Our Heavenly Father has a goal: to cleanse us of sin and not only for heaven, but in our daily life.. 

Malachi 3:3 says, “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.”

Malachi 3:3 explains that God sits as a smelter, or a refiner, watching over us as the heat of daily life, trials, and sufferings cause impurities to rise in our lives. 

He wants for us to be increasingly purified so we better reflect Christ.

What happens when sin glaringly rises in our life? We have the opportunity to see our impurity and confess it. 

Are things heating up in your life? If so, be assured that your Heavenly Father is watching over you as a smelter watches over silver that is being refined. He hears your prayers and confessions. And, has anyone told you? You are reflecting Him more every day.

Lord, thank You, SMELTER of my mind, spirit, and soul. Purify me so I reflect Your image. 

When life’s heat turns up, it’s easy to wonder, “Why am I going through this?” The good news is, your struggle isn’t pointless. Watch Debbie’s teaching from James 1 HERE to learn the meaning of “upside-down faith”and how God uses our trials, so that they are never wasted. 

Are you hot-tempered or does it take a lot to get you angry? 

What kind of person would you rather be around—a hot-tempered person or a patient, loving person? 

What kind of Heavenly Father do you prefer? One quickly angered by your shortcomings or one who is slow to anger?

If you said you’d rather be in a relationship with a Heavenly Father who is slow to anger and great in love, there is wonderful news for you. Psalm 145:8 says, “The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and great in lovingkindness.” 

Think about the blessing of God being slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. 

Praise Him for all the ways you are thankful for who He is. 

Lord, thank You for being SLOW TO ANGER. Forgive me when I think, do, or say things that are not in keeping with You and Your will. Help me be ever mindful of Your glory and holiness and increasingly align my thoughts and actions to Yours.

The Prayers of My Heart prayer journal is a great place to record your thanks to God for all the ways He is revealed in the Bible. It is also a thoughtful and meaningful gift for someone who is going through a hard time. Share with them the benefit of focusing on who God is and because of who He is, the many ways He can help them.

Do you feel under fire by a barrage of personal, financial, physical, spiritual, or other attacks? Have you attempted to shield yourself or your loved ones with your own efforts or things other than the Lord? Although your efforts may be well intentioned, the Lord is the ultimate, impenetrable shield. Any shield other than the Lord will fail to protect the mind, emotions, and hearts of you or your loved ones.^[1]

Jesus hasn’t left you alone to suffer through life’s trials by yourself. You can cover yourself with His love and truth.^[2]  You can call to your Heavenly Father, who David describes in Psalm 3:3 as a shield about him. You can put on the spiritual armor that He’s given you so that you can resist evil and stand firm (Ephesians 6:13). 

If your shield of faith is down, take it and hold it up. You can do this by taking “up” your Bible and taking God “up” on His Word. Soak your mind and heart in His Word and let it speak to and strengthen your soul (Psalm 119:97-98, 110-111, 114). ^[3] 

Lord, thank You for being a SHIELD about me. Help me stay under the protection of Your divine armor and Word.

If you enjoyed this content and want to watch video teachings by Debbie, subscribe to her YouTube channel. Go HERE and click the subscribe button to be notified of new teachings.

¹ Debbie Taylor Williams, Monroe, Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion (Monroe, LA: Howard Publishing, 2006).          

² Williams, Pray with Purpose, 2006.                                                                                                                                                                                          

³Williams, Pray with Purpose, 2006.

What are you facing today? Are the storms of life relentlessly beating against your soul leaving you feeling unsettled, discouraged, or perhaps overwhelmed? 

Is someone “attacking” you, finding fault or accusing you wrongly? 

No doubt, there are times when we feel battered by our stormy circumstances. When that happens we can go to God, who Psalm 91:1 describes as a shelter. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Yes, God is a shelter. The Hebrew word sēṯer means “hiding place.”  God is a hiding place for the believer.

What does that mean for us on a daily basis? 

