When does the Refining stop?

Hello sweet friends. I have missed chatting and sharing with you recently. My current life trials and struggles have been trying, yet I know my Father has gone before me and prepared a pathway for His plans. The recent events of losing a biological father and a precious sister have left me with a layered mountain of emotions along with memories of the dark valley lasting five years which began in 2013 when my brother passed.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

Those difficult years produced a ministry-Refining! God knew the process I needed to endure to produce a great work in me and through me. He made sure the world would see this ministry as a reflection of His glory and that I could not take credit for any of it. The only part I played was humbling surrendering to His authority and giving up control over my life.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Romans 8:18

Being refined hurts! Yes, it burns every life dimension. It molds you into something beyond your imagination. And–it doesn’t happen overnight. The days, weeks, and years are grueling. There are times when the overwhelming burdens feel like a life-sucking, unbearable weight you cannot endure. Yet, the Lord promises He is with you and He will carry the load for you.

knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. James 1:3

God knows the exact precision of time in the fire. (Don’t I wish I knew His timeframe!) Although we all wish for this to be a once in a lifetime occurrence, the refining process can happen often. The ebb and flow of the Father’s purification requires great faith in His miraculous outcome. Frankly, it is a personal choice. A decision no matter the pain and cost to remain under His authority.

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 Timothy 3:1

Let me share a story with you from the following source: http://www.ribessj.org/the_silver_refiner.pdf

GOD SITS AS A SILVER REFINER AND PURIFIER
(Malachi 3:3)
The Story

A Bible lover was puzzled by this Bible statement. He called a silversmith and made an
appointment with him to watch him at work. He didn’t mention anything about the reason
for his interest, beyond his curiosity about the process of refining Silver.

As the silversmith, was at his work, he kept holding a piece of silver over the fire and let
it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle,
of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
For a while, our man thought why God should hold us in such a hot spot; then, he
remember again Malachi’s verse that says: ‘God sits as a refiner and purifier of silver,
and asked the silversmith whether it was required that he sat there in front of the fire all
the time.

The man answered yes and added: “Not only I have to sit here holding the silver in my
hands , but I have to keep my eyes on the silver all the time it is in the fire, until is
fully purified, If the silver were to be left a moment too long in the flames, it would be
destroyed”.

Our Bible lover was silent for a moment. Then, he asked the silversmith, “How do you
know when the silver is fully refined?” He smiled and answered, ‘”Oh, that’s easy –when
I see my image reflected in it”
(Adapted from a story of unknown authorship)

Lessons from the story:
* In moments of trial. God holds you in his hands and intently looks at you.
* When you feel the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eyes on you.
* He keeps watching you until He sees His image reflected in you.

SO, in this season I will cling fast to the fact that God is embracing me from head to toe and intentionally looking upon me as His daughter He loves dearly. When the grief hits, the earthly dealings overwhelm, and there seems to be no end to the mess left behind, I will see God all around me. He sees me and knows my pain. His loving gaze upon my life will fill me with His joy and He will give me strength beyond compare. I will continue to draw close to Him as He shapes me into His image. The Lord has BIG PLANS for His ministry through all of this. I cannot wait to see what is yet to come. But for now—I must endure the flames and understand the purpose of this trial.

Our family would love your prayers during our days ahead. Please know you each play a large role in our grief process and we are extremely grateful for you. If you would like to add to the memorial of my sister, Shawn Colleen Welborn, we would request a donation to be made to the American Cancer Society or your local Breast Cancer Center in her honor.

Big Hugs, lots of Love, and sincere Prayers…until we meet again.

I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

Jeremiah 24:7

August 23, 2021 2

Ouch! Life hurts

**Jack M. Welborn and Shawn C. Welborn** (entered eternity 2021)

Dear Friends,

Thank you for the opportunity to be a little raw with you today. Life happens and it is not always a beautiful season. Death and struggles seem to loom in 2021, but I know they are to refine me, purify my heart, and help me grow to be more like Christ. I mess up-I don’t always make the best decisions-and I am not in control of the world around me!

