Fire and Gold

Take some time and pray, just for a few minutes. Ask God to reveal himself to you through His Word. Open your hearts to what God wants to say to you

1 Peter 5:22-25 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for

“All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

Let's talk about gold, gold is one of the most expensive materials on the planet. But gold is not pure in its natural state. It needs to be purified... Through fire. When gold is heated to extreme temperatures it melts and the impurities float to the top. The that impure stuff is skimmed off the top. I'm sure all of us have been burned at least once in our lives. Fire is really hot and getting burnt really hurts!

Jeff talked last week about how the Word of God is like a scalpel. I'm sure we've all had some kind of surgery or have been cut before, getting cut hurts! But surgery helps us heal and fixes our bodies. Being cut by a sharp knife is necessary to our bodies for healing sometimes.

Being pure is going to require heat and cutting. We can't live our lives wanting to be pure while wanting to hold on to the impure things in our lives. In order for us to be pure we need to let God apply heat to our lives and cut us. Becoming pure will hurt. It will require us to allow God to take control of our lives. God will decide cut off. It may be painful, but gold is purified by fire and bodies are fixed through surgery. Our spiritual bodies need surgery too.

Verse 22 "Having purified your souls by your obedience" purification requires obedience to God. To let Him control your life. To trust Him as he holds the flame to you and performs surgery on you.

Questions:

1. What are things in your life that need to be skimmed off or cut off to make you pure?

2. How can God make you pure?

3. Think about this through the rest of your day and really consider what it means and what it takes to be pure.

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Written by Max Davis