention
anything about the reason for
her interest beyond her curiosity
about the process of refining
Silver.

As she watched the silversmith,
he held a piece of silver over
the fire and let it heat up. He
explained that in refining silver,
one needed to hold the silver in
the middle of the fire where
the flames were hottest as to
burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot;
then she thought again about
the verse that says: ‘He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.’
She asked the silversmith if it
was true that he had to sit there
in front of the fire the whole
time.

The man answered that yes, he
not only had to sit there holding
the silver, but he had to keep
his eyes on the silver the entire
time it was in the fire. If the silver
was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a
moment. Then she asked the silversmith, ‘How do you know
when the silver is fully refined?’He smiled at her and answered,
‘Oh, that’s easy — when I see
my image in it.’

If today you are feeling the heat
of the fire , remember that God
has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His
image in you.

SOLI DEO GLORIA!

God didn’t heal Lucia the way I or others wanted Him to, but He gave her the ultimate healing.  I don’t presume to know the mind of God, whose judgments are unsearchable and whose ways are past finding out (Romans 11:33), but I do know His heart.   He is the God of love, who proved His love on the cross as He bled and died for my sins and your sins.  He is the compassionate God, whose mercies are new every morning, who doesn’t consume us though He has every right to, but who blesses us abundantly beyond anything we deserve.   And He is the sovereign God, who works all things together for good to those who love Him, to those who are called according to His purpose.  

While I know Lucia’s family is hurting during this time, and I grieve for their loss, I have to trust in God’s promises for them, that He will work all things together for good, and that He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds (Psalm 147:3).   He also uses other human beings to minister, so I will do all I can to minister to Lucia’s family.  

No, God didn’t take my suggestion that others would see His glory if He healed her, He did something infinitely better for Lucia:  He is allowing her to experience His glory in His presence.  And I believe that God will still get the glory as her children continue on in the legacy of faith that she passed to them, and even as her husband might come to know Jesus as His Savior one day.  

I appreciate you all from the bottom of my heart for your prayers on her behalf and for her family.   It is a great comfort to know that people care and pray.  May God bless you richly.

First, here is a reminder of the verse that tells me why I exist:

 

Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him yes I have made him.”    (Isaiah 43:7)

When I think of all His glory is, it’s a pretty awesome and profound thought to be created FOR His glory.  As I mentioned in that previous post, as finite beings we don’t have the mind to grasp the complete infinite-ness of a God whom no one has seen.  But to use John Piper’s words, “God’s glory is His greatness, his excellence, his power and beauty and wisdom and goodness and worth and perfection…”   See!  A person could go on and on and never come to the end of describing His glory!  It is indescribable. 

The fact that I am created to be a mirror of that glory…to reflect that glory… or to be a DISPLAY of that… is simply mind-boggling.   The more I think that God would WANT to use us to display His glory, the more I am in awe that He would trust us with such a task.  What an awesome responsibility and privilege!  Here we are: erring, sinful human beings, yet He sees the potential in us to be a display of His splendor!  I am truly humbled. 

 SO…HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FULFILL HIS PURPOSE IN MY LIFE TO BE A DISPLAY OF HIS SPLENDOR?

Here are a few short thoughts I have on that.  I might go into more detail on them on another post, but these are just for starters…

FIRST, I CAN DELIGHT IN HIM AND PRAISE HIM.

The Bible tells us to “Take delight in the Lord…”  (Psalm 37:4)  I can’t think of a more telling way to bring glory to His name than by DELIGHTING myself in HIM! 

The Psalmist says, “Whosoever offers praise glorifies me…” (Psalm 50:23),

I think God is most glorified when I love Him, when I worship and praise Him and rejoice in all that HE IS.  THAT is delighting in Him.   And I think it all starts here, because the the other ways I can glorify Him are outflows of my love and delight in Him…

SECOND, I CAN BECOME MORE LIKE HIM AND BEAR FRUIT. 

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.  2 Cor. 3:18.

 

By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.  John 15:8

In John 15:4, Jesus says “Abide in me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”  This is a reminder that the fruit is a by-product of ABIDING. 

