Refining Silver

Lisa sent me this article from John Ritter's website:

Refining Silver- Author Unknown

REFINING AND PURIFYING SILVER- 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 silver was being refined. 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.

http://www.knowjesus.com/Encourage_refine.shtml

What do you think about me?

Last night Ricky spoke about "Learning Humbly." While his topics stretched from ants to the cosmos (to the mysterious acoustic drum box) I pulled one question from his message that I think I'm really going to dissect this week.

"Who do you say I am?"

I requested that we think about it. What do you say about yourself? What does the world say about you? The devil? Most importantly, God?

The world seemed easiest, because I could break it down into categories:

• Family
• Friends
• Professors
• Employees
• Strangers
• The media

Its interesting how all of those people might say something different about me. While my friends might say, "passionate and romantical" the media might say, "better with Covergirl concealer."

The devil is another easy one, he sees me as his prey. He wants to explore every weakness of my being and let me know that I am worthless, unlovely and hopeless.

Its funny, because when thinking about how I think about myself, the devil likes to slip in little asides. One minute I'll be thinking about how lucky I am to have such a great family, supportive friends and wonderful opportunities...and then a thought like "but I'm not good enough because I'm single," and like dominoes that whole list of good things will go toppling down.

Its really important that we, as Christians walking in victory through Jesus Christ, to be able to assess those thoughts (my Dad has always called it "stinking thinking") and rebuke them as lies.

This is why its so important to know what God thinks about us. Here are a few truths to start with:

• We (you, I) are children of God... "But to all who have received him--those who believe in his name--he has given the right to become God's children" John 1:12
• W (you, I) have been justified and redeemed... "But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." Romans 3:24
• We (you, I) are not living under condemnation... "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1
• We (you, I) are fellow heirs with Christ... "And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ)--if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him."Romans 8:17
• We (you, I) are triumphant and victorious in all things... "But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and who makes known through us the fragrance that consists of the knowledge of him in every place" 2 Corinthians 2:14
• We (you, I) are blessed... "Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ." Ephesians 1:3
• We (you, I) are created to do good works... "For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them" Ephesians 2:10
• We (you, I) are LOVED... "We know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you." 1 Thessalonians 1:4

This is just a small list of who we are in Christ and how God feels about us. Scripture is littered (minus the negative connotation) with scriptures like these!

So guys, this week be challenged to ask God what he thinks about you. Pray that God will show you in a very personal way, from scripture to a billboard sign you pass every day on the way to work. You will be surprised what you find out.

- Anna

Zephaniah 3:17

^"17 For the Lord your God is living among you.
He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears.
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

Rest assured this week that someone really cherishes you.

30 Days – Not That Much Time

If you only had one month to live, what would you do with your time, energy, and the things God has given you? That is the current topic of discussion right now each week at Fusion. I know for me it has changed the way I am thinking about life and the choices I make. The idea is that if you truly had one month to live, what would you do differently, and why are you not doing that now.

It is really inspiring and thought provoking to think about it. So far I have been challenged to rethink some priorities I have and to focus more on the relationships I have in life. I have a wife and 3 month old baby, and I only had 30 days before they would be without me I can assure you that I would be spending more time with them. I have enjoyed letting God take this time to work on me and help me to focus on the most important things in life. The things that will have a lasting impact.

This week Anna Williams gave a very challenging message about living out of the things that we are passionate about. God really convicted me of two things that I am not doing that I should be doing. Other than spending time with my family, I believe God wants me to pursue two other things I am passionate about: music and writing.

It is funny that God did that last night because I just recently started playing my bass guitar again after letting it sit in its case for many months. This week I got it out and dusted it off and played a little bit, and now God is really giving me the passion to start playing again. On top of that I have felt for quite a while that God has given me the ability to write and express what God is doing in my life through writing.

So today is the day I am trying to work these things out and make them a reality. I am about to meet with two other guys from the Fusion band to work on writing some songs God has put in our hearts (so be looking for some new songs soon). ☺ I am excited that God is really helping me to refocus my life and helping me to pursue the passions he has put in me.

Let God work on your heart, let Him refocus your life so that you can also experience the abundant life He has for you. Living for God is the best decision you will ever make, He has created you will passions that He wants you to pursue and develop. Don’t waste the things He has put in you. Today is the day you should pursue the things you want to accomplish, because we never know how much time we have here on earth.

- Richie

(Richie Lord is Fusion's head pastor and go-to guy. His golden beard is a testament to his wisdom and experience that comes to 5+ with the Park Avenue ministry.)

(Photo cred goes to Danielle Becker. Go Danielle Becker!)