Resisting the temptation of pat answers

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Job 35-37; Psalm 144

TO CHEW ON: "Then He tells them their work and their transgression—
That they have acted defiantly.
He also opens their ear to instruction,
And commands that they turn from iniquity." Job 36:9,10


In the beginning  of his fourth speech, Elihu lectures Job about a purpose of suffering that Job's other friends have left out: that it is instructive.

God despises no one, Elihu insists (Job 36:5). He doesn't preserve the life of the wicked (Job 36:6) despite what Job thinks (Job 21:7). Rather, God speaks to the righteous person through his or her suffering (Job 36:9) in that way alerting them to sin so they can repent (Job 36:10). If they do, prosperity will result (Job 36:11). If they don't, they are doomed (Job 36:12).

Though what Elihu says may contain general truth, his cut-and-dried explanation that this is why Job is suffering is inadequate. We see how wrong he is when he applies this to Job (Job 36:16-18). For as the heavenly prologue to all these speeches has told us, Job's suffering is neither punishment nor instruction but a demonstration and proof to Satan of Job's integrity (Job 2:1-6).

If Elihu is teaching us anything it is that we need to temper our defense of God, always leaving room for what we don't know. To us earth-bound humans there remains mystery in His actions or lack of them. Though the Bible is clear in its description of God and what He is like (love, omnipotent, omnipresent, righteous, just, holy etc.) we will not understand the outworking of these attributes in our lives and the lives of those we love, until we see Him face to face and "…know even as we are known" - 1 Corinthians 13:12.


PRAYER: Dear God, when I or my loved ones suffer, I long for explanations. Help me to avoid the temptation of giving myself and others pat answers because, frankly, I don't see what's happening behind the scenes and what You are accomplishing through these hard times. Amen.


PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 144 

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

When God feels absent

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Job 20-23; Psalm 140

TO CHEW ON: "Look, I go forward, but He is not there,
And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;
When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him;
When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.
But He knows the way that I take,
When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold." - Job 23:8-10





We left Job sitting in the ash heap, scraping his itchy, painful boils, mourning the loss of his children and possessions, and confused about why all this has happened. After sitting with him in silence for seven days, his three friends try to answer his question.

His friend Eliphaz thinks Job is suffering because he has sinned.

Bildad thinks he is a hypocrite.

Zophar condemns him for being verbose and presumptuous in his attempts to answer their accusations. *

Our reading today is one of Job's responses to his accusing friends. He, in effect, ignores all their finger-pointing and pleads his integrity. If only he could find God, God would "take note of" him. But God feels absent.

Still Job doesn't give up. Instead he puts into words his unswerving faith: "But He knows the way I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold" - Job 23:10.

Job does a number of things that we would do well to copy when we're going through trials:

1. He restates his belief that God is fair and is for him, even though it doesn't feel that way (Job 23:1-6).

2. He expresses the belief that God has a purpose for what is going on in his life even though He feels absent (Job 23:8-10).

3. He honours God with his statements of respect, trust and awe (Job 23:13-17).

The attitude he displays reminds me of the advice Jerry Bridges gives in his book Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts:

"Again, let me emphasize that trusting God does not mean we do not experience pain. It means we believe that God is at work through the occasion of our pain for our ultimate good. It means we work back through the Scriptures regarding His sovereignty, wisdom, and goodness, and ask Him to use those Scriptures to bring peace and comfort to our hearts. It means above all, that we do not sin against God by allowing distrustful and hard thoughts about Him to hold sway in our minds. It will often mean that we may have to say, 'God I don't understand, but I trust You'" - Jerry Bridges,  Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts, Kindle edition p. 214 (emphasis added)

I sure have far to go in this department! What about you?

PRAYER: Dear God, I can't tell how I would react in a tough situation like Job's—neither do I want to have to find out.  Please engrave Job's faith and confidence in You into my spirit so that I will be as solid as he was when troubles come to me, as I know they will. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 140


* Job summarized with help from "Introduction to Job," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, pp. 644, 645.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A promise we can count on

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Matthew 4:23-44

TO CHEW ON: “‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.’” Matthew 4:35.

In our reading today, Jesus’ message seems mixed. On one hand, He says watch for these things (in Matthew 24:14-16, 29-30) for they are signs that the Son of Man is coming soon. On the other, don’t try to figure out the timing.

I like His example of the fig tree as a way to tell his coming is near:

“'Now learn this parable from the fig tree. When its branch has already b'ecome tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near'” - Matthew 24:32.

My Bible’s study notes take the mystique out of the comparison:

“As the budding tree signifies the coming of summer, the signs described by Jesus will give warning of His coming” - J. Lyle Story, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1335. 

So we look at Jesus’ list of specifics and watch for them as we watch for signs of seasonal change in the trees. When we see them playing out, we know His coming is getting nearer, just like we know summer’s around the corner when trees bud in spring and the world turns green.

Over and over, though Jesus reminds His listeners (and us readers) that we won’t be able to tell the exact time, and not to be caught by surprise.  

His coming:

• Will be as sudden as zigzags of lightning - Matthew 24:27.

• As to its timing, will be a surprise to even the angels - Matthew 24:36.

• Will come in the middle of life as usual - Matthew 24:38.

• Will separate the prepared and unprepared in the middle of what they’re doing - Matthew 24:40,41.

• Is to be on our list of things to watch for and expect - Matthew 24:42.

• Will be as unwelcome a surprise to some as a thief breaking into their house - Matthew 24:44.

