But he knows the pathway that I take; if he tested me, I would come forth like gold. — Job 23:10 NET

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But he knows the pathway that I take; if he tested me, I would come forth like gold. — Job 23:10 NET

What a purifying effect experience of trial produces; what a separation it makes of the dross from the ore! If a man has a grain of faith in his soul, trial will discover it; if he has a particle of living hope, temptation will bring it to light; if he has a grain of love, trial will extract it from the ore; if he has any patience, any humility, any fear of God, any desire to be right, any dread to be wrong, any honesty, any sincerity, any integrity, in a word, if he has any vital power in his soul, anything of the grace of God in his heart, trial will make it manifest, as the hot flame of the furnace, acting upon the crucible, manifests the gold by breaking up its alliance with the dross. You scarcely know whether you are a believer or an unbeliever until you pass through trial. You do not know what the nature of faith is as a divine gift and a spiritual grace, unless you have passed through this fiery trial. You do not know the worthlessness of creature religion, the emptiness of everything in SELF, until you have been put into the furnace of trial.

We are tempted sometimes, perhaps, to doubt the truth of the Scriptures, the Deity of Christ, the efficacy of his atonement, and many things which I will not even hint at in your ears lest I unwittingly sow infidel seeds in your heart. Now when we are thus exercised, trial as a fire burns up everything that stands in the wisdom and strength of the creature, and brings us to this point, that nothing but that which is of God in the soul can live in the flame. If, then, we find there is that in our heart which lives in the flame, that there is a faith which trial cannot burn up, a hope it cannot destroy, a love it cannot consume, a fear of God which it cannot conquer, then we see there is that in our heart which is like pure gold in the midst of the dross, and can say in some measure with Job, “When he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”

God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord

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“God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:9

When God calls his people by his grace, it is to make them partakers of the highest bliss and the greatest glory that he could confer upon the sons of men. And this not only in eternity, but in time; not only beyond, but this side of the grave. He appeals, therefore, to them by his prophet. “Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness?” (Jer. 2:31.) When the Lord calls his people out of earthly pleasures, is it for no other purpose than to lead them into paths of affliction and sorrow? Does he make them leave the fleshpots of Egypt to starve them in a waste howling wilderness? This was the complaint of the ancient murmurers, that Moses had brought them up out of Egypt to kill them with thirst (Exod. 17:3). Does he take them from earthly delights to abandon them to misery and despair? O no! He calls them even in this time state to the greatest privilege and highest favour that his everlasting love could confer upon them, which is no less than “the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,” that they may have union and communion with the Son of God by grace here, and be partakers of his glory hereafter. God’s dear Son is and always has been the object of his eternal delight. To glorify him has been from all eternity his fixed, his settled purpose; and in pursuance of this settled purpose, he gave him a people whom he formed for himself, that they might shew forth his praise. Thus, therefore, the Redeemer addressed his heavenly Father–“And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.”

Prickly People

Hebrews 10:23-25 (NLT) Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

We have a local outlet store here in the county that I often spend my Fridays wandering through. It is a hit or miss kind of place with everything imaginable. On a recent venture, I found a picture of a cactus in pastel colors with “Wanna hug?” written on it. It made me think of our youngest daughter and matched her room perfectly. Well worth the $4 I spent on it. She proudly displays it on her wall. She is my sour patch kid both sweet and sour all at the same time. With a huge heart, her prickly exterior often gives the wrong impression. Do you know people like that? When your first impression is totally wrong, and you must get to know them to see how genuine and kind they really are. God warns about appearance. (I Samuel 16:7) Jesus said, “Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.” (John 7:24) In a world of filters and social media altered images, it is human nature to make immediate assumptions based on what a person projects especially prickly people. They seem aloof and not interested in close interaction but really they are all soft inside just waiting for someone to dare to get closer.

