Sand Castles on the Beach

Sorry, not mine...

       Hi, my name is Vicky and I am still a child.  Not really, but I still like to ride grocery carts at stores, make mud pies (actually mud pottery) in the dirt, and build sandcastles on the beach.  Often I will spend hours on my castle, putting on turrets and sand bricks, digging the mandatory trench, adding a drawbridge and decorating with rocks and feathers.  It is a relaxing time of creativity that I enjoy on my own or with capable assistance.  One thing I always do is build it a couple feet from the water knowing that the tide will take it away.  It reminds me of the frailty of life.  (My kids think I'm nuts to do that after all the work...)

       Yesterday in church we sang that old hymn that says, "On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand."  After the song, one person spoke specifics about the Rock that made me think of those words differently: the Rock of His grace, the Rock of His love, the Rock of His mercy...  I guess I always thought of Him being the Rock, and He is, but He is the Word (Jh. 1) and His Word is sure and true as is who He is and what He does.  All that encompasses Him is the most sure 'thing' in the universe, the only 'thing' that can be counted on 100% of the time.  He IS the Rock.

   Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock. And the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house. And it did not fall, for it was founded on a rock. 

   And everyone who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them shall be compared to a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain came down, and the floods came, and the wind blew and beat on that house. And it fell, and great was its fall.  Mt. 7:24-27

       Because of who He is and who we are in Him, we are built on Him, His mercy, grace and love for they are as sure a part of Him.  Other people will give these things when they want to or chose to, but they can fail because of feelings, stress, thoughtlessness, or other issues.  We can try to build our lives on other people, spouses, children, friends, but those foundations are as uncertain as sand.  Jobs are lost, possessions break, rust, and fail to work, nature lets us down, organizations fail their purposes, but Jesus never fails us, "He will not fail you nor forsake you." (Dt. 31:6)

       How wonderful to think that if we build our house on Him, our solid Rock, that we will continue to stand for our foundation is strong.  And because of that, we know His love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, help, strength, justice, compassion, life, hope, peace, joy, basically all the good that is Him, is ours IN Him.  It is to be counted on, 100%.  

       See, we are also promised troubles in this life, "...In the world you shall have tribulation..." (Jh. 16:33) and by experience, we know it is so.  If we are built on sand, 'things' other than Jesus, when the storms of life hit, they will erode the ground beneath us leaving sink holes into which we will sink.  Many a person has lost their real house to a rock slide, crumbling cliff, earth erosion, or other natural disasters; it is the same with us, God's dwelling place.  "Jesus answered and said to him, If a man loves Me, he will keep My Word. And My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him." (Jh. 14:23)  So our houses, even in the storms of life, can remain standing, as long as they are first built upon the Rock- the Lord Jesus Christ.

For any other foundation can no one lay than the one being laid,

who is Jesus Christ.

1Cr. 3:11

Only with Him as our foundation can we continue to stand!

Clean Clothes

       It was 1:00 am on the morning we were going to my brother’s place for three days and two loads of laundry had to be done.  Of course, I didn’t know that until hubby told me that morning he had no clean clothes; then I was busy all day and forgot, finally relaxing to watch a movie after supper clean up and didn’t remember until after midnight.  Oops!   Well, that last load was drying at 1:00 and all was well by morning.  It’s important to have clean clothes when visiting.  In fact, imagine going to meet the Prime Minister or President: would you wear filthy or ripped up, mismatched clothes?  Not unless it was all you owned in life.

       In fact, some Christians feel strongly about wearing our best clothes for God when we go to the local church.  It is meant to be a sign of respect, one I can’t fault if the intentions are truly noble.  However, we should not judge others for what they choose to wear for they may have different noble reasons for the way they dress (it must only be modest).  Anyway, I think if we want to honour God, perhaps a better sign of respect would be in order.

Is this what we look 

like on the inside?

or is this?

       Instead of making sure we toss our clothes in the laundry to clean them up, perhaps we should ‘toss’ ourselves into the refining fire, in the water of the Word, or into the blood of Jesus to clean us up from the inside before we appear in the local church and try to relate to our brothers and sisters- better yet, before we even appear in His presence.  Would that not be the best sign of respect we could offer?  Instead of our arrogance in assuming He is okay with our continual sin, worldliness and fleshly living without personal effort to try to change, perhaps we should do our best to change our actions of all we are able to as proof we love God more than ourselves.

Just a though anyway…

Behold, I have refined you… Is. 48:10

…Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, Ep. 5:25,26

…the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1Jh. 1:7

Graduation Day

       Four years of driving my son to his city bus stop and picking him up after so he could attend an out of district arts school, my son is finally graduating high school.  Tonight I get to watch him walk across a stage and receive a rolled up blank piece of paper, the symbol of his diploma that he’ll receive later, shake a few hands, flip his tassel, probably do something funny, and walk off the stage.  For a parent, this is a huge milestone as we are the ones who dealt with the complaints about homework, studying, and all the other myriad of school issues over the years.  But I have no complaint because he finished well, even getting 90’s in a couple courses.

       This day will be busy for us.  I have a study to attend, an afternoon visiting with my awesome mom in law, and a rushed evening of getting to the ceremony with everyone involved.  I’m wondering if it will seem that kind of rushed on the day we graduate from this earth to the eternal kingdom our Lord has prepared for us.

Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions (3438); if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, so that where I am, you may be also. Jh 14:1-3

Jesus answered and said to him, If a man loves Me, he will keep My Word. And My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode (3438) with him. Jh. 14:23

       There are only two places the Greek word mone is used and they are both in John 14.  The word means staying, abode or dwelling as in a place these take place.  So here we find out that Jesus has prepared a place for us somewhere other than here, but while we are still on earth and born again, they come and make a place to be in us!  Wow!  Even before we ‘graduate’ from this corrupt system in which we live, the Creators of the universe come to live in us.

       After we are finished with this corrupt and troubled place, there is a new incorruptible place prepared for us to go.  When we finish the fight, this course (2Tm. 4:7), and run this race (Hb. 12:1) so that we may obtain the prize (1Cr. 9:24), we have an eternal home with the Godhead in which we will live… eternally with them, not just ‘in our hearts’ but ‘in the flesh’ or our new incorruptible flesh that is.  So one day between the now and the then, we will graduate from this place of stress and work and be able to see how it is worth all the effort and strain over the years to obtain the prize.  And we won’t be ‘walking off this stage’ with a blank piece of paper, but with the most valuable prize ever- eternity face to face with our Beloved Father, Son and Spirit.

       Lord of glory, help all Your children run with You beside us constantly, cheered on by those before us so that we may live with You eternally where sin abides no more, and graduate this place to hear the words “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful over a few things; I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.”

(Mt. 25:21,23)