Snow...

Snow… Seldom do we see the amount of snow that blankets the landscape right now. Leaving work yesterday, it seemed early…

A blanket of white covering everything makes just a tiny bit of light bounce and reflect until it almost seems like daylight…even when the sun has long since set, even when clouds hang low, weeping out fluffy white flakes.

Every little speck against a backdrop of this snowy whiteness stands out starkly, the contrast is so great. A footprint thru to the soil beneath, a tire track, a patch of snow that has been soiled with a spilled drink…every little thing shows up against the pure white snow.

I was thinking yesterday about how disfigured and imperfect I am. When I examine myself against a simple ten-part standard, I fail miserably. Black….dirty…so ugly against the pureness of God. It serves the purpose God intended…it makes me see how badly I need a Savior. I can’t get myself pure when I can’t even follow ten simply stated guidelines. Did you see any black ugliness in yourself ?

‘Come now ! Let us reason together…’ (Isa. 1:18) That is God speaking thru the prophet Isaiah. Engage yourself…enter into the conversation He initiates…He continues ‘though your sins are like scarlet…they shall be as white as snow…’

Imagine a bright red laying against this backdrop of snow. What a contrast ! My sin shows up. Like a huge bright red stain on this pure white landscape of snow..my sin shows up. The Good News is that the scarlet blood of my Savior ‘purifies me from all sin’ (1 John 1:7) I am ‘justified by His blood…’(Rom. 5:9)

White as snow… He ‘suffered outside the city gate to make me holy through His own blood.’ (Heb. 13:12) Whiter than snow.. ‘..wash me and I will be whiter than snow.’ (Ps.51:7)

How could anything possibly be whiter than this snow….

Mirror...

Mirror…There are indeed many distorted mirrors, making us look taller and thinner, or wider, or strangely curved. A perfect clean mirror will reflect a perfect image of what stands before it. Often, we don’t like what we see…

What we call The Ten Commandments mirrors something to me that’s not pretty. When I look at that ‘thou shalt/thou shalt not’ list closely, I become keenly aware of how disfigured I am.

‘…through the law we become conscious of our sin.’ (Rom. 3:20)

Are you brave enough to look into that mirror with your eyes really open? We will start with a simple one. ‘Thou shalt not steal.’(Ex.20:15) There’s no thief reading this right? No bank robbers on the list, I’m sure.

The word translated steal is ‘ganab’ in the original language. It means to secretly bring, to obtain by stealth, the implication to deceive, to thieve literally or figuratively.

Think you’re innocent? So, you’re 100% honest on your tax forms? You have never passed on some unkind, untrue, or unnecessary remark, taking away someone’s good reputation. What about that item that was mis-priced, you knew it, but that young kid working as a salesclerk didn’t. What about the stuff you bring home from work, that stuff the company pays for, provides for you as you work there, and you take it home to provide for your family, saving yourself the cost of purchasing it yourself? Maybe you didn’t correct that person who thought it was you that did that great thing, you just kept quiet and let them think it. Dozens and dozens of things to list. This mirror shows my face. I’m guilty. Perhaps I’m the only one though…or maybe you’re not looking into this same mirror…maybe you’re looking into a distorted one. You know, one that makes you look taller and thinner. Better than you really do.

Think I’m being legalistic? I am. That is what law is…legal. God’s purpose in issuing law is served when we really begin to see how guilty we are of breaking them. Only then do we really see our predicament, and our great need of rescue.

When God looks, He sees all that stuff… unless I’m covered by His Son. Then He sees Jesus, the One and Only Perfect One.

Thank You Lord for Your amazing grace. I’m a thief.

Reflection...

Reflection…I work standing in front of a mirror. I’m so accustomed to it, I seldom see my own image there. But it IS there…

There are reflections of ourselves in a lot of places if we look for them. We are reflected in our children. Simply the face of a child often reflects who the parent is, the image being so similar. Often, we see ourselves reflected in the behavior of our children ….sometimes not a pretty reflection.

Our actions and words are reflections. (I am convinced that we act on what we REALLY believe, not on what we SAY we believe.) Words are important….but actions speak much louder. ‘As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead…..show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.’ (James 2:26, 18)

Sometimes the mirror is true, sometimes it’s distorted. Sometimes I just wish for the excuse of a distorted mirror, giving me an excuse for the reflection I see. It’s not pretty sometimes, often in fact…but I’ve become more able to look at the ugliness I see reflected because only when I acknowledge it can it be changed.

We are prone to not really look…to only look from a distance, or look quickly and turn away, ignoring what we see, even pretending we look entirely different. ‘Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.’ (James 1:23,24 NIV) ‘But suppose you take a good look….keep looking at it…don’t forget…but act…’ (James 1:25 NIrV)

I can change a lot standing in front of my mirror. I’ll be changing my own reflection in front of a mirror in a few minutes as I ready for the day ahead. I can change your reflection to a degree…with shears, a brush and a blow dryer. But only the Lord can remove the real ugly…the ugly that goes all the way to the spirit.