I find it quite interesting that in Hebrews 10 immediately after instructing us to “hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His Promise” that Paul then says, “Let us think of ways to motivate each other to acts of love and good works…” and then goes on to talk about meeting together, encouraging each other and the urgency of it. I didn’t expect that, did you? It comes before verse 26 that tells us to stop sinning. What? God is love. The sin in our life is secondary to love. Don’t get mad at me because you have mastered religion but minored in relationship. I am just as guilty. It is much easier to live a life of bondage to rules and regulations. It is habit forming and there is a potential pull of self-discipline that makes us feel like we have a leg up on this whole Christianity thing. Our pride entices us to believe that our ability to follow Christ and His Commands somehow entitles us to grace. This is just not true. We must learn to love Him and through Him love EVERYONE else. If we do not love…we missed it. Our first relationship is with Jesus Christ who gives us full access to the Father. After that, we must learn to love one another. Not defined by preference and personal space, but with the same embrace as that of hope. Gulp! This is a tough one. People are prickly.

I John 2:7-10 (NLT)  Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining. If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves a fellow believeris living in the light and does not cause others to stumble.

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:34-35) These are the words of our Savior and Lord – Jesus Christ. There are many things to do for the Lord but if not in love they are useless. This whole thing including every purpose in our life is about building a Kingdom not of brick and mortar but souls. Souls are bound together by one thing – love. It doesn’t matter how prickly someone is – we are to hug, hold and embrace them just as though we are clinging to hope.

When she walked into the church, I knew there was something about her. As though she glowed, I was drawn to her. The Holy Spirit whispered, “This one.” So I did what every God-fearing, Bible-believing servant led by the Spirit would do and that night I began to seek (okay, creep) her on social media. Her cover read, “Cancer survivor”. Okay, God I see a connection. The next service, she came to me for prayer and told me that she and my son had the same oncologist. That the doctor had shared his miracle story with her. The next service – she asked Jesus to be her Savior. She was baptized. Then as often happens with baby Christians – she was led to the wilderness. Disappeared. Unfriended me on social media. I continued to reach out to her. Nothing. Saw her in a restaurant, she avoided me completely so I let her go. Until now, she is back in touch. The cancer is back. So many times, God places people in our path. Imperfect. Messy. Hard. You name it with a call to love them beyond the thorns and decide not to let go. I will not let this young lady go. She is now in the fight for her life. Dear disciple of Christ and child of the Living God – we must learn to live above our feelings and reach for those hard to reach people. The ones who are prickly. Or maybe, just hard to hold on to because they are constantly drowning. It is our job to hope tight to the anchor of hope with one hand and cling to them with the other. This is not my idea. It is the command of Christ.

I Corinthians 13:1-3 (NLT) If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

Religion without relationship produces a bankrupt soul. Our comfort is in self when we cannot bridge the gap between us and other people. It is our primary mission to love others. Not just love them but lay down our life as Jesus did to follow His Example. I can write about God’s Love all day but if my faith is not used to share it individually – I have nothing to gain from God’s Word. The substance of our faith is built on a platform of love demonstrated by Christ on the Cross. To carry my cross means to carry His Love burden as well. His Love for all not some. His Love for everyone without expectation. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed meaning His Love for me is not dependent on my love for Him. I am fully dependent on His Love. Grace is enough for me but I cannot pay the price of it. It is paid in full. I owe no man anything except the debt of love. (Romans 13:8) There is no substitute for love – or it is a counterfeit. True love means reaching for those prickly people thorns in all and crushing their tough exterior to let love in. It’s our mission as believers. It is the essence of the Great Commission.

When we moved in this house, it had three scrawny, thorny rosebushes in the front flowerbed. I spent one Saturday pulling them up to replant some safe shrubs and flowering bushes. At the end of the day, I was covered in bloody scratches from my war with the roses. It was worth it because the new plants in the fertile soil are thriving and blooming with beautiful flowers this year. I wonder the potential of people who once offended, hurt or avoided us when we take the time to reach past the thorns and smother bitterness with love to plant seeds of faith in fertile hearts. We will never know until we try.

John 15:12-14 (NLT) This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.

