"For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth." ~ Deuteronomy14:2
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Pleasant Stone Devotional Meditation: January 1
Many years ago, Share My Pleasant Stones by Eugenia Price was gifted to me. It was written in 1957 and my copy notes it was in the 24th printing as of 1976. I had loaned my copy and mid year was looking for it. It was never returned. But Christ gives us what we need, and I was able to pick it up, on my first stop, at a used bookstore for only a dollar. I hope, as I go back through her devotional meditations this year, you'll be inspired, encouraged, uplifted and blessed. May all those who are His have ears to hear, hear and may those who do not yet know Him awake and be found. We are all precious to Him. We are his treasures. We are turning, tumbling, and being refined to shine and reflect His light brothers and sisters. Travel with me through this fine book and peace be with you. ~ The Albatross
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." ~ John 1:1, 14a
There is only one place to begin. And that is in the beginning. And let our hearts rejoice that "In the beginning was the Word" and that Word became flesh... became a Man, in the person of Jesus Christ. This is the greatest relief I know. This is the greatest fact in all history. There is no other place to begin except to rest the central confidence of our lives in the fact that God did reveal Himself in Jesus and that He is alive now. When we begin at any other point, we get lost. More accurately, we realize we are already lost. Only He is a Redeemer. Only He offers forgiveness. Only He offers a way out of temptation. Only He offers a way to make use of suffering. Only Jesus Christ offers eternal Life, because only He is eternal Life. We are beginning and there is no other place to begin except with the glorious fact of Jesus Christ, who Himself is the beginning and the end. Cutting through all our confusion as to where this year may end, is the "water-white" flawless fact of Jesus Christ, who will be there when it ends as He is here now in the beginning!
I, am He that liveth, and was dead; and... am alive for evermore. I am the beginning and the end.
I danced in the morning when the world was young. I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun. I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth. At Bethlehem I had my birth. Dance, dance, wherever you may be I am the Lord of the dance, said He
and I lead you all, wherever you may be. And I lead you all in the dance, said He. I danced for the scribes and the Pharisees. They wouldn't dance, they wouldn't follow me. I danced for the fishermen James and John they came with me so the dance went on. Dance, dance, wherever you may be I am the Lord of the dance, said He
and I lead you all, wherever you may be. And I lead you all in the dance, said He.
I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame. The holy people said it was a shame. They ripped, they stripped, they hung me high; left me there on the cross to die.
Dance, dance, wherever you may be I am the Lord of the dance, said He
and I lead you all, wherever you may be. And I lead you all in the dance, said He.
I danced on a Friday when the world turned black. It's hard to dance with the devil on your back. They buried my body, they thought I was gone but I am the dance, and the dance goes on. Dance, dance, wherever you may be I am the Lord of the dance, said He and I lead you all, wherever you may be. And I lead you all in the dance, said He. They cut me down and I leapt up high. I am the Life that will never, never die. I'll live in you if you'll live in me, I am the Lord of the dance, said He. Dance, dance, wherever you may be I am the Lord of the dance, said He and I lead you all, wherever you may be. And I lead you all in the dance, said He. [Lord of the Dance by Sidney Carter]
The Word Is Alive... Breathing Life Into All Who Believe
Defying Gravity, John Elefante
2012 - Precious, Pleasant Stones, We Being Refined to be His Jewels
“And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.” ~ Isaiah 54:12
"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." ~ Isaiah 61:10
In youth, we were all used to handling stones or kicking at them with our feet. Who hasn't picked up a stone and flung it through the air once or twice. At the time, it probably never occurred to us that something so common as a rock or a stone might have any value to it. Maybe today you feel common and ordinary, but as a child of God you are unique and precious in His sight! Our heavenly Father keeps a rock collection made up of people just like you and me. God sees value even in a lost soul, and through the blood of Christ, He brings the truth to the world - the realization that rocks can change!! Have you ever tried to change the shape of a rock with your own hands? It's impossible! Only the hand of the Lord can change us, but change IS possible!!
"And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible." ~ Mark 10:27
As in the case of the rock tumbler, a coarse grit is used on the first cycle, then a progressively finer grit. It may seem at present that the Lord's tumblings in your life are too abrasive, but it won't always be so. The smoother you become, the less abrasive He'll have to be. Yield to the process of perfection, for the end results are worth it! According to the directions for a rock tumbler, once the tumbling begins, it must continue till the cycle is finished. If the contents of the barrel are left standing for an extended period of time, the mixture will harden and become one solid cement-like cake. It's that way in our lives too. We need continual tumbling to keep our hearts from hardening again and the Lord knows it better than we do! Don't lose hope, don't give up - just patiently wait on God to bring about your beauty.
