Thinking about His back

I've been thinking about God's backside. Moses saw it and his face began to shine. He couldn't look at it because of the glory. The Lord actually had to put His hand over the cleft of the rock that Moses was hidden in while God passed by. I wonder if Moses saw the wounds on Jesus back from the beating that He took for our iniquities and diseases. Were the wounds still gaping and open sores. Are we still wounding Him as we beat one another with our words. When we speak negatively about ourselves and others. Jesus took 39 stripes on His back. Some people say it was for each category of disease that we have. How can we not feel compassion for a person when they are wounded for our diseases?

The other day The Lord asked me to "rub His back". I don't know how to do this. I am studying first about what He meant by "His back." Scripture says they plowed long furrows down His back. That sounds like farming. Preparing and planting the soil. What kinds of seed was His back being prepared for? When He took our iniquities (the consequences of our sin) and the diseases (the results of the curse) , was our life exchange complete, or is it still being completed? I need to look at the back as past things. It is behind where I can not see it. I can only look on His back, His past and see how He lived it.

When a person is given a back rub, usually some sort of oil is needed to lubricate the skin. With wounds it would have to be very gentle and most likely the oil would be a sort of a medicated ointment. The touch would need to be made very carefully. I need to have more understanding of the back to give a good back rub. I think I will study some anatomy books to understand more. I am going to try to paint a picture of His back. Maybe I will put it on the blog when I finish. For now I just want to wait on the image to form in my mind of the glory of His exchange. More to come.

Change the Holiday

It is October the time of year for change. Change in colors, change in seasons, change in clothing, change in temperatures. I have sorted my closets and put away the summer clothing. I have begun to clean the house for the winter. I have changed my decor to the fall colors. I am dreaming of cold winter nights with hot chocolate or hot spiced cider. The smell of pumpkin pie, homemade bread and hot soup bring back memories of comfort.

I don't like the bugs coming in or spiders on the walls. Halloween expressions throughout the stores or in the restaurants are not appealing to me. Why do people want to dress up in scary costumes of gory evil things? Why is it fun to scare children and think about goblins and ghosts? These things creep into our lives without us considering the consequences of our speaking, thinking or actions. They take away good thoughts and replace them with evil thoughts. Why do we do this to ourselves?

I understand some countries do not have the holiday of Halloween. They are probably better for it. Why not have a holiday to replace it, like "Only Good Day " where you could only do good works for the day. You could only say good things about people or the world and you would fast all negative thinking. I wonder how that holiday might be celebrated. Only the truth would be able to be said by politicians. Maybe the news would only be good news. How could we replace the idea of hiding behind masks with being open and honest with everyone we meet. It might be cause for change. Maybe the colors would change in our view. Maybe people would not feel rejected for a day at least. It could be a day of new beginnings. It could be a day where everyone sees everyone in a new light. It could be a warm and wonderful day. It could be.:)

Like a Child

This week we received pictures of our grandson. We think he is quite smart and fun to have around. He visited with us last weekend. See the picture above.

Today, (Sunday), during worship, The Lord gave me a picture. He showed me how much children love to be carried high up in the arms of their Grandpa's or Fathers. I remembered as Caden would hold his arms up to be lifted up. He would smile his broad grin and poke at Grandpa's beard. I thought about how Chester and Willie, our great nephews, love to be held up so high that they can almost touch the ceiling. "Higher, Pop- Pop, lift me up."The squeals of delight and the giggles keep coming. "Over, Pop-Pop, again." This picture of our children's delight came to me as we worshiped. How awesome!

God our Father loves to lift us up too. We enjoy the lift. We want more. We cry out and laugh as we sense the security of His arms. If we fall, learning to walk, He picks us up and encourages us to continue. If we can't quite reach the high calling of Holiness, He lifts us up higher and we know it is His strength and not our own. We can rest in His arms and trust Him like a child. We can ask to try again and not be afraid of failure. He is a wonderful Pop-Pop. He is the source of our giggles and silliness sometimes. He is the one we call Father God. And He is the love of our life. He loves us so much. He enjoys our attempts to reach the ceiling. He enjoys our arms open wide to reach out and touch Him. We are like a child in our understanding of eternity:in our life of the wonders of His presence,in the delight of our eyes at His surprises. What a wonderful Savior; what an awesome God! Let's never forget what it is like to be like a child.