Category: Strength for Today

Proverbs 25:4
“Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.”

Several years ago I had the privilege of going to a refinery to see the smelting process for gold. The process was very interesting to someone who had never seen how they refined gold. They took a bucket of what looked like dirt and put it on a sifter, and what remained after they shook it was the larger chunks of what looked like little rocks. They then took what remained and put it in a furnace that had extreme heat. The heat revealed the real gold. You could see the gold and the dross separate from each other so that when it came out of the fire the gold was collected to be sold and the dross was thrown away.

This is what the verse above is teaching. God says that the dross is going to have to be taken away from their lives if they are going to become that fine vessel for God to use. Dross devalues the worth, weakens the strength and limits the potential. It is oftentimes not seen by the naked eye. It can blend in with the silver so as to look authentic. There is only one way to remove the dross, and that is through the refiner’s fire. God can use you in your present state, but He will have to remove the dross from your life if you are going to become a fine vessel in His hands. That dross in your life will only be removed by the refiner’s fire.

When you look at history, you will always see that those who were used greatly by God had to go through the refiner’s fire before He used them. Many people have gone through the fire, but while going through the fire they clung to the dross in their lives only to have to go back into the fire.

Friend, the purpose of the fiery trials in your life is so that the dross can be removed. The dross in your life could be the besetting sin that is holding you back from God being able to use you in a great way. The dross could be something that in and of itself is not bad, but it is holding you back from God using you in a greater way. The dross could be a character flaw that you need to correct before God can make you into a fine vessel. These are the things that need to be removed while you go through the fire.

I was talking to a fine Christian man whose wife was very ill. He told me that when she first got sick he asked himself if there was something in his life that God was trying to correct. This is the right attitude to have. So many times in my life I have seen trials reveal something in me that I didn’t know was there. It was something that when I saw it I didn’t like and I knew it was keeping God from using me in a greater way. Just like this Christian man immediately looked at what he needed to correct when his wife got sick, so you too need to look at yourself when experiencing trials and heartache to see if there is some dross that must be removed.

God is not a respecter of persons. You can become a fine vessel in the hand of God, but before you will ever become that fine vessel you will have to go through the fire to have the dross removed. What you do with your fire will determine how much God can use you. The degree of God using you is truly dependent upon what you do with the dross in your life. The more dross you take away, the finer vessel you will become in the hand of God. Before asking God to remove the dross remember that it can only be removed by the refiner’s fire, but fire is definitely worth it when you become a fine vessel in God’s hand.

Ezra 5:1
“Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them.”

Every time I read this passage of Scripture, my heart is stirred because of the power that preaching had on the rebuilding of the temple. Most of my life has been about traveling and preaching in churches to help stir God’s people for revival. It is very evident that preaching was the key to the building of the temple and the wall. When you read the Book of Ezra, you see there were four results of preaching that you need in your life if you are going to live the successful Christian life.

First, preaching reminds us of our original purpose. It was the preaching of Haggai that reminded Israel that they were to rebuild the temple. Preaching has a way of pressing the reset button in your life. It will remind and prod you to get back to the original purpose of the Christian life. In a world with so many things to sidetrack you from your purpose, you need to hear the preaching of God’s Word to help you stay focused on God’s purpose for your life.

Second, preaching motivates us to change. It was the preaching of Haggai and Zechariah that stirred Zerubbabel to change what he was doing. Preaching has a way to get you out of a bad rut in life and motivate you to change. You can probably look back at your own life and remember times when preaching motivated you to change things in your life. You need preaching if you are going to change those things that are keeping you from living the successful Christian life.

Third, preaching stirs us to do something. It says in verse 2, “Then rose up…” I can remember sermons that throughout my life caused me to pray more, go soul winning, work more for God and simply do more things. Preaching will give you the vision to do something big for God. Many young men have been stirred by preaching to surrender their lives to full-time service. That is why you need preaching. Preaching will light a fire inside of you to do something greater with your life. Without preaching, you will find yourself living an apathetic Christian life.

Fourth, preaching gives us an urgency. It says about the work being done on the temple in verse 8, “…this work goeth fast on…” It was moving quickly because there was an urgency presented in the preaching to get it done. You will find that preaching will present the urgency of the hour. It will remind us that what we do for Christ will literally influence souls that are hanging between Heaven and Hell. It will remind you that there is no time to waste. You need preaching to constantly remind you of this urgency.

Every Christian who has pleased God has been influenced greatly by preaching. Let me encourage you to listen to more preaching. Certainly, you should be faithful to all the services of your church, but you should also find ways to listen to more preaching. It is through the “foolishness of preaching” that you will see God’s power working through your life. Use your down time when driving or when you are getting ready for the day to listen to preaching. You will find that it will help you to live a better Christian life and it will help you to be more prosperous in your service for God.

