“Yet, O Lord, You are our Father.  We are the clay, You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.”   (Isaiah 64:8)

if God is the potter and I am the clay, then I should expect to spend some time in the furnace being “fired” as they say in the ceramics world.  That furnace is called a kiln but it’s a furnace nonetheless, an oven, a fire – anyway you look at it – it’s way hot – after all, “a rose by any other name  . . . ”

it’s hot, it’s uncomfortable for the clay I’m sure  –  but – the clay is changed in the process of the furnace – in the process of being fired the clay is transformed –  it comes out of the kiln, out of the fire, different than when it went in – you can’t spend time in the fire and not be changed.

Actually, that’s why the potter fires the clay, that’s the purpose of the fire, to change the clay, making it closer and closer to the potter’s vision of what it will one day be when he is finished with it.

Potter’s are patient people.  They are people with a vision and they painstakingly, patiently labor to bring their vision to life – to see what they know to be possible become reality.

Romans 2:4 mentions God’s attributes, citing  ”  . . . the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance”

God is patient.  He is the most patient potter of all potters and it’s a good thing because just look what He has to work with!  us, me  . . .  I am so grateful that He doesn’t give up on me.  He continues to work on me, including frequent trips back to the furnace, necessary firings to continue to transform me, little by little, until I have become what He purposed all along that I should be.

“For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.”  (Philippians 2:13)

My Heavenly Father, the Master Potter, has a good purpose in mind for me and to that end He patiently, lovingly works on me.  What is that good purpose?  Romans 8:29 gives me a clue, saying

“For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

There’s God’s good purpose – to conform me to the likeness of His Son, Jesus.   Now that is one lifelong, laborious, labor of love process on the potter’s part.

Genesis 2:7 says that, “the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

That word “formed” is so telling.  Our Creator God was a potter from the beginning!  That’s what potters do – they form things with their hands.  God formed us and He’s been actively engaged in some version of formative work in us ever since.  He forms me, then He reforms me again and again, as often as is necessary for Him to continue to conform me to His vision for me.  By His power He performs a miracle, He transforms me into that new and glorious creation that He had planned for me to be all along!

All that conforming requires a lot of transforming and that takes time, patience and a lot of heat – in other words a lot of fire – which translates to a lot of time in the kiln.  And while we are talking about kilns, it bears mentioning here, that kiln fire is no ordinary fire.  Remember Daniels’s three friends, who ended up in the king’s fiery furnace?  (see posts “trial by fire”  or “life in the furnace”)  Well, that was one hot furnace full of fire, but the king ordered it heated up seven times hotter still because he was so angry at their refusal to worship his gold image.

But even magnified seven times over, that furnace would not have come close to what the clay in the kiln is subjected to during the firing process.  Kilns reach temperatures up to two thousand six hundred degrees and generally operate around the two thousand degree mark.

But the potter’s purpose in putting the clay in the kiln is a good one.  The potter is creating something lovely from the lump of clay he holds in his hands.  His intention is to fashion something both beautiful and useful that he can use for his purposes.  And that’s a remarkable thing, important to remember – what the potter creates, he creates for a purpose.  The potter has a purpose in mind before he even begins the process of forming and fashioning his clay into what it will become.

Likewise, I was created for a purpose.  “For we are (I am) God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us (for me) to do.”  (Ephesians 2:10)

“For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.”  (Philippians 2:13)

As the potter, God is doing the work.  As the clay I am being formed and transformed by the work of His hands.  I will always be a work in progress this side of heaven.  but  my Potter is faithful and I can know  . . .

“being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you (me) will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 1:6)

I will be complete, He is making me whole and complete even now, even when I am spending time in the kiln (which means time in the fire) I have nothing to fear.  It is all part of His process.  He is sovereign over all of it.

Each time I find myself once again “killing time in the kiln” I can know there is a reason, a purpose for my time in the fire.  Potter’s fire their creations multiple times.  The first firing is just the beginning of the process.  Next a coating of glaze is applied and then it’s back to the kiln again for the object of the potter’s desire.  This firing adds color to the vessel the potter is making, changing it from what it was before.