Jonathan Goforth

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Jonathan Goforth
By David Smithers

“You must go forward on your knees,” was the advice Hudson Taylor gave to a young Canadian missionary named Jonathan Goforth. Mr. Goforth faithfully and fervently followed this advice throughout all has missionary endeavors in China. Yet, after thirteen years of faithful praying and preaching, and what most would consider a very successful ministry, Goforth became restless and dissatisfied. It was at this time an unknown party from England began sending pamphlets on the Welsh revival of 1904. Goforth was deeply stirred as he read these accounts. “A new thought, a new conception seemed to come to him of God the Holy Spirit…” He then gave himself to much more prayer and Bible study. Goforth now found himself being driven by a fresh vision, a vision for a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Soon he began to meet daily with other missionaries to pray for revival. These men vowed to God and to one another that they would pray until revival came to China. In 1908 Jonathan Goforth’s prayers and dreams began to be realized. Goforth began going to different missionary stations and simply led his fellow missionaries in prayer. Then suddenly earnest prayer gave way to the open confession of sin.

It was when the Christians came clean, confessed and forsook their secret sin, that the Holy Spirit rushed in like a mighty wind. Truly it was this open and honest confession of sin that was the most striking feature of the revival. Everywhere Mr. Goforth went revival would spread, and almost always in the same way. First prayer was encourage among the Christians, which then spontaneously led to heart- breaking confessions of sin. And then like a flood, the lost were brought into the kingdom by the thousands. “Men were searched as with fire.” One after another broken-hearted believers emptied themselves through the uncovering of all secret sin. Mr. Goforth clearly identified unconfessed sin among Christians as a major hindrance to God-sent revival.

Walter Phillips describes for us one of Mr. Goforth’s revival meetings: “At once, on entering the church one was conscious of something unusual. The place was crowded to the door and tense, reverent attention sat on every face. The people knelt for prayer, silent at first, but soon one here and another there began to pray aloud. The voices grew and gathered volume and blended into a great wave of united supplication that swelled until it was almost a roar. Now I understood why the floor was so wet – the very air was electric and strange thrills coarsed up and down ones body.”

When Mr. Goforth preached, “The cross burned like a living fire in the heart of every address.” It was the person of Jesus Christ who was exalted throughout the entire revival as a King and Savior who must be reckoned with. In the midst of this great revival Jonathan Goforth clearly saw that all of his previous sweating and striving had reaped only frustration. He came to the firm conviction that revival is only born through humility, faith, prayer and the power of the Holy Ghost. Goforth writes, “If revival is being withheld from us it is because some idol remains still enthroned; because we still insist in placing our reliance in human schemes; because we still refuse to face the unchangeable truth that ‘It is not by might, but by My Spirit.'”

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Facing Death Unprepared

Facing Death Unprepared

Luke 23:39-44

If you had only a few hours to live, and if you were not a believer in Jesus Christ, where would you look to find comfort or hope?

Every day, many people face death, but sadly, many of them do not know Jesus as Lord. However, some individuals, in a final act of spiritual acuity, accept Christ on their deathbed. You may argue, “But they can’t really be Christians then, can they? They sinned their entire lives and accepted Jesus only because they were scared of dying. They don’t get the same reward that I will get, do they?”

Well, think about the repentant thief on the cross next to Jesus. Scripture is clear that this was a vicious, violent, guilty criminal. There isn’t even a hint that he was wrongfully accused. He was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death by the most despicable means possible. Surely, he was not a person we would consider a “good guy.”

But as he hung on his cross, something stirred within him. The Spirit began to work in his heart, and in the moments before his death, he was for the first time made alive in his spirit. He accepted Jesus, and Jesus accepted him.

You see, the great salvation that is ours in Christ is 100 percent dependent on what Jesus did for us. This means that there is nothing you or I could ever do to “deserve” it. When we realize that His love is open to all people, even to those we despise the most, we can truly give Him all the glory for the great things He has done.

Daily Devotions with Dr. Charles Stanlley, InTouch Ministries