The Forge….

 The Forge….

forge, noun—

: a furnace or a shop with its furnace where metal is heated and wrought

forge, verb—

forged; forging

: to form (something, such as metal) by heating and hammering

forged pieces of iron into hooks

: to form (metal) by a mechanical or hydraulic press with or without heat

Our church showed the movie, The Forge, recently…had heard it was good and I was not disappointed…well worth the watch and then contemplation…”what do I need to be doing?”…several themes for audience to think about…

As we move through life, we do encounter times of “forming”, being put to the test, times when we fell like another train is coming instead of a light at the end of the tunnel…or that there is no end of trials…Paul speaks of it, Peter speaks of it, Jesus speaks of it…building our character…building our faith…

Thank YOU…

 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. 

And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Rom.5.3-5

 Remember your word to your servant,for you have given me hope. My comfort in my suffering is this:Your promise preserves my life.

Ps.119.49-50

 He was despised and rejected by mankind,a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

 Like one from whom people hide their faceshe was despised, and we held him in low esteem. 

Surely he took up our painand bore our suffering,yet we considered him punished by God,stricken by him, and afflicted.

Isa.53.3-4

 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

1Pet. 1:3-12

Joni…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0H9ztsfGfRM

Tested by fire…

https://www.gotquestions.org/tested-by-fire.html