Then the potter may add another layer of glaze, sending the vessel back to the kiln yet again.  Again the vessel will emerge changed from its time in the fire, with another layer of color now added, enhancing its beauty.  The potter will continue to apply glazes as needed, each one requiring time in the kiln, each one transforming further the vessel the potter is creating.

Each time the vessel spends time in the kiln, something is being added – another layer of glaze and beauty from the potter’s hand.  And at the same time, whatever is not of value is being burned away, leaving only what the potter desires should remain.  Each glazing has a purpose all its own.  Some add a luster of gold or of pearl, but each one accomplishes the purpose for which it was brought to bear on the vessel.  In the Master Potter’s hands there are no mistakes but only “all things working together for good”, even killin time in the kiln.

Certainly today, I can say with Job, “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”    (Job 23:10)

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

either my friend, the Snow Captain, is way more powerful than I ever thought she was (or maybe she’s just getting better at her new job as snow captain) or the Captain of all the snow captains read my recent blog post, “my friend – the Snow Captain”.

But something is definitely up because it snowed today.  It snowed a most unusual snow.  It snowed and changed the world around me, momentarily anyway.  It snowed and it was the perfect snow scenario.  (didn’t know there was such a thing, did you?)

I had no idea just how perfect until I drove to a late afternoon meeting, which gave me the opportunity to witness first hand the magic of the miracle that had just taken place and was continuing to take place right before my eyes.

So let me say up front,  nice job!  well done!  bravo!  Keep up the good work!

that’s what I was thinking as I drove down a once familiar street now unrecognizable, totally transformed before my eyes by the snow that now snowcased all of God’s creation – outlining everything in soft white.

Driving down this tree lined street I knew so well, I felt I had entered into an enchanted forest or perhaps a fairyland.  There was a calm, a quiet in the air – a muffled majesty met my eyes everywhere I looked.  Light snow was still falling silently from a sky full of gray clouds, illuminated only by the snow they had so recently deposited, the snow that now lay protectively, even decoratively over everything in sight on the ground.

Well, over almost everything.  What had no snow on them were the roads, the driveways and the sidewalks.  It looked as though walks and driveways had already been shoveled, as though roads had already been cleared – except there were no piles of extra snow anywhere  – because these surfaces had never had snow on them to begin with.

Unbelievable – all the wild, wonderful beauty snow brings with her when she comes, was mine to behold and enjoy – without any of the backbreaking work of shoveling snow off my driveway – without any of the worry of having to drive on dangerous, snow covered roads – without these things that usually accompany snow’s arrival, greatly diminishing my enjoyment of her presence.

What a gift this snowfall gave us all!  She bestowed her beauty on our barren, winter landscape – clothing trees left naked by the exodus of autumn’s leaves – covering rough, exposed edges of the landscape with the pure white comfort of her camouflage  – decorating green pines delicately with white, lacy patterns –

indeed all creatures, animals and people alike, fell quiet under this snow’s gentle spell, watching in wonder as she showered her covering, calming, quieting flakes over the earth – reminding us to take our winter’s nap before spring should rouse us awake again  . . .

calling us to the rest that precedes renewal – this snowfall made the barren beautiful to behold for a hushed, holy moment, while she blanketed earth with her beauty and asked nothing of us in return – not even shoveling her wayward flakes.  This time she stayed within our boundaries, as if some invisible hand had purposely placed each flake for maximum effect.  We were left perfectly decorated, silently spectating this winter spectacle – brought to us by snow –

thank you for this most unexpected good gift,  Snow Captain!

