”He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”  Malachi 3:3

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.

But encourage one another daily, as long as it called Today… Heb 3:13 NIV

A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside.
“Your son is here,” she said to the old man.  She had to repeat the words several times before the patent’s eyes opened.
Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw
the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man’s limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.
The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All
through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted
ward, holding the old man’s hand and offering him words of love and
strength.
Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest
awhile.  He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital - the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients.
Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said
nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.
Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now
lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.
Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her. “Who was that man?” he asked.
The nurse was startled, “He was your father,” she answered.
“No, he wasn’t,” the Marine replied. “I never saw him before in my
life.”
“Then why didn’t you say something when I took you to him?”
“I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he
needed his son, and his son just wasn’t here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed.”

The next time someone needs you … just be there. Stay.

WE ARE NOT HUMAN BEINGS GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY SPIRITUAL
EXPERIENCE. WE ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY HUMAN EXPERIENCE.

Come let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our Salvation.   Psalm 95:1 NIV

David sat alone with his sheep and played his harp singing praises to God. Music today is far beyond the harp in the fields. Instruments of every type are used in today’s praise and worship. Songs range from old hymns like “Just As I Am” to rock style “Jesus Freak”.  No matter what type of music you prefer, what is most important is the song in your heart praising the Lord.

I enjoy good old Southern Gospel 4 part harmony. I recently heart about a local Denton Texas group called “One Voice”. They have a couple of song samples. I particularly enjoyed ‘Amazing Grace”. Take a moment to hear them by clicking here.  Though I have not yet seen them perform I know that Sandy  (she is my cousin-in-law so I have had personal time with her) and from experience can guarantee her personal enthusiasm and love of the Lord will definitely shine through wherever she is. You can’t miss her angelic smile.

A Lee’s Summit Missouri musician I enjoy catching at the local coffee houses is Lori Harris.  Decidedly Christian but trained in blues clubs and country fairs her performance will grip your heart. Watching her sing you feel like she is standing before the throne of God and singing directly to Him.  Check out her music by clicking here.

No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.  1 John 4:12 NLT

My grandson and I like to sit on my back porch. While there we can see the sun and feel its warmth. During the spring we can see the rain and in winter watch and feel the snow falling. But when it comes to the wind, we can feel it’s effect as it blows across our cheeks, and we can see the leaves swirling; but we cannot “see” the wind.

Man cannot see God, however we can see the wonders and works of God. We can see Him in the majestic mountains, the glorious sunrise, and even the changing seasons. If we love God others can see Him through us. Our actions and words should reflect the God of the universe. They should be as fluttering leaves, carried by the invisible force that is God.

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Timothy 1:17

I have hidden your Word in my heart that I may not sin against you. Psalm 119:11  NIV

We hear the stories but how well do we know the stories told in the Bible. Here is a fun way to test your knowledge of the Bible.  Take this Bible Quiz. Sit down with your favorite teddy bear and take the quiz. 

I’ve never quit loving you and I never will.  Expect love, love and more love.       Jeremiah 31:3 MSG

A woman received a dozen roses one day with a card that read “From someone who loves you”.

She searched the card and could find no clue as to who sent them to her. Being single she thought first of the men in her life, then of her mother and could think of no one who might have sent them.

Later she was talking to a friend and something her friend said made her ask “did you send me the flowers?” 

Her friend said “the last time we spoke you seemed so down, I wanted you to spend the day thinking of all the people who love you”.

God loves you. He loves you so much he sacrificed his Son so that you would be able to spend eternity with Him in heaven. For God so loves YOU!! 

The world makes such a big deal out of Valentine’s Day. The past 10 days I have seen TV commercials, received flyers in the mail and numerous emails announcing that you are a failure if you don’t have someone to send you flowers on this one day. Look outside and see the beautiful floral arrangement God has sent you. It will start with an awesome sunrise and if you look around you may see prairie land or mountains or flower buds ready to peek through for spring.  God loves you. Accept his love.

Click here to read a special valentine from God.

I received the following from a class member. It is a breakdown of bills currently facing the congress. Some will directly affect you as a christian.  Links are included so you can follow up on the claims. Don’t just accept my word as if this were a forwarded spam email. Be informed and aware. Christianity is being attacked.

Here are several of the issues which I drew attention to. ALL of these issues have been introduced in the last 2 weeks of the current Democrat-led congress:

1. Last week, the Senate passed a bill imposing stricter limits on lobbyists. While much of that bill was well-written and supported by conservatives, Section 220 threatened to place significant restrictions on grassroots groups, limiting their ability to tell people like us what is going on in Congress. If they had an audience of more than 500 people and encouraged people to contact their elected representatives, they would have to file significant paperwork with Congress.  Failure to do so could have resulted in fines in the tens of thousands of dollars and significant jail time. Can you imagine Jim Dobson (or even your own pastor) going to jail because they spoke out against something our elected representatives were doing? Thankfully (due in no small part to the huge response from citizens after being alerted by the grass-roots groups they hoped to effectively silence), the Bennett Amendment was passed which eliminated Section 220 from the Senate bill. (By the way, Kit Bond voted FOR the Bennett Amendment; Claire McCaskill voted AGAINST the amendment.) HOWEVER, the same issue will come up very soon in the House, and voters need to be ready to “encourage” the House members to NOT silence the groups we choose to hear from!

