"The Secret of Buying Gold"

These days nearly every television and radio channel is running some sort of commercial about how you can either sell the gold you have to make money, or buy gold to put up and save for a financial crisis. Neither of these is what this post is about. Today is our next "installment" from the book I'm reading Secrets of the Secret Place.

Today's post is from the chapter, The Secret of Buying Gold.

"I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich." Revelation 3:18

"What is this gold that enriches us? It's the gold of authentically-produced godly character, it's Christlikeness. ...

To de-mistify this thing, let me describe very clearly the process whereby we buy 'gold refined by fire.' First comes the fire. By fire, I am talking about tribulation or affliction or distress or calamity or persecution. ... You don't have to wonder or imagine whether you're in the fire. When the fire hits your life, you will know it! You will lose control, your pain levels will skyrocket, and your desperation for God will intensify. Your flesh will want to collapse and give up, but since your spirit is alive to the beauties of Christ, the fire will be used of God to drive you into the face of Christ like never before. Instead of giving up, you'll run even harder! Your primary source of sanity in the midst of the fire will be your secret place, where the Spirit will soothe your tortured soul and the word will sustain your hope and faith.

... you will begin to see areas of your heart and soul that have been out of alignment with God's ways and will. As you see those things, you are so desperate for God you gladly and diligently do business with Him, repenting and considering deeply how to change and adopt new patterns of thought, behavior, and motive. As you embrace the changes that God's Spirit inspires within you, you are actually becoming more like Jesus. Or to put it another way, you're buying gold in the fire.

It says we "buy" this gold because the pricetag is steep. ...

The fire has a way of making you a doer of the word and not just a hearer only. You become desperate for a word from God, and then when it comes, you cling to it like it's your very life source. ... then something amazing happens. When you share with others how the word mirrored your own shortcomings and how you became a doer of the word in the midst of the fire, your witness will have a profound effect upon your hearers. They will be fed by your witness of what has fed you.

The secret place is the only way you'll survive the fire. And the secret of the thing is, God's word flowing into you will not only enable you to survive, it will empower you to overcome and buy eternal treasure. ... God has great understanding into this powerful little secret, which is why He is merciful enough to send the fire in answer to your prayers. If you will cry to Him from the depths of your being, He will send exactly the right kind of fire you need at this moment in your journey. This fire will press you into the mirror of His word that you might begin to buy the gold of "refined character."

There are days when I feel as if surely I must have a stockpile of gold simply because of the troubles I've seen in my own life. Then I think of those who live in persecuted nations of the world, those who were burned alive or otherwise martyred for their allegiance and faith in Christ. I think of those who this very moment are starving to death while I just finished eating plenty for dinner and will later on enjoy some cake I made today. I think of those who've lost multiple children, not just one - though even the one is a horrifying event in one's life.

Most of all I pray that, as I go through the fire, I will throw myself into the arms of my God, cling to His word, press myself into Him, that I may be changed. I desire to be transformed into something that brings glory to my God. I pray that I will not become embittered because of the trials, but that as I share with others how the word mirrored my own shortcomings and how I became a doer of the word in the midst of the fire, that my witness will have a profound effect upon my hearers. That they will be fed by my witness of what has fed me.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ." 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

I hope that you all are enjoying these segments from this book. I'm surely enjoying reading it. Please leave your thoughts and comments. Next up, The Secret of Inviting His Gaze, and Anna has another song to go along with that one.

Abiding in His grace,
Lori


Hola, everybody! Here's a song to go along with THIS post (sorry I couldn't find a video, you'll just have to read the lyrics)...

"Consume Me" by Tenth Avenue North:

Walking down the dusty road
Though weak I thought I was so strong
Trying to make it one my own
I keep tripping on my clumsy feet
Look here at the mess I made of me
When you pulled me from the mud and clay
Yeah so you fill me anyway
But you hold me anyways
And I said...

Consume me with your fire
Cleanse me with your rain
Bring and purify me let me glorify your name
Until only your love remains

Consume me with your fire
Cleanse me with your rain
Yeah wash away my empty past
Until only your love remains
Love remains ... 'til only your love remains

22 years passed me by
22 years I sat and cried
Living by sight and not by faith
Oh Lord you wont despise
Forgiving me so many times
When I turned and I walked away
Yeah but you turned me around when I humbled myself to pray
And I say...

Consume me with your fire
Cleanse me with your rain
Bring and purify me let me glorify your name
Until only your love remains

Consume me with your fire
Cleanse me with your rain
Yeah wash away my empty past
Until only your love remains
Love remains... Only your love remains

Amazing grace just rain on me today
Yeah forgive me as I'm giving my heart
To you to you to you
Yeah

Consume me with your fire
Cleanse me with your rain
Bring and purify me let me glorify your name
Until only your love remains

Consume me with your fire
Cleanse me with your rain
Yeah wash away my empty past
Until only your love remains
Love remains... Only your love remains

I hope y'all like it!
Anna McGuire/marryanna

The Secret of Confinement

Well, tonight we will continue on with our third installment of my excerpts from, and thoughts on, Secrets of the Secret Place - Keys to Igniting Your Personal Time with God by Bob Sorge.

