Dear Ones,
Hope you had a wonderful weekend. We had a group of new members join our church yesterday, including our pastor’s parents and sister’s family. This morning I have been studying and doing food prep and soon going to  my exercise class; and tonight is the VIking game!!
Devotions from Judy’s heart
   Sometimes new Christians think that when they receive the Lord that all their problems are over; so, when they encounter difficulties, they get disillusioned and think something is very wrong and are tempted to abandon their new faith. But we were never promised a smooth road and a life without trials; in fact, we were told we would face sufferings of all kinds for His sake.
   In our Bible study here at Northern Lakes, we are in the book of I Peter, and he writes to the Christians that were exiled because of their faith. In fact, as Christ followers, we can expect persecutions and trials, and how we go through them is a testing of our faith. Peter tells the exiled Christians that they will have to suffer various trials for a while and he says in “The purpose of these troubles is to test your faith as fire tests how genuine gold is. Your faith is more precious than gold, and by passing the test, it gives praise glory, and honor to God.” ( I Peter 1:7) When miners find rocks with gold, they put them in the fire and impurities float to the top and can be skimmed off and the true gold comes forth. Our testing also proves if our faith is pure but we may discover that we have pride and selfishness and all sorts of impurities.  But if we let the Lord refine us our faith and hope will increase and we will rely more on Him. As the genuineness of our faith comes forth, it brings glory to God.
   Let us not be surprised when we go through suffering. We may all have hoped for an easier road and at times even compared our road to others but that is not wise. We must trust that the Lord who is in control of our lives, lays out the road before us, and promises to be with us on our journey all the way. Even when there seems to be no way He can reroute us!. As the hymn goes, “God will make a way/ where there seems to be no way/ He works in ways we cannot see/ He will make a way for me/ He will be my guide/ hold me closely to His side/ with love and strength for each new day/ He will make a way.”
 Instead of complaining of the hard road we travel, let us be thankful that He is in the process of refining us.
Challenge for today: Trust and thank the Lord for the road He has you on right now!
Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy