1 Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it tested with fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
We've been in full-time ministry just over 20 years now, and boy, have we had our share of trials and tribulations!
Sometimes when we are in the midst of trials we start to wonder -- Lord, will it ever end? In case you haven't noticed, it doesn't. But the good news is that with each faith-testing experience, our ability to deal with these trials and tribulations becomes better and our faith grows stronger!
In this scripture, God compares our faith to a most precious and beautiful metal -- gold. But when mined, this precious metal doesn't look very precious! It's dirty looking and black. How does gold become beautiful? A refiner takes the gold and carefully melts it in a melting pot -- slowly raising the temperature -- but never to the point where it boils. As it melts, slowly the impurities rise to the surface and he will scoop away the dross leaving a beautiful pot of gold, ready to become your next ring or bracelet. Here's the amazing part. The refiner knows his job is done when he can look into the melting pot and see a reflection of himself.
The only way gold will become more precious is when it's placed on the fire! In the same way, the impurities of our lives must be exposed to the fire so that the Lord can scoop up the filth that shows itself when we get hot!! Notice, though, that He'll never allow us to boil! And then, when it's all said and done, He can look upon us and see the beauty of His reflection!
Let's not despise the trials we're facing today -- on the contrary, let's embrace them! The Lord is using these things to prepare us to do great things for Him! Respond to the Lord today by saying what do you want me to learn from this today, Lord? And watch how the Lord blesses you through the fire!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]There is an old Persian fable of a hen, a mouse, and a rabbit who lived together in a little house in the woods. They shared all the work and lived in harmony. The chicken found the firewood, the mouse brought the water from a nearby brook, and the rabbit cooked the meals. Each did his work faithfully and contentedly.
In the most extreme moment of his life, when his entire household was threatened with annihilation, the Patriarch Jacob wrestled with a Man through an entire sleepless night. Somehow, after this astounding encounter, Jacob came to the realization that he had been wrestling with God, and face to face! Once again, the Lord God of heaven showed Himself as a human being to a man He loved; this time, for the purpose of rescuing, blessing, and preserving the man’s destiny.
The second great awakening took place around 1790 until the 1840s. This movement saw ‘circuit riders’, traveling preachers who spread the Gospel to the edges of the frontier, affecting the growing American populace. Camp meetings in rural areas outside the traditional church with the primary focus of soul winning, were like “brushfires” of the Holy Spirit, attracting people for miles.
Tonight begins the Biblical feast of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) throughout the world! Roughly 2500 years ago, there was a special Sukkot celebration in Jerusalem. The people of Israel were exiled and dispersed all across the Babylonian empire. Later, they were given the right to return and start construction on the 2nd temple of Israel. Nehemiah 8 speaks of the special celebration that happened at that time. We read how Ezra taught the people out of the book of the law and how they responded in weeping and repentance before the God of Israel.
As I’ve been writing about the "great awakenings" that took place over the past few days. I believe we could be witnessing such a move of God.
In laymen’s terms, the difference between a ‘revival’ and an ‘awakening’ is simply that moves of God transcend denominations and sects. While various ‘denominations’ have revivals at times, an ‘awakening’ shakes the body of Christ across denominational boundaries in spite of their differences.
In the early 1700s, the western world including the United States, was being swept under the influence of a philosophical and cultural movement known as the Age of Enlightenment, also called the Age of Reason. At this critical time in history, the First Great Awakening was birthed by the Lord in the American colonies of the “New World”. Led by preachers such as Jonathan Edwards and George Whitfield, a spiritual renewal took place which became a unifiying cultural foundation for the American Revolutionary War, which began in the late 1770s.
For those who have been following us, we have been ‘re-deployed’ to the United States at this pivotal moment in history. For those who know me personally, my heart is for revival and for preparing the Bride of Messiah to meet her Creator.