Proverbs 23:15
“My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.”

Every parent’s desire and concern for their child is that they turn out to be a wise person. Parents hope that their children are listening to their instruction and look for signs that they understand what they were taught. Trying to discern if your child has a wise heart is easily perceived if you know what you are looking for.

Even Solomon was concerned with his son having a wise heart. He reminds his son that if his heart was wise that it would make his parents rejoice. The verses that follow show four evidences that will help a parent discern if their child is wise hearted.

First, the wise-hearted child will have proper conversations. Verse 16 says, “Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.” Every parent needs to listen to their children talk. How they talk will help you in discerning what is in their heart. You can always tell when a child has been trained right because of the way they talk. They can carry on conversations with adults. Their language is not course, rude or improper. They don’t fill their time talking about foolish living. They try to use their words to be an encouragement to others instead of berating and making fun of them. You will know when your child’s heart is wise because their conversations will reveal their maturity.

Second, the wise-hearted child will have right desires. Verse 17 says, “Let not thine heart envy sinners…” Let me encourage you to consider the desires of your children. All you have to do is ask your child what they want to do with their life. The wise-hearted child wants nothing to do with how the world lives. You will know if your child has a wise heart by how they discuss the way of sinners. If they tend to defend those ways, you still have some work to do in that area.

Third, the wise-hearted child will choose the right associations. It says in verse 20, “Be not among…” Solomon then goes on and describes a group of people with whom he did not want his son to associate. You will be able to discern whether you have a wise-hearted child by the friends they choose. I encourage you to look at your children’s friends and honestly see if they have chosen the right type of friends. A wise-hearted child will gravitate towards the right people.

Fourth, the wise-hearted child will avoid the wrong atmosphere. Verse 20 wasn’t just about choosing the right associations, but it was also showing that the wise-hearted child will avoid the atmospheres that the wrong people frequent. How comfortable your child is when they see the wrong things on television or when you are in an atmosphere that isn’t right will reveal what is in their heart. A wise-hearted child will feel uncomfortable in the wrong atmosphere and will do what they can to avoid it.

These four areas will help the parent in discerning if they have a wise-hearted child. If your child lacks in some of these areas, earnestly pray for God to help you guide them to becoming wise hearted. The only way a child will become wise hearted is if their parent teaches them these things. The parent who takes the time to teach and train their children in these areas will be greatly rewarded with a wise-hearted child.

2 Chronicles 33:22
“But he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as did Manasseh his father: for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them;”

The verse above is a sad commentary of Amon. Amon chose to follow the wrong example that his father set in sacrificing to carved images. This wasn’t the only example that Amon had to follow because Manasseh got right with God and removed the strange gods and idols out of the temple. Amon saw what the LORD did to his father when he sacrificed to the false gods, and he also saw how God was intreated for his father after his prayer of repentance. Sadly, instead of choosing the right positions and actions of his father, he chose to follow the wrong example of his father’s weakness.

Oftentimes, I find that Christian choose to follow the wrong example of their parents or Christian leaders from the past. Instead of choosing to follow their strengths, we tend to gravitate towards their weaknesses to our own detriment. The difference between those we follow and ourselves is that we have a whole life to examine and to see which side the LORD blessed. We have no excuse when we choose to follow the weaker side of someone’s life, and God will judge us accordingly. There are several principles that we can learn from Amon’s life that we should apply to our own lives.

First, always choose the stronger positions of those we choose to copy. Preachers make the mistake of choosing the weaker positions of men of God from the past instead of choosing their strongest positions. Children will oftentimes choose to follow the weakest part of their parent’s lives instead of choosing to follow their stronger positions. You must remember that people do grow, and just because they held a weaker position at some point in their lives doesn’t make it right for you to follow their weaker positions or actions. Always choose the strongest position a person held when choosing to follow their example.

Second, God holds you to a greater standard because you know better. God held Belshazzar to a greater standard because he saw both the weak and strong side of his father, Nebuchadnezzar. God held Chorazin and Bethsaida to a higher standard because they saw the works of God, whereas Tyre and Sidon had not. God will hold you to a higher standard of accountability when you know better. You can justify choosing the weaker stance of those you follow, but God doesn’t justify your choice of a weaker stance because He knows that you know better. God always punishes the nation or individual who knows better more than He does the ones who didn’t have the examples that you have to follow.

