Refined By Flames

During a worship gathering at my school last night, the Lord put an image on my heart: gold surrounded by the flames of a fire.

I began thinking about the meaning of the image.

I pictured the hands of a miner panning gold, his dirty blistering hands plunging a pan of sand and dirt into water and then shaking out the remnants of gold. Though the process may be gruesome and tiring, in the end the miner is left with pure gold.

Just like the gold being hidden amid piles of sand and dirt, as Christians, we were once blended in with the rest of the world. Then Jesus came and separated us from everyone else. He called us out to be his disciples.

But it doesn't stop there.

After gold is found by a miner, the miner brings it to a craftsman to be refined. The goldsmith places the gold in a crucible, and being held by tongs, thrusts the crucible into the flames to remove all of the impurities of the precious metal. After many times of being put in the flames, with temperatures in the thousands of degrees, the gold is finally made pure.

I couldn't stop thinking of how similar the process of refining gold is to our walk with the Lord.

Not only did Jesus choose us from the mess of the world, but he is constantly putting us in situations where we either have the choice to be refined or to walk away.

Take someone's death for an example. Recently at our school a former student passed away. It was a moment of grief for many students, but even through it those close to him chose joy instead of anger. They rejoiced because the student wasn't in pain anymore, and they didn't allow themselves to be overcome with despair.

This is a refining moment in the flames. As would many other circumstances, such as being stuck in a financial crisis or experiencing a break-up after a long-term relationship that you thought would lead to marriage.

How will you handle the flames that arise in your life? Will you flee, or will you remain and allow the Lord to mold your character into something more like Him?

1. The Lord takes us through struggles and pain for a reason. His ultimate purpose for us is to grow more and more into the image of Christ, and the trials we encounter are designed to help us reach that goal. Trials develop godly character, and that enables us to "rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." (Romans 5:3-4)

2. The Lord also reassures us that those who call on His name during these times of trial will be answered. When we put our hope fully in Him, He will calm us during the storm and provide a way out in His timing. It may not happen right away, like the Israelites who wandered in the desert for 40 years, but He will work as what fits best in His plan for your life.

"I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'The Lord is our God.'" (Zechariah 13:9)

There's no avoiding the pains and troubles that come with life on earth. However, we do have a choice about what we do when these troubling times hit. Choosing to trust in the Lord and abide in Him during the storm will give us the opportunity to grow more into the image of Christ.

And once we choose to put our hope in Him, the Lord will rid of us of all our impurities when we become fully SATURATED in His presence. Ask Him to ignite the flame in your heart that would gnaw away at any impurity hindering your from growing in your relationship with the Lord.

Fill In The Blank

Today in chapel we sang "Great I Am" by New Life Worship.
I remember over the summer debating with one of my friends over what the best worship songs were, and this song popped up. My friend described it as the "most powerful worship song of the day," and honestly, I couldn't argue that.
The chorus goes like this:

Hallelujah, Holy Holy
God Almighty, the Great I Am
Who is worthy
None beside Thee
God Almighty, the Great I am

I've sung this song probably a dozen times in church settings. In my own listening, I've played it countless times. But I never fully grasped what the lyrics meant until today.
As I was worshipping, I started thinking about the Old Testament patriarchs. Moses. Abraham. Joseph. Their stories are fresh in my head, because I committed to doing the whole "Read-The-Bible-In-A-Year" thing for one of my new year's resolutions.
I remember reading how God appeared to Moses in a burning bush and said, "I AM WHO I AM." His answer puzzled me. But the answers lie in the previous chapeters and the books to come in both the Old and New Testaments.
God is our Deliverer, Healer, Redeemer, Provider, Defender, Fighter, Father, Friend, Helper, Shepherd... The list goes on and on.
God is whoever you need Him to be in your circumstance.
Even when Jesus comes in the New Testament, He uses the same phrases to describe Himself. The book of John lists several of these:
"I am the Bread of Life."
"I am the Good Shepherd."
"I am the Light of the world."
God is the Great I Am ___________. You fill in the blank.
Whether you need healing from a sickness, peace in a relationship, money in a financial crisis, or anything in-between, He is there standing in the gap for you. Have faith in Him and He will be there for you in whatever way you need Him to.

