Traps - Your Present Doesn't Have To Be Your Future

 

And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. I Corinthians 6:11

This week has been filled with pain yet filled with hope. We had no idea what the future held. Out of the death of Charlie Kirk has come the hope and fires of a worldwide revival. As hard as it was to accept Charlie Kirk's assination, I thanked the Lord He has allowed me to live, and see this revival. 

When I was visiting in a hospice center, I stepped out on the deck.  There sat the biggest writing spider I have ever seen. She hung beside the downspout and made squiggles down the middle of her web as she positioned herself to look like another flower. Surrounding the downspout were purple coneflowers, day lilies, black-eyed Susans, and butterfly bushes planted in mounds along a split rail fence. Bluebird houses and birdfeeders lined the fence. Hardwood trees of every description brought shade just on the other side. The spider paused to attract her morning meal of bees or butterflies or a juicy grasshopper. Patiently she waited. She had put the handwriting on the wall for some unsuspecting bug.

When I was a kid our parents and grandparents told us if a writing spider wrote a name in a web that person would die! Nearly scared us to death. Every time we saw a writing spider we checked close to make sure she hadn’t written our name. Writing spiders were nearly as good as ghost stories for a good scare or tea cup fortunes to tell us the future. Somehow  adults aren't as interested in their futures as children. We adults tend to live for the present.  

The world puts forth its attractions, spinning a web to catch the unsuspecting; giving us the line that “It doesn’t get any better than this”. The unsuspecting cannot see the handwriting on the wall that says “Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.” Daniel 5:27.

However there is a way to escape the web weaved to deceive. Jesus says “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6). When we repent of our sins and turn from the world to Jesus Christ, He writes our names in His book. Now, THERE is the place to see your name written. Revelations 21:27 says, “And there shall in no wise enter into it (heaven) any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they (the saved) which are written in the Lamb’s book of life."

So how about you? Has Jesus written your name in His book? Maybe you think you are beyond hope. That’s another trap of the world. I Corinthians 6:9,10 names some of the traps the world lays for us, but it doesn’t end there. Read on to verse 11. “And such WERE some of you:” Your present doesn’t have to be your future. 

Hey Kids

Have you watched a spider spin a web?
Maybe you’ve read The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle.

Have you noticed the animal that kept hanging around the web when the other animals left? What happened?

Look around your yard this week for spider webs. Stop and observe for a little while.

What can the spider teach you about hanging out in the wrong place or with the wrong friends?

Father, help us to be aware of the traps the world offers and may each of us turn to your Son to find our secure future.  In Jesus' name. Amen.

             

Spiders

And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. ~ Acts 7:60

I kept seeing a Wolf Spider around my carport door. Spiders are creepy, especially these SC wolf spiders. They're big and hairy. They move fast. This one always skittered away before I could step on it. Finally, it was a little slower than usual, and I nailed it with one big stomp. Baby spiders exploded out everywhere on the carport. I was dodging baby spiders in all directions! I had no idea this species of spiders carried their babies on their abdomens. Killing one just released the babies to spread. They're actually helpful hunters. But to me, that's just more spiders to watch for and dodge everytime I go out the door. 

When the church first began there was great persecution. A deacon named Stephen was such an effective witness, the leaders of the Jews and the high priest wanted to accuse him of blasphemy. The penalty was stoning. Stephen was led outside the city. A young man, Saul of Tarsus, who was a well trained Pharisees held the coats of the men while they stoned Stephen. 

Stephen's final words as he kneeled down was a prayer to Jesus not to lay this sin to their charge. Then he "fell asleep". He died. It didn't seem to affect any participating in the stoning. It seemed to make Saul more adamant in persecuting Christians, but in reality, Jesus was working on his heart. Jesus was convicting him of his own sin. On the road to Damascus to persecute more Christians, Saul saw a blinding light and heard Jesus speak to him. Saul became the Apostle Paul who brought the gospel to the Gentile world. Though the Jewish leaders including Saul had meant evil toward Stephen, God used it for good to spread the gospel. 

Just like the spider, they can't stop the gospel. There are many already training to reach the world. Pray for those who don't yet know Jesus as Savior. Pray for those who try to stop the Gospel even with deadly persecution both in our country and around the world. Pray for families who need strength in the trying days ahead. 

Heavenly Father, may we have the courage of Stephen to continue to witness of Jesus even in the face of death. We know that like the spider, when one is persecuted, even unto death, there are hundreds more already trained to proclaim the gospel. May Your kingdom come, and Your will be done. In Jesus's name. Amen.

 

I Am The Clay

 

But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter;  we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8 (ESV)

Do you have a piece of pottery in your home? I don't mean a dollar store coffee cup. I'm talking about a piece of pottery that is handmade by someone. I have a little bowl my oldest son made when he was in elementary school. I can see the size of his little fingers where he squished the bowl into shape. His initials are scratched on the bottom.  He brought it home as a gift, probably for Mother's Day. It may not be much to look at, but it holds the paperclips on my desk. It does its job, and to me it's priceless. 

When he went off to college, he met a girl majoring in something far different than art, but she took a pottery class as an elective. She is now a professional potter. Her work is amazing, very unlike the child-made bowl on my desk. Her work is unique. I can see the ridges her fingers made as she turned the pieces on her wheel. I asked her about the process of bringing her pottery to the finished product. 

She explained that clay doesn't need to cure, just dry, which could be between two days and two weeks before it is fired in the kiln. In the first firing, called the bisque, the pottery is heated to 1800 degrees. After the pottery is glazed, it goes through another firing at 2000 degrees. This firing takes between eight and nine hours. The pots shrink 10% during firing. She sometimes fires a third time if something needs to be fixed. I'm thinking she means fixed as in the glaze. 

She often names her pieces according to the way she glazed them. The mug shown here is a mountain view. It was a gift because she knew how much I love the mountains. The saucer under the mug is my favorite muffin plate. It was one of her first works. It's nothing like the saucers she makes now, but I love it. 

Have you ever turned a piece of pottery over and noticed it's not glazed on the bottom? There's a secret about the unglazed area. Regardless of the use of the pottery, the bottom can be used to sharpen knives. Just a little kitchen magic for you there. 

Isaiah compares God to a potter. God fashions each of us for a unique job. We are all different in our appearance. Even identical twins have different fingerprints.  Some of us may feel a little misshapen by the world's standards, but like my son's little bowl, we are priceless in God's eyes. The Lord knows each of us by name and we are created with a special purpose. 

The Lord's fashioning of our lives is not a hands-off process. He shapes us and molds us and often times puts us through the fire, maybe more than once. No one is too young or too old, too sinful or too messed up for God to make them into what He has planned them to be. 

Ephesians 6 tells us to put on the whole armor of God. When we put on the armor, the head and front are covered, but the back is still open. Of course, God's got our back, but I'm wondering if, like the glazed pottery, our most vulnerable side is another part God will use. 

Heavenly Father, thank you for creating me for a special work. Thank you for leading me to know your salvation and plan. Father, please continue to guide me and use me for Your unique purpose. In Jesus' name. Amen.