Christian, Inspirational
Date Published: Nov. 30, 2018
Publisher: Lucid Books
After having several children, parents often feel well-equipped to take on the challenges of another child. When Matt and Tammy Parker decided to add a child to their family, they had little idea of the blessings and struggles God had in store for them. The Crucible's Fire paints a picture of God's steadfast love through trials as he holds one family in the loving and protective crucible of his faithfulness. Readers will learn:
· The raw emotion of unexpected hardship
· How to rely on God for strength
· The beauty of God's faithfulness when it seems all hope is lost
· How to trust in God through their own dark night of the soul
· The sanctification that comes only through the refining fire of trials
· Strengthen your own trust in God's refining faithfulness as you join this family through the joys and pains of raising a special needs child.
Excerpt
The second phase
of refining ore into precious metal is to place
the now broken
and unrefined material into the crucible. A crucible
is a funny
thing. It is designed to be heated, designed to destroy
what is
undesirable within. It is permeable enough to allow heat to
pass through yet
strong enough to only allow the correct amount
of heat—just
enough to do its work. In it, the heat will melt away
any impurities
surrounding and potentially damaging the precious
treasure the
refiner seeks. The crucible is singular in purpose: expose
and remove
impurity.
The crucible of
God’s faithfulness does no less. Instead of a lead
pot or a ceramic
cylinder, his hands hold us—broken, shattered,
bruised, impure,
and full of dross. His hands shield us from the fire
that is to come
but only enough to prevent our complete destruction.
He lets enough
heat pass through to have its full effect on the ore.
Proverbs 17:3
says, “The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for
gold, and the
Lord tests hearts.” It was as if the divine proctor said
to
the class, “Study time is over. You may begin the test.”
About the Author
Matt Parker serves as a high school teacher in rural East Texas and has served as a bi-vocational minister for almost 25 years. He has recently retired from pastoral ministry to develop discipleship materials to encourage the saints and help deepen their walk with the Lord. He is married to Tammy, his high school sweetheart, and together they have four biological children, three adopted children, one granddaughter, and serve as foster parents.
Their youngest daughter, Brynna, was born with severe physical and developmental delays. Over the past decade, Matt has kept friends and family updated on her condition, progress, and their sanctification through email and his ministry blog at The Crucible's Fire.
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thanks for hosting
ReplyDeleteGrreat blog I enjoyed reading
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