He Gave Me Beauty For Ashes

Earlier this moth California experienced a series of terrible fires which were said to be the worst in the state's history. One of the fires wiped out the town of Paradise killing many dozens.

Last year the same type of fire tore through Redwood Valley in Northern California. I have a cousin whose family owns and lives at a vineyard there. She had only twenty minutes warning to rouse her immediate family, collect anything else important that would fit in their cars and then escape via back roads which were basically just two-track ruts. Some in the community did not make it out alive but praise God everyone in her family did. Nine homes on the vineyard were totally destroyed as was the building where they produced the wine. Eighty per cent of the vines made it as did the new winery they were in the process of building. With the help of others in the community their business was able to survive.

When my cousin was allowed back to the smoldering ruins of her home she combed through the grit and ashes and found parts and bits of her life history which of course could never be replaced. Silverware, jewelry, a watch and other irreplaceable things passed down or given from dear relatives or marking special occasions, now melted or distorted. She recently posted a photo of a mirror she made. It's frame which she called Beauty from Ashes was a collection of those things. Included as well was a story she wrote about the ordeal titled - The Missing Ring - which was a wedding ring she was not able to find that came from her mother, having a lot of special family connections.

Her story inspired the poem which ends this post. The first verse is in no way intended to diminish the grieving that comes with loss or the efforts we make to remember those special things of the pass. Her work and writing were both inspiring and beautiful.

The title Beauty from Ashes recalled for me the old gospel song - Beauty For Ashes. I've incorporated into my poem ideas from that song and Scripture.

 He gave me beauty for ashes
 the oil of joy for mourning
 a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness

This comes from Isaiah 61:3. When Jesus was first beginning His ministry he goes to His hometown synagogue in Nazareth. When the time for the reading came Jesus was handed the book of Isaiah. He finds the following passage (61:1 and 2)

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed and to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.

Jesus then tells the Jewish people there that this particular passage has now been fulfilled in their sight.

The song comes from the verse from Isaiah that follows which Jesus did not read.

to grant those who mourn in Zion
giving them a garland instead of ashes
the oil of gladness instead of mourning
the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting
so they will be called oaks of righteousness
the planting of the Lord
that He may be glorified

The one thing that I would like to convey today from this Scripture is there are certain things we do and certain things God does. We can't will ourselves to be glad in the midst of our grieving. We usually can't see how God will be able to transform our ashes into garlands. We're stuck with the first and the last lesson that God wants every person to learn. We just need to trust that He is the Lord who releases, who gives sight and who sets free.

The response we show from our trusting is to offer, even in the midst of our sorrow, praise to Him for what He has done, what He is doing and what He will do. Doing this releases God to do the things he so much wants to because of how much He loves us.  We grow, we become changed and He is glorified in all of it.

I have often found that the times that are the hardest to glorify God are the times that I need to the most. And He has never failed to remove from me that spirit of heaviness, that spirit of fainting. He has never failed to pour out to me joy and gladness.


Beauty For Ashes

Is life not so much more than bits and scrapes of things we cherish
of memories that like the flesh eventually will perish

For there are beauties far beyond a person's comprehension
we see through mirrors darkly in a world of apprehension

And in this realm of raging flames engulfing the unwary
there is an enemy that waits whose plans will never tarry

Our temporary earthly home is precious for the moment
but there are treasures stored above made ready by atonement

He's poured the oil of gladness on to heal the hurts we're moaning
sets out fresh garments filled with praise to silence bitter storming

So we can tread those fields of grace unfettered by our weakness
to find the strength to carry on rejoicing in His meekness

The Lord that made a fertile earth with rain upon the soil
gives bread to eat and wine to drink and comfort from our toil

Moving From Curses To Blessing

When I was a young believer in the 1970's we did not have spiritual teaching apps on our phones, U tube, pod casts, DVD's and a heck of a lot of other things we take for granted today. We did have books and magazines with good spiritual stuff that would get passed around between family and friends
as well as cassette tapes. Ah, cassette tapes. We once even had a machine that would duplicate cassette tapes.

Bob Mumford was a favorite, partly because his tapes included a lot of humor. Derek Prince (who has now been dead for over 10 years) was another, partly because of his wonderful deep English voice and command of the language but mostly because of the great depth of his insights into Scripture and how the Holy Spirit works in the life of the believer. Each one of his many books were excellent resources as well.

Today as I was scanning my favorite U tube sites I noticed a sermon by Derek Prince. It's title talked about passing from curses to blessing. Interested at first just to hear that old sweet voice I became hooked on the message and it's importance for our time. Just to sum it up briefly, our words have in them, whether we realize it or not, the power to bless or curse. Curses affect us in many ways and can be transferred over generations, as can blessings.

Most people have been subject to curses of one type or another. They range from things said by parents or teachers to involvement in one way or another in the occult. Perhaps we have a relative that was involved in a secret society or own religious objects from other religions.  If we recognize these things we can take the proper, Scriptural actions, to break any activity by evil spirits that those things will cause.

The video runs for an hour and a half, is impactful throughout and ends with Mr. Prince leading a prayer to break any curses that may be in your life. The link is here if interested.

Media Zoo

I find that I must keep reminding myself that all of the recent sound and fury we have been enduring is primarily a spiritual battle - For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12)

There would then be little benefit to support what I believe the truth is by engaging in worldly tactics such as name calling or demonizing those whose political or social views are different from mine. That said I do believe that the evil one is aligning all of his forces in an attempt to maintain the culture of abortion, to continue the destruction of the family unit, to make normal things that for thousands of years were considered perversions, to marginalize and then ultimately destroy both Christian influence and Christians and finally to divide us as a means to change and control our society.

This poem reflects my belief that the partisan liberal main steam media (and of course at times the right steam media) has been easily manipulated by the evil one in order to help advance these plans. This is what they often look like to me.

Media Zoo   

They are hyenas, strutting around
dancing their dances, stomping old grounds
making sharp noises, deep angry sounds
they are hyenas, strutting around

Constantly braying, hungry to eat
ripping and tearing, needing fresh meat
saliva spraying, primal defeat
constantly braying, hungry to eat

Animal instincts, wild at heart
incessant clawing, pulling apart
always relentless, eyes shift and dart
animal instincts, wild at heart