Oct 29
The Old Refiner
"He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver" (Mal. 3:3).
Today's Scripture & Insight: Malachi 3:1-6
1 “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.
2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.
5 “So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the LORD Almighty.
6 “I the LORD do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.
Our Father, who seeks to perfect His saints in holiness, knows the value of the refiner's fire. It is with the most precious metals that the assayer takes the most pains, and subjects them to the hot fire, because such fires melt the metal, and only the molten mass releases its alloy or takes perfectly its new form in the mould. The old refiner never leaves his crucible, but sits down by it, lest there should be one excessive degree of heat to mar the metal. But as soon as he skims from the surface the last of the dross, and sees his own face reflected, he puts out the fire.--Arthur T. Pierson
Today’s Hymns: Refiner
Refiner’s Fire
Scripture to Respond: Job 23:9-10
9 When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.10 But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
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1 Peter 1:15-16
15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”[a]
Reflection: A believer’s life will only be purified after being refined. Are you willing to make up your mind to serve God with holy hands by relying on His grace?
Prayer: Dear Lord, may my faith be strengthened after refining. Please help me become a living sacrifice to you every day and may you accept my service with delight.
Wong Wai Tung
(Chief executive officer of The Great Wall Education Foundation) & Sam Chow
(Administrative officer of The Great Wall Education Foundation) Reflection and prayer translated by Jenny Hung