What if it were today? Am I ready and expectant? Are you?



PRAYER: Dear Jesus, this reading reminds me that I need to take the promise that You would return, seriously. Help me to live daily in this hope with this expectation. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The beginning of the end?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 24:1-22

TO CHEW ON: " ' All these are the beginning of sorrows.' " Matthew 24:8

If you had never read today's passage and someone handed you its contents on a scrap of paper, would your impression would be (choose one):
a] This sounds entirely unfamiliar.
b] This sounds a lot like current conditions in the world.
c] This sounds like something that could never happen.

If you're like me, you chose b, because this sounds like the writings of someone in the room with me as I watch the nightly news or scan the latest headlines on the computer.

In early parts of this passage (Matthew 24:5-7) Jesus gives us a list of spookily familiar events that herald the near coming of His return to earth / the End:*
- The appearance of false and deceptive Christs.
- Wars and rumours of wars.
- Famines, pestilences and earthquakes.

But, Jesus says, these things are just the beginning of "sorrows." Some translations call them "birth pains" (NIV, NLT, NASB, ESV)—an interesting comparison suggesting earth-shaking events will become more frequent and intense as they near a climax. Could this be the time we're living in right now? If so, what do we have to look forward to? Jesus' answer:

" 'Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake' " - Matthew 24:9.

Who is the "you" Jesus refers to here? It was to His band of disciples He delivered this private message (Matthew 24:3). So we can, I think, conclude that His disciples of all eras are on notice. That's us. Jesus warns and advises (Matthew 24:10-14):

- We can expect offenses, betrayals, hatred, and death.
- We must be on guard against false prophets.
- We need to be aware of the potential for spiritual lawlessness and coldness.
- Our endurance will be challenged.
- While the above is happening there will also be a great spread of the Gospel to peoples of every nation.

Let's live alert in these perilous days!

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to remain watchful, to be unfazed if I am hated, and persecuted for being a Christ-follower, and to stay the course as I do my little bit in spreading the Gospel. Amen.

* "In His private teaching to the disciples on the Mount of Olives, Jesus responded to three questions, concerning 1] the destruction of the temple, 2] His Second Coming, 3] the End. These topics are interwoven and sometimes it is difficult to determine which event is being described. This difficulty is partially resolved with the realization that most prophecy is capable of both a near and remote fulfillment. Jesus uses the tragic events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D.70 as a picture of conditions preceding His own return" - J. Lyle Story, Study notes on Matthew 24:1-51, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1334.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

We need each other

Christians come together in Jerusalem / Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Hebrews 10:32-11:2

TO CHEW ON: “But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated.” Hebrews 10:33


Today’s passage was written to first century Jewish Christians. From my Bible’s introduction:

“Apparently they expected Christ to return soon but the delay in His coming and the persecutions against them (Hebrews 10:32-34) caused them to wonder if they had made the right choice in becoming Christians… This epistle was written to wavering Jewish believers, encouraging them to stand fast in their faith” - Guy P. Duffield, “Introduction to Hebrews,” New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1728.

If we’re followers of history, we know that society’s attitude to Christianity, pro- and anti-, pendulums back and forth. In my growing up years, a generation or two after many European immigrants fled religious persecution to Canada as a place where they would be able to live their Christian convictions without fear of arrest, the attitude of society was much friendlier to Christianity than it is now.

Now the pendulum is swinging the other way. For example, a bill was passed in Ontario in June 2017, that gives the state power to apprehend a child from parents who don’t support the notion that gender is fluid, and who would oppose their child’s “human right” to change gender.  And in Camrose Alberta, the school board is attempting to limit which Bible verses a Christian school can use.

Thus the scenario pictured by our reading, of Christians suffering and struggling grows more possible for us. Apparently for the Hebrew believers it wasn’t a struggle of just ideas either but a very real physical set-to, with “plundering of goods” added to “reproaches” and “tribulations.” And this could happen to one for being a companion (friend, known associate) of a despised Christian - Hebrews 10:33.

I love this quote found in The Christian Almanac:

“There is a spiritual cancer at work in the world. The piracy of man’s fallen nature invariably mitigates against freedom and justice. Therefore voluntary associations must needs balance us—without force of state but nonetheless with the force of community—and hold us to accounts” - James Stuart (1849-1901)” - The Christian Almanac, July 3rd entry, p. 393.

What both Hebrews and Mr. Stuart drive home to me is that community is important. We in the church need each other in these times of the world’s increasing hostility.

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to remain loyal to You, Your word, and my Christian brothers and sisters. Amen.

MORE: Feast of St. Thomas
Today is the day the church celebrates the Apostle Thomas. (This is a feast day that has two dates attached to it - July 3rd and December 21st).

The liturgy for this day begins with this prayer:

Everliving God, who strengthened your apostle Thomas with firm and certain faith in your Son's resurrection: Grant us so perfectly and without doubt to believe in Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God, that our faith may never be found wanting in your sight; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Trial template

"David Lifting Up His Soul to God"
by Franco dei Russi - The Getty Trust

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 40:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "But I am poor and needy;
Yet the Lord thinks upon me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God." - Psalm 40:17


The editors of my Bible have helpfully summed up this psalm with the title "Faith Persevering In Trial." So we know that trial will be one of its subjects. In it the writer (David) talks about two aspects of trial:

I - He shows us what a trial looks and feels like. According to David a trial feels:

• Like it's going on too long. "I waited patiently … make haste to help me … Do not delay" He says (Psalm 40:1, 13, 17).

