Through the Fire Part#4

After the POTTER comes the PURGING.
#4: PURGING:
Sometimes it is to correct us for sin. Sometimes it is just to purify us as He is making us into HIS IMAGE! Either way, we should "...despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of His correction. For whom the LORD loveth, He correcteth...." Prov. 3:11. Jesus is teaching us to die to OUR WANTS AND DESIRES, and LIVE for HIS WANTS AND DESIRES FOR OUR LIFE!! "He must increase, but I MUST DECREASE." John 3;30. "But He knoweth the way that I take;when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot hath held HIS STEPS, HIS WAY have I kept, and not declined." Job 23:10&11.Just as gold has imperfections removed,  OUR sins and impurities have to be removed also in order for us to be able to be usable and healed.  Just as an infection has to be dealt with or it will grow worse, making us sick and could eventually lead to death, so are our spiritual infections. When we see that we have a weakness or spiritual impurity, we DON'T need to ignore it! Our spiritual health is at stake! When we let the Potter, and also Great Physician show us our problem and allow Him to treat us for it, we can get cleansed and  become stronger in Him!  ONLY then can we move forward and grow in the Lord. If we keep fighting what HE IS DOING, we are going to come to a halt in our growth and become weak.. Our vessel will not have the strength to stand! We have to die daily!!!!!! Is this easy??? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! BUT, "I can do all things through Christ!!!"  Philp. 4:13. This is the only way to do so!

 May the Potter help us to NOT WASTE OUR TIME IN THE FIRE!!! May WE DIE TO SELF, and find freedom in the fire when we do so!!! The Hebrew young men found freedom when the Lord was seen of them in the fire, because their ropes feel off that they had been bound with! We do not have to feel trapped when we are in troubles and problems. "..where the Spirit of the Lord is, THERE IS LIBERTY." I Corth. 3:17b. When it starts getting too hot for us, WE need to remember " The Lord is they keeper; the LORD is the SHADE upon thy hand." Psalm 121:5. "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, SHALL ABIDE IN THE SHADOW of the Almighty." Ps. 91;1. We can find relief from the heat under the SHADOW OF THE LORD!!!! We have to stay close to Him to be in His shadow! "I have set the LORD always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth; my heart shall REST IN HOPE." Ps. 16:8&9.

The Potter has a PLAN!! Today WE need to rest in HIS SHADOW and find liberty while in the fire.  Remember He has given us a GOOD PROGNOSIS!

Through the Fire Part #3

After the PROBLEM comes the POTTER!
3. THE POTTER: Of course the Potter is The Lord Jesus Christ!! Jeremiah 18:6 says ".. saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potters' hand, so are ye in MINE HAND...". The Lord molds and makes us according to His Will. Jeremiah 18:3&4 say, "The vessel that he made of clay was MARRED IN THE HAND OF THE POTTER: so he made it again ANOTHER VESSEL, as seemed GOOD to the POTTER.  When we find ourselves in the fire, it is a direct result of the Potter's doing so. He is the one that is making us into His trophy of GRACE! He can build us up and then change us into a different vessel, ALL FOR HIS GLORY! I Peter 1: 7 says, " ...though it be tried with fire, might be found unto PRAISE AND HONOUR AND GLORY at the appearing of Jesus Christ". This glory is not for us, but for Him! He wants to make us what He sees best to show forth His glory to a lost and dying world, that doesn't know Him! Just as the Lord allowed Job to be put through one of the greatest FIRES ever known to man, He is allowing us to be placed in it for a reason.