“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow  . . . ?”  (Job 38:22)

“God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways; He does great things beyond our understanding.  He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ ”  (Job 37:5-6)

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

I don’t normally think of fire as protection but as something to be feared.  I’m sure Daniel’s three friends,  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego felt the same way as they faced their fate of being ordered thrown into King Nebuchadnezzar’s fire-filled furnace because of their refusal to bow down and worship the image of gold set up by the king.  They refused because they knew that only the one true living Creator God Most High was worthy of their worship.  They refused even though they knew their refusal meant their certain death.

They were obeying God’s instructions to,  “have no other gods before Me.  do not make for yourself an idol   . . .   do not bow down to them or worship them . . . ”  (Exodus 20:3-5)

But the God who is Himself a consuming fire was with them in the fire of the king’s furnace.  His very Presence with them was their protection.  They did not narrowly escape, though burned and disfigured.  Rather they triumphed, emerging unscathed, not even the smell of smoke clinging to them, nor was any hair of their heads singed.

“For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”  (Deuteronomy 4:24)  This is definitely a case of fighting fire with fire!  That’s what God does on our behalf and He wins every time.

“When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.  For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;”  (Isaiah 43:2-3)

“So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire,  . . .   They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.”   (Daniel 3:26-27)

Moses met God in the fire of a burning bush.  The Israelites also experienced God’s Presence with them as fire.  “By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.  Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.”  (Exodus 13:21-22)

Fire can cook our food, heat our homes and provide us light in the darkness.  God’s holy fire provides us His protection and His purification.  He is a holy God.  He wants to make us holy as well.

“But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’ ”  (1 Peter 1:15-16)

“Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God.  Keep My decrees and follow them.  I am the Lord, who makes you holy.”  (Leviticus 20:7-8)

Yes, you read that right.  It is my Heavenly Father who makes me holy, I am not able to make myself holy.  He does that work for me and in me.  He is the potter and I am the clay.

“Yet, O Lord, You are our Father.  We are the clay, You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.”  (Isaiah 64:8)

Indeed, in Genesis 2:7 I am told that God formed Adam from the dust of the earth, much like the potter forms the clay to his purposes.  And as any potter knows, what comes next is the fire.  The clay is put into the fire or kiln to bake after being fashioned to the design and by the desire of the potter for what his creation is to become.  The fire is a necessary step in the process – it cannot be left out.

The fire is essential to the potter’s process in bringing to completion what he began in his creation when he first formed it and in God’s case, when He first breathed the breath of life into it.

Peter understood the necessity of fire.  “These (trials) have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”   (1 Peter 1:7)

God is a holy, refining fire.  He says in Isaiah 48:10, “See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.”

Job said of God’s fire, “But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.”   (Job 23:10)

Psalm 66:10-12 confirms also the necessity and power of God’s refining fire.  “For You, O God, tested us; You refined us like silver.    . . .   we went through fire and water, but You brought us to a place of abundance.”

God’s refining fire burns away the perishable and leaves behind the imperishable. God uses the heat of His fire to make me more malleable, so He can continue to mold me and fashion me after what He knows I will one day become.

I have nothing to fear from the fire.  He is with Me in the fires of my life, fighting them with fire – His fire – because He, Himself is an all consuming, powerful, purifying, protecting, providing ring of fire around me.  How do I know this?  I have His word on it!

” ‘Jerusalem will be a city without walls because of the great number of men and livestock in it.  And I Myself will be a wall of fire around it,’  declares the Lord, ‘and I will be its glory within.’ ”   (Zechariah 2:4-5)

God doesn’t say He will put a wall of fire around His chosen children, He says He will be that fire, which makes sense because God is a consuming fire.  He also says He will be the glory within or in her midst.  God is also the purifying, protecting fire that dwells within.

His Presence encircles or encamps around me and He abides within me.  His Presence protects me from without and empowers and purifies me from within.  I love picturing my Heavenly Father as a protective ring of fire around me.  His fire keeps me safe while He accomplishes His purposes in my life.