• Disorienting, dangerous, life-threatening. David calls it a "horrible pit" and "miry clay" (Psalm 40:2). He's in the dark. I imagine him feeling helpless and terrified as quicksand sucks him downward. He fears for his life (Psalm 40:14).

• Evil. He senses evil all around him and searches his own heart; maybe the evil within him is to blame for this trouble (Psalm 40:12).

II - He shows us how to bring God into our trial.

• He cries out to God until he gets a sense that God is with him. He uses the image of God setting his feet on a rock (out of that miry clay - Psalm 40:2).

• He praises and sings (Psalm 40:3-4).

• He focuses on God's creativity and "wonderful works" (Psalm 40:5).

• He re-commits himself to God (Psalm 40:6-8).

• He testifies in church (the "great assembly" - Psalm 40:9-10).

• After again giving in to feelings of despair, desperation, and panic (Psalm 40:11-15) he refocuses on God. He makes God big: "The Lord be magnified," even though in the last verse plummets us down to earth and trouble's reality again: "But I am poor and needy … Do not delay, O my God" (Psalm 40:16-17).

Though some of what David says in this psalm makes it seem like his trial has already passed, sprinkled throughout are reminders that he's still in the middle of it (Psalm 40:1, 13, 17). I would suggest that the things David does to bring God into the middle of his trial are things we can do too. We don't have to wait for trials to pass to sense God's presence, to praise Him, to testify to others and, if we find our thoughts again slipping into fear, to pull our focus back to God, who will also be our "help" and "deliverer."

May this psalm be our template as we go through trials of our own.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for David's honesty as he describes what he's going through. What a wonderful example hs is of someone changing his focus from trouble to God. Help me to do that with big and little things that come against me. Amen. 

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Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) Used by permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Endure

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

TO CHEW ON: "We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure." 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4

Paul had himself recently experienced the "persecutions and tribulations" he talks about. He and his companion Silas had found an active synagogue in Thessalonica. For three sabbaths Paul "reasoned with them from the Scriptures," trying to persuade the Jews that Jesus was indeed Messiah.

Some Jews believed, along with Greeks and prominent women. But the ones who didn't gathered a mob and attacked the house of Jason where they thought Paul and Silas were staying. The mob never found them, but later that night, the believers sneaked them out of the city. It's all in Acts 17:1-10.

So, in this letter, probably only weeks to months later, Paul is encouraging those believers, telling them that the patience and faith they are exhibiting is cause for him to boast about them in other churches he visits.

"That's fine for you," I can just hear the Thessalonian Christians say, as they read Paul's letter. "You could just leave. But we have to stay here and live with this."

God could, of course, have caused that persecution to stop. But here, throughout church history, and still around the world today the need for endurance in persecution, in sickness, and in personal trials, continues. What is the purpose of it?

Paul mentions three pluses of of toughing out persecution in these verses:

1. It grows faith.

2. It cements love (note also 1 Corinthians 13:7)

3. It is a source of inspiration for others (note also 2 Timothy 2:10).

Other Bible passages show us still more advantages of having to endure.

4. It proves we are God's sons and daughters when He deals with us like a parent does with a child (Hebrews 12:7).

5. It toughens us as Christians, giving us focus and developing strength (2 Timothy 2:3-4).

6. Paul implies that it might be the new normal and what one should expect when involved in ministry (2 Timothy 4:5).

7. Enduring puts us in the select company. Abraham (Hebrews 6:15), Jesus (Hebrews 12:3), and Paul (1 Corinthians 4:10-13; 2 Timothy 1:8) are all characterized for their endurance.

8. Endurance assures our salvation (Matthew 10:22). Only the ones who endure will receive the crown of life (James 1:12).

Are you living in endurance-challenging territory right now? Be encouraged. You are not unique or alone.

For us whose lives are going along relatively smoothly, let's pray for people who need endurance while we keep our expectations realistic. The need for endurance will come. Let's be ready!

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to endure the small trials and tribulations that come my way. Please make me aware of people whose endurance is being challenged, so I can pray for them. Amen.

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

Sifted

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Amos 9:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "For surely I will command,
And I will sift the house of Israel among all nations
As Grain is sifted in a sieve;
Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground." Amos 9:9


My earliest memories of sifting are from when I was a little girl and learning to bake. Mom taught me to make sure I always sifted the flour before putting it into anything. That was because beetles sometimes got into the large kitchen bin where we kept the 100 lb. quantities of flour we bought. I'm sure if I found beetles in my flour now, I'd throw out the whole lot. But not then. We'd simply remove the wriggling black interlopers and carry on, mixing the bread, cookies or whatever.

The act of sifting ("To pass through a sieve in order to separate the fine parts from the coarse") is referred to in the Bible at various times. It is God's way of revealing the covered or hidden things that shouldn't be there (e.g. Proverbs 20:26). The intention is to get rid of them.

However, the purpose of sifting is also to separate out and preserve what is good. Unlike the Ethiopians, Philistines and Syrians, which God says He will destroy, He will sift Israel so that he can preserve the "house of Jacob" (Amos 9:7-9). He'll separate out the bad stuff to preserve all that is good (down to the "smallest grain").

The process of sifting, when it affects our lives, is never fun. Just as the physical act of sifting disturbs every bit of the sifted product, so God's sifting of us is uncomfortable, painful, even life-shaking. Job is one man I think of when I think of the sifting of a life. Nothing he had was left untouched.