If the Potter is the One that placed us, or ALLOWED us to go into the fire, HE is also the One that regulates it! He is in control of all!!! Nothing can touch us that hasn't passed through His hand! Just as He allowed Satan to bring hurt to Job, he could ONLY DO what the Lord ALLOWED HIM TO!!! Hallelujah Satan is on a leash!!! (Job 1). Thousands of years ago, the Lord allowed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Gentile-given names) to be thrown into the fiery furnace, LITERALLY!!!  BUT, THEY WERE NOT ALONE!!. Not only does the Lord control the fire, HE GOES THROUGH IT WITH US!!!! Daniel 3:26 says, " ...I see four men LOOSE, walking in the midst of the fire, and they HAVE NO HURT; and the form of the fourth is like THE SON OF GOD!." Even though the men were bound and couldn't move when they went into the fire, they were FREE WHEN THEY WERE IN IT AND WERE NOT HURT! THEY DIDN'T EVEN SMELL LIKE THE SMOKE!!! (vs 27) The Potter doesn't want to hurt us , but HELP US!!!  Those three Hebrew men definitely NEVER forgot what had happened! They learned through the fire that the Lord will NEVER LEAVE US, AND WILL ALWAYS BE THE ONE IN CONTROL OF OUR SITUATION!!!  The Potter allows this to PURGE us!!
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Through the Fire #2

After the PROMISE comes:
2. The PROBLEM:
 Right around the corner from the promise the Lord has shown you, blessed your heart with, or opened your eyes to, comes the affliction and you find yourself IN THE FIRE! You may have been blind-sighted by it, or had the insight that it was on the way. Either way, you have walked into it or have been thrown into it. You are now in flames and it's hot! When we look around us, we see the flames, feel the heat, and it starts to affect us. WE  wonder what in the world is going on from our view point. BUT,  from the Lord's viewpoint, we shouldn't be looking at it this way. " Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial, WHICH IS TO TRY YOU, as though some strange think happened unto you." I Peter 4:12.  The Lord says that our trial is  PRECIOUS. " ...though now for a season, IF NEED BE,  ye are in HEAVINESS through manifold  temptations. That the trial of you faith, being much more PRECIOUS than of gold which perisheth, though it be tried with FIRE, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." I Peter 1:6 & 7.  The Lord has a PURPOSE to our affliction.  When gold is put into the furnace, it is to PURIFY IT! The Lord sees our heart and knows all! He sees the sins that we do not, and our imperfect ways when we don't. As the verse says, the gold may perish, but WE WON'T! "...that whosoever believeth in Him, SHOULD NOT PERISH, but have everlasting life." John 3;16. It takes the fire to move imperfections to the surface where WE CAN SEE THEM!  WE don't need to panic when we are in the fire, but " BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD." Psalm 46:10. Is that easy to do?????? NO, AND I AM THE FIRST TO WANT TO PANIC!!! BUT, thank God for that STILL SMALL VOICE, that comes to us INSTANTLY, to remind us HE IS IN THE FIRE WITH US!!!!!! "...I will NEVER LEAVE THEE, nor forsake thee!." Heb. 13:5. The POTTER  is not only IN THE FIRE WITH US, HE IS THE ONE CONTROLLING IT!!!!

Through the Fire Part #1

I am republishing this devotional series as the Lord has laid on my heart!! I pray you can still read this as my blog was attacked. I would GREATLY appreciate feedback as to HOW your device it SHOWING this! Thanks and yall will NEVER KNOW what it means to me that you even take the time to read these!!

Problems. We ALL have them. Some are more severe or painful than others. BUT the fact remains, "Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble." Job 14:1. These last few days, the Lord has been dealing with me about this personally. So, this post is from my heart and I want to share with you what the Lord is teaching me. (I'm going to do a post on each point over the next five days to help each one sink in, as the Lord has been doing with me.)

1. A PROMISE:  The Lord will ALWAYS give us a PROMISE, HIS WORD, before He allows us to go through a trail. He does so to give us help, strength, and encouragement when we are in the affliction. He does so through reading our Bible daily, that still small Voice of the Holy Spirit, or it could be through a friend sharing a verse with you in conversation. He knows what is ahead for us when we don't, and He has promised to give us the grace and mercy that we need daily (Psalm 23:6). He did so for Peter before he denied knowing Jesus. Even though the Lord knew what Peter was about to do, He told him that Satan had desired to sift him as wheat, BUT He had prayed for HIM! (Luke 22:31&32). Anytime God's Word jumps off the page, or we feel He is speaking directly to us, we need to sit up and take note! This is the warning that a trial is coming, and is a PROMISE that will get us through that upcoming PROBLEM.