“Then take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.” Judg 6:26b [AMP]
In a recent study of this passage, it struck me. Why? There would have been plenty of wood around: Gideon didn’t need the Asherah pole for kindling. It almost seems wrong to use something at which many have worshiped to burn a holy sacrifice, yet this is the very wood God chose. So I asked Him why…and He took me to The Cross.
“Christ purchased our freedom [redeeming us] from the curse [doom] of the Law [and its condemnation] by [himself] becoming a curse for us, for it is written [in the Scriptures], cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (is crucified);” Gal 3:13 [AMP]
The devil was very pleased with himself on Crucifixion Day. Here he had the ultimate weapon, a curse-bearing cross, and he used it to put Jesus on display as a sign and symbol of God’s ultimate defeat – or so he supposed. The cross he put so much stock in proved, rather, to be a tool in God’s hands, an eternal symbol of God’s ultimate victory.
God not only permitted His Holiest Sacrifice to be laid on this foul cross; He required it.
So now it makes sense. If you consider Gideon’s Asherah pole as a type and shadow of The Cross, it reveals that God can turn even the devil’s most prized weapons into tools to serve His purposes. The devil never outranks God and, no matter how hard he works to pervert things, The Almighty can redeem them all, turn them, and make them serve the purposes for which He originally created them.
One day while I was in prayer, God pointed out the weight of my purse. Its weight was no great revelation because I knew it was heavy, so much so that it was actually affecting my back. He had a purpose in pointing it out, though. He told me to find all of the coins that were in it and remove them.
Suddenly my purse weighed less – a lot less – and I’d only removed $1.16. It was less than a handful of coins, not even enough to buy a soda, but they’d added astounding weight that I was carrying around constantly!
And God made His point: Just as it’s the little foxes that spoil the vine (Song of Solomon 2:15), it is the small things that most often weigh us down. it’s not usually the big things that really drag on us, but those little things we aren’t watching for, the small “concerns,” the minor “habits,” the little “hurts…” We fail to notice them adding up, so they hang around like coins in the bottom of a purse until one day we exclaim, “God, I can’t carry this anymore!”
Of course, it’s not “this” we can’t carry, but “these,” and one by one God faithfully helps us pull each of them out and get rid of them until the weight is gone and we can walk upright again. How much better would it be if we never got weighed down in the first place?
The best way to make sure the small things don’t add up is to be ever on the lookout, watchful and prepared to deal with them. The best way to ensure we are dealing with everything is to be constantly listening to that still, small voice and doing what the Holy Spirit says.
In my office desk, at the very back, is my sermon in a box. It has preached me many messages, most of them about comfort zones.
One of the fun things we did as homeschoolers was raise silkworms. It was fascinating to watch them eat and grow, then spin themselves into amazingly compact cocoons. Then we waited…and waited…and waited until that morning when we saw the first moth fluttering around in our observation box. We waited some more until the second came out, but the third never emerged.
I’m sure we studied silk at that point, and that I explained about how the worms must be killed while still in the cocoon or the silk thread is destroyed. We unrolled the pieces of thread from one of the empty cocoons so our boys could see the silk and how it is supposed to be one long thread. The two remaining cocoons I kept, placing them in this box, because while I was teaching practical lessons, I was learning spiritual lessons.
As Christians, we live a spiritual cycle that is similar. We grow, we enter a new state, we rest, we transform, we emerge and step into the next phase of our walk with Him. In each stage of life, we have things to do, a purpose and plan laid out for us. Ideally, we move from one stage to the next naturally…but what if we don’t?
What about those times when we’re at rest inside our cocoons, in our comfort zones? We know what has to come before we can emerge – transformation. We have to set aside the old and take up the new. The problem is that the old is familiar, comfortable in its own way, and like the Israelites who were about to condemn themselves to 40 years in the wilderness, we see the required transformation and think it’s too much to ask of us.