"As for God, his way is perfect" ~ Psalm 18:30
"He hath made every thing beautiful in his time" ~ Eccles. 3:11
Yes, through the various elements of nature such as wind, water, heat and pressure, over time this change is brought about in rocks. You know what's interesting about rocks? Each one is different. Some are larger or smaller. Some types are softer or harder. All this affects the tumbling process. The rocks that remain roughest after the first cycle must be taken out of the barrel, removed from the smoother ones so that they can continue to become smoother yet in the second cycle... Would you be one of those rocks that hindered the refining of another?? For good tumbling, it is instructed not to mix different types of material together in the barrel. For example, agates and amethysts when tumbled and polished together will not give the best results because the agates will chip the amethysts and neither will take a good polish. The bags of stones provided are wisely selected so that each individual bag can be tumbled and polished in one batch. God knows what He is doing in all our lives. Trust His tumblings! He knows precisely what people to put together in particular circumstances or trials of life because it is best for those selected, in order that each might take a good polish.
Yes, different rocks go through different changes, but if they change enough, they finally end up looking very much alike!! That should be our goal, ladies! Each one of us will experience some tumblings in life as we go through various forms of pressure at different times and for various lengths of time. However, the end result should be the same - we should all come out to be more like the image and likeness of Jesus Christ! Our lives as Christians should be bordered or outlined with pleasant stones. This is the reason for the pressure God's designing hand places upon us individually as He carves and polishes out the image of His precious Son in us. He brings out that which would otherwise never be seen by the world!
”He putteth forth his hand upon the rock; he overturneth the mountains by the roots. He cutteth out rivers among the rocks; and his eye seeth every precious thing. He bindeth the floods from overflowing; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light” ~ Job 28:9-11
"And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head." ~ Ezekiel 16:12
"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in...
About Raising the Standard Series and the Renaissance Concept of the Two Books
UPDATE: 12/2011 - Completed Raising the Standard study. Character Sketches Volumes 1-3 are in the blog archives. New direction for 2012.
The seed of this topic and of the following topics in the "Raising the Standard" series was found in two wonderful volumes I received several years ago as a gift from a friend, Character Sketches, From the Pages of Scripture, Illustrated in the World of Nature, Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts Inc. 1983. For anyone who is not familiar with this publication, it is a wonderful "two books" approach to youth ministry... not only giving Scriptural lessons, but also giving examples in nature and educating youth both with the observable facts and stories of animal behaviors, and profiling Biblical characters who best exemplify each godly character topic key point. Highly recommended for all, but most particularly a very cohesive bible study for young people. It is a beautifully illustrated and informative set.
What's the two books approach?
Today’s theologians should seek a coherent way to integrate what we are learning about the natural world through the best science with what the Holy Scriptures tell us about the God of creation and redemption. Perhaps we could revive the Renaissance concept of the Two Books. According to the concept of the Two Books, nature is a book of revelation. Nature reveals to us something about the mind of God the creator. St. Paul alludes to the book of nature.
“Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made.” ~ Romans 1:20
The second book, of course, is the Bible. In this book we learn of God the redeemer. Nature gives us general revelation, whereas the Bible gives us special revelation. The two books together provide the resources for understanding reality in relationship to God, the creator and redeemer.
"But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee: and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell the: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee." ~ Job 12:7-8
There is only one place to begin. And that is in the beginning. And let our hearts rejoice that "In the beginning was the Word" and that Word became flesh... became a Man, in the person of Jesus Christ. This is the greatest relief I know. This is the greatest fact in all history. There is no other place to begin except to rest the central confidence of our lives in the fact that God did reveal Himself in Jesus and that He is alive now. When we begin at any other point, we get lost. More accurately, we realize we are already lost. Only He is a Redeemer. Only He offers forgiveness. Only He offers a way out of temptation. Only He offers a way to make use of suffering. Only Jesus Christ offers eternal Life, because only He is eternal Life. We are beginning and there is no other place to begin except with the glorious fact of Jesus Christ, who Himself is the beginning and the end. Cutting through all our confusion as to where this year may end, is the "water-white" flawless fact of Jesus Christ, who will be there when it ends as He is here now in the beginning!
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