God's Refining Process

     Psalm 66:10 "For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried."  God said in Isaiah 48:10 "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver, I have tried you in the furnace of affliction." When God said, "I have refine you." He is referring to the purification process of precious metals. He said that he has tested us in the furnace of affliction meaning he is testing us and refining us through the intensity (the heat) of our trials.
     1 Peter 1:6-7 "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith---more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire---may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." The apostle Peter said that we went through various trials and some was necessary so that our faith could be tested. He said our faith is more precious than gold. Some of the trials that we experienced was like the same as we were tested in the furnace of affliction. Our faith was tested and our faith might even grew stronger, by our endurance and perseverance during our trials. The trials that we faced helped to refine us so that when Jesus returns he would be pleased at our heart's condition.
     This refining process of God is making us more like Christ. It is creating good qualities in us. The discipline of God produces the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Hebrew 12:10-11 "For they discipline us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines for our good, that we may share his holiness, For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." Just as verse 10 said, our earthly fathers disciplines us for a short time as it seems best to them but our heavenly Father discipline us for our good. He wants us to be pure and righteous like him. The discipline from God is not punishment it is loving training and correction of a father shaping his children.
     In the book of Malachi, it foretold the coming of Jesus Christ. It said that he is coming as a refiner, a purifier of silver. He will purify the sons of Levi and he will refine them like gold and silver. Malachi 3:2-3 "But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD."
     The Levi's were the priesthood of the Old Testament. We went from the old Levitical system to the New Covenant making all believers of Jesus Christ into a holy priesthood. 1Peter 2:5 "You yourselves like living stones are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." Jesus is the refiner and we are the gold and silver to which he is purifying so that we will bring offerings of righteousness to the LORD.
     How is gold and silver refined? The refiner is called a silversmith or a goldsmith in our present time. A silversmith heats raw silver in a crucible. A crucible is a small pottery, stone, metal or ceramic pot used to melt and purify precious metals like gold and silver. It is able to withstand extreme heat. The silversmith will set the furnace to the right temperature and constantly monitors the metal making sure that it does not become overheated and ruined. The silversmith will sit down and use crucible tongs to put the crucible into the furnace fire. He will watch the melting of the silver and when the silver gets hot enough the impurities called dross will start to rise to the surface. He will then use a scraping tool to skim the impurities from the melted silver. The silversmith will know when the silver is pure when he can see his reflection in the silver metal.
     We can see how Jesus refines us by the way the silversmith refines silver. Jesus will take the raw silver which is us then put it in the crucible representing our trial. He then will apply the right amount of heat to our trial in order to remove the impurities that which is causing us our problem. He will stay there with us and carefully watch over us. He will see the impurities separating from us. Jesus will then look at our heart so to see if it has been purified. He will know that it has been purified if he can see his reflection in us.  

Proverbs 17:3 "The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests the heart."

James 1:2-3 "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness."

Romans 5:3-4 "Not only that, but we rejoice in our suffering, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope."