In the New Testament, Jesus refers to Satan asking to sift Peter. Though at first Peter failed the sifting test, Jesus told him that the sifting would eventually work toward him strengthening others (Luke 22:31-32).

Are you being sifted? All kinds of things can serve as sifters, from the normal tensions of work and family life to the unusual stresses of accidents, crimes, natural disasters, disease, unemployment, etc. If you feel like you are being sifted, remember the purpose of the process—to reveal what shouldn't be there so you can deal with it now, and to separate out what is worth preserving.

Peter speaks of the end result of such a purifying and separating process in 1 Peter 1:6-7 (using the metaphor of purifying gold in fire). "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to realize that problems in my life may be part of Your sifting and purifying process in me. Help me to endure so my life will glorify You. Amen.

MORE: Paul Baloche sings "Shaken"





Paul Baloche tells the story of writing the song "Shaken" in this 1.5 minute video.

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

Muscle and snew

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Acts 14:21-15:2

TO CHEW ON: "And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, 'We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.'" Acts 14:21,22

At the beginning of our reading today, Paul was in Derbe. It was practically the only city on this whole trip from which he wasn't run out of town.

But, spiritual father and pastor that he was, nothing could keep him away from his spiritual babies. When retracing his steps back to Antioch (his sending church - Acts 13:1,2) he went through Lystra (where he had been stoned and left for dead - Acts 14:19,20), Iconium (where he had been the object of abuse and near stoning - Acts 14:5,6), and Antioch in Pisidia (where the city leadership had expelled him - Acts 13:50). Would we have been so bold and brave?

On visiting the fledgling congregations he had 'hatched,' he built them up with a blend of realism and optimism. I love how Eugene Peterson puts it in The Message:

"After proclaiming the Message in Derbe and establishing a strong core of disciples, they retraced their steps to Lystra, then Iconium, and then Antioch, putting muscle and sinew in the lives of the disciples, urging them to stick with what they had begun to believe and not quit, making it clear to them that it wouldn’t be easy: 'Anyone signing up for the kingdom of God has to go through plenty of hard times'" - Acts 14:21,22 MSG  (emphasis added).

Jack Hayford interprets this combination of suffering and victory for our time:

"Triumph and victory may characterized the attitude of each citizen of the kingdom of God, and Holy Spirit-empowered authority is given to be applied to realize results. Yet God did not promise life without struggle.

"[…]The Bible teaches that suffering, trial, and all order of human difficulty are unavoidable; but God's Word also teaches that they may all be overcome. The presence of the King and the power of His kingdom in our lives make us neither invulnerable nor immune to life's struggles. But they do bring the promise of victory: provision in need, strength for the day, and healing, comfort, and saving help" - Jack Hayford, "Suffering, Tribulation," New Spirit-Filled Bible, p. 1518 (emphasis added).

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for Paul's example in suffering and tribulation. When problems come my way, help me to shun self pity, instead view them as a means to grow my faith and character. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Joy over opposition

"Paul Preached to the People"
from Treasures of the Bible - Church Age

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Acts 13:32-52

TO CHEW ON: "And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit." Acts 13:52.


The story of Paul's first missionary journey (Acts 12:25-14:28) is a fascinating succession of ups and downs. In today's reading we see some of them.

Paul and Barnabas had reached Antioch in Pisidia. When attending the synagogue, Paul got invited to share his "exhortations for the people" - Acts 13:15. Those ended up being an explanation of the gospel (Acts 13:16-41). His emphasis on the fact that sins could be forgiven on the basis of Jesus and His death and resurrection alone (and not by keeping the law - Acts 13:38,39) was such good news to the Gentiles, they begged Paul to talk specifically to them (Acts 13:42).

Next Sabbath a huge crowd gathered ("almost the whole city"). They were enthusiastic about accepting Paul's message of hope for the Gentiles. Many of them believed (Acts 13:48,49).

But the jealous Jews "stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region" - Acts 13:50.

We would expect Paul and Barnabas to be upset and discouraged by this. Not so! They were "filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit" - Acts 13:52.

What?! It's almost as if the persecution was a signal to them that they were on the right track.

Joy in the face of persecution is a theme that runs through the New Testament.

• Jesus said to expect such treatment for His sake and to "'...rejoice and be exceedingly glad…'" - Matthew 5:11,12, Luke 6:22,23.

• Peter and John considered it an honour to be persecuted for Jesus - Acts 5:41.

• Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns after being beaten in Philippi - Acts 16:23,25.

• Paul taught about being joyful in suffering - Colossians 1:24.

• The writer of Hebrews wrote to readers who "...joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven" - Hebrews 10:34.

• Peter encouraged readers who were in a fiery trial to "...rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings" - 1 Peter 4:12,13.

In our democratic culture where everyone is supposed to have equal rights and can stand up for them, we have the privilege and even feel responsible to stand up for our rights as Christians in the face of unfairness, hassling, put-downs, exclusions etc. (persecution).  When persecution comes we have the feeling, This shouldn't be happening to us. Maybe it's partly our fault in that we've let it happen; we haven't been watchful and outspoken enough.

But I suspect that persecution of Christians will only continue and get worse, even in democratic countries, and even where people are vigilant to do what they can to preserve rights and freedoms. It's time we (at least I) take a more realistic view of persecution, including joy in response to it.