Third, always remember that someone is going to copy every choice of action or position that you make. Friend, there is another generation that is following you and they will most likely choose to follow your weaker position. Let this reminder be a motivation to be very careful with your actions and positions. Be careful to leave the next generation with an example that will allow them to do right even if they choose to follow your weaker actions or positions. Certainly, God will hold the next generation accountable for their own actions, but He will also hold you accountable for the actions and positions you are leaving them. Leave an example of right actions and positions so that generations to come will have no choice but to follow but the right choice.

2 Chronicles 31:20
“And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God.”

If I told you that I have a guide that it would always help you to make the right decisions, you would do anything to get your hands on that guide if you had a heart for God. There are many Christians who want to do right, but they face situations where they oftentimes don’t know what to do. The verse above is that guide. You can see that there were three prerequisites that Hezekiah followed in determining his actions.

You will notice that it says that Hezekiah “wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God.” The word “wrought” means to beat out or shape by hammering. In other words, he shaped every action by following these three guidelines.

First, he only did that which was “good.” Before you do anything always ask yourself, “Is this good?” In other words, is this something that God would want me to do? Many of our questions about whether or not we should do something could be answered if we would ask ourselves if something is good. If you are saved, you have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of you who will give you the answer as to whether something is good if you will simply ask. This may seem too simple, but the next time you are faced with a decision you would be wise to audibly ask yourself if what you are about to do is good. I believe the majority of your decisions can be answered just by following this first guide.

Second, he only did that which was “right.” The word “right” is the same word we use for “straight.” In other words, you must determine if what you are about to do is going to take you off the course of what God wants you to do or will it keep you going straight. Always be sure that what you do doesn’t pull you away from what God wants you to do. There are many things that are not wrong in and of themselves, but they become wrong when they take you away from what God wants you to do. Only do those things in life that are in the course of what God wants you to do.

Third, he only did that which was “truth.” This is simply asking yourself if you have any ulterior motives as to why you want to do something. There are times when we do good to spite others and show them that they were wrong about us and we were right. This is a wrong reason to do things. Don’t do things to prove your point, but you do things because it is what God would want you to do. Everything you do should be done with a pure motive to please God and follow His will for your life.

It is interesting that by following these three guides to determining proper action, Hezekiah was able to do them “with all his heart.” In other words, there was nothing holding him back, and when nothing held him back he “prospered.” Friend, you will find it is not hard to get fully involved with your whole being when you follow these guides to determining actions. These guides will enable you to do things with all your heart because you have no reservation about whether or not God wants you to do it. Let me encourage you to always follow these guides to action. These guides will help you to prosper in the work that God has for you to do.

2 Chronicles 15:3
“Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.”

Many of the troubles experienced in life are self-inflicted. Yes, we have troubles that come because of others, but many of our troubles could be averted if we didn’t inflict them upon ourselves. The amazing part about self-inflicted troubles is that they are all a result of bad decisions. If we avoided bad decisions, we could avoid self-inflicted troubles.

Throughout Israel’s history, we find that most of their problems were self-inflicted. They certainly had problems that were brought upon them because other nations disliked them, but most of their problems could have been avoided. God shows us in the verse above three things that led to their problems.

The first cause of their problems was that they lived without God. Think of this, they were known as God’s nation, but they chose to live without Him. This is no different from a Christian choosing to live without God. Many Christians go through life without one time asking God for His wisdom or guidance. Making God a part of your life is a choice. It is a choice whether or not to go to church. It is a choice whether or not to ask God for His mind about whether you should do something. Anytime you choose to do things on your own, you are inflicting trouble on yourself. Anytime you choose to live a life of sin, you are choosing to inflict troubles into your life. It is your choice. Just like Israel chose to not make God their primary focus; likewise, you have a choice every day whether or not you are going to live for God or live a life of sin.

The second cause of Isreal’s problems was that they chose to live without a preacher. Every person needs a man of God in their life. It is very arrogant of a Christian to think that they don’t need a man of God to tell them when they are doing wrong or guide them in their decision-making. So many people today tend to belittle the need of a man of God in their life because they want to be their own authority. They use their flimsy excuse that we are to serve God and not man, but they very well know that their reasoning of not having a man of God in their life is so that they can live their worldly lifestyle. You can avoid self-inflicted troubles in your life if you will include a man of God in your life and allow him to be the voice of reason from God to guide, warn and encourage you in your Christian life.

The third cause of Isreal’s problem was that they chose to live without the Word of God. Whenever you choose not to read the Scriptures daily, you are adding trouble to your life. Many self-inflicted troubles could be avoided simply by reading God’s Word every day. It is in God’s Word that you will find the guidance you need for that day. It is God’s Word that will bring conviction to the areas of your life that need to be changed. It is God’s Word that encourages you to keep going in those times when life seems to be especially hard. Choosing to live your day without ever opening God’s Word is begging for self-inflicted troubles.