I Will Not Fear

(The most important part of this post is bolded; that's my story from this past Friday night.)
There's a really cool evangelistic opportunity at my school. It's called Encounter.
Every Friday night, students gather in one of the classrooms on campus to worship and pray for an hour. Then, at around 11:30 p.m., they hit the streets of downtown Minneapolis to get to know the people who are out partying and drinking. Their goal is to spread Christ's love through simple conversation, which ultimately can open doors for prayer and salvation.
I started going to Encounter during spring semester of my freshman year. In fact, it wasn't until the very last outing that I went. My friend Amy reeled me into it, saying that it was "so awesome." Yeah, I was terrified.
See, I had never been one to go out and evangelize, nonetheless walk around the streets of Minneapolis at night. I'm not a city girl. I come from a small town bordering the suburbs, so this experience would DEFINITELY push me out my comfort zone.
But I went. And, I liked it. The Lord knew exactly what He was doing when He sent me out on those streets that night. My partner and I were able to hear the life story of a guitar player near one of the clubs, and eventually we got to pray with him. It was incredible; nothing like I had ever experienced before.
That one night was a launching pad for my consistent attendance the following year. I started to feel a deeper love for the city and the people. I started to feel the brokenness enveloping the city, and God placed a passion inside of me to go and minister to that.
Fast forward a year. It's my junior year at North Central University, and this past semester I didn't go to Encounter very much. Instead, I was working late nights and early mornings on the weekends, so my body couldn't afford sacrificing a good night's sleep. The times I did go out were amazing, though.
And now it's the beginning of a semester. I quit my weekend job during winter break, which means Encounter is now something I can go to more often if the Lord leads me to it. Speaking of which, this past Friday I went out. And wow, was it mind-blowing. I want to share my story with you.
I was partnered with one of the leaders named Josiah and a new student named Gabi. We walked downtown and talked to quite a few people, but it wasn't until we reached Bar Fly that the main events of the night struck. Josiah started talking to a man, and as this was happening a drunk guy ambled off the street. Gabi and I said "hello" and started a conversation with him. Gabi was doing most of the talking, and as the the conversation progressed my eyes drifted off to the side. I saw a woman dressed in a long, puffy coat with a fur hood covered her head. Her face was buried in a white scarf, and you could barely see her pale brown face in the light. That's when I felt the nudging of the Holy Spirit. So I walked up to her. I asked her how her night was, and she suddenly stopped, turned to me, and gave me a hug. I didn't know how to respond. She then pulled out four coins and asked me if I had $0.75. I said no, but I told her I could pray for her if she'd like. Immdiately she turned away and walked in the other direction. After that happened, I was able to talk and pray with the man she was with who was walking beside her. Then I moved back to Gabi's conversation with the drunk guy. I noticed on the other side of the bus stop (where we were standing) there were two police officers with a skankishly dressed girl. The drunk guy waltzed over to one of the officers and tapped his shoulder to use him as a metaphor in our conversation about the Bible. Suddenly, another officer appeared and told the drunk guy to leave the premises otherwise he could be arrested for interrupting a serious situation (the girl was intoxicated and the officers were trying to help her find her friends to get home). The drunk guy backed off, but it seemed as if the officer didn't understand, because he grabbed ahold of his shirt and shoved him against the glass wall of the bus stop. The man started yelling, and all of a sudden he was tackled into the street. Gabi and I had backed away by this point and had started to pray over the situation. We didn't know what was happening. After praying and meeting up with two other group members, the officers had left and the drunk guy had walked off in another direction. But the girl was still there, surrounded by two of her friends now. One of the friends left, and the other friend was on the phone. My attention grazed towards the intoxicated girl, however. She was seated on a bench, scrunched up with her hands covering her face. The Holy Spirit then nudged me over to them.
"Ladies, how are you doing? Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine," said the girl on the phone.
But I could tell not everything was fine. The intoxicated girl was dressed in a white blouse, a black mini skirt and black tights. I could tell she was freezing. So I asked her a question.
"Honey, are you cold?"
No response. Just a quick seat-shift to the side, and her hands motioning for me to sit down next to her. I sat down and offered her my coat, but her friend refused to have me give it to her. So I just hugged her, my arm wrapped around her cold, frail body.
She cuddled closer against me, and I could her hear whisper, "You're warm" under her intoxicated breath. It broke me.
The time went by, and after five minutes their ride came and the girl on the phone got up and helped her friend up. I then regrouped with the others who were standing nearby.
This is what I learned that night:
Sometimes following the lead of the Holy Spirit is uncomfortable. It will scare you out of your mind; it will draw you into places you'd never imagine going before.
But when you drop all your fear and uncertainty on the side of the road and say, "God, I will do WHATEVER you want me to do," that's when He accompanies you and fights for you.
That's what I had to do on Friday night.
I'll be transparent with you. I told you above that after my first experience with Encounter, I really started to like it. I've had amazing interactions with people on the streets, but all of these interactions have been primarily through the prompting of one of my partners. I've never sparked my own conversation with someone on the street. And, to add to that, I've never talked to a woman on the streets. Only men. That's my confession. My fear.
Or, should I say, old fear. On Friday night, I decided that I was done hanging out in the background. I decided I was done just following the lead of my partner, and not listening to the Holy Spirit while on the street.
I wanted to listen to the Holy Spirit, and I really wanted to talk to women.
Then God spoke to me. He told me that He would fight for me if I put my hope in Him. He would be my mouthpiece if my own words failed.
So I allowed God to use me. I allowed myself to become nothing so He could work through me. I was able to listen to the nudging of the Holy Spirit, and I was able to talk to two women.
See, we are nothing without the power of Christ in us. I believe that to be so incredibly true. From the very roots of my relationship with the Lord I am dependent on Him. He was nailed to a cross so I could be redeemed, and by faith in Him, I am saved. That's my story.

