PRAISE GOD FOR HIS FAITHFULNESS.
We have the rabid clique sorts to thank for that.
They were arguing that there was no such book that said any such horribly untrue things about the Vatican Institution, dogma, beliefs, practices.
I decided I’d have to see for myself. That’s the result. And that’s only a SMALL FRACTION of the horrible stuff in that volume.
Os Hillman’s e-letter today:
Do You Know God’s Calling On Your Life? An excellent tool is available to help you discover the strengths, interests, gifts, and skills God wired into you to fulfill your calling. Excellent for adults as well as young adults and teens. Learn More
A Fine-tuned Instrument
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os Hillman
Monday, October 04 2010
“...I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’” Zechariah 13:9 My business career has been as an owner of an advertising agency. Over the years, I have had the privilege to work on many different and prestigious accounts. One of those accounts was Steinway Pianos, the maker of the world’s finest pianos. Each piano has always been made from scratch; it takes over a year to make one Steinway. The most impressive scene as I toured the manufacturing plant was the place where the soundboard is stretched to its maximum tolerance and allowed to sit for an extended period until it remains in the curved design. This was done in an off-to-the-corner part of the plant. If the wood were alive, it would be crying out for mercy.
After an extended time of stretching, the wood will never spring back to its original state. It is permanently changed. The piano is becoming a fine-tuned instrument. After this process takes place, the next step requires another point of stress. It takes 11 tons of pressure on a piano to tune it. Each step in the process moves the piano closer to a finished product that will ultimately be played by the world’s finest musicians. These musicians desire a particular sound that only a piano like this can make.
God looks at each of us as a fine-tuned instrument. However, we begin as rough wood that He desires to transform into gold. Tuning us requires certain experiences that will stretch our faith, our frame, and our very life. Sainthood springs out of suffering. If we can stand the strain of this intense process, we will come forth as gold-as a sweet-smelling offering to our Maker. When we are in the midst of these times, it feels like fire. It is painful to be stretched beyond our perceived limits, but the Lord knows this is necessary for us to become an instrument that can play a beautiful song that others will seek after.
Let the master Craftsman have His way in your life today. You will be pleased with the instrument He fashions.