Tag: trials

Thy Dross to Consume, Thy Gold to Refine

On By Charis PsalloIn Art6 Comments

Painting: Consuming Fire,  acrylic on canvas

“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,

My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;

The flame shall not harm thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

The soul that on Jesus doth lean for repose,

I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.”

(from “How Firm a Foundation” by John Keene)

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews  12:28,29)

Already

On By Charis PsalloIn Art, WaterLeave a comment

Photo: Tam O’ Shanter Creek

Since then it is by faith that we are justified, let us grasp the fact that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Through him we have confidently entered into this new relationship of grace, and here we take our stand,

in happy certainty of the glorious things he has for us in the future.

 This doesn’t mean, of course, that we have only a hope of future joys—we can be full of joy here and now even in our trials and troubles.

Taken in the right spirit these very things will give us patient endurance;

this in turn will develop a mature character, and a character of this sort produces a steady hope,

a hope that will never disappoint us.

Already we have some experience of

the love of God flooding through our hearts

by the Holy Spirit given to us.

(Romans 5:1-5)