Opposition may even be a backhanded compliment, in that it signifies we're doing something worth opposing.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to be as loyal to You and as willing to joyfully accept persecution as these New Testament people were. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Painfully conformed

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Romans 8:18-39

TO CHEW ON: "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." Romans 8:29

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. -  Romans 8:28

It's likely you have at some time quoted the above to comfort a person who is grieving, reassure the one who is confused, or remind the one who has just suffered a seemingly senseless tragedy that God has things in hand and everything will work out okay. I know I have.

But when we say those comforting words, do we think to add on verse 29? It really is a continuation of the thought and helps to answer the question "Why are these painful things happening?"

The little word "For" at the beginning of verse 29 signals the connection between the two. The verse goes on to state that the "all things" we are experiencing (that are supposedly "working together for good" - Romans 8::28) have a purpose and that purpose is that we, whom God knew before we were ever on the scene would accept Him and be born into His family, will "be conformed" to the image of His Son (Jesus).

The idea of conformity is not an especially attractive one, at least not  to us in our individualistic culture. My Funk and Wagnalls dictionary defines conform: 1] to be or act in accordance; show identity or resemblance; correspond; to conform to a specification; 2] to adhere to conventional behavior; 3] to make the same or similar; 4] to bring into harmony or agreement.

How do we make things conform in life?

• If the thing is made of wood, we carve, mill or sand it. 
• If it is made of plaster or cement we pour it liquid into a mold. 
• It it is metal we heat it until we can hammer or even pour it into the desired shape. 
• If it is a tree or plant we prune it, that is, cut it. 
• If it's a life that God is conforming to the image of Jesus ...?

Perhaps the list of stressors Paul names further on is something we should expect rather than be surprised by as God subjects us to His process of conforming:

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ... Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" - Romans 8:35,37.

PRAYER: Dear God, I know the goal of my life is not my happiness, comfort, ease, prosperity, success or any number of other things I so readily go after. Rather, it is to become like Jesus. Help me to see the painful things that enter my life in the light of this. Amen.

MORE: Handel's Messiah Alert

Words from three verses of today's reading are included in Handel's Messiah. Follow along with the soprano soloist as she sings "If God Be For Us" - Chorus 52 (sung here by the Brisbane Concert Choir).

Lyrics from Romans 8:31, 33, 34:
31. If God be for us, who can be against us? 33. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is at the right hand of God, who makes intercession for us.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

All nations, tribes, peoples and tongues

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Revelation 7:1-17

TO CHEW ON: “After these things I looked, and behold a great multitude, of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!’” Revelation 7:9-10


We have an annual missions emphasis month in our church, which in years past opened with a flag parade. As I watched people march in carrying the national flags from around the world, I invariably got a choke in my throat and tears in my eyes. The verse above always came to mind.

Despite what critics say about Christianity being a religion for only certain races or nations of people (and the rest should hold to their traditional beliefs and customs as a birthright for them and an anthropological curiosity for us), faith in Christ is available for and has been found and claimed by at least some citizens of almost all countries on all earth’s continents. Here John sees this multinational crowd in heaven, praising God and Jesus.

When he asks from where they come, an elder answers, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation.” An end note in my Bible explains about “come out”:

“Literally ‘ones coming out’ a present participle, expressing a continuous and repeated action, not a once-for-all action. This is not a post-consummation picture. Therefore, tribulation is to some degree taking place throughout the entire church age. The great tribulation describes the acceleration and intensification of troublesome times as this age comes to an end, climaxing in the Rapture and Second coming”- Earl Wesley Morey, in the commentary on Revelation, New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 1827.

[The word tribulation used here (thlipsis) is the same one Jesus used to describe our lot on earth in John 16:33. It means pressure, oppression, stress, anguish, tribulation, adversity, affliction, crushing, squashing, squeezing, distress.] 

Though those of us living in free societies may label our treatment by those opposed to Christ as tribulation, books like Tortured for Christ and Kabul 24 give us instances of real tribulation in graphic color. It’s happening right now, and all around the world.

The amazing thing about the tribulation victims pictured in Revelation 7 is that they not only come through such an experience with their faith intact, but full of praise to God. When I hear or read about people living through tribulation, I often ask myself, how would I do? The persevering  power of the gospel illustrated here fills me with hope!  

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Canada where I have freedom to believe and worship according to my conscience. Please be with those who are suffering tribulation now. Help them to have the courage to persevere and hold onto their faith.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
 

Lists for modern ministers

Chalboard list (RGBStock.com photo)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Corinthians 6:1-7:4

TO CHEW ON: "But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God…" 2 Corinthians 6:4

The Bible contains many lists.

Some we love to read and meditate on, like:
- The qualities of God's word - Psalm 19:7-11.
- The benefits of being one of Jesus' sheep - Psalm 23:1-6.
- The characteristics of love - 1 Corinthians 13.
- The fruit of the Spirit - Galatians 5:22-23.

Other lists are negative—things to avoid:
- The works of the flesh - Galatians 5:19-21.
- Life attitudes that will land us in a bad place at the final judgment - Revelation 21:8.

In our reading today we have several more lists:

Paul lists the qualities that he has tried to live out as a minister of the gospel (2 Corinthians 6:4,6):
- patience (endurance).
- purity.
- knowledge
- longsuffering.
- kindness.
- love.

He also lists the experiences he has gone through (2 Corinthians 6:4,5 see also 2 Corinthians 11:22-33):
- tribulation.
- need.
- distress.
- stripes (beatings).
- imprisonment.
- tumult (riots).
- sleeplessness.
- fasting.

He lists the sources of his strength (2 Corinthians 6:6,7):
- the Holy Spirit.
- the word of truth.
- the power of God.
- the armour of righteousness.