God is the only one, “who is able to keep me from falling and to present me before His glorious Presence without fault and with great joy – to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore!  Amen.”    (Jude 1:24)

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

 

 

“When He had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’  With that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”  (John 19:30)

And so it was complete.  The gift has been given.  The price has been paid.  My price has been paid.  The invitations issued, my place at the table set, my spot reserved, my room made ready, the fatted calf killed, angels holding their breath, waiting to break into song – all awaiting my response.

Now nothing else remains but for me to answer because, “It is finished.”  Jesus did all that was necessary, all that was required to secure my invitation and to provide for my place in eternity.  There is nothing left for me to do, except to reply to His invitation.

I am told to come as I am.  He will provide all that I need, even the clothes.  “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God.  For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,”  (Isaiah 61:10)

I have been invited to enter into a kingdom prepared for me before time even began.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”  (Matthew 25:34)

“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.  He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.  Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner:  My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready.  Come to the wedding banquet.’  But they paid no attention and went off – one to his field, another to his business.  The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.”   (Matthew 22:2-6)

Can you imagine turning down such a lavish invitation?  An invitation from a king granting access to his kingdom and inclusion in a feast and a celebration, a place at the banquet table – who could refuse such a generous, undeserved offer?  And yet there were empty places at the table.  Unimaginable!  How could this be?

These words of C.S. Lewis may prove a partial explanation of why someone would resist such an irresistible invitation.  He says, ”  . . .  when infinite joy is offered us, (we are) like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.  We are far too easily pleased.”

1 Corinthians 2:9 tells me that,  “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

So I will just have to trust Him and accept His irresistible invitation to spend eternity with Him.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God; trust also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.”  (John 14:1-3)

He’s preparing a place just for me, fully furnished.  All I have to do is to accept His invitation – to let go and enter in – leave behind my past – be made new – I can leave it all behind – I won’t need any of it where I’m going.  He will supply everything I need and more. It’s all part of His irresistible invitation  . . .

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  (Matthew 11:28-30)

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

 

 

 

it spilled out of the overfull drawer unexpectedly when I opened it, catching me off guard, taking me by surprise.  Glitter floated in the air, as it made its way downward, coating everything in its path, until everything in the immediate area had been littered with glitter (which I call glitterized)

Glitter is the answer to many mistakes.  glitter turns the plain into the fancy, the ordinary into the extraordinary, the dull into the dazzling, the gloomy into the glowing, the mundane into the magical, and on and on it could go . . .    glitter glamorizes the unglamorous,

glitter can be dispensed from a shaker like salt and pepper, becoming a seasoning of sorts, just not for food – glitter is a seasoning for the eyes –  a visual seasoning adding sparkle and light to any object.  Glitter is not just for craft projects either, glitter is used on clothes, shoes, purses etc. to add glamour and glitz to what we are wearing.

when something seems to be missing from whatever it is you might be making – whether a simple poster or an intricate designer object of art – when in doubt – apply glitter liberally – glitter seems to make up for what is missing – going above and beyond by even improving upon the original.

now in 1 Peter 4:8, I read, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

there it is – the secret remedy I’ve been searching for – it’s love -love is the glitter of life!

love covers just like glitter covers  –  love makes things beautiful –  love makes the unbearable, bearable  –   love heals over hurts and mends my mistakes

just how important is love?  love is essential, not optional according to 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, 13,  which tells me,  “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.   . . .   And now these three remain:  faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love.”

today’s spilled glitter reminds me that when I feel something’s missing from my life, that things are not quite right – it is love that is missing.  And it is love that God’s word says will cover the multitude of my daily mistakes.  How happy that makes me!  I can lavish love like glitter over everything and it changes everything.

The reason I am able to spread love lavishly around is because I have first received it from my Heavenly Father.  “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, (me) that we (I) should be called children of God!  And that is what we (I) are (am)!”  (1 John 3:1)

I am not the greatest artist or maker of things, so an infinite supply of glitter would come in very handy.  Likewise, I need access to an infinite supply of love with which to cover my multitude of mistakes.  Fortunately, my supplier (my Heavenly Father) has an infinite supply of love for me, so I need never run out.

this infinite supply enables me to carry out His command, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”   (John 15:12)

glitter is great but  . . .    “And now these three remain:  faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love.”   (1 Corinthians 13:13)

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

 

 

 

that’s what God said in Genesis 1:3, and so light entered the darkness; there was light and “God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.”