1 Peter 5:10 "And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you."   

The Wilderness Season

     What is the wilderness season of a Christian? When a Christian goes through a wilderness season within their lifetime it will be a time of change for him. It maybe a time of hardship and sadness. It is a time of mental confusion and uncertainty. We will not be able to clearly see to where we must go to find our way out.  It will be a time when our trust and faith in God will be tested. We are in this spiritual and emotional state of mind to learn to trust in God with our whole mind and soul. We will learn to have total faith in God to lead us through the wilderness. In this wilderness, God is preparing us to what we need to be, so to go further in our worship of him. In the the wilderness, Satan will be there to test us and try to break our trust and our faith in God. In the wilderness we will come to know more of ourselves and our relationship to God.
     How do you enter into the wilderness season? There could be many different reasons to how you enter the wilderness season. Your problems that you had might have led you into a spiritual and emotional wilderness. Your problems could have been spiritual, financial, poor health and even a lost of someone that you loved. It could of been when a certain circumstance happened in your life and you felt like that you were lost and alone. You needed help and guidance to find your way out. You may have felt broken and shattered. You felt that you needed someone to put you back together again. The wilderness is about being broken down and being built back up again by the spirit of God.
     Another way you may have enter the wilderness, when you become ready to make a change in your life. You may have become so tired of the way you were living your life. You eventually start to feel that you are lost and alone in a wilderness that you do not know how to leave. At this point in your life, you are willing to let God take control and lead you through the wilderness so to teach you and train you. In this hardship he will guide you and remake you with his words. He will change you according to his will. He will show you that to go further into your worship of him, you must be more dependent upon him. God will train you to become someone with a strong faith and a strong determination to serve him as he wants you to.
   Even though Jesus went into a physical wilderness rather than a spiritual and emotional one, we can still learn from his example how he resisted the devil and did not break his reliance on God. Matthew 4:1-4 "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." Jesus had complete trust in God that he would provide what he needed. Even though Jesus was hungry, he did not break his trust in God by doing what the devil wanted.
     The Israelites wander a wilderness for forty years as punishment from God. The people of Israel constantly complained about God to Moses and Aaron even after being delivered out of Egypt and seeing first hand all the miracles that God had done. Numbers 14:2-3 "Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it it not be better for us to go back to Egypt? And they said to one another, "Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt." Numbers 14:11 "And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? The Lord went on to say in Numbers 14:22-23 that none of the men who saw the signs that he did in Egypt and in the wilderness shall see the land that he swore to give to their fathers.
     In the wilderness, the LORD did not abandon the people of Israel but he led them to where they were to go. He was also testing, teaching and training them to be humble and obedient. He showed them that he could be trusted and they could depend upon him. Deuteronomy 8:2-5 "And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the LORD your God disciplines you." When it was time, the LORD lead the Israelites out of the wilderness and he rewarded them the land that he swore to give to their fathers.
     In our own wilderness season the LORD will lead us. Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." In our hardships and troubles he will be there helping us through them. In our wilderness, he we lead us out of it when it is time. Meaning when we learn what we need to learn. He will test you to know what is in your heart. He will humble you so that you will learn to be more dependent upon him. Moses said that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. The LORD loves us and disciplines us so that we will be doing what we need to be doing so to please him as his loving children. 
     When it is time for us to leave the wilderness, we to will be just like the Israelites tested, humbled and trained by God to be obedient sons and daughters. We will be changed from what we were. Our minds will be clear to the direction that we must go. We will be ready to serve and to do the will of God. In time we to will be rewarded when the Son of God returns and welcomes us into his kingdom.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10 "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies."      
      

Prepare Your Heart

     Prepare your heart to what matters most to God. In the days of Noah before the flood, God saw in Noah that he had a heart of righteousness. Genesis 6:9 "These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God." God chose Noah to make the ark and to live through the flood not because he had the most wealth, knowledge, strength or power upon the Earth. Noah was saved because he was a righteous man, who walked with him. God knows the condition of our hearts. 1 Samuel 16:7 "But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." Noah's heart contained what mattered most to God. It was filled with righteousness and obedience to God. Whatever that Noah needed to do to build the ark, he just needed to be himself and God would provide the rest through his grace.
     Noah is a good example to how our own heart condition should be as we draw near to the last days of the coming of the Lord. We want God to see us like he saw Noah. We want him to see us also to be righteous and obedient, someone who is worthy to be saved. We definitely do not want to be someone that will be rejected by the Lord. Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."
     Sometimes people will honestly believe what they are doing is right however they may have been lacking a pure heart according to God. Proverbs 21:2 "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart." King David told his son Solomon that he must serve the LORD with his whole heart. 1 Chronicles 28:9 "And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever."
     We are what our hearts reflect. Proverbs 27:19 "As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man." The apostle Luke tells us something similar that we act and speak according to the condition of our heart in Luke 6:46 "The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure of his heart produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." The apostle Paul told us what we should be doing if we have a good heart in 2 Timothy 2:23 "So flee your youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the lord from a pure heart." What is a pure heart? A heart that is clean and blameless. It has no deceit and hypocrisy. It has the desire to follow in the ways of the Lord so to be sanctified by Jesus's sacrifice.
     Prepare your heart so to be pleasing to the Lord. Let us be like Noah who is someone that God sees as righteous and blameless. He was someone that out of all the people of the world that was not corrupt or evil. His heart was blameless and full of righteousness. God could trust him for he was obedient to his words. We should foremost want to become like Jesus, God's only begotten son. He die for us to set us free from our sins and gave us eternal life in his kingdom. Our heart should be like his full of kindness, compassion and love. God just like he did in Noah's days is bringing our world full of corruption and violence to an end. He is bringing his kingdom to our world and wanting the believers of his son Jesus Christ to be apart of it. We should be preparing our heart so to be acceptable to God and so that God seeing our heart's condition will want us to be apart of his glorious kingdom.   