THIRD – I CAN DO GOOD WORKS AND COMPLETE THE WORK HE HAS GIVEN ME TO DO.

Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”  Matt.  5:16

 

In John 17:4, Jesus says, “I have glorified you on the earth.  I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” 

 If God is glorified by Jesus doing good works and completing the work His Father sent Him to do, then I believe God will be glorified by my doing the same.

So I have these questions:  Am I truly delighting myself in the Lord by enjoying being in His presence and spending time praising Him?  Am I becoming more and more Christ-like?  Do I need to abide in the vine more?   Am I doing the good works God has prepared for me? 

Those are just a few thoughts I had on fulfilling God’s ultimate purpose for my life of glorifying Him.   

May you be a DISPLAY OF HIS SPLENDOR as you fulfill God’s purpose for your life!

A successful surgery was performed on this 21-week-old preborn baby in the womb to correct a spina bifida lesion. Here, the baby's hand has come out of the womb, and the doctor is putting it back in so he can close up the incision. The baby was born on December 2, 1999 and named Samuel.

When I saw the above picture for the first time, I was in total awe of seeing the perfect, tiny little fingers of this 21-week-old unborn baby.   As I look at his hand grasping the finger of the doctor, there is nothing in me that can fathom how anyone can see a preborn baby as a blob of tissue.  I can’t help but weep for the millions of babies who have never been given the chance to live because their mothers believed that lie.

In the National Sanctity of Human Life Day Proclamation, dated January 15, 2009, President George W. Bush affirmed that

 “All human life is a gift from our Creator that is sacred, unique, and worthy of protection. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, our country recognizes that each person, including every person waiting to be born, has a special place and purpose in this world. We also underscore our dedication to heeding this message of conscience by speaking up for the weak and voiceless among us.”

Today, I am thankful for all that President George W. Bush did to protect the lives of these innocent and defenseless babies.  He opposed embryonic stem cell research, he barred federal funds from being used for abortion-related projects abroad,  and he protected federally funded health employees from taking part in abortion-related activities that conflicted with their religious views.  He also:

• signed into law the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which extended legal protection to children who survive an abortion attempt. 

• banned the gruesome practice of partial-birth abortion.  (To be graphic,  the baby is partially delivered – feet first – then the skull is stabbed with scissors to make a hole so the brains can be suctioned out, thus allowing the dead baby to pass more easily through the birth canal.)

• signed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which  “recognizes a ‘child in utero’ as a legal victim, if he or she is injured or killed during the commission of any of over 60 listed federal crimes of violence. The law defines ‘child in utero’ as ‘a member of the species Homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb’.”  (from Wikipedia)  

Sadly, we have a new President who doesn’t even take the life of our most innocent citizens seriously, as evidenced when he said (at the Saddleback Forum) that to determine when human life begins is “above my pay grade”.   I would like to suggest that if President Obama is not sure when life begins, that it would be better to err on the side of caution so as to protect the slaughtering of the innocent, which he so strongly declared he would do in his inauguration speech…

 “We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense; and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.”

However, there’s never been any doubt as to where he stood on this issue (which makes his answer that it is above his pay grade to decide when human life begins more flippant and thoughtless).  He voted against protection for babies born alive in botched abortions.  He has said that he would teach his daughters values and morals, but if they make a mistake, “I wouldn’t want them to be punished with a child.”   And he has announced his intentions to abortion rights groups that he would sign into law the Freedom of Choice Act, which would nullify any state or federal law that would interfere with unlimited access to abortion.  

I am sad today for the unborn babies in America who aren’t considered persons under the law, and who could possibly have all the protections they now have stripped under the new President by one fell swoop of the pen.  

As Aretha Franklin sang “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” today, it brought tears to my eyes to think how great our country is because of our freedoms.   Martin Luther King, Jr. included the words to the song in his “I Have a Dream” speech. 

My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.  Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.