Roots

Every morning I water the flowers in my grandma's garden. I wake up, and to the raspy call of my grandma's voice outside, I hustle out the door to the hose and fill up the water can to the brim. I water each plant steadily, making sure it gets enough water it needs to stays healthy and strong.
It's not the most exciting job in the world. Sometimes I even complain about the two whole minutes it takes to water each of the 10 flower pots.

But my grandma wants her garden to look fresh, colorful, and bright for her neighbors. And so I consistently remain devoted to helping her out.

This whole process of watering flowers is similar to our walk with the Lord.

We each are plants -- uniquely and carefully planted by the Sower. Some of us may be daffodils, shimmering the brightest yellow in the sunlight; others tulips and lilies. No matter what the plant, we all have special gifts and beautiful features the Lord has given us.

"We are flowers of God's garden, 

Bright as the morning sun, 
Fresh as the dawn
Lovely in differences, 
Varied in loveliness, 
we are the flowers of humanity." (Song Lyrics, Artist Unknown)

In order for plants to stay alive and grow most abundantly, they must be watered and fed daily so their roots can grow deep and thick into the soil. The same must occur in our walk with the Lord: We must drink "living water" and give ourselves "daily bread" in order for our spiritual roots to strengthen.

WE SHOULD DESIRE A FAITH WITH ROOTS PLANTED DEEP IN THE WORD OF THE LORD.
In order to develop and maintain this kind of faith, we must first be good fertilizers of our hearts and souls.

We must cultivate good, rich soil for the roots to grow in. A plant can't grow in thorns, rocks, or sand. It needs to be planted in healthy soil rich in vitamins and minerals. Similarly, we must have a healthy foundation for our faith that will fervently and relentlessly soak in God's Word.

There's no room for garbage in our soil. We must remove the junk -- our past, our secrets, our pride, our sin -- from the ground and burn it. There's no more room for unhealthy weights on our shoulders. Uproot your hard heart and let the Lord shower seeds of goodness and righteousness into your life.

But it's not just pure and healthy soil you need for your spiritual roots to grow. Once the rocks and weeds are plowed out of the way, you must take time to allow the Sower to pour His "living water" over your life every day.

