#Heat and #Fire remove #impurities. You may have watched the forging of a steel knife or glass inserted into the flames then blown into a fragile clear object. While observing our world today, I feel the intensity of the kiln! While I have no forging skills, I know who does ! “For OUR GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE” Heb.12:29 Only God can remove our dross. “If anyone build upon the foundation of gold, silver, precious stones wood, hay, stubble it shall be shown and revealed by fire; and the fire shall test everyone’s work .” 1 Corinthians 3:12,13 “Who may abide in the day of LORD’S coming? Who shall stand for GOD IS A REFINER’S FIRE and HE SHALL SIT AS A REFINER AND PURIFIER ..purging and cleaning them as gold and silver so they may offer unto the LORD in righteousness.” Malachi 3:1-3 Yes, we are going through the heat and turmoil today. Look Up ^ The Living God is the Refiner. “I will bring you through the fire and I WILL REFINE YOU as silver is refined and will try them as gold is tried; if they shall call on my name! I WILL HEAR YOU. GOD will say, You are my people when they say, ‘THE LORD IS MY GOD” Zechariah 13:9
Did you know #Christ is not #Jesus’ last name? It is his title and it means #Messiah and #Savior. The first ‘I am’ that Jesus demonstrated was ‘I am the vine.’ He showed this with His first miracle at the wedding in Canaa. Why would Mary ask her son to fix the problem that occurred? Is there any importance that this happened at a wedding? What is the significance of the elements of this miracle? What happens to fruit that is not on the vine? How did this miracle embody the Gospel principles of ’trust and obey?’ Why did they have big quantities of water sitting around? What was said about the quality of the wine Jesus produced by this miracle? Were Christ’s miracles tricks or did they have another purpose?
As I sit here summarizing the message for you, I am bothered by a bird fighting his own reflection on my glass window. It reminds me that the World right now is in turmoil. I am made in God’s image and so is my neighbor. When I fight with my neighbor, I am therefore fighting my own reflection. The Devil wants us to believe our enemy is our neighbor, but we are actually in a spiritual battle. The Bible says that we struggle not against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities.
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During my summer breaks from college, I worked in the police department replacing secretaries on their vacations. I was a rotating secretary to the individual head of all the divisions: Chief, Detective, Patrol, Traffic, Accidents, Juvenile , and Incarcerations! Sort of a girl Friday. It was a continuing learning experience. In the Detective Division there was an inside window with an enclosed room on the other side which always had a covering. Then one day the cover was gone. The Chief ask me to observe through the one way window as they questioned and recorded a person of interest. I would become a #witness! At the age of nineteen, I knew the validity of my responsibility. How good is your word and witness in the eyes of the LORD? “A faithful witness will not lie, but a false witness utters lies” Proverbs 14:5 We hear so many views and opinions today. Sound like Job 18 “How long will it be to the end of your words: marked, counted and reputed vile…as the light of the wicked shall be put out and sparks of fire shall not shine” Who is a faithful & a true witness? “Behold MY WITNESS IS IN HEAVEN AND MY RECORD IN HIGH” Job 16:19 JESUS said, “There is another who bears witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true” John 5:32 Will He find us a faithful and true witness?..“If you receive ‘the witness of men, the WITNESS OF GOD IS GREATER” 1John 5:9
As a young child when going to visit #friends and #relatives with my Mother, I remember hearing, “Hi Ginny, where’s your #shadow”? You see I loved and hovered closely to my mom. So I knew what they meant when calling me a shadow. Later I started school and back then we walked on sidewalks in the neighborhood to “get me to the school on time”. While walking, I observed many moving shadows composed from various objects: trees, houses, birds, dogs and storms! I was just learning new words and their definition and discovering scriptures in the Bible that gave me comfort. “GOD has been my strength when needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, A SHADOW from the heat and blasts from the terrible ones.”Isaiah 25:4 So when Halloween time approached, I wanted “my shadow” accompanying me to first grade school carnival. Each class decorated and you paid to go inside their room to play a game. My class did bobbing for apples. I was remembering Ps.17:8 “Keep me as the apple of the HIS eye and HIDE ME UNDER THE SHADOW OF GOD’S WINGS” Those costumes and spooks were creepy to me so I held on to “In the SHADOW OF GOD’S HAND HE HID ME” Isaiah 49:2 “How excellent is God’s loving kindness therefore children put their trust under the shadow of God’s wings” Ps.36:7 ..”because GOD has been my help, I will rejoice in the SHADOW OF THY WINGS” Ps.63:7 Facing the unknown darkness and evil at any age is daunting! Just as I felt security next to my mother as a toddler, I have GOD’S everlasting love, strength, wisdom holding and guiding me through the unknown today. You choose a trick or a real treat this year…“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of lights with whom is no variableness, nor does His shadow turn..from the word of truth.” James 1:17,18 “He who dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the SHADOW OF THE ALMIGHTY” PS.91:1
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Who said that? Was it #Mohammed, #Buddha, #Krishna or #JesusChrist? Jesus made that bold claim in John 14:6 and as God’s son he is able to back it up. He is also uniquely qualified to work in our lives to bring us joy, real joy. Paul closes his letter to the Christians at Philippi by wishing God’s grace upon them. What is grace? Can we earn it through good works or behavior? What are the means of grace? What are the types of grace? Who is our source of God’s grace?
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