Yet, two things I know that are inevitable are life and death. What we do in-between is a choice. Today, I choose God above and beyond everything and everyone. He is the only everlasting truth and He loves me beyond measure. He will always be by my side and He allows me to rest in His arms when my heart is broken and I am paralyzed by life.

Here is a glimpse into my conversation with Him today:

Help! I am struggling here oh Lord!

Why does it seem so difficult to surrender everything to You, stay under Your authority, and endure the deep pains?

Strive to enter in by the narrow door: for many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able. Luke 13:24 (ASV)

The struggles and losses are overwhelming without a clear end insight?

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5 (ESV)

What can I do Father God?

The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent. Exodus 14:14 (ESV)

How can I face this enormous climb?

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, James 1:2 (ESV)

My thoughts seem to not be my own-why can’t my thoughts always align with the fruit of the Spirit? Give me some advice.

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (ESV)

I don’t understand other’s actions

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. Romans 14:10-13 (ESV)

Give me one command to learn from this season

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)

August 9, 2021 0

Progressing Beyond Bible Study

How to engage with God

Today we can find hundreds of methods and tools to employ when studying God’s precious Word. For each of us, the time we spend reading, researching, and exploring Scripture is vital to our spiritual growth as a Christian. Wholesome comprehension of the Bible aids in a healthy understanding of God and His full character.

However, the Lord wants us to know Him intensely, just like He knows us. Therefore, the meaning we discover though in-depth study must remain aligned with the original implication and received through the perspective of our Father.

Scripture tells us the Bible is the very voice of God. In 2 Timothy 3:16a, we are reminded that all Scripture is God breathed. His Holy Word is not only a furnished resource, but His intonation and declaration of reassurance and support to assist our spiritual walk. We see this to be true in Romans 15:4. “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through the endurance and through the encouragement of the Scripture we might have hope” (ESV).

The mere knowledge of His Word only scratches the surface to properly handling this precious gift (2 Timothy 2:15). Take the Pharisees for instance. They were top scholars of the Word and they had a precise academic understanding. Would you agree? Who knew the Torah better? Their lives were devoted to memorizing and interpretating Mosaic law in conjunction with its conformity and ceremonial acts. The Pharisees allowed their scholarly status to take on a legalistic stance leading them to believe works trumped God’s mercy and grace.

Quite frankly, this contradicts the accurate message of Christ Jesus our Savior. In Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) the Bible states, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast.” Our obedience in following God’s law is from a heart of love and respect to Him who saved us and called us to live according to His purpose. It has nothing to do with following the law in order to save ourselves from the pits of Hell. We are not capable of this miraculous task.

Our God desires us to go beyond a Scriptural education. He wants us to see that awareness of Biblical information is only the beginning. The Lord’s desire is for us to understand our head-knowledge of the Bible will not fabricate an involuntary dexterity to live under His authority. God wants to saturate our lives with His voice. He wants us to state claim in a place where He can transform and refine us to become what He needs. He wants to find us inundated with Scripture engagement to a stage of saturation.

Saturation is far from involvement. It is an entrenched commitment to growing in relation with the Almighty Father and embracing a lifetime of refinement. Think about it this way—it is putting skin on our learning—clinging to the promises and attributes of God in order to carry out His commands. Sounds simple, right? However, I dare to say, it is difficult at best to give up selfish-control of how we want life to be let alone truly admitting we have a sinful nature. However, if we want to go beyond Scripture knowledge, it requires a complete surrender to God’s alteration.

Our propensity to permit Scripture to change us is not an easy task. It does not come without training and practice. We have to purposefully posture ourselves under God’s influence and exercise ways to allow the very voice of God to take hold of our being. It is a humble submission to becoming solely dependent upon His truth and allowing Him to alter our fleshly hearts, minds, and actions.

All this to say–Refining ministry knows the struggle. We have heard the pleas of many and know the essential need to practice saturating our life with the Lord and His Word.

Beginning this fall, we will be offering short half-day workshops-in person and online-to present easy and practical steps for engagement with God. Our first focus will be the infusion of the Father’s promises. Together, we will practice going Beyond in-depth Bible study to interacting with God and allowing our lives to be changed.

Saturation! A level of Scriptural engagement beyond surface knowledge. Get ready for a deeper experience of God and His Word.

