Thanks to Facebook, I have reconnected with long-lost friends around the world and down the street. You know how it goes--you read their posts, maybe comment, and go on to the next obscure comment about children's bodily functions. And thus, we feel like we're doing our part as a "friend".
I'm going to share a bit today about my friend Bill (not his name, I told him I wouldn't post his name), and how God has used social networking to reconnect us.
Bill and I met in college. I was a junior and he was a freshman. Over the course of that year, we spent time eating, walking, and praying together. We never dated, but developed a great friendship. I look back on that time fondly. Bill decided to attend a satellite campus on the east coast the next year, but we stayed in touch through email and IM (no Facebook in the last century). A few weeks into the term, Bill came out of the closet and left school. I was devestated. For some reason, we lost contact for a few years, before I found him on MySpace. We reconnected for a few months, then it was years before I heard from him again, this time on Facebook. By this time, he had lived a pretty wild life and was HIV positive. My heart broke for him.
You see, even though we hadn't had contact for several years, I never ceased to pray for him. I knew that God, in His omniscience, knew exactly where Bill was, knew what Bill needed. I prayed for godly people to come into Bill's life. I prayed for opportunity to witness to Bill, to encourage him. I've not always gotten it right, but something is happening.
I hadn't talked with Bill on the phone for over five years. So, imagine my surprise when my voicemail has a message from Bill a few months ago. I stopped in my tracks, tears streaming, because Bill is beginning to seek peace in the Lord. Thirteen years of prayer, now being answered. Not overnight, because I know Bill is still seeking, but now has hope. We've not connected yet, but I anticipate that day. So much more can be said by voice than by Facebook.
So, my point today is this: what have you been praying for, maybe for years, though it seems that the prayers are falling short of God's ears? Don't give up! God is working even when we can't see it. Our response to that is called faith. Keep praying, friends. You never know when God is going to knock your socks off.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Saturday, September 03, 2011
Refined
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith--morerecious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. I Peter 1:6, 7 (ESV)
A couple of weeks ago, I shared that I had texted something in anger and frustration that caused a rift with a friend. I'd like to say this rift has been healed. It hasn't, but something better has been happening. I'm being refined.
We've all heard, said, and sang about being refined. But, do we know what it means to be refined? If you've been in church any length of time, you probably have heard that refining means "to make pure." That is true. Bur do we know what that means?
I didn't, so I did some research. I found two methods used to refine gold, one ancient and one more modern. The ancient method I found was mainly used to separate gold from silver (the two metals were often found together in an alloy called electrum). It is this method that caught my eye. The nuggets are placed in a clay crucible, along with clay dust and (get this) salt. The crucible is covered and placed in a furnace, which has been heated to 1112-1472 degrees farenheit. After several hours (up to a whole day!) the crucible is removed, uncovered, and the resulting silver chloride and other impurities are removed, leaving behind gold, which is then hammered into sheets. The process can be repeated for more purification.
In the modern version, the a chemical called aqua regia is added to the gold. This causes a reaction that separates impurities from the gold in a liquid suspension which is filtered. There are many steps to this process, and it creates toxic fumes. This method can be used in the melting of scrap gold, such as jewlery.
Did you catch that? Refining is an on-going process. As gold is not refined in a day, neither are we. Our sanctification (being made holy) is an ONGOING process.
It involves separation from impurities.
It involves being hammered.
Sometimes, the process causes toxic fumes. The impurities in our lives come to the surface. They are revealed, not only to us, but to those around us.
But the good news is this: while our refining is an on-going process, the end result is someone beautiful, someone pure, someone who has been made holy and can worship IN THE PRESENCE of a holy God. The God who created us, knowing we would struggle, stumble, and sin. The perfect God who sent His perfect Son to redeem an imperfect people. The loving God who gives us the Holy Spirit as our refiner.
Father, while the refining process is often painful, while it is sometimes hard and tedious, while it requires sifting and steadfastness, I am thankful that you are patient. You reveal impurities and refine me into someone holy through the blood of Christ.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
A couple of weeks ago, I shared that I had texted something in anger and frustration that caused a rift with a friend. I'd like to say this rift has been healed. It hasn't, but something better has been happening. I'm being refined.
We've all heard, said, and sang about being refined. But, do we know what it means to be refined? If you've been in church any length of time, you probably have heard that refining means "to make pure." That is true. Bur do we know what that means?
I didn't, so I did some research. I found two methods used to refine gold, one ancient and one more modern. The ancient method I found was mainly used to separate gold from silver (the two metals were often found together in an alloy called electrum). It is this method that caught my eye. The nuggets are placed in a clay crucible, along with clay dust and (get this) salt. The crucible is covered and placed in a furnace, which has been heated to 1112-1472 degrees farenheit. After several hours (up to a whole day!) the crucible is removed, uncovered, and the resulting silver chloride and other impurities are removed, leaving behind gold, which is then hammered into sheets. The process can be repeated for more purification.
In the modern version, the a chemical called aqua regia is added to the gold. This causes a reaction that separates impurities from the gold in a liquid suspension which is filtered. There are many steps to this process, and it creates toxic fumes. This method can be used in the melting of scrap gold, such as jewlery.
Did you catch that? Refining is an on-going process. As gold is not refined in a day, neither are we. Our sanctification (being made holy) is an ONGOING process.
It involves separation from impurities.
It involves being hammered.
Sometimes, the process causes toxic fumes. The impurities in our lives come to the surface. They are revealed, not only to us, but to those around us.
But the good news is this: while our refining is an on-going process, the end result is someone beautiful, someone pure, someone who has been made holy and can worship IN THE PRESENCE of a holy God. The God who created us, knowing we would struggle, stumble, and sin. The perfect God who sent His perfect Son to redeem an imperfect people. The loving God who gives us the Holy Spirit as our refiner.
Father, while the refining process is often painful, while it is sometimes hard and tedious, while it requires sifting and steadfastness, I am thankful that you are patient. You reveal impurities and refine me into someone holy through the blood of Christ.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)