Freedom still needs to ring for even the tiniest and most innocent human beings in America until they are acknowledged as true persons and each one has the unequivocal right to life.   Martin Luther King, Jr. encouraged his fellow brothers to keep marching ahead, and not be satisfied, until “justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

To that end, I pray for President Barack Obama, first that, he would come to know Jesus as the only WAY, TRUTH AND THE LIFE.  I pray for wisdom in all decisions he has to make, but I specifically pray that he comes to see abortion as the killing of a precious and innocent human life.  I pray that he sees marriage as a God-ordained institution between a man and a woman that must be protected.  I pray for our country, that believers in the One true God would take their stand for righteousness, and not be silenced by those who would try to take away our freedoms which have made our country great, especially the freedoms of speech and religion.  I pray for freedom to continue ringing in our great country, for every person of every creed and color, from the oldest citizen to the tiniest baby in the womb. 

May God bless America. 

Majestic, craggy mountains…

Colorful rainbows…

  Oh, what awesome displays of the splendor of the Creator!

I have continued to think about and pray and sing (as mentioned in the previous post) for God to “Show me your glory!”  And I can’t help but think of the splendor of His beauty in creation.  I looked up the biblical definition of glory, and while I had an idea of what it is in words, I know that there is so much more to God’s glory that we, as finite beings, can’t even begin to comprehend all that it entails. 

 But as I’ve been telling God I want to see His glory, and see His face, I have also been praying about God’s purposes for my own life, as is especially customary at the beginning of the New Year, and I’ve come to see that they are intertwined. 

 Here is a verse that tells me why God created me: 

Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory;  I have formed him, yes, I have made him.  Isaiah 43:7  (italics, mine)

Why did God create me?    I AM CREATED FOR HIS GLORY! 

Isaiah 61:3 says the same thing:

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified.

This is in the passage in which Isaiah is prophesying about the Messiah, and how those that are given beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness… are for the purpose of glorifying HIS name! 

I like the way the NIV says the last phrase…

They will be called oaks of righteousness,
       a planting of the LORD
       for the display of his splendor.

I was beginning to think my prayer was selfish in asking God to show me His glory, as if I was asking FOR something for myself; but now I see that there is a purpose in seeing His glory as well.  Beth Moore says, “The more we gaze on the beauty of the Lord as we seek Him in His temple, the more our lives absorb and radiate His splendor.”  What a thought!  I have no beauty of my own, but I can be a display of His splendor as well, and radiate His beauty!

 John Piper says it like this:

“God created you.  “And he did so with a high and noble purpose in mind – that your utterly unique personality, and even your body, might reflect some feature of God’s glory that no other person can.  You are like a crystal, shaped like no other crystal.  And the reason you exist is to walk in the light of God’s glory in such a way that its rays and colors will reflect off of you and cause others to admire God.”

 In other words, my desire for God to show me His glory also has the purpose of fulfilling what I believe is God’s purpose for my life – to show the world His glory by reflecting Him, with the ultimate purpose of others admiring Him too, and causing them to come into a saving relationship with Him! 

So this is my prayer…

I beseech you, God, show my your glory…so that as I radiate and reflect your glory, people will be attracted to you and your glory as well.

AMEN!

Maybe it is not a prayer that needs to be prayed, as I am sure that there are many ways He already shows His glory and it is just a matter of being more aware of it.  But since it has been on my heart, I am going to assume it is a specific prayer that God wants me to pray this year.  I will look up the biblical meaning of the word “glory”, and I will read what some biblical scholars have to say about Moses asking God this request.  But for now, my prayer for God to show me His glory means that I am going to be more conscious of how He wants to reveal Himself to me this year.  

In the meantime, here are the words of the song “Show Me Your Glory” by Third Day,  that I can’t help but sing when I think of Moses’ request to God:

When I climb down the mountain
And get back to my life
I won’t settle for ordinary things
I’m gonna follow You forever
And for all of my days
I won’t rest ’til I see You again
Show me Your glory
Show me Your glory
I can’t live without You.

