Friday, October 9, 2015

Are You Wearing Your Waste?



I used to work for a jeweler and one of my favorite things was to watch through the glass as the jeweler pounded and twisted the metal into shape. If it wasn’t pliable enough, he would heat it until it shined a burning hot, glowing mass of gold or silver. When he was finally done with his masterpiece – after twisting, turning, pounding, shaping, more heating - he would place a jewel among carefully crafted prongs.

In order for his masterpiece to be successful, the jeweler must work with metals that have been rid of all the dross – what is left after burning all the impurities out of it.

Isn’t it ironic how when sin is in its unrefined state, safely tucked in our humanity, it looks like fun? Sometimes our dross resembles sexual sin, adultery, rage, alcoholism, or addiction. Maybe yours is anger, lying, or expressing feelings without guarding our tongue. Mine looks like fear of failure, fear of abandonment, and a host of random insecurities.

The only way to get rid of it is to have it refined out of us. Our Great Refiner takes us though seasons of purifying – heating up areas in our life that are useless to Him. I always pictured Him scooping the murky scum with a big ladle and discarding it in a heaven-sized trash bin deeming it useless, ugly, and unclean.

That is how my dross looks to me.

Proverbs 25:4 says, “Take away the dross from silver, and it will go to the silversmith for jewelry.”

What a great promise! Our Refiner doesn’t just use what is Ieft after a season of refining. He takes the waste from our souls, and gives it to the Silversmith (I picture this as the Holy Spirit with a big rubber apron) and He makes jewelry from it!

How is THAT for recycling!

He takes the ugliest parts of us – parts that we are ashamed of, parts that scare us, parts that make us cringe – and He makes jewelry from them! Only our Refiner can create this kind of miracle! Only our Master Silversmith can make something beautiful out of rubbish!  

Be encouraged! Seasons of painful refining create something beautiful from that waste. He will mold, twist, and shape your dross and place a jewel in it to create a new treasure.


“They shall be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “On the day that I make them My jewels.”  Malachi 3:17

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Shaken...again...



The Lord has been talking to me a lot about being shaken in the last week. It reminded me of my post from April 29, 2013. (Click here to read the original post).

This Thursday, a devotional I wrote will be published with The Upper Room, a devotional magazine. Can you guess the title? Shaken

Coincidence? No. Divine appointment? Definitely.

This time the shaking had nothing to do with offense, irritation, or other catastrophes; but it was an emotional shaking just the same. There are times in our lives that the Lord authors divine shaking appointments. Not to scare us or challenge our faith, but to sift through that which He cannot use and rebuild from the scattered remains left after the dust settles.

To quote myself from two years ago, “God’s version of shaking brings down works of the flesh so that only the Spirit remains. Still not convinced? Here are just some of the benefits of shaking:

·        It reveals what our foundation is made of and brings us closer to it.
·        It awakens us.
·        It removes what is dead or useless.
·        It reveals weakness and breaking points.

So yes, shaking is necessary, and yes, shaking is Holy. I’ve learned the hard way what your heart clings will be the substance of all your building materials.

Bitterness - this material is brittle and compromises the foundation; so toss that one aside for the Trash Collector. Anxiousness - this one is just as unstable, but masks itself as fear, worry, fretting, and loss of sleep. Again, it is unstable material so leave that one by the curb, too. Hopelessness - this one turns to sand in the foundation so it is useless, put it in the recycle bin to be rolled into the Faith compost pile.

Dear one, we serve a mighty God who authored the heavens and the earth. Unfortunately, this includes earthquakes. Choose to look for - and cling to - His presence and salvation amidst the shaking. If you do, you will have strong materials for restoration.

I’m awake now, and He is pruning what is dead or useless. My weaknesses are again revealed within His loving embrace. Sometimes we have to be shaken and break in areas, just to be rebuilt. Luke 3:5-6


Be encouraged... for if you are in a season of shaking, a season of rebuilding follows. 

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Changing Your Palate


I know…it’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post, but it’s a new year and a new season in my life and I hope to practice my writing discipline on a regular basis.

One thing the Lord has been working through me is regarding my palate. Did you know, what we eat in our childhood determines our default palate and this default palate determines our cravings? I was raised on sugar. Lots and lots of sugar. There was sugar in our cereal, the donuts we ate every weekend and the processed food we set at our table. My father also owned a vending machine business, so you know what that meant? A refrigerated truck filled with chocolate and candy. I was the envy of all my friends and neighbors.

I was raised in the 60’s and 70’s when we didn’t know the damage sugar could do to our bodies. I wasn’t really aware how this palate has slowly destroyed my colon and led to years battling with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Decades of not being able to digest food properly has led to doctor hopping, supplement experiments, and just general ill-health. I didn’t notice it right away. It was a slow, gradual decline; kind of like putting a frog in a pot of water and turning on the heat. The frog doesn’t notice the heat gradually increasing until death is eminent.

It wasn’t until I was diagnosed with food allergies (one of them being sugar) and put on a specialized diet did I remember what it felt like to be whole again. My body came back in alignment with God’s original plan for my health. I also noticed I didn’t crave sugar any longer and my palate changed the longer I maintained healthy choices.

Then came Christmas. Adult children, Christmas cookies (did I mention I was allergic to sugar?), baking, holiday pot lucks at work, more Christmas cookies…you get the picture. My health went on a steady decline and I didn’t notice until two months later that I was back at square one (remember our frog?).

In God’s infinite wisdom, or sense of humor, He created us a triune being. So if our physical palate is determined by what we eat, our spiritual palate is determined by what we feed our spirit. What affects us physically is also an indication of what affects us spiritually. Are we in the Word? In His presence? Are we staying away from sinful or unhealthy lifestyles and decisions that taint our spiritual palate?

Our palate guides decisions, physical and spiritual, propelling us away from spiritual or physical health, or toward it. When my physical palate craves sugar and carbs, and I submit to those cravings, my body reacts with poor digestion, inflammation, pain, and malaise.

When my spiritual palate feels lazy, and I submit to what it craves, adopting old sinful or unhealthy habits, it also, will respond with malaise, indifference, and a slow, steady decline until spiritual death is eminent.

In Proverbs 3:7-8, it says “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones.”


We can change our palate and what we crave - body, soul and spirit.