Be"Leaf"

Recently, I shared with my co-worker and friend, Janet, a story of how I struggled for so long with worshipping thru music but felt that I was on my way to "freedom". The verse below and the story that follows will show you how beautiful dancing can be if it brings glory to the Lord. The story is not mine...it's actually a God moment that Janet had just a few days after our conversation. Bless her heart for her sharing her joy in Christianity, as well as her appreciation of our Savior and His creation:

I saw a leaf tap-dancing in the street this morning. Of course, it had no taps, but there it was, tapping in the middle of the street for all it was worth. Not moving left or right, but staying in one spot, it was moving to some ecstatic, invisible beat, caught up in the joy of its Creator.

The leaf itself was singularly unremarkable; as a matter of fact it was near the end of its existence. Faded from some vibrant shade of green to dry tan, its lack of sustaining moisture had caused it to roll into an inverted tube. Any other time I would have gone on by, completely oblivious to it.

But there it was, caught up in the power of a small whirlwind. With no power of its own, it danced with carefree abandon in the power of the unseen wind, becoming a thing of praise and beauty. No matter who was watching, or if no one was watching, it danced, caught a beam of sunlight and turned golden for just a bit, tapping out praise on the asphalt for the glory of God.

“Let all creation sing…”
1 Chronicles 16:31-34
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The LORD reigneth. Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein. Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the LORD, because he cometh to judge the earth. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.

I am thankful that she shared that moment w/me. I visualized it as if I were the leaf. I trust in our Savior that as his word states in: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ¶To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

I want to be a Pomegranate!!!

That's right you read that correctly. I want to be a pomegranate. Now, if you just hang on and continue reading you will understand why....

I was praying about a little over a week ago about the post I had planned to put on here. It was about "dust." I wanted to do a post about how if a plant is covered in a layer of dust, it prevents the sun from permeating it and hence it hinders the growth of the plant...see the spiritual application? If we are covered in a layer of "filth and dust", we hinder the "Son" from penetrating our lives and hinder growth as well. So, as I lay there praying over this post, Pomegranates entered my little mind...(Don't ask me, I didn't create the mind I have!). As I meditated on "dust and pomegranates" I kept asking what the correlation was and why pomegranates? After much prayer (over a week), some research and some dialogue, I can now publish this post. Upon completion of this, "Yes, I do want to be a pomegranate and pray that you do too!" Enjoy!!! ;-)

First, I believe I should familiarize and educate you on the proper way to de-seed a pomegranate. Just in case you have never eaten one, I would like for you to be able to follow along. These directions were taken from the following link:
http://mideastfood.about.com/od/tipsandtechniques/ss/deseedpomegrana_1.htm

1. Cut off the crown of the pomegranate.


2. Slice the rind in several places.


3. Soak pomegranate in water.


4. Break apart pomegranate.


5. Remove rind and membranes.


6. Then finally you may remove the seeds from the bowl and enjoy the fruit.

So, now that we now know the proper way to de-seed this fruit. Let's get on with the spiritual application of why "I want to be a pomegranate."

First, you need to cut off the crown of the fruit. This is the "crown" of the fruit! In our lives, this could be "cutting or removing ourselves away from others" that we have grown with. This is what we believe our identity has always been--our "worldly crown" prior to our salvation. This may mean removing ourselves from the "pack" we grew up with or even maybe the lifestyle of those we love so dearly. To eat a pomegranate-it doesn't say "put aside the crown-it says "CUT IT OFF!" Have you cut off your "old crown" and prepared yourself for the one Christ has for you?

Second, we need to slice the rind/flesh in several places. As a Christian, we need to deny our flesh of the earthly desires we as humans crave. I am not suggesting you make cuttings on your flesh (scripture advises against that), I am saying that we need to "remove our flesh" in order to get to the place that God has designed for us. Galatians 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

Third, (I just love this one) "soak in water." We, too, must be soaked; drenched; immersed and saturated in the Living Water (the Word of God). Let's get so immersed in the water that we fight the evil one and our human nature with "the two-edged sword!" Let's combat ourselves, our flesh and the wiles of the devil with the Creator's very own Word--we can only do this if we are soaking in the "Living Water." Use scripture to bring every thought into the obedience of Christ. Pray Scripture for peace, comfort and during times of distress. Call upon the "Water" to be rehydrated and refreshed.

Fourthly, break apart the pomegranate. Need I say more? We will need to be broken! It's just the way that our God in His Sovereignty willed it to be. Just be broken and praise Him for it. (Side note: one of my favorite songs is by Kathy Troccoli and it is called, "How would I know". One of the lines goes: "If there had never been a battle, how would I know the victory!" I say that to remind myself as well as you to trust that God in His Divine Providence has provided even the battles so that He can receive all the Glory and the Victory!)

Fifth, remove the rind and membranes. Interesting, when you look into why you remove them you will know that the rind/flesh is no good. Kinda like ours, eh? And when you look into why you remove the membrane you learn that it is because it is bitter. How many of us carry around bitterness, unforgiveness and anger? Let's lay these aside again at the feet of our Savior (Matthew 11:28-30). And let's discard them once and for all so that we can get to....