Sufficient Grace

     In 2 Corinthians 12:7, the apostle Paul said that a thorn was given to him in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass him from becoming conceited. In verses 8-10 he said, "Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardship, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
     God told the apostle Paul that, "My grace is sufficient for you." The grace from God is his undeserved favor. God's grace is his gift to us and we did nothing to earn it. Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your owned doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Our salvation was a gift from God. God's grace gave to us what we could not give to ourselves. God allowed the apostle Paul to have a thorn in his flesh so to keep him humble and not to become puffed up with pride. However God by his grace, supplied him the sufficient power and strength that Paul needed to endure his troubles and accomplish the work that needed to be done.
     God has made his grace to be sufficient for us. 2 Corinthians 9:8 "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work." Hebrew 4:16 "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." God's grace is sufficient for every hardship that we may face. God's power is greater than any problem that we may encounter. When the apostle Paul was weak he could feel the Holy Spirit of God upon him, making him feel confident and strong.
     When I feel weak and I do not have the energy to do what I need to do. I continue on in life with my faith in God. I pray for his help and the strength to get through my day. In those times, I just surrender my life over to God so he can help me. By his grace, I did receive the energy that I needed to get through my day. I accomplish the tasks that I needed to do. I look back at the end of my day and ask myself, how did I do that? The answer was only through God's grace. God's grace was sufficient, it was more than enough to get me through my day.
     The apostle Paul recognized, what the power of God's grace could do. 1 Corinthians 15:10 "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me." The apostle Paul told us that God's grace made him into the man that he is now. He worked hard as God's disciple but he said he could not have done this without God supporting him with his grace. He realized in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 that when he was weak, he could feel the power of Christ resting upon him, making him feel strong. His troubles and hardship that he had to go through was also a witness to others of God's strength, power and grace that was upon him. He said, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardship, persecutions, and calamities for he knew that God was with him, supplying him with everything that he needed through his grace. If someone were to asked him, How did you endure all these things? He would say by the grace of God.  

On the Road to Heaven

     Philippians 3:20-21 "But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself." Our body is referred to as a tent in 2 Corinthians 5:1 "For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."     
      Our journey toward Heaven can be a long one or a short one in life. Only God knows when our time is up. As for me, my journey has been more on the long side than the short one. I will continue forward while putting my life in God's hands. If I knew that my life would end today, I would not be sad, afraid, or regretful. I did the best that I could with what I was given in life. I endured suffering, pain and sorrow without breaking my faith in God. I tried my best to do what is right every time. I have made my share of mistakes but I was humble enough to asked for forgiveness.
     In serving the Lord, I have experienced a deep calming peace within my body that I never had felt before. Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Isaiah 55:12 "For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace." I have always been more anxious but now that I serve the Lord, I feel at peace. This calming peace is a lasting peace wherever I go. I feel it inside me even if I go outside or to the store. I feel at peace when I am talking to someone. Even if I am driving my car I feel calm and if a car is honking it's horn behind me there is no anger but only the peace within my soul. I did not earn this peace but somehow it was given to me out of God's love and kindness.
     Another thing has happened, all the roads in my life have melted away leaving only one road, the road to Jesus. There are no lefts or rights, no detours or crossroads only one path to follow. Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." All confusion to which way I should go is now clear. John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." I am on a road leading me to Jesus Christ and his love. I can see Heaven, the dwelling place of Jesus Christ and God within my mind and it is as clear as any physical object. It is a place so wonderous that it is beyond all description. 1 Corinthians 2:9 "But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him." 
     Being on the road to Heaven feels like I am just going home because Heaven bound and homeward bound are now both the same to me. 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 "So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord."
     I believe my body has many more years left before my journey ends. I am on a journey having peace and a clarity of mind. I am looking forward to a better place, a heavenly one. Hebrew 11:16 "But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he prepared for them a city." Hebrew 13:14 "For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come." Revelation 21:21-25 "And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light. and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the Kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day--and there will be no night there." 1 Peter 1:3-4 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you." 

