Becoming a Refined Christian

The mission of Grace United Methodist Church is that all people might experience and extend the grace of God through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.




"You greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith-- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."

1 Peter 1:6-7 (NIV)

Dear Friends,

Who ever said the Christian life was meant to be easy or without trials? You can read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, cover to cover and you will not find that message. In fact the more you read and study the Scriptures, the more you will discover that suffering and trials are a necessary aspect of the Christian life.

It is true, life can be very hard. It is filled with trials and various forms of suffering. How does our faith in Christ deal with this difficult and inescapable aspect of life? The early Apostles were well acquainted with all aspects of human suffering. The Apostle Peter shows how our faith in and identification with Jesus Christ can help us to emerge from life's hard times as stronger people with a deeper faith.

It is precisely our faith in Christ that is more valuable than any precious medal to God. The great question continually thrust upon each member of the human family is, "Will I trust God?" Will I trust in God even though I can't see him or prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that He exists. Will I continue to believe in God when my prayers seemingly go unheard and/or unanswered. As people grow in the faith, the questions only intensify. Will I continue to trust in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, as Savior, Lord and only certain way to attain eternal life even though most people believe such absolute faith amounts to religious bigotry? When I am ridiculed or rejected for such radical allegiance to Jesus Christ, will I continue to trust in the Lord even then?

Jesus promised that if people turned on him and persecuted him, we his followers today should expect the same. This doesn't mean that Christian today should purposely try to stir things up or be obnoxious or mean-spirited. Rather, it is absolutely true that followers of Jesus should love all people even when we do not agree. One thing is absolutely certain: Jesus Christ did nothing to deserve being rejected, ridiculed, flogged or killed. There is no record of him being anything less than completely charitable and loving toward all people: men and women, girls and boys, "sinners" and saints, rich and poor. All Jesus asked of his followers, then and now, is to simply follow in his steps wherever they lead.

The test of our faith is simple: will we love him, Jesus Christ, the Son of God no matter what? Will I love God, will I love Jesus first and foremost? Or will I put my popularity first? Will my desire to fit in with the current popular opinions of society come before my desire to please God? Do I put my goal of financial prosperity ahead of accumulating treasure in my eternal bank account with God? These are not easy questions for me to answer and I am sure that you struggle with them as well.

Will you join me in a month of prayer for the renewal of this genuine faith in Christ in the life of every member and friend of Grace Church. In writing this I am aware of my own need for such refined faith. Every leader of Grace Church needs to have such a refined faith. I believe that if Grace Church is to have the impact God dreams for us to have in our region and world, every person needs to have a refined, renewed, passionate faith in Jesus Christ. Here is a prayer to start with, "Dear Lord, I love you! Refine, renew and revive my faith in you and my love for all people. I really need this Lord so I am praying in Jesus' name. Amen"

Please let me know if you are praying to be refined.

In Service to Christ,



Pastor John






Jaime at Walnut Hill Theme - "The Word"