document.open(); document.writeln(""); document.writeln("Purification of Our Faith
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And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell"); document.writeln("about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets,"); document.writeln("who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was"); document.writeln("promised, who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and"); document.writeln("escaped the edge of the sword. Whose weakness was turned to strength, and who"); document.writeln("became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their"); document.writeln("dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be"); document.writeln("released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers"); document.writeln("and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by"); document.writeln("stoning, they were sawed in two, they were killed by the sword. They went about"); document.writeln("in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated\'€”the world was"); document.writeln("not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and"); document.writeln("in holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of"); document.writeln("them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better"); document.writeln("for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.1

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Many of us would like to have a heroic faith like the saints"); document.writeln("mentioned in Hebrews 11, their victories and accomplishments encourage us. But"); document.writeln("verses 36-38 show us another reality: that faith is formed through trials and"); document.writeln("sufferings, a process we do not always want to face.

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Imagine the Lord as a master sculptor in front of a block of"); document.writeln("marble. That block is you. As you visualize the work of art hidden within the"); document.writeln("rock, He lovingly and carefully removes everything that does not fit the"); document.writeln("masterpiece He is creating.

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One of the first areas the Lord deals with is our character."); document.writeln("His goal is to mold us into the image of his Son. And his chisel exposes bare"); document.writeln("roots of sin and selfishness.

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When anything or anyone becomes more important to us than"); document.writeln("the Lord, we have an idol in our life. To protect us, God sometimes uses"); document.writeln("adversity to remove everything we have relied on, so that we cling only to Him.

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The chisel hurts, and sometimes it seems like God is taking"); document.writeln("away what we hold dear. But if we trust in His work and submit to it, adversity"); document.writeln("will purify and strengthen our faith (James 1:2-4).

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Suggested Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, the purification"); document.writeln("process is painful, because it is about letting You work in Me. Allowing You to"); document.writeln("break through what no longer serves to mold us the way You want. Lord, the"); document.writeln("process hurts but I trust that adversity will purify and strengthen our faith."); document.writeln("I thank you, praise you, and bless you. In the name of Jesus, Amen.

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1.      Hebrews"); document.writeln("11:32-40 (NIV).

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Today\'s Encounter was written by: Rosina N.

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This and other devotionals by Richard (Dick) Innes can be read online.

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ACTS International

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