Keep Your Eyes On Him

     "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his own life-he cannot be My disciple." Luke 14:26 These are words spoken to large crowds by Jesus. At first glance, this may sound rather harsh, especially since we are to "love" each other and not "hate." But you need to understand the point Jesus is making. It isn't that we actually hate our families or friends, rather, it should be the fact that we love our Lord Jesus so much, that in comparison with this love we have for our Lord, it is as though we hate everyone else. No one or nothing should compete or even come close to the love we have for our Savior and King. Jesus doesn't just want to be first in your life, He wants to be your one and only. While husbands, wives, children, parents and friends are a tremendous blessing and precious to each one of us, they are not our source of life and they will never satisfy like...

     "For you, O God, tested us; You refined us like silver. You brought us into prison. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water; but You brought us to a place of abundance." Psalm 66:10-12      "See I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, for My own sake I do this." Isaiah 48:10-11      There are times in your life when you will go through the fire. By that I mean, you will face a difficult situation where humanly speaking, there seems to be no way. Notice in the verses that I referenced, that God  is the one that does the refining. He  is the one that takes you through the fire. You may be asking why would He do this? First of all, remember, that everything  God does, He does in love because He is love (1 John 4:16). He cannot go against His word. You may be in a time of testing at this very moment and wonder how you will ever make it...