Examine yourselves..’ (2Cor. 13:5) I need to prayerfully look at my reflection. I don’t want to have ‘eyes that could not see..’(Rom. 11:8)

My desire is to reflect Jesus Christ. His image is perfect…and He shows me what I really look like. I am thankful He doesn’t leave me to my own skill to make improvements, for my image is beyond flawed, beyond my capacity to improve.

‘Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.’ (James 1:4) ‘I have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of the Creator’(Col.3:10)

It is a work in progress.

Sword...

Sword… Have you noticed all the pieces of the armor we’ve looked at are for protection? Did you notice there’s nothing for the back side? We are to stand, not run. (see Armor / Feb.4th) Stand…that implies a continued action. We are called to face the assault. We have protection, and we have one weapon to fight with.

‘Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get….Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You will need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon.’ (Eph. 6”13-17 The Message)

We are not to fight with our idea of what is right, (truth), but His. We can’t fight armed in our own good behavior (righteousness), but His. We don’t overcome what we face while sitting on our hands, simply on the strength of faith. ‘faith without deeds? Can such faith save?‘(James 2:14) We have to act on what we say we believe. We are provided what is necessary to secure ourselves, but we are still vulnerable and will never take out the enemy without this one weapon He provides for our armor. The Sword of the Spirit…God’s Word.

God’s Word. Communication from the Almighty. What God has said has been recorded for us by a host of different writers, in 3 different languages, under all sorts of circumstances, from every social rank, kings to peasants, highly educated to absolutely no education, Jews and Gentiles, most of them completely unknown to each other, living over the space of some 1600 years, all telling the same story…. the relationship between God and man, how it started, what went wrong, and God’s rescue…the redemption story.

What God says IS. Period. He said ‘let there be….’(Gen.1) and there WAS. He is the same God, what He says packs a powerful punch…and the opposing forces can NOT over-rule His say-so. What satan can and does do, is deceive us about what God has in fact said. (we make it easy when we haven’t a clue what He said in the first place!)

The first sin was a result of not being sure of what God had said. Satan asked Eve, “Did God really say,’You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Gen.3:1 NIV) Read the complete story for yourself, see how that happened. Learn the tactic the serpent used. He uses it still. Look for God’s Word in that story, what DID He say?

Satan’s agenda is to keep us ignorant of what God has said or make us believe his version (lies) of what God has said. That devil will try to make us question and doubt God’s character and intent about what He has said and why. God has a reason for what He has said, always always a good reason, and for our ultimate good.

You can’t fight without something to fight with. You’ll get slaughtered standing against an enemy with no weapon to take that enemy down. You may manage to stand a short while…but you’ll not stand long, the enemy will USE his weapons. His weapons are a distortion of God’s Word. You are wise to find out the truth of what He says.

Helmet...

Helmet… We just had Superbowl Sunday. If you know me very well, you will know I have issues with football. I’m not a big fan.

Today, I have to smile at God’s timing, He is so cool, so good at what He does. I’ve spent all this time reflecting on armor, the equipment He tells us to use… to defend ourselves against the very real attacks of our very real opposition. The last piece of protective armor is ‘the helmet of salvation.’

‘ …let us ..put on…the hope of salvation as a helmet.’ (1Thes. 5:8) ’Take the helmet of salvation…’ (Eph. 6:17) ‘ press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.’ (Phil. 3:14) …(listen to all this football language! Doesn’t God have a sense of humor?!).. ‘make it my goal to please Him’ (2 Cor. 5:9) ‘receiving the goal of my faith, the salvation of my soul..’ (1 Peter 1:9)

Let’s clear up our thinking about this hope thing though. Hope = ‘elpis’ in the original language of scripture and it means to anticipate with pleasure, to expect with confidence, desire something good with the expectation of obtaining it while not yet an actuality.

It is difficult to stay in a battle when there is no hope of victory. This is not a big ‘what if’. This is not an impossiblity. But ‘thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (1 Cor. 15:57)

Daily putting on this helmet of salvation protects my mind. This hope protects me when my understanding is being assaulted. The enemy wants me to have poor or no understanding, and he will twist truth so that I MISunderstand. He wants me to have poor judgment. He wants me to be confused and uncertain. He would have me live in fear and insecurity, or horribly misuse and misapply the grace that God has extended. But..

I have received… ‘the Spirit Who is from God’ (1Cor. 2:12) I have possession… ‘the promised Holy Spirit….gaurantees my inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession..’ (Eph. 1:13,14) HE is ‘the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.’ (Heb.5:9)

The opposing side plays rough and dirty. I have protective gear to wear because the opposition wants to take me down any way possible. The helmet is a vital part.
It is crucial to protect my mind…and God Himself provides that protection.