That whole generation – the adults who decided not to move on with God – died in the desert, never becoming what God wanted them to be or having what God wanted them to have. Many Christians choose the same fate today by opting to stay in their comfort zones. Instead of accepting the transformation God offers, they stay right where they are until they die, be it a spiritual or physical death.
It’s sad to think that, inside the one, still perfect cocoon, there is a dead body, a life that should have been, a life that should have grown to reproduce, create more life. It is beyond painful to see the same happen in the life of a Christian because they will not take the risk, will not move out of their comfort zone so they can be transformed into a new creature that is prepared to do all God has designed them to do.
It’s amazing how you can know something, or do something, that you think is unusual, but suddenly discover that “everyone” is doing it.
Yep, it’s true. I’m astounded by how many of my friends use a neti pot. But perhaps I should back up.
I learned about the neti pot many years ago, even before doctors at the Mayo Clinic told my stepmother to use one. Then, a few years back, a couple we know well started using one too. Now, I’ve suffered from allergies and their related sinus issues for years, but the thought of pouring water up my nose was too disgusting to consider. Then came that week.
I was in bad shape, and the couple had an extra neti pot, which they offered to me; I politely declined their generosity. A relatively new friend “happened” to mention how much the sea salts she used helped her sinuses – yes, she used them with a neti pot. Then my chiropractor said, “You know, there is always the neti pot…” I threw up my hands in defeat, accepted the offered pot, listened to my friends’ instructions, then hit Google for more information.
I learned that using the pot is easy, and not nearly as disgusting as I thought. My impression had been that the water drained into your mouth (GROSS!), but you actually tilt your head way over so that it goes into one nostril, washes through that nostril’s sinus cavity, and then flows out the other nostril.
There’s no having to hold your breath or anything and, though it can be disgusting, it is very satisfying to see the gook flushed out of your sinus cavities. It is also satisfying to know that the salt left in those cavities is still busy killing bacteria, and it is very satisfying to feel the physical relief from pain and congestion. The relief may or may not come instantly, depending on how bad it is, but it does come.
Which brings me back to where I started. It seems like, since I began using it, everyone has been coming out of the neti pot closet. A friend posted on Facebook that he would probably suffer a lot less from allergies if he used it every day like he knows to. Amen; I know the same about myself. Then this friend and that friend and another friend… Time and time again, usually without me bringing it up, people mentioned how they didn’t know what they would do without their neti pots.
God spoke these words to me, and then explained further. Whether for good or evil, our dreams open doors.
I’m obviously not talking about what we dream while we sleep, but rather the thoughts we think while awake. We know from II Cor. 5:10 that we are to cast down “imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God.” These are the evil dreams He spoke of, those imaginations that inspire fear and, once they get hold of us, create feelings that can completely overpower our faith.
The thing is, dreams – godly dreams – are some of the very things God created the imagination for. By creating pictures with our imaginations, daydreaming if you will, of the things we know God wants us to do, or be, or have, we are building up our faith – and our faith opens doors to our future.
Consider what happens when you hear someone give their testimony, how it inspires you to think, “Well, if He did that for them He can do what I need too!” This builds your faith. Take it further and imagine God actually DOING IT and your faith is built more.
The world got hold of this truth long ago. They use fancy phrases and scientific labels, but the bottom line message is that if you can see yourself doing something, if you dream of it long enough, imagine clearly enough, you have a much better chance of actually DOING it. Athletes have used this “technique.” Business tycoons use this “principle.” It’s time for the church to wake up and use what God designed for His purposes from the very beginning. It’s time for us to open doors with our dreams.
Every once in a while you hear someone refer to the “forbidden fruit,” and it seems like a debate often follows on whether or not the fruit was an apple…maybe a fig…
What?
I don’t get that debate at all. There was one Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil and one Tree of Life – both of which were, of course, in the Garden of Eden. When God cast Adam and Eve out of the garden, they were denied any further access to both of those trees. We still don’t have access to either of those trees.