It emphasizes how important it is for us to sit with God and to return to Him when difficult circumstances strike like lightning, when someone’s words pelt us or Satan sends tornadoes of temptation. 

When we dwell, sit, in the shelter (hiding place) of God, He covers us with His righteousness and peace. Go to Him. Sit with Him.

Lord, You are a SHELTER in the storms and temptations of life. I love and praise You!

Are you going through a trial? Being tested? Do you have relationship issues? A problem with your tongue? Do finances get you down or are you caught up in money? Do you have questions about how prayers get answered or why they don’t? The book of James speaks volumes into our lives and offers words of encouragement to hold on to and apply through life’s storms. Follow along in our James study by clicking HERE, or watch the teachings on YouTube by clicking HERE.

Have you ever been built up or torn down by someone’s words? No doubt, people’s words have an impact on our lives. So do Christ’s words. 

In Isaiah 49:2, the words of the “Servant of the Lord,” who is understood to be Jesus, are compared to a sharp sword. “He has made My mouth like a sharp sword,…;”

The imagery of Jesus’ words being like a sharp sword is also found in other places in the Bible. Hebrews 4:12 tells us, “For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” 

Jesus’ Words are like a sharp sword in that they cut straight to the heart, to our thoughts and intentions.

Jesus’ Word is also a sharp sword in the believer’s defense against sin and the enemy (Psalm 119:11, Ephesians 6:10-17). 

As believers, do we use the power and authority of God’s Word to transform us? Do we delight in His Word? (Psalm 1:1-3)? Are we doers of His Word (James 1:23-25)?  Christ, His Word, a sharp sword, is vital to our lives. 

Lord, I praise You, a SHARP SWORD. Transform me according to Your living and active Word. 

Would you like to grow in your faith? Discover the many resources on our website that can help you. In addition to our books and Bible studies, we offer several free Christian resources, including podcasts, video teachings, listening guides, and more!

Have you ever been separated from someone and you desperately wanted to be with them? Whether the separation was due to death, divorce, disease, or distance, the pain of not being able to be with a loved one can be devastating. 

Jesus understands such depth of emotion. He loves us and created us to live in union with Him. Because of His Indescribable love for us, He left heaven’s glory and came to earth to save us. 

Yes, Jesus, separated from sinners as Hebrews 7:26 describes, crossed the chasm between heaven’s glory and earth. He stretched out His hands on a cross to die so that we might be saved and be reunited to Him and the Father.  “For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens.”

Jesus, separated from sinners, took on human flesh and lived among sinners; taking our sin upon Himself. Only when we ponder the heights of holiness that Jesus left to secure our salvation are we able to begin to grasp the depth of His love. 

How well are we loving Jesus in return? How intentionally are we abstaining from sin? How faithfully are we sharing with others who Jesus is and how they can also be reunited to Him? 

Lord Jesus, SEPARATED FROM SINNERS, thank You for coming to earth to save me and reunite me to Yourself and the Father. May I cling tightly to You with a heart overflowing in gratitude. 

Find spiritual rest and renewal in God’s presence today by spending time in His Word. Use one of our free online Bible studies to guide you in your study.

Sides. Children learn the concept of “sides” at a young age. They’re on one side or the other of a field depending on whose team they are on.  

As children grow older they learn about historical battles and those who fought on each side. 

Hopefully, as children become teens and then adults they become more aware of another set of sides: God’s and the devil’s.  Yes, the Bible explains that there are spiritual sides that battle over our souls. 

The war between God and the devil was decided long ago with God decidedly the victor. Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the grave sealed the outcome of the war over man’s soul.

Isaiah 49:2 describes Jesus’ role in the battle over man’s soul calling Him a Select Arrow. “He has also made Me a select arrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver.” 

Yes, Jesus was sent from God’s heavenly quiver to destroy the works of the devil and save our soul. Aren’t you thankful for Christ, the Select Arrow of God and for being on God the Father’s side? 

