---

---

Malachi 3:2 But who can endure the day of His coming? Who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness The prophetic word that went out at the beginning of the year 2008 was that this is a year of change, a year of new beginnings. This is a year in which the Lord wants to take us to a higher place; a higher level in Him. It is a year in which He wants to do great wonders among us. In His master-plan, He chose you and me to be born and live in such a time as this. What an honor! As we are going through tumultuous times on our island, we see all around us a sense of hopelessness in our nation. Our God yearns to heal our nation. He is the One who has the answers for the problems that our society is facing. When we buy a refrigerator and it has a malfunction, we don’t hesitate to read the manufacturer’s manual or even contact the manufacturer to see how it can be fixed. Now God, as the creator of the earth and King of our land, knows exactly what we need and wants to teach our nation how to walk in His ways and prosper in everything we do. In the book of Joshua (chapter 3) we are told that Joshua and the Israelites arrived and camped at the banks of the Jordan river before crossing over to the land God had promised them. There the people were instructed to pay attention and follow the ark of God and the Levites whenever they moved for they would be traveling on a way they had never traveled before. Joshua instructed God’s people to purify themselves, for tomorrow the Lord would do great wonders among them. Purification, focusing on what God is doing and saying. Why? Because we too, just as Joshua and the Israelites, have come to the banks of the river and are preparing to cross over. We will not be able to move on successfully with God while still holding on to old ways of thinking, persistent sins that still exist in our lives, bad habits that sadden our Lord. God wants to transform our ways, thoughts, speech and hearts so that we will reflect His Glory and will reach out in His love and compassion to a society that desperately needs Him. The refiner’s fire burns everything that is not pleasing to our Lord. But as we yield and submit to the Holy Spirit, He will purify. And ohh, what an outcome!! Pure vessels who bring offerings in His righteousness. God is about to do a new thing on the earth and in Aruba. Tomorrow He will do great wonders among us. Are we ready? Mom, you promised! I’m sure I’m not the only parent who has heard these words more than once before. I have to admit I enjoy seeing those big brown eyes looking at me, trusting that I will do everything within my reach to keep the promise I made…even if sometimes the wait may be long. Through the years I have come to realize, that as a parent, not only do my children learn from me but that it also works the other way around. I can and do learn a lot from my own kids. One of the things I’ve learned is their trust in a promise. It does not matter how long they have to wait, they have this assurance that they will receive what we promised them. They just keep reminding us from time to time, to make sure we don’t forget. Growing up as a child I remember promises being made but often not kept. Though disappointments are a normal part of life, I had allowed a seed of doubt to be sown in my heart. I did not realize this until years later, when God showed me that even when I believed in Him, I did not really believe Him. God wants us to believe who He says He is and not who we think He is. Many times we do not grasp how Great our God is. The enemy of our souls wants us to believe that our God is a mere human like us, with limited power and resources. The great news is that God is not limited in His power. He is omniscient, meaning He knows everything. He is omnipresent, meaning He is everywhere and He is omnipotent, meaning He is all-powerful. Have you ever watched little children when they compare dads? They will say something like:” My dad is bigger & stronger than your dad.” God loves it when we think of Him this way. “My dad is stronger than this illness”. “My dad has all the wisdom and knowledge I need to confront this problem.” Our Father also wants us to believe in His love for us. He loves us so much, He gave us His only son Jesus who died for us on the cross of Calvary. Jesus came to be a reflection of God on the earth, to show us the Kingdom of His father and to reconcile us with God. God wants us to believe that He will do what He promised He will do. In Psalm 138:2 we read : I bow before your holy temple as I worship. I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; Your promises are backed up by all the honor of Your name. Many times we want to believe His promises for our lives but because of the circumstances, we find ourselves focusing on all that is happening around us. One thing I have learned is that whatever you focus your attention on, that is what becomes bigger and bigger in your life. One of my children used to love to walk with a magnifying glass in the garden to watch and study bugs. Have you ever tried this? I have. Wow, a little ant really seems huge and scary. The same thing happens when we focus on our problem, it just gets enlarged. When we focus on our faults, we don’t change!! The faults keep getting worse. But when we focus on God… we start to realize how great, powerful, faithful and loving He is. God doesn’t want us to deny our circumstances, neither does He. He wants to change the circumstances while we focus on Him. There are many “voices” competing for our attention. Our past failures, condemnation, people around us, even our own. Believe only one voice! Our Father’s voice and word is the only one that proves true (Proverbs30:5] He loves it when we come with the confidence of children into His presence. So what have I learned to do? I lift up my eyes & know that my help comes from my Lord. “Daddy, you promised! I believe your word and I trust you!” I invite you to trust Him with me…