That was the first appearance of light into this world.  The second appearance of light into this world (a world which had grown steadily darker since Eve’s disastrous decision in the garden) occurred when Jesus was born.  “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.”  (John 1:4)

Today we carry that light within us, God’s light.  “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”  The jar of clay is me, the treasure I carry is God’s abiding Holy Spirit Presence in me, illuminating every dark corner within me, filling me with His light.

Indeed, “God is light; in Him there is no darkness.”  (1 John 1:5)

Furthermore, God said, “Let light shine out of darkness” and He “made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”  (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Knowing all this, it makes sense that Jesus would say to His followers in Matthew 5:14-16 –

“You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

So I am supposed to let my light (which is really God’s light in me) shine out into this world – but how do I do that?  How does that happen?  I’m trying so hard to keep all the pieces of me together, to show to the world a strong, tough, perfect, unbroken exterior – working so hard to hold on to everything, to ensure that I don’t experience loss –  there is no way for the light that is in me to escape, becoming visible to others.

Then I realize, unless I am broken, there is no way for my light to shine out.  It will remain trapped inside, prevented by my strong, unbroken exterior from escaping – of no use to anyone.

But when I am broken, His light pours out of all my cracks, holes, fissures and imperfections.  God uses broken people to light up His broken world.  He can’t use perfect (self-righteous) people because there is no way for them to let His light shine – a perfect, impenetrable facade may protect what is inside but it doesn’t share it.  What is carried within remains hidden from everyone.

But God said His light was to be shared – not hidden, not hoarded, but revealed in order to make Him known and to bring Him glory.  That’s why He told us to “Let your light shine . . . ”

What a relief to realize that His light shines through and out of my brokenness – out of my every wound, out of every scar, out of every hurt that leaves a hole – out of every crack, crevice and crater – His light pours out unrestrained – with nothing to hinder it –

because of my brokenness  . . .  my brokenness makes a way for Christ to enter in – and a way for His light to be made visible, just as He commanded me to do

that’s the value of an earthen vessel – porous enough to let His light pass through –

“we have this treasure in jars of clay  . . .   ”    Jesus, who said,

“I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”   (John 8:12)

He has filled me with His light – He has given me His purpose, His passion, His permission and His plea to let it shine –

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”  (John 1:5)

so  . . .   let there be light!

sincerely,        Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

they are everywhere – do you feel surrounded by them?  with no where to hide, no place to take cover – you are a moving target for all those who are oh so eager and ready to cast the first stone and all the other stones they have stored up and waiting.  Yes, I feel like we live in a world full of stonecasters, dangerous, deadly stonecasters.  They masquerade as harmless, everyday individuals until you realize too late that they are casting stones at you and you are defenseless against the attack.

Sometimes it is not an all out stoning, but more of a daily pebble throwing, wearing away at your soul, little by little with each casting of a stone.  The stones of choice are usually words, cast carelessly toward their target.  Some stones carry more weight than others, the weightier the words the bigger the bruises.

Sometimes it’s an outright stoning – end result death – death by stoning.  That’s why you have to watch out for stonecasters – they can cut you – they can kill you – they can bury you alive.

Jesus said “He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone.”  That instruction disqualified everyone present in the crowd that day, the day they brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus to be judged.  The would-be stonecasters wanted this woman to be judged – judged publicly.  After all, stonecasting (unlike backstabbing) is a very public pursuit.

That’s why social media proves such a convenient modern day arena for today’s stonecasters. This is something stonecasters of other eras didn’t have.  There was a time in history when stonecasters used actual stones, killing their victims literally.  These stonings were community events – a very public forum in which the stonecasters came together against a lone target of their choice – whoever had outraged or offended them at the time.