Even though we had our own set of friends when we were kids, we did a lot together.  We were so proud of our “sisterhood” that we had our own club – the Super Sisters Club.  Being the oldest, I was the President of this exclusive club.  We had club meetings, and we even had a special cheer for when we were proud of an accomplishment:   “1-2 (slight pause) 3-4-5, Super Sisters take no jive.  6-7-(pause again) 8- 9-10, Super Sisters did it AGAIN!   (There is a special hand clap-slap routine that goes with it that makes it more cool.)   We played Wonder Woman, cops and robbers on our bikes, board games (Pay Day, Life, Monopoly, Head of the Class), cards (Crazy 8’s,  Rummy, King’s Corner and Trumps), and sang songs with the ukulele.   We rode our bikes all around our neighborhood and around the military base we lived on.   In the summer, we took special classes – bowling, crafts, swimming lessons.  We went to children’s and youth camps together with church.  We took hula lessons and piano lessons.  We were in Girl Scouts and had fun camping.  We even played “truth or dare” late at night once with Boy Scouts who were camping nearby after the leaders were asleep – the Girl Scout version for anyone reading this.  (We did other things that only us know about, but you won’t find out about them here!  All sisters have to have their secrets.)   As we got into high school, we didn’t hang around too much together, due to going to different schools (she to a public and I to a private school) and having different interests (basically, I liked to get good grades, so I stayed home to study).  But we still shared a bedroom and still talked late into the night.      

As we grew into adulthood our relationship continued to deepen, especially as our relationship with God deepened.  We prayed a lot together and studied the Bible together.  We even got to go to on a mission trip together.   I was in her wedding, and she was in mine.  I was in the labor room for the birth of her first baby, she was nearby for mine (I already had the max limit in the delivery room).   And of course, over the years as more children were born to each of our families, more memories were made.   

As I think about my sister today on her birthday, I am filled with gladness that God gave me such a friend, a true best friend in my sister.   She is one of the wisest, godliest, and definitely the most loving person that I know.  (That is not just a biased sister talking.  I know that anyone who knows her would say the same thing.)   Through all these years, she has always been there to encourage me and inspire me by her love for God and her close relationship with Him.  Even though the miles separate us more than ever, we will always be close in heart.   Our talks are limited to skpe contact, but we still talk about everything and nothing too, we still laugh and pray and even cry together, and we even sing together every now and then (with the keyboard, there’s no ukulele here).    

On my sister’s 41^st birthday, I would like to say, THANK YOU, Denise, for being my best friend!  Thank you for being one of the biggest encouragers in my life.   I thank God for you, and pray for His continued blessing on you.  I pray God will continue to use you in a mighty way as you minister to those around you: your husband, children, school-children, special needs children, and youth.   God has put all those people in your life because you have a special way of showing people His love.   As you minister where you are, I pray God’s grace to flow through you, and that you remember His abundant grace is sufficient for you, too!   

 I love you, Sis!  Happy Birthday!  

“One thing I have desired of the Lord, that I will seek; That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.”  (Psalm 27:4)

 David goes on to say, “When you said, ‘Seek my face’, My heart said to you, ‘Your face, Lord, I will seek.’” (v. 8)  I’m reminded of Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus, soaking in His Words as Martha was busy with household preparations.  When Martha asked Jesus to tell Mary to help her, Jesus said, “Martha, Martha, you are troubled about many things.  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”  (Luke 10:41-42) 

As I think about my own prayer times, I know that I could spend more time just sitting at Jesus’ feet, worshipping Him.  He wants me to behold His beauty and seek His face.  God said of David that he was a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22), and one reason was because he enjoyed being in God’s presence, loving and worshipping Him.  Wouldn’t it be an honor for God to say of you and me that we are men and women after His own heart?  I believe worshipping Him is where it starts. 

So how about you?  Are you more of a Martha or a Mary?  Do you get so busy doing things that you neglect the one thing that is needed?   Can you say like David that beholding His beauty is the one thing you desire?  Do you seek His face as often as you seek His hands?  There is nothing wrong with presenting your requests to Him, because He tells us to (Philippians  4:6), but God desires our praise and our worship, and He is worthy of it as well.  