The fruit and the seeds! After all that hard work, we get to the delicious, sweet, inside of the yucky rind and it is filled with 840 seeds! (True fact!) Now, you can "pop" those seeds covered in fruit into our mouths and enjoy. But be careful: the juice of a pomegranate stains leaving a lasting impression!

Okay--I know it took us a while to get here but this is where it gets really good! You have now gotten to the fruit and the seeds! Let's look at the Biblical usage of pomegranates and you will see how this all ties in:

The Bible states in Exodus28:34 that the robes of the priests should have a "golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate...all along the hem...."

The bell is an audible type of witness. It is there so you can hear his arrival, hear his coming. It is a picture representing what he says. The pomegranate is a picture of the "fruit" or testimony that should accompany the witness. Therefore, the hem is the following: bell/pomegranate/bell/pomegranate OR witness/fruit/witness/fruit.

So, now we know how to get to the "heart of the fruit" and now we know the Biblical significance of the pomegranate on the hems of the priest. So, we need to get to the fruit by denying our flesh, soaking in the Water and laying aside every sin that so easily besets us so that we can be a witness that bears fruit which leaves a lasting impression.

I want to be a pomegranate! Do you?

In the Waiting....

These are lyrics to a song that a friend sent to me. May they minister to your hearts as they do to mine!!!

To Wait or Not to Wait? - That is the Question

So, last night I am in deep conversation...if you know me, then you know how "deep" my "deep" really is!!! LOL. Anyhow, as a friend and I are talking he brings up the random topic of his tattoo (which to my surprise I did not know he even had). He tells me the following story and as I listen I wonder, "what on earth is he telling me this for and why is this random story something he feels he needs to share with me right now?" As I continue to listen, I can't help but find the spiritual application that Christ sent to me thru this "random thought" shared by a friend.
READ ON:

My friend was so excited to go out and get a tattoo a while back. He explained to me that this was at a time when it was still "very rare" to see people "accessorizing their bodies" w/ink. Brother Weeze (some radio guy--not as in Brother-in-Christ--pray for him) had opened a tattoo shop and my friend thought this would be the best place to go and get "inked". Why not? This radio personality was well known, tattoos were becoming all the rage and you should be able to trust in a well known name, right? He reminds me of how excited he was to go get this tattoo--that he can hardly wait! So the story continues...he gets this tattoo (to be honest, I don't even know what it is) from this "somewhat celebrity shop" and was one of the first people to be inked here! He bragged on how he didn't wait and that this was one of the first pieces done from the shop. Well, he didn't really know how or pay attention to the instructions to take care of it. (If you know anything about tattoos, they cut into your skin, inject ink into the pigmentation and then they scab over, then heal and you have the finished product.) Well, he is in such a hurry for this to scab and heal, that once the scab forms, he scrubs the tattoo w/a loofah to remove the scabbing to "hurry up" the process of healing so he can show off his newfound body art. In doing this, scrubbing and removal, he has scarred his expensive art. This means that within his tattoo, there are scars--blank pieces of no color--that he contributed to do to his impatience.....

So, I hear the story, then I begin to think of why he could be telling me this. Sometimes we are in such a hurry to heal from the trials and tribulations we are experiencing, that we try to rush God. The more we try to push ahead of schedule, the more we try (in our own strength) to get over it, the more we miss the "beauty of the art" of what our Maker is creating. We end up actually "scarring" ourselves and marring our "body" due to our impatience.

If only we would wait on the Lord and trust fully in Him....we can be who He designed us to be.

Standing Like a Flamingo

I can obey God. I understand this concept quite simply. He tells me what to do and what not to do and I can clearly choose to obey or not to. I find His rules in the Word of God...not just the law but throughout all scriptures He has commanded us to follow Him. Although, I may not want to obey all the "rules," I do concede that they are good for me. You should know that in fact, I love rules. Structure has always been key to my life. Rules set a precedence, a requirement/standard if you must. They are the foundation of boundaries. In fact, I can even use scripture to support the need for order....1 Corinthians 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.

Even with my passion to abide by the "rules" and to "Obey God", I find myself finding it much more difficult to Trust in Him. I know the verses of Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. I have heard the lyrics, "I will walk by faith even when I cannot see." I meditate on these and ask God to allow them to be true in my heart. God has led me to have studied out how to abide in Christ thru John 15 so that Christ can be most glorified. Yet still, when a storm blows in, when a trial hits me in the face, as tribulation enters my life.... I find myself on shaky ground.

If Christ, is my Rock, my Salvation, my Foundation, why can I not stand fast in the faith. Why do I waiver like a two year old trying to do a flamingo-stand? It is simply that I do not fully trust in God and His sovereignty. It is that not everything has been fully surrendered...it is that I still think that maybe I have something to do with this.

Yet I can't help but be reminded that "It has never occurred to God that He is not me!"

May God continue to speak to my heart clearly and continue to challenge me to search His Word for the answers that are still waiting for me to discover so that I may "Trust In Him."