My Lifetime Faith

     My faith in God is a lifetime faith. I will believe in him and put my hope in God as long as I shall live. I will have faith in God during the happy times of my life and the sad. I will keep my faith when I have plenty or even if I have less. I will keep my faith even if my prayers go unanswered. I will wait on the Lord and accept his will. I will not leave God or throw my faith away. I will believe in God and wait on his kingdom. My faith maybe weakened through my trials and troubles but it will not be gone. My love for my God and my faith in him sustains me through my bad times and his Holy Spirit guides my way. My faith in God will always be with me for it is a faith that I will have for a lifetime. 
      In the book of Job, we can see the trials that Job had to endure and yet through it all, he kept his faith. The devil took everything that Job owned away from him and he even caused a windstorm to destroy his sons and daughters. Job lost a great deal and he was hurt deeply however he stilled held on to his faith. Job 1:21-22 "And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away, blessed be the name of the LORD." In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong." Job 13:15 "Though he slay me, I will hope in him; yet I will argue my ways to his face." Job said if he were to die by his suffering, he would still hold on to his hope and faith in God. However he still wanted to asked God, why was he made to suffer?
     Daniel's friends Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego was pressured by King Nebuchadnezzar to bow down to a golden image, when music was played. However when they did not bow down to the golden image, the King order for them to be thrown into a fiery furnace to be killed. The King asked them, "And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?" This is what they said to the King in Daniel 3:16-18 "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the King, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O King. But if not, be it known to you, O King, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."
     We can see when the three men were faced with their own death, they continued to hold tightly to their faith. They refused to commit the sin of idolatry. They told the King even if they were not rescued by God, they would still keep their faith in God and obey him by not worshiping the golden image. In the end an angel of God protected the three men while they were in the fiery furnace. After they were released from the fiery furnace, the King Nebuchadnezzar said bless be their God and made a decree that no one was to talk against their God and he also rewarded them with a promotion.
     Another person in the Bible who had a strong faith in God was David. Before David was made King, he was pursued by King Saul. King Saul was jealous of David's popularity and thought that one day he would replace him as King of Israel, so King Saul tried to have David killed. Many years David had to run for his life. He prayed and relied on God's help and protection. He wrote many of  the chapters of Psalms while he was on the run. Those chapters of Psalms reflected his feelings while he was in hiding.
     David was under much stress and worry. He did not know when God would deliver him from his troubles. Psalm 6:6-7 "I am weary with moaning; every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping. My eye wastes away because of grief; it grows weak because of all my foes." Psalm 13:1-2 "How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?" Even still when he was under much emotional stress, David still held tight to his faith in God. He praised the LORD in Psalm chapter 18 for his deliverance from his enemies. Psalm 18:1-3 "I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies."
     Just as Job, King David, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego held tight to their faith in God, I will also hold tight to mine. Their faith was a faith for a lifetime and so is mine. We will go through many trials and tribulations. We will have many problems and obstacles to solve but we do not have to go it alone, we have our faith in God that he will help us along the way. We have many examples of people within the Bible, who held firm to their faith and their examples can help us in solving our own troubles. I want to be able to say those words in 2 Timothy 4:7 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 1 John 5:4 "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world---our faith."   

Worshiping God In My Daily Life

      I want to do as much as I can in my worship to God. I want it to be a daily worship. I want to thank him and praise him everyday. My mind will be thinking of God throughout my day. Psalm 66:4 "All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; They sing praises to your name." If the earth and the things upon it worships God and sings praises to God, I wish to join that chorus. Luke 19:39-40 "And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples." He answered. "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out." Revelation 5:13 "And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever." There is a sea of worship upon this earth that is going up to God and a lot of people are not even aware of it. If all of the things that God created glorifies him in their very existence, I cannot let my worship to be any less. 
     I must give glory to God in everything that I do. 1 Corinthians 10:31 "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." If I give honor to the Lord in all the things that I do, I would be in harmony with the nature that is around me. We both would be praising God with our whole being. Psalm 150:6 "Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!" Psalm 95:1-6 "Oh come; let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!"
     In my daily worship I will honor God in my thoughts. I will think upon his goodness and righteousness. I will place his words within my mind and heart as a protection against sin. Psalm 119:11 "I have stored up your words in my heart, that I might not sin against you." In my daily life, when I am busy I will still keep the Lord upon my mind and I will stay within his presence and not drift away. I will always thank God in prayer for all the things that I do have in my life. Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
     When we meet with others, we must do what is right and good so to honor our Lord in heaven. The way we live our life is our worship to God. We want him to look down from heaven and be pleased in how we are living our lives. We want to be pleasing to the Lord by our works and actions. Whether or not the tasks is small or big, we will do our best in trying to accomplish them while bringing honor to our Lord.
     In my daily life, I will do my best to have more of the Lord's spirit than that of the world's. I want to feel united with all of God's creations. Just like those creations, I want my very existence honoring our Lord in heaven. I do not want to be standing in the wilderness and be the only thing that is not honoring the Lord. I do not want to be living contrary to the will of God while the earth glorifies him and obeys his voice.

Psalm 145:1-2 "I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.

Revelation 4:11 "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power. for you created all things; and by your will they existed and were created."

Psalm145:10 "All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your saints shall bless you!"

Job 12:7-10 "But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; The birds of heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Whom among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind."