“Come to me.” Jesus whispers as He stretches out His hand.“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
When we come (back) to Him, accept His gift of salvation, repent and are forgiven, Jesus offers us a place to rest under His wings. This is where we’re restored…and refined.
Contrary to popular belief, following Jesus won’t prevent you from facing problems, pain, or pandemics.
Bad things will happen.
We can count on it.
In John 16:33 Jesus forewarned us we’d struggle and suffer because Satan is the prince of this fallen world. Then He told us two earth-shattering Truths
- In Him we have peace and courage
- He’s overcome this world—and its prince
This is excellent news! It means our afflictions aren’t senseless! They have a purpose. Instead of our burdens grinding us down, God uses them as a refiner’s fire to purify us. To make us stronger. To make us like His Son.
See, a refiner uses intense heat to melt gold (1,948°F) or silver (1,763°F). He then holds the precious metal in a liquid state for a time to leach out unseen impurities, allowing them to float to the surface so he can extract them. This process increases the luster and virtue of the metal.
Our hardships do the same thing. They expose residual sin, impurities we may not know are there, as they remind us of our complete dependence on God. And when we come (back) to Him, acknowledge our sin, repent, and are forgiven, we’re sanctified. Made pure. Holy.
And then we’re restored as we rest under the shadow of His wings.
There, we’re made stronger, are better equipped to do what He’s called us to do.
- To do our work as an act of worship
- To plan and walk in His footsteps
- To do what pleases Him
- To use our time wisely
- To bless, encourage, and edify others
- To embrace the gift of work
- To be a guard against the Enemy
- To have pure motives
- To resist complaining in ALL things
- To choose an attitude that honors God
- To put our faith into action
- To be a light
Once a metal is refined, it’s cooled and assessed. If impurities remain, the process is repeated. Likewise, we’ll face seasons of refinement throughout out lives. As difficult as these times are, submit to Him, and rejoice that God calls you precious and worthy of refinement.
Blessings, xoxo
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Thank you. It is a hard loss. My emotions are all over the place, and my heart is broken. Blessings. Love you too
So sorry to hear about Uncle Pete, your grandfather. My brother, Kenny, and I took my Mom, your Aunt Jean, to Minnesota, to visit Uncle Pete three years ago. That was Mom’s last long trip. She and Uncle Pete had a good visit. Praying for all of you! Love you!Jean Giles Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
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Dear My Beloved Sister in Christ. Mrs. Cheyenne Olson. Great Preacher and Beloved Teacher. Thank you for your nice and long letter and your excellent ceremony thank you for your care to send to me your daily devotional readings every day, Come to Me – Refinement and Restoration.. You read in the Old Testament what was happened with Job. Why God left Satan to destroy hid family and properties, it was hard test?!! Why?!! to see his patience, and if love God because all graces that gave to him. also about Abraham to offer his son Isaac as an offering. Why? such this hard test?!! to see his obediance and his faith, and both of the don’t have the Salvation, but about us and who have faith and salvation. Why Jesus allowed trials and troubled although we are believers. We read at (John 15:2)(Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, He taketh away : and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit) then the purpose is to bring more fruit, David the Psalmist says( Search me O God and know My heart: try me, and know my thoughts. (Psalms 139:23)God uses our trials as a refiner’s fire to purify us to make us stronger same the goldsmith do with the gold to leach out the impurities allowing them to flat to the surface, He can extract them. Jesus do with us the same. Thank Lord Jesus Christ because he is always with us even in times of temptations we are his children. God bless you and your family as well all staff working with you in your ministry. We all fine love you and pray for you. You are very very dear to my heart and mind, you also in my folks heart and mind. Much love. Your Brother in Christ. Mr. Sabry Abdo Elias, sabryabdo524@gmail.com – – – – – – – With my Best regards to your husband and your Son Macron and his girl friend Ana and her mothe Kelly and Eve and Andy McGuire. God bless you all. Wish you have a Blessed Day.
On Thu, 3 Sep 2020, 4:03 p.m. Vibrant Relevance, wrote:
> Cheyenne Olson posted: ” “Come to me.” Jesus whispers as He stretches out > His hand.“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and > I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) When we come (back) to Him, accept > His gift of salvation, repent and are forgiven, ” >