Ironically, in the case of the woman caught in adultery and brought to Jesus, the only One qualified to throw a stone at her (Jesus) chose not to.  Jesus was and is the only one without sin.  He could have cast the first stone, condemning her to death, but He didn’t.  Jesus, instead of condemning her, forgave her and set her free to go and live a new and different life.

Today stonecasters are much more sophisticated.  Words are their weapons of choice and the scars they leave are internal, not visible wounds for others to view.  They still like to cast their stones publicly, so as to encourage others to join with them in the stoning of whoever might be their current target.

But one thing is sure.  None of us are safe from the slings of the stonecasters that live among us.  They strike without warning whenever they feel the need to put themselves in the place of judge, jury and executioner.  Such was the case of the wanna be stonecasters that were gathered around Jesus in the temple courts on an ordinary day more than two thousand years ago,    . . .

“At dawn He (Jesus) appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered  around Him, and He sat down to teach them.  The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery.  They made her stand before the group and said  . . .  ‘the Law of Moses commanded us to stone such women.  Now what do You say?’  . . .  He said to them, ‘If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’

. . .   At this, those who heard began to go away one at at time,  . . .   until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.   . . .   Jesus asked her, “Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?’  ‘No one, Sir,’  she said.  ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’  Jesus declared.  ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’ ”  (John 8:2-11)

The power wielded by stonecasters lies in their ability to publicly humiliate and condemn their targeted person.  But their power is rendered null and void by Jesus’s greater power to forgive our sin and to set us free to “go and sin no more.”

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”  (Romans 8:1-2)

My defense against the stonecasters of this world is the same as the woman’s who was brought to Jesus in the temple courts.  Jesus shielded her from the sting of the stones that would surely have come her way.  He shielded her with His words of truth.  He told her that He didn’t condemn her.  After all, that’s not why He came here.

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”   (John 3:17)

Jesus is my shield against all the stones of the stonecasters.

“Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”  (Proverbs 30:5)

“You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in Your word.”  (Psalm 119:114)

There will always be stonecasters among us – but every time the angry mob closes in, Jesus is there saying,  “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone,”  followed by “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”

Free to live a new life – free from the stones the stonecasters cast – saved from the stones that would destroy   . . .         “there is now no condemnation”   . . .

sincerely,         Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Then your Righteous One will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.”  (Isaiah 58:8)

rear guard?  that’s a military term – does that mean only those actively engaged in battle against an enemy, requiring military type maneuvers would need a rear guard?  What about us civilians?  I personally think daily life is hazardous enough that a rear guard would come in quite handy.  Where do I go to sign up for one of those?

Then I remember that I am in a battle every day of my life, for my very life.  I consider this warning from 1 Peter 5:8-9, “Be self-controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  I definitely could use the protection of a rear guard from that kind of an enemy.

Ephesians 6:12 tells me, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

fighting an unseen enemy means I am in need of a rear guard more than ever

rear guard may be a military term, but I love the picture that it paints in my mind of someone having my back.  The enemy that I can see is far less of a threat than the enemy I cannot see.  I may be able to defend an attack confronting me face to face but I am defenseless against an unseen attacker from behind.  I need someone to have my back. We all do.

It is considered the height of cowardice to attack someone from behind when they are not looking, but people still do it.  Hence the need for a rear guard.  No wonder identifying someone as a “back stabber” is considered such a huge insult.  It doesn’t take any courage at all to attack someone from behind, they never see it coming and consequently, have no chance to prepare to defend themselves.

In Isaiah 52:12 the Israelites are told not to worry, “for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.”  God was leading them but He also had their backs, literally.

David said the same thing of God when he wrote in Psalm 139:5-6, “You hem me in – behind and before; You have laid Your hand upon me.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.”

That is very reassuring news to me, that God goes behind me, (as well as before me) protecting me from harm that would otherwise sneak up on me unannounced from behind.  Who better to have my back than my Heavenly Father?