In the trials I have faced throughout my own personal life: the illness and death of our first child, the death of Todd's mother, Anna's health problems and surgery as a baby, the death of all of our living grandparents, twenty years of marriage - and the usual trials that brings, the death of my father, the adoption of a child, my own frustrating health problems and dibilitating accidents, etc... I have come to understand the following statement, perhaps more than some can. Our first statement from this chapter is this, "David said of the Lord, 'He made darkness His secret place' (Psalm 18:11). When the lights of understanding go out and you're plunged into emotional darkness, you are actually being issued an invitation into God's secret place. It's in the darkness where God meets in secret with His chosen ones."

You see our human nature and Satan's influence, cause us to think that when something bad - maybe even horrific - is going on in our lives that we are all alone. We feel like no one else on earth has ever felt THIS, whatever you're "THIS" is, but the scriptures tell us otherwise.
Joshua 1:9, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
Ecclesiastes 1:9 "That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.”
Matthew 28:19-20, 'Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

At the time of our daughter's death in 1995, I could see no good thing that could come of that, I was in complete darkness, confused, and afraid. Now, 15 years later I could name dozens of the good things. I've come to embrace my God as He is, as He presents Himself boldly throughout His Word, in complete control of what comes into my life. As much as I wish I had my precious Kathryn Grace back to enjoy all of the things that would be important to her now, at 16, I wouldn't change anything. I have come to such a deeper place with God that I would not ever give up. Some of you have no idea what I'm talking about, maybe even think - "She's a loon!" Others of you understand perfectly.

Back to our book excerpts, "In His kindness, He dries up every other fountain that has nurtured your soul, that He might become your only fountain in the quietness of this cell. It's here you will learn to own the reality of Psalm 87:7, 'All my springs are in You.' Instead of being energized by projects, you will now become energized by a Person. Being with Him and in Him will become your criteria for success." and "David spoke of intimacy of the prison: 'You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.' (Psalm 139:5-6)"

The chapter closes with these words, and I will chose to end my post with them, so that you may be left alone with this thought, and with your God.

"Here's one of the secrets of darkness: He imprisons those He loves in order to awaken them in the secret place to mature bridal affections. Don't despise your chains, for they bind you to the heart of the One you long for. You are the prisoner of the Lord."

Abiding, with complete assurance, in these chains,
Lori

Update and "Secrets of the Secret Place"

Well, I'm writing today because Anna says the blog has gotten quiet and there's been a request from one of her friends. So, here I am, I'd better add something.

My leg is about the same. I'm still elevating and icing, and getting really tired of it all. I just mark the days as they go by, striking through them on my calendar. Kind of boring. Don't really have anything exciting to say...

Anna is taking the California Achievement Test this week, so she is currently taking the Language Mechanics portion while Sarah watches Baby First t.v. which she sometimes enjoys. Right now is one of those times. Mom's gone to pick up a few things at the store, but will be back soon. I'm sure she enjoys the break from our crazy place.

We did venture out to church again yesterday which was nice. I enjoy seeing everyone and spending time in corporate worship, receiving Biblical instruction, and enjoying time with my brothers and sisters in Christ. And, of course, being a Baptist, you can't forget the lunch afterwards!! That is some of the sweetest fellowship time, as it should be.

During my devotional time I am reading through several books - I usually have one that is a scripture study and then one or two others that I'm reading related to spiritual growth. So, one of those is a book entitled Secrets of the Secret Place - Keys to Igniting Your Personal Time with God. (written by Bob Sorge) I got the idea to read this book from another book I read that quoted from this one.

Anyway, I just have to share with you the titles of some of the last few chapters I've read. They are so fitting for my current situation, you can't help but smile at God's providence. The current section is titled "Setting A Marathon Pace" and the last chapters I've read are:

• The Secret of Desperation (I'm feeling a little desperate these days.)
• The Secret of Manna Gathering (This one is based on the idea of living day by day, understanding that God's provision is daily, and not intended to be stored up - like the manna He sent to the Israelites.) Now here's where it just gets plain funny!
• The Secret of Enduring
• The Secret of Confinement
• The Secret of Waiting and
• The Secret of Tears

Here are a couple of the things I underlined as I read - they either stood out to me as important lessons to learn or ideas I already know and cherish. As I look through each chapter, WOW, it's hard to pick just a few. Maybe I should share a little each day for a few days.... hey that'll work!

Okay, so here's the first set of quotes, from the chapter "The Secret of Manna Gathering."

1. "When you're desperate for God, you become dependent on the daily sustaining power of His word. Your source of survival is your daily manna - feeding on the word of God. We know the manna of the wilderness was good for only one day; if kept over into the next day, it would rot (Exodus 16:12-31). It's still true that yesterday's feeding in the word will never sustain us for today. One of the primary functions of the secret place is to be fed afresh each day in His word."
2. "Proverbs 16:26 says, "The person who labors, labors for himself, for his hungry mouth drives him on.' It's our hunger for the word that drives us into the secret place. When we are hungry spiritually, we are energized to labor in the word. A lack of hunger is a danger sign. When someone is sick, often the first symptom of their sickness is a loss of hunger. Those who lose their spiritual hunger need a medical exam, spiritually speaking."
3. "Once you learn to feed yourself in the word, you are no longer upset when the Sunday sermon doesn't apply to your life. You weren't looking for the sermon to be your source of feeding and life anyways. If something in the sermon feeds you, you reckon it a bonus. You're no longer dependent on others to give you milk because now you are cutting off your own meat."

Tomorrow, excerpts from The Secret of Enduring.

And, Anna says, "Hello!" *waves*

Abiding in His sovereignty with my big ol' broke leg,
Lori