Finally, he lists dichotomies (contrasts) that he experiences in his life (2 Corinthians 6:8-10):
- honour and dishonour.
- the subject of evil reports and good reports.
- called a deceiver, yet speaking the truth.
- unknown (obscure) yet well-known.
- dying yet alive.
- chastened yet not killed.
- sorrowful but happy.
- poor yet making many rich.
- having nothing yet possessing all things.

In addition to being a matter of interest, these lists of Paul's can be a benefit to us. How about another list to name some ways:

• They give us a realistic picture of what we signed up for when we accepted Christ and became fellow ministers of the gospel.

• They show us the extremes and contradictions of a life given to God—the bad and the good, the downs and the ups, the reason we can experience joy in the middle of trouble, feel rich even when we're poor in material things.

• When we experience something similar to what Paul did, we are reassured that persecution, trouble, being misunderstood etc. are nothing new; it's what Christians across the millennia have gone through.

• When life is easy and we don't experience any of these things, we know that either the gospel we're presenting has lost something along the way, that we've perverted it so it no longer has the edge that makes it controversial to the world.

or

we're in a blessing bubble that may well burst one of these days, exposing us to the harsh and blessed realities of the Christian life as it has always been.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to take courage from Paul's lists that hard things are not unusual, and that You are with me and in me, taking me through the trials of this life. Amen.
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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Tribulations—bench-presses for the spirit

TODAY'S SPECIAL: John 16:16-33

TO CHEW ON: "These things I have spoken to you that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Given the choice, we would probably pick peace over tribulation. But according to Jesus, those that are "in Me" will have both. For though in Christ we have the peace that comes from knowing our relationship with God is right, until we die, we have no choice but to be "in the world" where we will experience tribulation.

[Tribulation - thilipsis is "pressure, oppression, stress, anguish, tribulation, adversity, affliction, crushing, squashing, squeezing, distress. Imagine placing your hand in a stack of loose items and manually compressing them. That is thilipsis, putting a lot of pressure on that which is free and unfettered. Thilipsis is like spiritual bench-pressing. The word is used of crushing grapes or olives in a press" - Dick Mills, "Word Wealth," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible p. 1474.]

I know there are degrees of tribulation, and that the tribulation we in western nations experience is a fraction of what Christians in some places go through. Yet we do sense it. We find ourselves at odds with our society's beliefs about beginnings (everything just happened by chance versus God creating), of morals and ethics (society's changing consensus versus the Bible's standard) and of what really matters in life (one's happiness versus God's "Well done"). We even find ourselves squeezed and pressed by ourselves: "For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not do .... O wretched man that I am..." Romans 7:15,24.

It's easy to view tribulation as bad and something to be got free from at all costs. But there is another way to look at it. It can be a means to make us vital and strong in the way situps and treadmill running and bench-press exercises strengthen our bodies. Oswald Chambers says:

"Life without war is impossible either in nature or in grace. The basis of physical, mental, moral, and spiritual life is antagonism. This is the open fact of life.

Health is the balance between physical life and external nature, and it is maintained only by sufficient vitality on the inside against things on the outside ....

Morally it is the same. Everything that does not partake of the nature of virtue is the enemy of virtue in me ....

And spiritually it is the same. Jesus said, 'In the world you shall have tribulation.' .... I have to learn to score off the things that come against me, and in that way produce the balance of holiness; then it becomes a delight to meet the opposition" - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, December 4th reading (emphasis added).

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to grow stronger by the way I face the tribulation that comes my way. Amen.

MORE: Tribulation around the world

Persecution.org is a website that disseminates news about the persecution and tribulation experienced by Christians around the world.

The website is an initiative of International Christian Concern which "acts as a bridge between believers in free countries and believers in persecuted countries by sending encouragement, prayers and aid over the bridge while bringing back news, requests and love" (from the "Get the most out of Persecution.org page).

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Coming out of tribulation

Multitude worshiping - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Revelation 7:1-17

TO CHEW ON: " ' These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.' " Revelation 7:14

News, lately, of Christian churches burned, hundreds of school girls from African Christian schools kidnapped, and Christians of all ages beheaded for their faith makes one ask, how much worse can the "great tribulation" be than this?

My Bible's study notes on verse 14 say "This is not a post-consummation picture. Therefore tribulation is to some degree taking place throughout the entire church age" - Earl Wesley Morey, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1827.

Where I live, Christians don't suffer the persecution of outright violence but rather social exclusion, isolation, being left out, ignored, not heard. The leader of one of Canada's political parties announced a few months ago that under him, no candidate with pro-life (anti-abortion) views need apply. Trinity Western University (a local Christian university), seeking to start its own law school has come against opposition from the law societies of several provinces because of the university's charter which sets a biblical moral standard for student life. (The irony is that women on secular campuses feel in danger because of a rash of sexual assaults—but better that, I guess, than a code of conduct!)

Persecution of any kind feels bad. When I read about the "great persecution" ("The great persecution describes the acceleration and intensification of troublesome times as this Age comes to an end climaxing with the Rapture and Second Coming" - Ibid), I don't jump up and down exclaiming "I can hardly wait!" Instead I pray for peace, harmony, and favor for Christians in my land and all over the earth.

But God's plan will unfold, and here we get a glimpse behind the curtain of such ostracisms,  burnings, beheadings, and tortures. It's a picture of joy, victory, praise, worship, and thanksgiving:

"… a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!' " - Revelation 7:9,10.