A Christian cannot live without these three things in their lives, for if they do, they are bound for heartache. Be careful to always keep all three things in your life, because all of these things are important to living a happy and successful life.

2 Chronicles 10:4
“Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee.”

Everything has a pattern or mold that is used to replicate what was originally produced. When I was a young boy, I remember taking a mold that made plaster ornaments and pouring the ingredients into it. It was important that we took care of those molds because they were the pattern by which we made the ornaments we desired. If we broke the mold, we no longer were able to replicate what we wanted.

In the verse above, Israel wanted to break the mold. Rehoboam had just taken the throne after Solomon passed away, and the people came to him and asked him to “…ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us…” They said that Solomon made their yoke “grievous.” What is interesting to me is that in the previous chapter it was said about them from the Queen of Sheba, “Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom.” Something doesn’t seem to be right. When an outsider came and saw that they were happy under Solomon, I would think their perception of the past was wrong. They unfortunately forgot that Solomon’s method of ruling produced happiness.

What was really going on with these people? In looking back they thought the hardness wasn’t that important. They were trying to break a mold and wanted to use a new mold, but the old mold is what made them happy and who they were. Sadly, they broke the mold and turned from God’s ways which resulted in the demise of their nation.

Friend, history never changes. Every generation fights the same battles that the previous generation fought, it’s just that the characters that are different. There are those in every generation who criticize the mold of the previous generation, but what they don’t take into consideration is that the mold is what made them who they are. You can complain about the mold and try to change things, but when you break the mold you also lose the happiness that comes with it.

Let me encourage you not to forsake the mold that God has given us in His Word. You may think that your parents were too hard on you, but that hardness is what helped mold your successful life. If you change the mold with your children and try to make things easier with less discipline, you will find that the new mold will bring headaches and heartache. Your parent’s standard on how to live with rules, discipline, sacrifice and commitment to the LORD is what gave you the character and discipline that has made you successful in this life. Don’t listen to those who say that you were not happy, but look at what you became.

Moreover, be careful that you don’t accept the new molds being offered in Christianity. There are many who say the standards of holiness of the previous generation and the pressure they put on us to produce for the LORD were unnecessary, but these things gave us the great results in our ministries, families and lives. The Devil will always try to persuade you that you weren’t happy back then, but I admonish you not to listen to his lies. If you will keep the mold of God’s Word, you will keep the blessings and happiness that it brings. Don’t break the mold!

2 Chronicles 6:9
“Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house; but thy son which shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.”

In a world that is so concerned with building a legacy, it is sad that very few people are concerned with building a spiritual legacy. I am not talking about a legacy where others talk about you after you are gone, but building a legacy where your children carry on how you lived for God and do greater works for Him after you are gone. If there is any type of legacy you should try to build, it should be a spiritual legacy.

David definitely built a spiritual legacy. David desired to build a house for God, but God had a better idea for him. God told David that he could not build a house because he was a man of war; but, God gave David a greater vision and that was to prepare his son to build the house after he was gone. The rest of David’s life was all about preparing for that house. He set aside gold and silver throughout his life so that his son would be able to build this house without being hindered by a shortage of materials. He prepared the plans for Solomon to follow, but the best preparation he made was in preparing and passing the vision onto his son. David built a spiritual legacy that Solomon knew he was to carry on, and I believe it helped Solomon to have a spiritual purpose for his life.

If you are going to build a spiritual legacy, you must live a godly life while you are alive. Too many young people learn worldliness from their parents then the parents wonder why their children go to the world after they’re grown. If you would live your life in such a manner that your children would see that serving God needs to be the focus of their life, you will have a better chance of them turning out right. Your children need to see your walk with God. They need to see that it is more than just a weekend appointment, but they need to see that it is a lifestyle to live.

Moreover, if you are going to build a spiritual legacy, you need to start building something for God now. If you were to die today, what have you built for God that your children would want to carry on? Have you built a Sunday school class that your children would want to keep going? Have you built a bus route that your children would want to take over to see those lives that were touched by your life to continue growing in the LORD? What are you building for God right now? Friend, there is no way you can build a spiritual legacy if you are not involved in your church.

Furthermore, building a spiritual legacy involves having a vision for God that you want to pass onto your children. You should desire for your children to serve God with their lives. I know I will take some criticism for this statement, but why are we lowering the bar for our children to serve in the world? Why not give your children a vision to serve the LORD in full-time service? You may not have been able to do this with your life, but you can give your children the vision to do this with their lives. If you are going to build a spiritual legacy, you must give your children a vision to give their lives to God to serve Him full-time. Let me encourage you to raise your expectations for your children and build a spiritual legacy by imparting to them a vision to serve the LORD full-time.