Psalm 121:7-8 says, “The Lord will keep you from all harm – He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”

this Psalm also tells me that He will not let my foot slip – He will not slumber; He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.   (Psalm 121:3-4)

That’s the kind of rear guard I want – always with me, ever vigilant, and able to be in multiple places at once, so He can lead me and protect me at the same time. Only my Heavenly Father can do that.  He is the only one who knows “the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come.”  (Isaiah 46:10)

He says in Revelation 22:13, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”

God is the perfect, the ultimate rear guard and He’s got my back!  I guess I’m good to go wherever He leads me, knowing that the glory of the Lord, the God of Israel, is my rear guard.  That’s what His word says.  This knowledge gives me confidence, courage and peace as I live each day, coming and going.  I don’t have to constantly watch my back.  My Heavenly Father is doing that for me.  (and He never sleeps!) He is the only rear guard I will ever need.

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You.  Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.”  (Isaiah 26:3-4)

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

we freely give our children all the treasures of the earth, bestowing toys and tokens ceaselessly from birth.

showing our love, the proof of our care, amusements sought beyond compare.

in our hearts the truth is known, will they embrace it when they are grown?

showing them the way to live, the pearl of great price not ours to give.

our petitions ceaseless for their souls – anguished cries filling golden bowls, for hearts held hostage by Satan’s lies, minds in darkness, God’s truth disguised.

our gifts long forgotten lie broken, lost, set aside – leaving a trail of longing so deep and so wide, that only the love of God for man the chasm crosses, healing deep enough for all our losses.

ours to pray, a sacred task – we wait with hope that what we ask, will yet be done in His perfect will, each child’s heart His love shall fill.

each one must choose, salvation’s gift is free – but while we fight on bended knee, the battle rages in every soul, longing somehow to be made whole.

that we most desire to our children to impart, can’t be purchased or inherited, it’s a condition of the heart; receiving no one can do in their stead, they must choose God’s gift as their heart is led.

ours to faithfully follow our Lord, let our footsteps show the way, leaving God’s legacy of love – marked with our struggles, joys, faith and praise – covered in the prayers of our broken hearted days, that our beloved children yet walk in all God’s ways.

our gift to our children, the protection of our prayers, while the battle rages all around, we’ll stand in the gap by bowing down – on our knees in prayer for you,  never ceasing to lift you up and see what God will do.

our faith, our hope in Christ alone, He is the only One – to give what we pray you would receive, eternal life through God’s own Son.

“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:11)

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, Who does not change like shifting shadows.”  (James 1:17)

sincerely,      Grace Day

she always does – tell, that is – but why is she so slow about doing it?  Time certainly takes her sweet time about speaking up.

When time talks, telling us her stories and teaching us with her wisdom – we call that history.  We are supposed to learn from history, with Time as our teacher and Hindsight providing us with that 20/20 vision necessary to see things clearly.  Maybe that’s why Time so often takes her time in speaking up, she wants us to have that perfect perspective, that only Hindsight and Time can give us, with her passing, allowing us to understand events and individuals otherwise incomprehensible to us.

Time will tell, that is true.  And Time has a lot to say.  After all, she has seen it all.  She was there, sitting in her front row seat, taking it all in.  Time has been an eyewitness to all of history.  Now it’s time for Time to share her best kept secrets, to reveal what has remained hidden and to tell the truth.

Sometimes Time does that.  An archaeologist uncovers long hidden treasures that tell a story about the people living there at that time.  Time had kept their secrets safe for a time, waiting for the right time for their discovery and unveiling.  Then she brings them to light for all to see and to learn the lessons she had buried for so long.

Maybe she has been so slow in the telling of her tales because she has been so busy in the healing of all wounds business.  I like that Time does all these good things, like healing my wounds, improving my vision so that I can see more clearly, providing me with a new perspective, sharing her long kept secrets with me and with the world and revealing truth to anyone who would look for it.  I just wish I didn’t have to wait on her so much.  She moves so slow sometimes.

