Day 292: Refined by Fire

2 Timothy 1; Jeremiah 5-6; Psalm 121

Paul talks about two things in this first chapter of 2nd Timothy: not being ashamed and making full use of the faith and gifts that God has given. Wow, imagine if we followers of Christ lived a truly unashamed life and we made full used of our God-given gifts! It's hard to be completely motivated since Paul is speaking from jail, though, right? But Paul's perspective has always been that a little momentary suffering in this life is worth an eternity in heaven with Jesus. I pray that I, that we, live unashamed lives for Jesus, preaching the good news without hesitation or fear.

It may have been obvious, but what I realized is that Jeremiah is not talking to foreign nations who do not know God--he is talking to God's people. In today's language we could say Christians, followers of Christ, believers. All this wickedness and evil is being done by the people who belong to God. Basically, they should know better than to act like they are and because God had given them everything and they rejected it, he is going to let their traps trap them. I pray that believers around the world would live for The Lord, live in purity and holiness, serving God only. God doesn't want church attendance, or "good people." He wants faithful people who love each other. He goes on to say that "silver can be purified in a fiery furnace, but my people are too wicked to be made pure." Let's be like silver, that when we go through the fires of life, it purifies us, makes us more like Jesus.

What a great verse: "The Lord will protect you and keep you safe from all dangers. The Lord will protect you now and always wherever you go." God is so good. This doesn't mean life is easy, but it means our God loves us and doesn't want to harm his people. Thank you Lord!