My Test

By Charles R. Grisham

Through fountains of tears my soul doth reach for Thee,

O'er mountains of fears my heart cries out to Thee;

The cool valleys of rest that long have evaded me,

Oh hasten this test to triumphnat victory.

Long nights of remorse, of years that were wasted,

Now free from sin's curse, Heaven's joys I have tasted;

Life's song, verse by berse, I'll sing until daybreak,

Quenching doubt as I thirst to win for His Name's sake.

I've been tried in the fire, I can say He is faithful,

I was sug from the mire, indeed, I am grateful;

Glad morning of rapture, deliverance is nearing,

Bright dawning of grandeur, His glory endearing.

Each trial has its measure of intended glory,

We seek Heaven's treasure at the end of life's story;

I'm pressing, I'm striving, by faith it's my best,

Lord, grant through my trying, I'll pass this, my test.



The Shepherd

Note: October is Pastor Appreciation Month!

When Christ the Good Shepherd calls a man,
It’s always a part of His purpose and plan;

He’s called him to gently lead His flock,

To build their faith on the Solid Rock.

He chooses a man after His own heart,

Who will carry the load and do his part;

Who’ll feed the flock with the finest of the wheat,

And lead them to living water, still and sweet.

Finding green pastures and cool, restful shade,

A rod and a staff are his tools of the trade;

Always on guard ‘gainst the flock’s bitter foes,

Deflecting, protecting, wherever he goes.

Sometimes the path is rugged and steep,

Sometimes the valleys are dark and deep;

But the Chief Shepherd’s promise is faithful and true,

"Cast your cares upon Him, for He careth for you."

He’ll not forget your work and labor of love,

Toward His Name and His saints – ‘tis recorded above;

For diligence, full assurance, and hope to the end,

With faith and patience mark the Chief Shepherd’s friend.

In ev’ry word you say and ev’ry deed you do,

Know He cares for His flock and His shepherd too...

And when the task is over and the battle is won,

He’s promised the faithful will hear His "Well Done!"


MJKinnee
October 2011

Chosen in the Furnace of Affliction

By Betty D. Austin

"Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." (Isaiah 48:10)Recently, I found myself in the furnace of affliction because of something beyond my control. After having a check-up with my OB-GYN, followed by many other tests, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The thought came to mind after hearing the diagnosis was, ‘the furnace of affliction.’ I recognized the fact that I had no say in the matter of getting cancer but I did have a choice in how I would respond. My choice or choices, I believe, determine the outcome of my particular furnace.

Certainly, I am not the first nor will I be the last person to find themselves in a furnace of affliction. Scripture is filled with them. With faith and God’s grace, I considered their choices and determined to make the same choices they made.

Way back in the early ‘40’s, a desire to know God began to grow in my heart; no doubt the seed of my desire had been planted by my mother. In 1949, at nine years of age, I made the choice to commit my life to the Lord. He marvelously filled me with the Holy Spirit. Through the years, I chose to commit again and again to the Lord as situations in life loomed up before me. Yet, here I was again, facing a new furnace... What would I choose? Three choices came to mind...

1. Charge God foolishly
2. Curse God and die
3. Pray

A couple of these were no doubt presented to me by the enemy of my soul, just as they had been presented to heroes of the Scripture with furnace experiences. They were choices without hope! It was an easy choice to make!
I have Job’s witness...
He held firm to what He believed, and knew from experience, about God

"In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly." (Job 1:22)

"Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die." (Job 2:9) Job's wife was so distraught she encouraged her husband to curse God!

"…Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips." (Job 2:10)

I had James’ (the brother of the Lord) words also!

"Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:13-16)

Let’s consider the questions & choices James posed in this passage...

1. Is any afflicted? Pray!
2. Is any merry? Sing!
3. Is any sick? Call for elders; let them pray anointing with oil in the Name of the Lord. The prayer of faith shall save the sick and the Lord will raise him up and if there be sin, they shall be forgiven.

The key here, I believe, is save him and ‘raising’ up; James did not say heal here in this phrase. In the latter portion of verse 16, there is the promise of healing when we pray one for another. It is the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man that avails much - one in right standing with God and with one another.