For “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!”  Revelation 5:12

Jesus had just commended the church at Ephesus for their hard work and their perseverance, and yet he had to rebuke them.  His words went straight to my heart.  This verse isn’t about losing the object of one’s love, it’s about losing the fervency of that love.   Even though I am serving the Lord, my heart was pierced with the realization that this fervency and passion for Him had been missing.  I knew this verse also applied to me because of the next verse, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen.”  (v. 5) 

I knew from where I had fallen.  For many people, the fervency and excitement they remember is when they were first saved.  For me, maybe it was because I was saved as a child and had a child-like faith and love then, it wasn’t until I was 21 years old and had rededicated my life to Him that my love was the most fervent.  I remember the fervency I had when my heart was wholeheartedly His: the delight in spending time with Him in reading His Word and in prayer, which led to an overflow of joy in service to Him and in telling others about Him.  I had a willingness to be obedient no matter what the cost, and some of the fruit was being able to lead others to a saving knowledge of Him. 

Once I remembered from where I had fallen, I knew I needed to follow the next step:  “Repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place – unless you repent.”  I had no choice but to obey His Word and repent and return to those “first works”. 

There are other things that are necessary in my life, but where it starts is spending time with Him in set-aside, non-interrupted prayer and Bible reading.  For me personally, it is that time alone with Him which causes and maintains the excitement, the joy, the passion (and compassion) in Him, and leads to a deeper obedience to Him.     

I’m so thankful that God’s rebukes are full of love, and never condemnation.   I’m thankful that his forgiveness is certain and complete.  And I’m thankful that I can be used to share His love and forgiveness with others.

Oh God, thank you for your forgiveness.  Thank you for your mercies that are new every morning.  I pray that you create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me.  Continue to restore to me the joy of my salvation.  Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will be converted to you.*   Amen.   

*from Psalm 51:11-14

Because I remember when I was young, single and carefree, frolicking on the beach, catching the waves, hearing the laughter of friends and other children and families playing…there were days then, I just didn’t think life could get any better!

But I had an inkling it probably would, because after all, I had a dream of getting married one day…

And then God finally (at the age of 25) brought into my life the man of my dreams (well, he didn’t play guitar, but he promised he’d learn one day), and we got married (at age 26).  As we walked hand in hand along the same beach, this time on a moonlit night with the stars shining above, I couldn’t help but think, “Wow! This is the life!” 

But I still had an idea it could get better; after all, I also dreamed about having children one day.

And then came the day our first baby was put in my arms!  What joy!  He was named Shane, because we rejoiced that “God is gracious.”  It was then I just knew life couldn’t get any better!  

But it still did!  When baby number two was put in my arms, she was “God’s promise” to me, and she was named Elizabeth.  Then, Joseph was born, so named because “God multiplied” our blessings.  His name turned out to be prophetic, because baby 4 came along, (Christine – “Christ-like”), and then Samuel, five years later, who was definitely, “asked of God” (by me anyway)…and given by a God who loves to bless.  

“He does great things past finding out, Yes, wonders without number!”  (Job 9:10)  Indeed, the dreams He has fulfilled in our lives are true wonders…not just the children, but the other countless blessings in-between.

And now we are here, fulfilling the biggest dream of all…serving Him in Brazil.  And we know we are here, because we have “wonder”ful family, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ who are encouraging and supporting us! 

And if it’s one thing I know…even when life between the dreams is full of twists and turns and ups and downs…because no one’s life is perfect… God is still good.   He uses the twists and turns and ups and downs to conform me to His image and draw me closer to Him.  He even uses the people I love the most to develop His character in me, because after all, no two people are completely alike, and because those babies don’t stay babies for long.  But I still know I have the man of my dreams (even if he never plays the guitar), the children I’ve always wanted, and I’m where God wants me to be. 

Life is good!  Even if God were to stop all the blessings, I would know that I have already seen wonders without number, but

 Because I have dreams to dream…and because God does continues to do wonders without number…

I just can’t help but look forward to all that’s ahead!