Refined as Pure Gold, a Guest Post Devotional from author Patrick E. Craig

Refined as Pure Gold

By Patrick E. Craig +Patrick E. Craig - Author 

And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. Revelation 21:21

A friend of mine who was a missionary once told me an interesting story. When he was in South Africa he visited a gold mine. There he was able to watch the process by which the miners extracted the gold from the ore that was dug from the earth.

First they crushed the gold-bearing rock into manageable chunks. Then they put it into a huge caldron where they began to heat it. When the ore melted, the impurities floated to the top and they were scooped off. Then the operator turned up the heat and more impurities floated to the top—again to be scooped off. This occurred over and over until the process of purification was completed.

Once the operator was finished my friend asked him how pure the gold was. The answer: "99.9% pure." Steve asked another question. Is that the purest it can get?" The operator answered, "Yes. 99.9% pure is the purest gold we can ever get in this world."

My friend asked one last question. "If it was 100% pure what would it look like?" "Oh," the man said, "it wouldn't be yellow anymore. The yellow color is the impurities that are left in the gold. No, 100% pure gold would be perfectly clear, like glass."

There are two things that come to mind here. First of all, when we look at gold in this present life, it is the wonderful, gleaming yellow color that captures us. That's why we call it "Gold". It's that lustrous golden color that has caused men throughout history to do anything to possess it. If we stumbled upon a trove of gold that was clear like glass we would probably pass it by even if it were right before us. And doesn't that reveal us for what we are—natural born sinners who are drawn to the impure things of this life while we often walk right by those things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, or of a good report?

The second thing that comes to mind is our future. When this life is over and we stand before the Lord, He will finish the refining process, the fiery trials as it were, that he began on the day we said yes to him. And when He finishes, all the impurities will be gone and we will stand transparent before him, as transparent as the golden streets of heaven, purest gold and clear like glass.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

 Best-selling author Patrick E. Craig is a lifelong writer and musician who left a successful songwriting and performance career in the music industry to follow Christ in 1984. He spent the next 26 years as a worship leader, seminar speaker, and pastor. In 2011 he signed a three-book deal with Harvest House Publishers to publish his Apple Creek Dreams series. His current series is The Paradise Chronicles and the first two books in the series, The Amish Heiress and The Amish Princess, were published by P&J Publishing. Patrick and his wife Judy make their home in Idaho and are the parents of two adult children and have five grandchildren. Patrick is represented by the Steve Laube Agency.

Where can readers find me online?

www.patrickecraig.com  Webpage
https://www.facebook.com/PatrickECraig  Facebook

https://twitter.com/PatrickECraig  Twitter

Where can readers purchase my books?

http://tinyurl.com/n6sfagg Amazon

   

Patrick’s Newest Book - The Amish Princess—

Opahtuhwe, the White Deer, is the beautiful daughter of Wingenund, the most powerful chief of the Delaware tribe. She is revered by her people–a true Indian princess. Everything changes when the murderous Delaware renegade known as Scar brings three Amish prisoners to the Delaware camp. Jonathan and Joshua Hershberger are twin brothers that Scar has determined to adopt and teach the Indian way. The third prisoner is Jonas Hershberger, their father, who has been made a slave because he would not defend his family. White Deer is drawn to Jonathan but his hatred of the Indians makes him push her away. Joshua's gentle heart and steadfast refusal to abandon the Amish faith lead White Deer to a life-changing decision and rejection by her people. In the end, White Deer must choose between the ways of her people and her newfound faith. And complicating it all is her love for the man who can only hate her.