James gives us the answers to the questions; answers with promises in regard to our furnace of affliction. Yet I must answer with my choices in regard to his questions. James could not make the choices for me! I had to choose to reply per his instruction. If not, I will find myself among the number who chose to charge God foolishly, or curse God and die!

In the furnace of affliction I will pray; I will sing; I will call and the Lord shall save; the Lord shall raise up; the Lord shall forgive; the Lord will apply His righteousness and the Lord shall deliver me!

"As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise." (Proverbs 27:21)"A person’s character will be revealed by what he considers important enough to praise." – Sages of Torah

‘The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the Lord trieth the hearts." (Proverbs 17:3)One of the great Jewish sages says, "With the right tools anyone can test the purity of things but only God can determine the purity of the heart. We are not able to do so but God’s furnace will reveal it."

The Fourth Man in the Fire will always walk with us in the furnace of affliction when we choose in agreement with His Word. He enters my furnace. He chooses to do so! In the furnace I become truly known by Him and He by me; I become unto Him a person of inheritance! He gives what the world can never take away – and it is more precious than pure gold!

"But the Lord hath taken you, and brought you forth [withdrawn you] out of the iron furnace [crucible] ...to be unto Him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day." (Deuteronomy 4:20)

Editor's Note: Betty Austin, wife of Charles Austin and mother of four children, (including Laurel Williams, who wrote an article for the September issue,) is a member of The Apostolic Church in Auburn Heights, Michigan (Pastor Steve Warman), where she is involved in the teaching ministry. Update on her medical condition includes a praise report that surgery was successfully performed on September 19th. Subsequent tests have her doctors feeling they have removed the threat completely. We praise the Lord with Sis. Betty and her family over the good report!                                                               - mjk

So You Would Know...

By Marjorie Kinnee

As our choir sang Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir's, "So You Would Know", the words filled my mind... "Didn't I put food on your table? showed up when the bills were due? When the pain was wracking your body, didn't I send healing down to you?"

Breaking into my consciousness was the realization that we humans are bogged down with here and now. We are bound by what we can feel with our hands, see with our eyes, and hear with our ears. We think in terms of the tangible; houses, cars, loved ones, physical, and material things. And thus we flounder in fetters fashioned by our own frailties.

It seemed to me those first lines aptly picture the restrictions we place on the God of the universe. We limit His approach, His ability to speak to us on any higher level because we are so chained to the earthy.

We're not alone in this. Matthew tells us of a return visit Jesus made to His hometown, Nazareth. Speaking in their synagogue, He astonished them with His teaching. Their response was, "Where is all this coming from? We know His mother, His brothers and His sisters. They live right here with us, so how is it that He's like this?" His Nazarene neighbors were offended in Him. (See Matthew 13:53-57.) The sad conclusion is... "And He did not many might works there because of their unbelief." (Matthew 13:58)

Limiting God on any level amounts to unbelief and such limitations end up tying His hands! We restrict Him to touching us through earth-bound things because we're too dim of eye-sight, too dull of hearing, and too locked in the tangible to perceive the intangible realities He offers so freely. We place the greatest weight on what we see and feel. But in reality, the realm of the Spirit is far more weighty. It's our perception that's awry. The last lines of the chorus introduce the perception He longs for in and from us. "When you were lost in sin and sorrow," (this can only be perceived in one's spirit,) "I died to set you free..." (His response and solution to our spiritual predicament,) So you would know..." (perceive/understand)

He wants so much more than just restricted access. Everything He desires, His very purpose and plan for us is wrapped up in us realizing there is so much more than just the here and now. At the foot of the cross we begin to glimpse the glorious intent He had, (and has,) for us. He wants us to move up and out of the dirt and dust - to a higher plain. The cross not only reveals His  overwhelming love for us, it also is the launch point to a whole new spiritual world of eternal light and life.

Oh yes, "bars of bone" as another songwriter put it, "hold my soul." But there is coming a day, and it's not far away, when those bars will vanish and what was truly important will fill our view for ever and ever. What a pity, what a waste, to fritter away His overtures, His wooing. Even now His Spirit draws us, "Come up hither, My beloved. Forsake earthly things." Can you hear His voice...? "So you would know... So you would know how much... So you would know just how much I love you!"

MJKinnee