I guess that’s why I find myself saying, “If I only knew then what I know now.”  I blame Time for that – she has revealed things to me with her passing that I needed to know back then.  At the time, Time was silent and I had to wait on her to pass before she found her voice again and was ready to reveal to me what I had not seen clearly at the time.

I wonder what Time will have to say about the events of our nation these past few months?  We are told over and over again by every form of our media how divided our nation is.  Time may well be remembering another time of division in our nation’s history, a time when it seemed doubtful that our nation would survive and continue to exist as a country.

Lincoln was president during this time of crisis.  He was trying to keep our country, the United States, united and to abolish the abomination of slavery – two seemingly impossible tasks – and Lincoln was faced with them both simultaneously!  These tasks were inextricably linked – if he failed at one, he would fail at the other also.

But Lincoln was determined to succeed in both endeavors – preserving the union and ending slavery. He gave his life, literally, in the pursuit and accomplishment of both these worthy outcomes.  The southern states did not leave the United States permanently (although they had already seceded by the time he took office in March 1861) and his Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves.  But Lincoln was assassinated on April 14th, 1865 by those who opposed all that he had done and all that he stood for.

Lincoln stood for unity and freedom.  (freedom for everyone, not just some)  Those who preferred division and tyranny took his life.  They succeeded in killing Lincoln but the ideals for which he gave his life remain realities today.  We are still the United States of America and we are still working toward that “with liberty and justice for all” ideal that we pledge ourselves to every time we say the pledge to our flag.  (or sing our national anthem)

What does it say about us that in our schools we no longer start the day with the pledge of allegiance to our flag and to our country?  Do we have to experience first hand intrusion, control, tyranny and oppression from those in positions of power before we remember to value the freedoms that we now too often take for granted.

Does time need to teach us a lesson?  Maybe Time could just help us to remember what it was that brought our founding fathers here in the first place.  (hint – I believe they were escaping political and religious persecution.  In other words, they were no longer free to make the decisions for their own lives they felt were theirs to make)

The quest for freedom – that’s what gave birth to this country.  It is what nations around the globe are seeking and striving to attain.  What a tragedy it would be, if through lack of vigilance we let our freedoms slip away.  I don’t know of another place on earth more free to which I could go, were my freedoms taken from me.

Lincoln allowed Time to give him the clear vision that he needed to guide him during his short time as President.  Lincoln was guided by words written almost one hundred years earlier, that must have seemed all but forgotten by the people during the time of the Civil War.  Those words written in 1776 were in part, “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  (Declaration of Independence)

It had taken less than one hundred years for the former freedom seekers to forget these “self evident truths.”  They were not remembering the story Time told of the birth of this nation they now wanted to destroy.  They were not remembering that all people are created equal and given freedom as a birth right.

Had they forgotten that our rights come from our Creator and not from government?  Have we forgotten that same thing today?  If we want government “of the people, by the people, for the people” not to perish from this earth, we need to let Time teach us and learn from the mistakes of history.  It does not have to repeat itself.

What will Time say about our current struggles as a country?  Will she find her voice in time?  Or will she leave it to us, the people, to find and use our voices to speak for unity, freedom, equality and justice for all?  The media isn’t the only voice that should be heard, nor should it be silencing other voices.  Time will tell.  Let’s hope she chimes in soon as in “it’s about time to . . . ”    let freedom ring . . .   let truth prevail  . . .   let justice reign/rain down  . . .

One thing is certain, though.  Time’s Creator has set her boundaries and directs her ways.  Consequently, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:  a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,  . . .   a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.”  (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

It could be said that we live in tough times, critical times, uncertain times, prosperous times, dangerous times, confusing times, trying times, exciting times – I guess it all depends on your perspective – nevertheless, Time will tell –  she always does – given enough time.

But this I know.  “He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”  (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

sincerely,       Grace Day