Proverbs 25:4
Separate the dross from the silver, and a vessel will come out for refining.
Lead ore contained some silver, and to get it in pure form, it was necessary to heat it and melt off the lead oxide (dross).
So too, our lives must be heated in order to burn away the impurities. Those things which keep God from His rightful place on His throne in your heart.
Typically, our lives are heated thru some sort of suffering. Or perhaps an extraordinary event. And these can quickly melt away what is not needed for an abundant life.
But here in 2014 America, the big problem I see is that we have a thousand times more than we need, and in comparison to the rest of the world, we suffer very little. Did you know that if you make $32,400 a year that you are in the top 1% of the world? (After reading this the other day, I told our daughters that we are FILTHY rich!) Therefore we have very little felt need for God in our day to day lives. Everything is “pretty good.” This is perhaps the most dangerous place to be! For there is little to no hunger for God.
What if there’s no trauma, no extraordinary event, such as God writing your name in the sky or speaking to you audibly in the woods? Do we have to wait for suffering to sober up?
Well I believe the way then to “heat up” your life is simply to invest your time into God. For most of us modern Americans, we just need to give time to God, to soak in His presence, to meditate upon His word and memorize it, to converse with Him about everything, to be around people who love Him, who really love Him. Do this and then tell me it wasn’t worth it, that He did not meet your sincere, seeking heart. Tell me your life sucked more after seeking God in this manner, and I will say, “OK, go your own way.”
But I’m confident that this will not be the case. You will start to experience a life you may not have known existed, or forgot existed. Abundant life. Full life. Peaceful life. Higher consciousness and awareness of God in every moment. This I have personally witnessed in a few people over the past few years, and it is amazing–without traumatic or extraordinary events, even. Just investing your life in Jesus.
John 19:31
This day was Preparation Day, and the next day was a special Sabbath day. Since the religious leaders did not want the bodies to stay on the cross on the Sabbath day, they asked Pilate to order that the legs of the men be broken and the bodies be taken away.
True religion does not kill people. It does not emotionally break people’s legs. It’s main concern is not right, wrong, or ritual.
It’s main concern is showing people to God thru Jesus Christ in loving them with a pure heart. Leading them to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and rule and not your own.
True religion simply loves people, sacrificially, with no need of return favors, for its heart is already filled to overflowing with God’s perfect love. And it can’t help but to spill out onto others and indeed, the world.