I just read the following article by Dr. Paul Chappell and wanted to share it:

“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you.”

1 Peter 4:12

Sometimes it seems that when God is about to make preeminent use of a man, He puts him through the fire.

Everyone faces times of adversity. Most of the Psalms were born in difficulty. Most of the Epistles were written in prisons. Most of the greatest thinkers of all time had to pass through the fire. Bunyan wrote Pilgrim’s Progress from jail. Florence Nightingale, too ill to move from her bed, reorganized the hospitals of England. Semi-paralyzed and under the constant menace of apoplexy, Pasteur was tireless in his attack on disease. During the greater part of his life, American historian Francis Parkman suffered so acutely that he could not work for more than five minutes at a time. His eyesight was so wretched that he could scrawl only a few gigantic words on a manuscript, yet he contrived to write twenty magnificent volumes of history.

Even the most famous of people who seemed to have an easy life, secretly struggled with adversity and suffering. Suffering is not reserved for a certain type of people. We all face adversity at some point in our lives. 

Peter writes, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you” (1 Peter 4:12). Peter tells us that adversity is to be expected in the life of a Christian. Peter was teaching the early Christians that if they intended to live for God and follow the commands of the Bible, they could expect adversity to come their way.

We live in a society that thrives on vacations, trips to amusement parks, and times of fun. We want things to go smoothly and get all the fun we can out of life. But the reality is that sometimes adversity will come and it is to be expected.

Notice the phrase “think it not strange” in verse twelve. The word strange means “to surprise or astonish by the strangeness or novelty of a thing.” It is as if Peter is saying, “Don’t get caught off-guard by the trials that will come your way. Know that you will face ridicule, challenges, and difficulties as a Christian.”

Notice also the phrase “concerning the fiery trial.” The fiery trial reminds us of the refiner’s fire. The refiner is God, and He brings into our lives the fire that will not burn us, but that will bring out the impurities in our lives. Just as the refiner puts the gold ore in the fire to separate the pure gold from the ore, so God brings adversity to teach us to trust Him and to mature us as His children.

Some Christians fail to see God’s purpose in the fire of adversity and stray from God during this time. They have tried to live for God in their own strength and have desired to follow Him, but the minute a trial came, they turned from God. They didn’t expect hardships, so they stray from God’s work in their lives.

Are you in the refiner’s fire? Is God seeking to refine you through adversity? Friend, don’t let trials separate you from God. God has a purpose for that trial in your life! Even when you don’t understand why or when you can’t see God’s plan, trust that He, as your Heavenly Father, knows what’s best for you and only wants to help you. Spend time with Him now and let Him have His way. Endure the fire, for in the end you will come forth as gold.—THINK ABOUT IT!

“Thar ain’t nuttin like home cookin!”. Bet I’ve heard those words a thousand times as a boy growing up in the Ozarks. And if it’s my wife’s cooking it is true. I was reminded of this again just a few minutes ago as I consumed (devoured might be a better word) some of her cranberry-nut bread. It was awesome, but my favorite is still the date nut bread I ate yesterday—just no words to describe it. I won’t even mention the rum cake and assortment of cookies and candy. [Read more…]

As Christmas draws near, I reflect more and more on the years gone by. Guess that’s a sign of old age. O well, it does my soul good. Especially when I think about how simple things were back then.

Dad and I would always combine a hunting trip with getting the annual Christmas tree. While we hunted “cottontails” we stayed on the look-out for the ideal tree. When we arrived back home the decorations began. For many years the only “store-bought” ornaments we had were a few glass bulbs and a big red and white plastic star that adorned the top of the tree. Everything else was home-made. Mom made pop-corn balls and we would string pop-corn on fishing line to wrap around the tree. [Read more…]

I can’t remember a time in my life when so many people that I know were hurting and needy. Nor can I recall a time when I so desired to help. The frustrating thing is that there is only so much a person can do. We all have a limited amount of time, money, and ability. O I am very much aware of the fact that God expects only so much from us, but that doesn’t stop the pain. When your loved ones hurt you hurt. That’s the price we pay for loving. And please don’t take that as a complaint. It is far more costly not to love.

Every day I live my hatred of satan and sin intensifies. I also become more keenly aware of the fact that we are engaged in a spiritual warfare. We face a powerful unseen enemy who is determined to destroy us and he is relentless. There is no limit to the lengths he will go to accomplish his purpose.

While I greatly rejoice that the final victory is ours and that we presently receive help from God, I grieve over the present pain that the enemy inflicts on people. My heart breaks when I see folks on a path of self-destruction, making decisions that hurt others and themselves—decisions that will haunt them for the rest of their life. It makes no difference whether it is the person who hurt others or the person hurt by others–when it involves people you love you hurt also.

So what’s the point of all this? The point is that the pain we suffer is actually a good thing. Were there no pain there would be no love and were there no love there would be no desire to help others. Let us then not curse the pain, but rather embrace it, asking God for the strength to bear it. Don’t ask God for less pain, ask Him for greater strength. We live in a fallen world and “Man that is born of woman is of few days, and full of trouble.”(Job 14:1) Get use to it and get ready for it. Just as suffering prepared Jesus for His intercessory work on our behalf, it prepares us to be of service to others. Sure it hurts and it hurts deeply, but we would be worthless without it. THINK ABOUT IT!