2. Bills are being introduced to support embryonic stem-cell funding, an issue that was much in the news here in Missouri during the last election. This is a complex issue which boils down to simple principles and facts:  (a) using embryonic stem cells KILLS the embryo – which is what each of us started out as. Holding a pro-life view is incongruous with destroying embryos for research; (b) there are ZERO positive results from embryonic stem cells research, while there are numerous positive results form adult stem cell and cord-blood stem cell research! http://nocloning.com

3. Still coming up is the proposed reinstatement of the so-called “Fairness Doctrine” which is designed to stifle conservative and Christian talk radio.  IF this bill passes, it would mean that for every 30 minutes that Jim Dobson or Richard Land spoke on ANY issue deemed “political,” Bott Radio Network would be FORCED to provide (at no cost) equal time for the “opposing “ side to share it’s views. The same rules would be applied to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and any other conservative talk show hosts out there. (It would also apply to liberal talk show hosts, but there aren’t very many liberal talk shows on radio. They haven’t mustered the level of listenership required to be commercially competitive.)

4. The 4^th scary issue that’s come up is the proposal from Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas to resurrect hate crimes legislation that could criminalize anyone who defends and promotes traditional marriage (because that is seen as offensive to homosexuals.) This is modeled on legislation that has already passed in Pennsylvania, which makes it a crime to speak publicly of what the Bible says about the act of homosexuality. The ACLJ has reported on two grandmothers in Pennsylvania who were arrested for passing out tracts explaining what the Bible says about homosexuality. These women have already spent 10 days in jail and are facing PRISON time and substantial fines. This was NOT an “in-your-face” rude attack on homosexuals like Rev. Fred Phelps from Wichita and his group do – these were simply believers trying to lovingly witness to sinners.

If you step back for a moment and look at what is happening, it is clear that liberals in Congress are attacking values that Biblical Christians hold dear. I know that we all have families to care for and jobs to go to, and we don’t have extra time to monitor Congress. (That’s what we elect our representatives to do, right?) However, with the change of power in Congress, it is obvious in the first few weeks of Congress that there are people who are out to change this country – and these changes will significantly affect issues of life, Christian liberty, and the family.

Your voice DOES make a difference – that’s what turned the tide in favor of the Bennett Amendment! Please check them out. These groups are Biblically based Christian conservative groups whom I am comfortable recommending. If you know of other resources you would recommend, I’d love to hear from you!

Here are more links to check out:

Ethics & Religious Liberties Commission – Southern Baptist Convention

Mission:  To awaken, inform, energize, equip, and mobilize Christians to be the catalysts for the Biblically-based transformation of their families, churches, communities, and the nation.

http://erlc.com/

Family Research Council

The Family Research Council (FRC) champions marriage and family as the foundation of civilization, the seedbed of virtue, and the wellspring of society. FRC shapes public debate and formulates public policy that values human life and upholds the institutions of marriage and the family. Believing that God is the author of life, liberty, and the family, FRC promotes the Judeo-Christian worldview as the basis for a just, free, and stable society.

Sign up for the Washington Update by clicking on the “subscribe” button

http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?c=HOME

Focus on the Family Action

a non-profit Christian ministry who follows God by supporting, encouraging and strengthening families worldwide.  Provides easy links to contact your own senators and congressmen (or figure out who they are if you don’t know!)

http://www.citizenlink.org/

American Family Association (AFA)

Sign up for the AFA Action Alert

http://www.afa.net/

American Center for Law & Justice

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) specializes in constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C. Through our work in the courts and the legislative arena, the ACLJ is dedicated to protecting your religious and constitutional freedoms.  In addition to providing its legal services at no cost to our clients, the ACLJ focuses on the issues that matter most to you – national security, protecting America’s families, and protecting human life. 

http://aclj.org/

High-Impact Leadership Coalition

The High Impact Leadership Coalition exists to protect the moral compass of America and be an agent of healing to our nation by educating and empowering churches, community and political leaders. They place special emphasis on bringing the black church and the white church together to work towards the cause of Christ as a unified body.

http://hilc.net/

Liberty Counsel

http://www.lc.org/libertyalert/lasubscribe.html

Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)

For those of you who homeschool, this is a great resource keeping you abreast of what’s happening in the congress regarding homeschool issues.

http://www.hslda.org/elert/default.asp

I encourage you to be watchful. As the saying goes, ““The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

In His Grace