So let's keep this triumphant scene in mind as we pray for those being persecuted and face our society's increasing animosity for holding onto Bible-based convictions.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for this scene of victory and overcoming. Help me to remember this final triumph when I feel discouraged about the world's rejection of You and Your church. Amen.

MORE: All Saints Day

Today the church celebrates All Saints Day. The day's liturgy begins with this prayer:

"Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen."

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

In a time of trouble

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Daniel 12:1-13


TO CHEW ON:"...And there shall be a time of trouble,

Such as never was since there was a nation..." Daniel 12:1

"Times of trouble" run through the Bible. They relate often to the Israelite nation and come as the consequence of abandoning Yahweh for idols. Such trouble in the form of the nation being displaced and distressed was Moses' warning way back in Deuteronomy as a consequence of turning from the worship of God to idols (Deuteronomy 4:30-31).

Jesus referred often to trouble-filled days.

• He told about the trouble that comes to all of us in the course of life and how the foundation we choose will determine whether our life-house will withstand the storms of circumstances or be battered apart by them (Matthew 7:24-28).

• In His story about the sower and the seed, tribulation and trouble destroyed the faith of the believer who was only shallowly rooted in the God's word (Matthew 13:20-21).

• He also talked about end-time tribulation, referring specifically to Daniel's prophecy (Matthew 24:15). He described this trouble as a time of emergency, terror, flight, and life-snuffing ferocity (Matthew 24:15-22).

• Jesus described these end-time troubles as "birth pains" - Matthew 24:8 NLT. We know how a mother's contractions accelerate as the birth of the baby nears, until the little one is finally delivered. That's how Jesus describes the  troubles on earth as they crescendo until "the end" - Matthew 24:14.

It's easy to feel we're in the middle of those birth pains. As I write, Earth is staggering under numerous political, humanitarian, and health crises. There is war in the Middle East as ISIS terrorists overrun Syria and Iraq, while thousands flee. Rocket fights between Hamas and Israel keep erupting. In African whole classrooms of girls are still being held captive by terrorist groups.  Tensions between Russia and Ukraine mount daily. Thousands in West Africa are dying from the ebola virus. There is unrest in Hong Kong as China restricts their democracy.

Let's take to heart Jesus' words of advice for such trouble-filled times:

• Don't be deceived - Matthew 24:4
• "Be ready..." Matthew 24:44.
• "Endure to the end" - Matthew 24:13.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I don't like to contemplate trouble. But when I view it through the lens of Your word, I see that it shouldn't surprise or confuse me. Help me to live alert and prepared through trouble-filled times. Amen.

MORE: Today is the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels

Michael is the archangel who Daniel describes in our reading as "The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people." Find out more about the archangel Michael here.

The liturgy for the Feast of st. Michael and All Angels begins with this collect:

"Everlasting God, you have ordained and constituted in a wonderful order the ministries of angels and mortals: Mercifully grant that, as your holy angels always serve and worship you in heaven, so by your appointment they may help and defend us here on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Spiritual tests

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 17:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "You have tested my heart…" - Psalm 17:3


We're not told exactly what kind of a test David was facing here, but he is definitely in some kind of a dilemma. The beginning of his prayer ("Hear a just cause, O Lord…") sounds a little bit like the preamble of a lawyer setting out to convince God of the rightness of his case.

He asks God to vindicate him (Psalm 17:2). [Vindicate: to clear of accusation, censure, suspicion, to support, justify set free, rescue.] He needs protection (Psalm 17:8). His foe is cunning and sneaky as a hunting lion, and he needs a stronger warrior, more skilled than he is, to fight for him (Psalm 17:11-13). He recognizes that this experience is a spiritual test: "You have tested my heart…" (Psalm 17:3).

Spiritual tests can come in many ways. Sometimes God tests us:

• By asking for a great sacrifice. He tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son Isaac (Genesis 22:1,2).

• By leading in a difficult way. Moses reminded the Israelites that their wilderness journey was a test (Deuteronomy 8:2).

• By giving choices. Solomon's dream, where God asked him "'What shall I give you?'" was a test (1 Kings 3:5).

• By proposing hard tasks. "'Where shall we buy bread that these may eat?'" Jesus asked Philip. "But this He said to test him" (John 6:5-6).

• By permitting temptation—for it is a test of faith that, if passed, produces good results (James 1:2).

Have I, have you considered that the difficult circumstances we're facing right now, or the sacrifices we're being asked to make, or the choices we're contemplating, or the hard tasks ahead of us, or the temptations all around us might be spiritual tests? As we recognize what's going on, we can rally our defenses. First and most important we can call on God for His presence, protection, and help, like David did here.


PRAYER: Dear God "Uphold my steps…. hear me, O God … Show Your marvelous lovingkindness … Keep me … Hide me… Arise O Lord" (Psalm 17:5-8,13). Help me to pass this spiritual test. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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What kind of clay are you?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Jeremiah 18:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "And they said, 'This is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart.'" Jeremiah 18:12

God tells Jeremiah to go to the potter's shop to get a message from Him.  There Jeremiah sees the potter forming a pot. When the clay doesn't cooperate and the thing he's attempting to make is marred, the potter doesn't give up. Instead he makes something else.

Though the potter is capable of forming all kinds of pots, his skill isn't the only variable in making pots. My Bible's commentary says: "What the potter makes depends on the quality of the clay; what God makes of His people depends on their response." Roy Edmund Hayden, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 985.

