Genesis 46:1 So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
“The God of his father …” It occurs to me that this is an often occurring phrase in scripture. It cannot be over emphasized that Christians have great influence on others and with that influence comes responsibility. You see, if you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then people know it … or at least they should know it because you are different. Your life, your actions and your attitude stand in contrast to the world. Your mind is being renewed. The things you used to do no longer complement your outfit (so to speak) and as those things are chiseled off by the Lord, our friends, family, and co-workers start to take notice.
Michelangelo’s David is an iconic work. Standing at 17 feet, it is a masterpiece that cannot and has not been duplicated. Yet that masterpiece was once an unremarkable slab of marble. A lot of work went into it, yet all Michelangelo did was to chip away the parts that didn’t look like a masterpiece. Did you know that you are God’s handiwork? Seriously, the Bible tell us that.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
What do people do when they see a something masterfully made? They stop and look. Now, that doesn’t mean they truly appreciate it … in fact, some try to nitpick and will make comments or snide remarks. There are a lot of musicians who can’t sell ten copies of their album but are quick to cast judgement on an album that sold 10 million copies.
Our Creator is a Master Builder. He not only works with new blocks but He redeems blocks that tried to chisel themselves. (He even works on block-heads like me.)
Proverbs 17:3 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the Lord tests the hearts.
Jesus used the example of winnowing wheat … beating the wheat until it sheds the wheat berry, then tossing up the mixture of shells and fruit into the air so that the wind carries away the worthless trash and the valuable fruit falls back to the ground. In the same way, gold must go through a trial of heat to separate out the impurities from the gold. Over and over the gold is heated, one fire hotter than the last and the “dross” – the impurities – are scraped off the top until the master can see his face reflected in the pure gold. Why purge out the dross from the gold? It’s a long drawn out process and requires a great deal of energy. Well, dirty gold is less useful than pure gold and it shows off the dirt of this world. Pure gold reflects the image of the Master Refiner.
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