More information to come…

July 25, 2021 0

The Unseen will Be Revealed

*The great Day of the Lord is near, near and rapidly approaching. Listen, the Day of the Lord—there the warrior’s cry is bitter. Zephaniah 1:14*

Happy Friday friends! I pray this day finds you filled with God’s joy regardless of the circumstances and issues you are facing in life. Today, I feel the need to remind you, as well as myself, that we are all properly prepared to handle life through our belief in Christ Jesus. We are welcome to approach the throne of God and can boldly lay our burdens at His feet.

This gives me HOPE! What about you?

Scripture clears backs up these thoughts in Hebrews 4:14-16, Therefore since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens-Jesus the Son of God-let us hold fast to the confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.

PAUSE—God knows and He will come through!

Thank you for your grace to allow me to “squirrel” prior to this posting. Just felt it necessary to share my own inward struggle and thoughts before I wrote the main segment.

The Refining ministry is continuing their Monday night online studies of Major Wisdom through Minor Prophets for the remainder of 2021. We recently started Zephaniah and boy, Chapter 1 was a dozy! There were a few who stated it seemed like a scene from a horror show. However, the valued learning and deep discussion shared during the hour was, once again, an overwhelming blessing to my heart. I am blown away each time we meet—this week God revealed hope and compassion even in a difficult passage.

Our ministry believes in infusing Scripture into daily living. Each week, we are challenged to allow the Lord to guide us and press into the message He has individually-based on our Bible intake.

Thinking about Chapter 1 of Zephaniah, I approached the garden to see if we had any new produce to harvest. I took my phone with me because I wanted to capture the beauty and growth.

SIDENOTE: WOW! If you could only see our garden. It is the most remarkable, overgrown jungle ever because we have received more rain in the past few weeks than we normally receive in a year. Yes, we live in Texas, but we are in the “desert” for the most part. We have never had a garden this abundant.

Once I had a chance to review the photos, the carrot picture caught my attention. I began thinking about Zephaniah. The people of Judah seemed to be flourishing just like the tops of our carrots. Everyone seemed to have what they needed to survive. They believed in God and worshiped Him. However, they also paid homage to other “gods” with their daily acts and rituals. Their hearts were receiving a fatal cocktail.

Zephaniah came as the last warning to Judah. He wanted them to take an inward look and focus on their roots and fruit-the unseen! Just like the roots and carrots growing underground in our garden. Their hearts-a place where fruit can wither or grow.

Our heart generates our thoughts which then produces our words, actions, viewpoints, etc. When we are filling our lives with proper nutrition, God, the fruit we produce can be pleasing to the Lord. However, Zephaniah Chapter 1 clearly states that we cannot partially serve God and partially serve “gods” with the expectation that we will not experience harm to the fruit we produce. We will eventually wither and die! OUCH! It distorts our thinking of ourselves as well as others.

Our carrots will not produce an abundant harvest in the fall if we occasionally expose them to contaminated water. They want pure, clean goodness overflowing with all the necessary nutrients. No matter how beautiful they seem above ground, the measure of their true work is revealed once their “roots” are exposed.

This made me take an inward inventory is so many ways. What do I fill my heart with daily? What do my actions, words, and thoughts reveal? Am I guilty of syncretism-mixing true worship with false? Do I fall into a complacent state when it comes to praying, worshiping, studying, reading, witnessing, etc.? Are there times when I limit my intake of God and allow worldly “junk” to enter His vessel?

Yes-all that from Zephaniah Chapter 1-plus so much more.

Listen, I am but a simple woman trying to do my best to love and serve God with all that I am. I mess up more than succeed-trust me! However, in this spiritual pathway, this I know for sure: God loves us beyond measure, and He will not give up on us.

So, with an earnest heart I cry, Father God fill me with your goodness, weed out the junk I have allowed, let my fruit reveal You, Oh Lord, help me lay my burdens down, and heal me from within so all that I do is pleasing unto You. I am sorry Lord for my disobedience and my unclean heart. I need You, Oh I need You! Reveal the unseen with compassion and help me stay under your authority regardless. I love you Father God!

July 16, 2021 2