Lowell's Place

Malachi 3:2-6
 2 But who can endure the day of His coming? Who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap.

We can only endure His coming by His power. I can only stand by His might. Trial by fire. Refining by fire. Testing by fire.

 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness,

He does purify us with trials by fire. He does refine me by fire like silver and gold. Burn our the bad. Incinerate all that is not fine gold and pure silver.

 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.

Once we are pure, then we can bring offerings in righteousness. When I pass through the refiner's furnace, all the stubble is burned away and only the pure and precious metal remains. Pure offerings.

 5 "So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear Me," says the LORD Almighty.

We must defend, not defraud, the laborers, the widows, the orphans, the aliens, with justice and without fear of God Almighty.

 6 "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.

You, O LORD, do not change. We, Your descendants, are not destroyed.

“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”- Romans 12:15

This is a great command.
I enjoy rejoicing with those who are rejoicing. And I enjoy rejoicing with others when I have something to rejoice about.
I also feel right about mourning with those who mourn. But I seldom seem to have anyone mourning with me as I mourn. Yet, that is OK too.

God Bless You!

Proverbs 2

Moral Benefits of Wisdom

 ¹ My son, if you accept my words
       and store up my commands within you,
That IF is what it is all about. The rest is all conditional. Accept wisdom's words and commands.

 ² turning your ear to wisdom
       and applying your heart to understanding,

You have to turn towards wisdom and apply your heart which also means that you are turning away from folly.

 ³ and if you call out for insight
       and cry aloud for understanding,

Seek insight, call out for it, cry out for understanding. Ask, seek, knock.

 ⁴ and if you look for it as for silver
       and search for it as for hidden treasure,

Search for it as you would search for buried treasure, silver filled treasure chests.

 ⁵ then you will understand the fear of the LORD
       and find the knowledge of God.

Then, and Only then, will you understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

To the praise of the glory of His grace,

His Mercy Monger

The Call of Wisdom
       20 Wisdom calls aloud outside;
      She raises her voice in the open squares.
Wisdom is not hiding from you.
Wisdom is calling for you.
       21 She cries out in the chief concourses,
      At the openings of the gates in the city
      She speaks her words:
       22 “ How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?
      For scorners delight in their scorning,
      And fools hate knowledge.
Wisdom speaks out against scorners and fools.
Wisdom knows the folly of scorners and their hatred of knowledge.
       23 Turn at my rebuke;
      Surely I will pour out my spirit on you;
      I will make my words known to you.
Wisdom wants us to turn, to repent, at her rebuke.
Wisdom wants to pour out The Spirit on us and teach us.
       24 Because I have called and you refused,
      I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,
       25 Because you disdained all my counsel,
      And would have none of my rebuke,
Wisdom has called and we have ignored her.
Wisdom has rebuked and tried to counsel but we have disregarded her.
       26 I also will laugh at your calamity;
      I will mock when your terror comes,
       27 When your terror comes like a storm,
      And your destruction comes like a whirlwind,
      When distress and anguish come upon you.
Wisdom will then laugh at our calamity, mock our terror.
Wisdom knows that terror and destruction, distress and anguish are inevitable when we do not heed her call.