The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Malachi 3:1-7, “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the LORD of hosts.

2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.

3 “And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the LORD offerings in righteousness.

4 “Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD, as in the days of old and as in former years.

5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien, and do not fear Me,” says the LORD of hosts.

6 “For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.”

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study, and they wondered how this statement related to the character and nature of God. One of the women made an appointment to watch the silversmith work, but she mentioned nothing about the reason for her interest.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire. He explained that in refining silver, it required holding the silver in the middle of the fire so as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about the verse that says, “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.” She asked if it were true that he had to sit there the whole time the silver was being refined. He told her that he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time. A moment too long in the flames, and it would be destroyed. “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?” she asked.

“Oh, that’s easy,” he said. “It’s 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. “Life is a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once.”

Heartily in Christ,

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need,

Until He becomes all that we have.” –Corrie ten Boom