So whatever the forbidden fruit is, it seems logical to me that we don’t have it, have never seen it, and will not know what it even looks like until we’re walking with Him in eternity.
Have you ever seen a beautiful example of bonsai? All my life, I’ve been drawn to tiny pots holding miniature trees that have been trained to grow ever so gracefully into living art. They bring me joy and, having seen them so many times, I thought I knew bonsai.
But now I know a bonsai artist. He posts pictures of his ongoing projects on Facebook, and through him I have learned so much more – including just how much I don’t know about the art. First, bonsai comes in all shapes and sizes from the tiny trees I’ve seen to trees so tall he needs help to move them. Second, he doesn’t generally start with nursery-perfect trees, but rather goes out on his own to find truly interesting specimens that show promise of greatness…at least to his trained eye. Then comes the real work.
Focused on producing the ideal product, he begins by selecting just the right the pot. After settling the tree’s roots in its new home, he sets it aside, letting it sit there and grow. He does nothing but nurture it until he knows its roots are established and it is healthy. Then, and only then, does he begin the careful and entirely deliberate pruning process.
I don’t know what goes on inside his head, but I do know that each move he makes is deliberate. He removes branches that are unhealthy or don’t belong in the final design, pieces that get in the way of the special beauty he wants to reveal. Then, having done this, he pulls out his wire and wraps those branches with it so he can ever so gently train them to grow exactly as he sees them in his mind’s eye.
It was a revelation when I saw it. Bonsai isn’t those tiny trees I’ve always admired; it’s careful, thoughtful pruning and training.
So is Christianity – our development as Christians. When we’re born again, God repots us, putting us in a place where our roots can settle and we can grow strong. Unlike the bonsai trees, we have it within our power to move from this place, but if we’re wise we choose to remain.
Having repotted us and given us time to grow, once He judges that we are settled in, strong, and healthy enough, He begins a very deliberate pruning process. This is when life gets challenging and exciting all at the same time. Some things we exult in. When He delivers us from addictions that have plagued us, we feel suddenly free. When He gently removes things that have been blinding us, freeing us to truly see Him, we rejoice. Other changes He makes are more painful. We may not want to leave behind things like dangerous friends, bad habits, etc., but if we do…
If we trust His vision, that He sees clearly the promise within us and has a plan for making us beautiful, we submit to the pruning.
Then comes the next step. Having pruned away the deadwood and offensive branches, He pulls out His wire and begins to shape us. Patiently, gently, He nudges us to learn to show love, to be forgiving, to walk in integrity, to be faithful… He helps us learn to produce the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives and, in general, to grow to look like Him. I have this image in my mind of Him sometimes sitting back, like my bonsai artist friend, and smiling softly in satisfaction as we begin to truly take shape.
Bonsai is a slow art, one that requires mind-blowing patience on the part of the artist as his pieces take years to develop. Our growth as Christians is the same. I thank God that His mercy, grace, and patience with me are new every morning.
REFLECT
To show an image of the One who is looked at. Let the Refiner see His face in you just as the silver refiner can see his face in the pure silver. This only happens when your heart is pure.
INSIGHT
Insight comes from reflection, from studying the reflection. How accurately do I reflect Him? Where am I a little (or a lot) off?
GLORY
Glory comes only in His presence. We can be mirrors reflecting His glory out into the world just as mirrors have been used to send messages from place to place through history. Everything we need and desire is found in His glorious presence. Let us stay there.
HOLY SPIRIT HELP
We must have the Holy Spirit’s help in all things. Without God we are nothing, and without Him we can achieve nothing of eternal value. We must humble ourselves, seek His help, and follow His instructions.
THINK
When He speaks to us, be it through the Word, a minister, a friend, or directly to our spirits, we must not simply hear what He says; we must also think about it, meditate on it, and chew on it. Only then will it truly change us, making us more like Him.
