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Missionary Esther Thornton - "SIMPLE, CHILD-LIKE FAITH" - word2day.com - BIBLE STUDIES & Strombolis

Simple, Child-Like Faith

Missionary-Evangelist Esther Thornton, Oregon

 

Hi Dear Ones!

 

The older I grow, and the more that I see, the more I go back to the Child-Like Faith of my youth!  For life can become so complicated, but the greatest things in the world from God are received in simplicity.  He has made it easy enough for a child to understand!

 

My mother was a country girl with ten brothers and one sister, who died at the age of nine.  She lived on a farm in Oklahoma.  She loved the Lord and served Him in simplicity and truth. 

 

She married my father and they eventually moved out West to Washington state.

 

My father had a problem that affected his family in an adverse way, and that was that he dabbled with the occult, and exposed and taught his children to do the same, when mother would be out. 

 

But, when I turned seven years old, I was playing outside one day, and my brother and niece had just returned from Bible Camp.  They told me that I needed Jesus and led me to the Lord.

 

My father died a few months after that and mother continued to make sure that we were in church and Christian activities.

 

So, I grew up trusting the Lord and seeing Him answer prayer.  I was called to missionary work shortly after I was saved in the Baptist Church.

 

I watched my mother make ends meet with hardly any finances, yet she trusted God, and always had enough for us and even some to give to others!

 

I don't know what it would be like to grow up without having Jesus in my life!  He is such a vital part of it!

 

But, sometimes we wonder why hard times come and things that we don't understand.  So, I want to share a little story with you that illustrate the Father's plan for our lives and the reason we have to suffer at times.

 

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

 

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held 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. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"


He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it" If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

 

And, remember Friends that simple child-like faith is all that is required, as our Father has proven His faithfulness to us so that we know that we can safely put our trust in Him!

I feel prophetically that hard times are upon us and yet, the "extreme good" and "extreme bad" will be side-by-side in this day because Jesus is coming soon! 

 

We can not only trust God, as we have done in the past when times seemed to be easier, but He has a greater measure of grace and power available for us for this day and hour!

 

God bless you real good!

 

Rev. Esther Thornton

Global Evangelism Fellowship, Inc.

 



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