I have possession, and I have the promises of God. I am assured victory. How about you? Are you on God’s team? Are you suited up?…protected with His gear, or relying on your own? Your apt to be injured without it. Are you in the game, or on the bench? He needs all players on the field, He really wants to run the scoreboard up. ‘..look at the fields, they are ripe for harvest.’(John 4:25)

Shield...

Shield….I’ve been wearing a raincoat a lot lately. It is my shield against falling drops of water. It keeps my clothes dry, therefore keeping me warm instead of chilled to the bone. I have a plastic shield I use in my microwave. I put it over the food to keep it from splattering. Shields…of water-proof material…of microwave safe plastic. What about the shield in this armor of God…

‘take the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.’ (Eph. 6:16) Don’t get off the point here…don’t zoom in on that faith word yet. (I’m not sure I can tackle that one!) We need to understand why we have a need for a shield, and what we use it for.

We are being told in this scripture that there are ‘flaming arrows’ from ‘the evil one’ …that we ARE in harm’s way, and we need a shield between us and these methods of attack. We have to have a way to put out these ‘flaming arrows’. (I have images of Calvary forts and Indians, on the western movies that often play in our living room.)The Indians’ flaming arrows may or may not have been real…but the ones our enemy uses are very real.

The wrong thoughts that pass thru my mind, but get caught and thrown out as I use my shield.
The opportunities to do what I know I should not…I use my shield of faith to turn them down.
The occasions when I want to lash out and return the attack..I raise my shield to protect myself, refusing to hurt another person unnecessarily.
The fear that plagues me…I raise up my shield to keep it from penetrating my heart.
The burning questions I struggle with, I raise up my shield to put out the fire of doubt and unbelief that my enemy would like to see steal my joy and destroy me.
All the ‘what if’s…I raise my shield to knock them down, remembering the promises of God.
I must on purpose raise up my shield. It’s up to me. It doesn’t raise itself.

The shield used in Biblical times was usually made of light wood covered with several layers of leather hides with a rim of brass. Some shields were covered in metal, making them heavier and harder to use for long periods of time. The wood was vulnerable to fire but lighter and easier to maneuver in battle. Leathers were kept rubbed with oil to protect them and help keep the surface smooth so that arrows or darts would not penetrate easily. ( anointed with oil ! )

Our shield is made of faith. That’s a really big word. The writer of Hebrews says it is ‘being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.’ (Heb. 11:1) My faith is not in my faith. My faith is in the God of the universe, the Creator of everything in my reality and beyond. HE, my friend, shields me from any flaming arrow my enemy hurls.
‘Thou O Lord, are a shield around me.’ (Ps. 3:3)

Shod...

Shod… People with horses know that term well. I’m not a horse, but I like being well shod. Most people do, especially us girls…we like shoes.

There is a purpose for being shod…to cover the feet and make us able to take steps without subjecting our tender flesh to the bare ground. The older I’ve gotten, my choices have changed…the emphasis becomes more on comfort and purpose rather than style and appearance.

When I go on a day’s shopping trip, I take in consideration the amount of walking, and I make sure I’m shod accordingly. Every Christian should make similar considerations daily, we should be ‘shod’ appropriately, for we are shopping with Jesus, looking for others who will choose His offer. ‘He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’ (1 Peter 3:9)

He has already bought me…paid the price, I’m just waiting to go home with Him. Meanwhile, He is within me, with me every moment of every day. He’s not walking around in flesh anymore…He is RE-presented to the world now thru the flesh of His children. ‘Christ is in you..’ (Col. 1:27) That’s me… and you, if you‘re His.So what about the foot-gear in the armor we’ve been discussing? ‘..your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace..’(Eph. 6:15) The common soldiers of that day were shod with a type of sandal or ‘caligae’. They were strapped around the instep and ankle, with thick soles studded with protruding nails that kept them standing firmly in the sandy ground.

In the very real spiritual war that is going on all around you and I, we must be shod. But not with a spiked heel. We are to be shod and prepared with ‘the gospel of peace’ We can’t achieve any victory without this important basic piece of equipment. (shoes DO make the outfit !)

The gospel/good news/message….IS peace. Peace with God instead of conflict with Him. He is perfect, we are not. FAR from it in fact ! Conflicts (sin) exist in our relationships with each other. There is conflict between us and God. Conflict destroys personal peace and peace with others…family, friends, spouses, neighbors, strangers, other nations…. It gets to be a really awful mess. Painful. Hurtful. Damaging. There is a solution to the problem…reconciliation has been made possible. Peace with God will bring personal peace and peace with one another.

Ephesians 2 has a lot to say about this.. ‘In Christ Jesus, you who were far away, have been brought near… He Himself is our peace, Who has… destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility…making peace, …, to reconcile ….them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility.’ (selected verses)

How you are shod will tell off on you. Is the gospel of peace what keeps you grounded, standing firmly, able to stand against enemy assault? Or is it your flesh….your tender , vulnerable, bare feet?