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Trials Purify Our Faith~Part Two

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Let’s look at Peter’s purifying trial. In Luke 22:31, Jesus told Peter that satan desired to sift him as wheat. Chilling words. Then Jesus assured him in verse 32. Jesus said, “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

Jesus’ words indicated to Peter that he would leave Jesus. Yet in verse 33 Peter boldly proclaimed, “…Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.”

Three times in the following verses Peter denied that he knew Jesus. How does our faith deny the Lord? One way is when we turn to our flesh. Galatians 5:16 is a command. “…Walk in the Spirit…”

Crucible. Refiner’s fire. Trial. Test. The words are synonymous with loss. 1 Corinthians 3:13 says, “…the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.” Trials often expose and reveal what was formerly hidden from our conscious mind.

Sing A New Song! Part Two

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For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples, Give to the Lord glory and strength. Give to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come into His courts. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns; The world also is firmly established, It shall not be moved; He shall judge the peoples righteously.”

Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the Lord. For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth.”

The Path Of Humility Is Strewn With Grace

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How is the path you are walking on? Proverbs 13:15 Amplified says, “Good understanding wins favor, but the way of the transgressor is hard (like the barren, dry soil or the impassable swamp).”

Here is the result of humility or pride. Proverbs 10:17 Amplified says, “He who heeds instruction and correction is (not only himself) in the way of life (but also) is a way of life for others. And he who neglects or refuses reproof (not only himself) goes astray (but also) causes to error and is a path toward ruin for others.”

What derails us? Our pride! I love James 3:13 in the Amplified. It says, “Who is there among you who is wise and intelligent? Then let him by his noble living show forth his (good) works with the (unobtrusive) humility (which is the proper attribute) of true wisdom.” The moment we fall into pride, we walk away from grace-provision.

The Power Of Crying Out~Part Two

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We cry out because we have One who always hears. Psalm 16:6 says, “I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God…” Psalm 34:17 says, “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.”

In Psalm 55:17, David wrote, “Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice.” Psalm 18:6 says, “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears.”

I love these verses. Crying out comes from a heart that knows unless the Lord intervenes, there is no hope. Psalm 61:1 says, “Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You…” Are you in desperate straits? Cry out! We demonstrate where our trust is when we cry out.

God’sWay

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This is my online devotional that I write for once a month. We have many writers, so if you would like to receive these, the subscription link is at the bottom ~ Marilyn

GOD’S WAY TO PROTECT OUR HEARTS

APRIL 19 2024, WRITTEN BY MARILYN ADAMS

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.PROVERBS 4:23What happens when we fail to vigilantly guard our hearts? Here is a comparison from my own life. I had a medical condition called a leaky gut. It occurred when I was unknowingly exposed to live mold spores in my home. God created a thin barrier in our guts to prevent foreign things from getting into our bloodstream. When pathogens, viruses, or in my case environmental toxins, tear holes in that lining, harmful substances leak out. That creates a plethora of diseases.Now correlate that with our hearts. God created our hearts to hold truths from his word through meditating and memorizing. The enemy seeks to tear holes in our hearts so that they are no longer sealed with a barrier of truth.

Ephesians 6:16-17 tells us how to prevent the devil from gaining entrance to our hearts. It says, “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” The destructive hidden pathogens of unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment, hatred, etc. tear holes in our hearts’ lining that affect our spiritual health.

All fiery darts are lies. If we allow them to penetrate our minds, they will set up an inner stronghold. Then the battle no longer comes from the outside, but from within our hearts.Hiding God’s word in our hearts puts holes in those inner strongholds of Satan, to weaken them. The truth we inculcate through memorizing and meditating on Scripture, causes the foundation of those strongholds to crumble.

Dear Lord, I am so grateful that you have given me your hidden word to defeat the evil designs against my faith. Thank you for giving me a powerful tool through memorizing and meditating. I love your way of effectively building strong protective barriers in my heart!

Today’s challenge: If you are not already memorizing and meditating on scripture regularly, why not start? Many people find music helps – simply search “Scripture Memory Songs” and you’ll find many online. Or download a Bible memory app. Again, you will find a number to choose from.

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Removing Weed Seeds

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I had a back field behind my house. It was full of thistles, and weeds of every sort. The weed seeds would blow into my vegetable and flower beds. They were a constant nuisance.

Nuisance definition: something that invades or interferes with another’s rights or interests (as the use or enjoyment of property) by being offensive, annoying, dangerous, obstructive, or unhealthful. Great definition for weed seed thoughts.

Internal strongholds that oppose God’s will and ways continually propagate weed seeds. These are rogue thoughts that invade and obstruct our view of ourselves through God’s truth. Scripture is our strategic weapon. 2 Corinthians 10:4 says, “For the weapons of our warfare are…mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.”

Verse 5 says, “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” Weed-seed-lies are ‘high things’ planted to distract us from our faith in God alone.

Faith: Key To Endurance

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The Greek word for endurance is hupomone. Strong’s definition: constancy, perseverance, continuance, bearing up, steadfastness, holding out. Note in my Bible. It describes the capacity to continue to bear up under difficult circumstances, not with a passive complacency, but with a hopeful fortitude that actively resists weariness and defeat.

Faith in God is the key to endurance. Endurance clings to the Lord in barnacle faith ~ allowing nothing to shake or uproot it. I love Psalm 63:8 in the Amplified. It says, “My whole being follows hard after You and clings closely to You; Your right hand upholds me.”

Thanksgiving is the fertilizer to our faith rooted in love. Ephesians 3:17 says, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love.” 

Meditating in God’s word sends our roots deep into the river of God. Psalm 1:3 says it, “…brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”

Faith: Rooted In The Soil Of Truth

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Faith is aligning our heart’s belief with God’s will and ways. That is the work of righteousness. Isaiah 32:17 says, “The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.”

The work of righteousness in our trials looks like Romans 5:3 Amplified. It says, “Moreover (let us also be full of joy now!) let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.” Experiential knowledge comes from tried faith ~ purified in previous fiery trials.

Every trial is strategically designed for our faith’s purification. The intensity of the heat drives the hidden dross to the surface. Dross: hidden fiery dart lies, unforgiveness, resentments, offenses, negative ruts that our mind gets trapped in, etc. Dross is fallow ground in the soil of our lives. It cannot bear fruit for His glory. 

Throne Room Scenes~Part One

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I love to think about the scenes in Revelation 4. When I had carpet replaced in an old mobile that I bought, I chose emerald green. I wanted to be reminded of the emerald like rainbow around His throne each time I vacuumed. 

All throughout Revelation John used like, then gave a description. Verse 1 says that a voice came that sounded like a trumpet. I recently attended a brass concert at our church. I can’t imagine distinguishing words coming out of a trumpet. 

Next John described the Lord’s appearance as jasper and sardius. Regarding New Jerusalem, Revelation 21:18 says, “The construction of the wall was of jasper…” Jasper was brilliant and transparent. 

Verse 5 reminds me of when God was on the mountain and it thundered. It says, “And from the throne proceeded lightning, thunderings, and voices…” Picture this in verse 6. It says that in front of the throne was a sea of glass, like crystal.

Throne Room Prayers~Part Two

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Let’s go back to the parable. The publican came in humility. Luke 18:13 says that he didn’t even lift up his head. He said, “…God, be merciful to me a sinner!” Verse 14 was Jesus’ words. “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified…who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

I love Psalm 63:1. I imagine David in the throne room. It says, “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.”

Psalm 55 is another David-psalm. Verse 17-18 says, “Evening and morning and noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice. He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me.” Let’s go into the throne room and spend time with the Giver of Grace.