Inspirational: THIS IS THE YEAR OF THE SIFTING

Daily Inspirational Encouragement

THIS IS THE YEAR OF THE SIFTING

By: Linda Kirby/WGON

This is the time in history when everyone will be sifted and the wheat will be separated from the chaff. In Matthew 3:12, we are told, “Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Watching the events around the world this year, has really exposed who belongs to Jesus and who does not. Many are being greatly pressured to follow the world’s ways, yet Jesus says to follow Him, not the world. Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” The knowledge that we are not of this world gives Christians hope even in the darkest of times. John 15:19, "If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” We are always to follow Jesus' commands. We are not to allow anyone or anything to pressure us into conforming to this world. Now, more than ever, the lines of separation are being drawn. God is purifying His church, He is revealing people's hearts. Even as individual believers, God is refining us. We all have some degree of chaff and need purification. If God is sifting the wheat, that means that the harvest is upon us. Lift up your heads for your redemption draws near!