What makes good clay for forming pots? An article about the characteristics of good throwing clay names three things that determine how useful a clay will be to a potter:

• Plasticity: "Without a very high level of flexibility the clay simply won't be workable on the wheel."

• Strength: "Throwing clays must … retain enough strength to stand upright when thrown into thin-walled, tall forms."

• Water absorption: "Clay absorbs water while it is being formed on the potter's wheel, which is why the longer a clay is worked on the wheel, the softer it becomes. Water absorption, then, can become a problem."

If we continue on with the metaphor of our lives as potter's clay, we might say that our lives also need to be

Plastic or moldable:
"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye. Do not be like the horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you." - Psalm 32:8,9.
See also  Romans 12:1.

Strong:
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might…" Ephesians 6:10,11.
"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit." - Romans 8:5.
See also Romans 6:12-13

Able to absorb water: I would compare this to how we are softened and changed by tests and trials, yet not overcome by them:
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword? Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" - Romans 8:35,37.
See also Romans 5:3-5.

Our commenter continues:


 "As the quality of the clay limits what the potter can do with it, so the quality of a people limits what God will do with it."

If you and I are feeling as dizzy and confused about what God is doing with us as a lump of clay on a potter's wheel, instead of declaring, like the people of Jeremiah's time: "This is hopeless. We will walk according to our own plans…" and jumping off, let's stay put. And let's work on improving the quality of our clay, so our Potter can complete the useful thing He has in mind:

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do" - Ephesians 2:10.


PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to be good clay in Your hands, willing to take whatever shape You can use. Amen.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

Treasure in earthy containers

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Corinthians 4:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." 2 Corinthians 4:7

Some months ago a pastor at my church, when speaking on this passage, related an old custom. Apparently it was common in Bible times to hide valuables—jewelry and money—in clay jars to keep them safe from thieves. Of course, if the neck of the jar was small, the treasures were also then in safekeeping from their owners. The owner would have to break the jar to retrieve his or her valuables.

This homey illustration fits on several levels with Paul's statement here. If we are indeed the vessels that hold the precious treasure of the "life of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:11):

• Such glory is well camouflaged in our earthy holders, with their common and deteriorating exteriors.

• It is often when we are broken that the glory of the treasure is seen most startlingly. Who of us hasn't marveled at the grace of God that shines through saints—old and young—when a life is fully surrendered (even the bad bits) to God?

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to be a good treasure-holder. But may it not take breaking to let Your glory shine in and through me. Amen.

MORE: Grace habits

"We have to form habits to express what God's grace has done in us. It is not a question of being saved from hell, but of being saved in order to manifest the life of the Son of God in our mortal flesh, and it is the disagreeable things which make us exhibit whether or not we are manifesting His life. Do I manifest the essential sweetness of the Son of God, or the essential irritation of 'myself' apart from Him? - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, May 14 reading (emphasis added).

Cleansed and refined

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Malachi 3:1-12

TO CHEW ON: "But who can endure the day of His coming?
And who can stand when He appears?
For He is like a refiner's fire
And like launderers' soap." Malachi 3:2

I wonder how the "day of His coming" will find us, will find me? Living, as we do, in a time when God is portrayed and viewed as more like us than different, will we too be shocked, speechless, struck down with awe and fear when He appears?

The images of God here are of soap and fire. Pictures of God cleansing and refining run through the Bible.

Cleansing / Washing:

• Naaman had to dip his leprous body in the Jordan River the prescribed number of times to be cleansed (2 Kings 5:10).

• God invites us to come to Him for cleansing from our sin (Isaiah 1:18) and idols (Ezekiel 36:25).

• New Testament writers remind us over and over that Jesus' blood cleanses us from our sin and sinful human condition (1 John 1:7; Hebrews 9:14; Titus 3:5).

Purifying / Refining:

• Job testified to God's purifying motive through his calamity and illness (Job 23:10).

• Testing is a sign of God's love and parenthood (Proverbs 3:12).

• Purifying may come through the difficult circumstances of life. Isaiah called these the "furnace of affliction" (Isaiah 48:10) and Peter the "fiery trial" (1 Peter 4:12).

• Testing serves to drive us to God and bond us in loyalty to Him as His people (Zechariah 13:9).

• Its end result is praise, honour and glory "at the revelation of Jesus" (1 Peter 1:7).

Isn't that last reference interesting! For instead of being fearful at His coming, if we have been cleansed and purified during our life on earth, His coming can be a time of anticipation, praise, honour, and glory.

Let's not be taken off guard at the trials that come our way, for they serve to ready us for His coming. I appreciate the light in which Leslyn Musch casts these verses in my Bible's commentary:

"In great mercy Jesus comes to us as the refiner and purifier of His people. It is a precious expression of His grace that He does not leave us in our sin, but promises to cleanse us. Today when you sense the conviction of the Holy Spirit, respond with repentance. Allow the Lord to purify you" - Leslyn Musch, Truth-In-Action Through Malachi, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1274.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to feel and know Your love through painful times of cleansing, purifying and refining

MORE: "...hemmed in with troubles"?

"There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!"  - Romans 5:3-5 (The Message)

Handel's Messiah Alert: Readers familiar with Handel's Messiah will probably recognize words from Malachi in that music. Handel used Malachi 3:1-3 in three of his choruses:

• Chorus 5 - "For Thus Saith the Lord of Hosts" (which also contains words from Haggai 2:6-7)

• Chorus 6 - "But Who May Abide the Day of His Coming?"

• Chorus 7 - "And He Shall Purify the Sons of Levi"