Lord Jesus, God’s SELECT ARROW, thank You for coming to earth to destroy the works of the devil. Thank You for winning the battle over my soul.  I love and praise You!

Want to learn more about living a victorious Christian life? Watch Debbie’s teaching on Acts 28 : The 7 Characteristics of People Who Are More than Conquerors. 

Did you ever play Marco Polo in the swimming pool? I have fond memories of playing it with my sister, Vicki. We’d take turns closing our eyes and calling out, “Marco.” The other one would respond, “Polo,” then swim away to avoid getting tagged.

Some of us may think of Jesus as one who is blindly searching for us when we call out to Him. That is far from the case. Jesus has His eyes on us and is waiting for us to call on Him. 

Jesus is the seeker of the lost as He explains in Luke 19:10,  “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost.”

What does the Bible mean when it refers to people as being “lost”?

The Greek word for “lost” is apollymi. The context of this verse is that people have strayed from Jesus. They are “lost” in sin. Jesus came to earth to “reclaim people from wickedness,” like a shepherd might reclaim his sheep from a wolf. 

Jesus came to earth to seek and to save the Father’s children who are bound in sin and Satan’s snare.  

Jesus loves you. He sees your unsaved family and friends. He loves them and is seeking the unsaved to come to Him and be saved. 

Lord Jesus, SEEKER OF THE LOST, thank You for seeking and saving me. Thank You for continuing to seek my unsaved family members and friends.

The Gospel of John is full of examples of Jesus seeking and saving the lost. It also recounts the death and resurrection of Jesus, which made a way for all to come to Him for salvation. Access Debbie’s free online Bible study of John along with her other online Bible studies HERE.

We all know what we mean when we say, “I don’t have it in me…” then we complete the thought. “I don’t have it in me to change.” “I don’t have it in me to keep working this hard.”

It’s important to recognize if we do or don’t have something in us. A top concern should be if we have Christ in us. We either do or we don’t. Paul makes it clear in 2 Corinthians 13:5 that every person should test themselves to see if they do. “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test.” 

Paul makes a most important point. Attending church, enjoying nature, or being a nice person doesn’t make a person a Christian. A Christian is someone who has Christ “in” them. As a result, they bear the evidence of Him in their lives. 

How do we get Christ in us? We receive Christ through His Holy Spirit into our spirit; as soil receives a seed and then bears the fruit of that seed. 

Jesus is first referred to with the imagery of “seed” in Genesis 3:15 when God announced that Satan would be defeated by “the Seed of the woman,” a reference to Christ being born of a virgin.  

As soil produces the fruit of the seed that is planted in its soil, Christians produce the fruit of Christ in their hearts. Is Christ in you?

Lord Jesus, SEED OF SALVATION, thank You for planting Your Holy Spirit in me. I love and adore You. Increasingly bear the fruit of Your Spirit in my life so that others see and believe in You.

Do you have a friend or family member you would like to introduce to Jesus? Share this link with them: “Meet Jesus…Experience His Grace.”

Are there any Bible verses that make your heart sing because they’re so beautifully written and the praise so magnificent? 

Such is the case with Jude 1:24-25. “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

In these verses, Jude proclaims that the LORD is our only Savior, but not only that. Our Savior is able to keep us from stumbling! 

Our Savior is able to make us stand blameless in God’s presence and glory with great joy. 

If you’ve ever attended a celebration where a toast was made to the person being honored, then you heard words of accolade for the person. No words could be greater, however, than Jude’s praise of the LORD, our Savior, who rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of God (Colossians 1:13); who saved us from the penalty of sin and death and made us holy and righteous, able to stand before God (2 Corinthians 5:21).  

Jude’s heart overflows in praise of the Savior. Use his words as your words of praise. “To the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”

Lord, I worship You; my only God and SAVIOR. 

If you enjoyed this content and want to watch video teachings by Debbie, subscribe to her YouTube channel. Go HERE and click the subscribe button to be notified of new teachings.