"For I will pour out water to quench your thirst." (Isaiah 44:3)

The Lord says He will fill us, we just need to be willing and obedient to the outpouring of His "living water". So what happens when we drink this "living water"?

"But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life." (John 4:14)

The result is exactly like Jesus told the disciples in the New Testament. A new spring will bubble inside of us! And just like a spring in the earth is the source of every creek, stream and river, the new spring inside of us will be the source of thicker and stronger roots of faith.
Let us be like the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:10-14. When we are feeling weak and weary in our bodies and spirit, let us run to the well where we can be filled again. The Lord is always waiting and ready to show you something new and pull you deeper than you've ever been with Him.

Eating Yourself Out Of The "I-Know-Who-You-Are-But-I-Don't-Really-Know-You" Relationship

I was reading in John 6 yesterday. I stumbled upon the verse where the disciples ask Jesus to give them the bread of God that Jesus describes as "he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

Who is the bread of God?

JESUS. He declares this in verse 35: "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

Well obviously, you must be thinking. This is no surprise.

But when I read this verse once again, for the fifty-seventh time I'm sure, something struck me. I was reminded of the Lord's Prayer. Here's the excerpt from it that hit me:
"Give us today our daily bread (Matthew 6:11)."

I immediately connected this 'daily bread' with Jesus' declaration of Himself being the bread of life. Simply put: The Lord is the bread and we NEED the bread daily in order to remain spiritually nourished.

It's just like maintaining a healthy diet by utilizing the food pyramid - we need grains, fruit, vegetables, proteins, dairy, and a teeny tiny portion of fat. If we cut off intake of any one of these food groups, we will lack important vitamins and minerals we need to stay healthy.
When we don't get our daily dosage of "spiritual" bread, AKA Jesus, then our relationship with God will stagger. Look at it this way: If you look like the perfect Christian on the outside - you lead worship every Sunday morning, you volunteer at youth group, and you go to Bible study on Wednesday nights with your friends - but you do not spend any extra one-on-one time with the Lord, then your relationship with Him is weak. Your roots are thin and withered.

You may be connecting with God other times, but the Lord desires to be sought after. He wants you to actually set aside time for Him out of your crazy busy schedule just to soak in His presence. He is a jealous God!

I'm not trying to convict you of anything. This is something I've been struggling with ever since I gave my heart to the Lord. When the Lord delivered me of a past relationship and started to heal me emotionally, I finally started pursuing the Lord in my own time. Before that my Christian life consisted of Sunday morning services and youth group every once in awhile (and only because my mom made me attend). My "relationship" with the Lord wasn't even a real relationship. It was an "I-know-who-you-are-but-I-don't-really-know-you" acquaintance. Super awkward, right? Like a familiarity with that person in your Psychology class who sits beside you and you hold "small talk" every class period, but every time you see them elsewhere it's just plain awkward because you don't know them that well. That's exactly how it is with the Lord when you aren't scheduling time out of your own day for Him!

This school year has been incredibly transforming for me. The Lord pulled me up out of the muddy pit I was treading in, washed me, and now I feel like I can begin to climb the mountain towards the dream God has called me to. It's not easy. The devil likes to deter my journey by thrusting obstacles in my way; and I learned that it will take a lifetime to reach the top of the mountain. But learning how to spend time with the Lord daily - maybe only a simple 5-minute prayer or quick read-through of one of the Psalms - that dramatically impacts my day. I can wake up cranky and tired from getting only five hours of sleep and go to class with a negative attitude, or I can jump out of bed and dig into the Word. One little verse can bring a flood of encouragement to spark my day off on the right note. It's too cool how God speaks even in the mere seconds we give Him.

Bread is becoming a vital component of my spiritual food. I love worshiping and fellowshiping with other believers, but if I'm not devoting a portion of my day to just talk with God in my own time, then how can I grow? Relationships aren't built unless both sides take time investing in one another.

I want to become intimate with the Lord. I want to desire him constantly. I know that He abides inside of me and is my Friend, but I want to dedicate extra time just to get to know Him more. And not only times that fit into my schedule well. ALL THE TIME. A constant connection. I will "taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8) by "eating" the bread that never goes out of stock.