The Star

   

"Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever."  [Daniel 12:3 NIV]

   A few months ago I had a dream that still haunts me, as it continues to convict and teach me. I was in a dark and dank basement, looking at a snow-white dove in a cage. I knew in the dream that this beautiful bird was in my care, and I had been sorely neglecting it. There was a bit of filtered sunlight streaming in behind it through high, narrow windows, dimmed with dust and mud from the outside. The bird's cage was dirty, and I knew I had neglected to give her proper food or water for some time, yet she patiently waited for me. I then took her out of the filthy cage, stroked her gently and talked lovingly to her, gave her clean food and water, and put her back on her perch. Then, looking around me, I began to notice how I had also neglected the basement she lived in, which had once been a cozy, nicely decorated space I enjoyed with friends. While beginning to tidy her surroundings, I realized I had never named my bird and decided to call her "Star."

      This dream came fairly early in my brain rewiring journey, and was an important personal revelation for me on so many levels, which I won't share at this time. For this blog, however, you need to know that one of the first tasks of the program I completed was to write a declaration stating in the present tense how I want to see myself, actually a reminder of how God sees me. My declaration concluded this way: "I am a beloved, RADIANT daughter of the King!" I knew this was what God wanted for me, and only He could give me this radiance, but I also had to accept it and claim it for myself-- His gift, offered freely from His gracious heart of love.

      Fast-forward to a few weeks ago, as I sat meditating on God's Word and simply spending time with Jesus in my living room. I have a Moravian star (pictured above) given by a friend some years ago which sits on the antique pie safe across the room from my recliner. I gaze at it daily, sometimes for hours. Usually appearing only during the Christmas season, these striking decorations have been dear to me since my college days in Winston-Salem, location of the historic Moravian settlement of Old Salem. Though the Moravian denomination traces its origins to the early 1700s in Saxony (eastern Germany), the first star is said to have been created in 1820 by a German boarding school student for a geometry project. It's easy to see why these complex objects would be a challenging geometric feat, with their intricate combination of square- and triangular-based points! These days they appear all over the world during the Christmas season. Illuminated from the inside, they beautifully represent the Star of Bethlehem, and a fitting description of them is "radiant," as the points radiate out from the light at the center. 

      On this particular day, I was having my daily talk with Jesus about my desire to be His radiant child while gazing at that star lighted from within, when entirely unbidden by me, the Spirit gave me the vision of that star zooming across the room and coming to rest in the center of my chest, right where my heart resides. My life changed in that moment, and I was given the "peace that passes understanding." For too long, I had forgotten that as soon as I accepted Jesus's gift of salvation, He has been residing in me. I remember vividly as a child asking Him into my heart and with child-like trust accepting that He was in me from that moment on. But like the mud that coated the window, dimming the light in my earlier dream, I let the ways of the world dim my vision of Christ in me. I talked to Him and saw Him as if He were "somewhere out there" instead of living in me. I had come to depend on my own efforts to "earn" my salvation, my place in Heaven; my faith was still based on my own actions, instead of the work Jesus completed on the cross some two thousand years ago. I was trying to work my way to Him, rather than simply acknowledging that He is already IN me! 

      I cannot adequately describe the peace that has filled my soul since that moment. Oh, don't think that I haven't had trials and moments of discouragement since then. But eventually I always realize that discouragement comes from the Enemy, when I forget for even a moment that vision of the Radiant Star residing in me. Now, of course, I'm noticing stars everywhere I turn: isn't that God, never tiring of reminding us of His eternal presence, if only we will open our hearts and our minds?  

"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!"  [Isaiah 26:3 NLT]

"We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,..."  (2 Corinthians 10:5 ESV)

    Two weeks ago, I attended the memorial service of a dear friend, a beloved saint and  shining star in our community. I knew attending would be a challenge for me both physically and emotionally, and I prepared myself as best I could. I was a bit shaky, I admit, and when my husband and I walked in the large church and picked up the printed program, the tears came, and I began my litany of relying on Jesus, quietly repeating Philippians 4:13 over and over again. As we slipped into a back pew and sat, I looked up to see first a wonderful image of our friend in his healthier days projected behind the altar, then my eyes rose above the pulpit to fall on a glowing Moravian star. My shaking stopped, and my tears were replaced by a smile in my heart that I know was radiant in the eyes of the only One Who mattered in that moment, and I'm pretty sure I felt Him smiling back at me.

"The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word."   [Hebrews 1:3 NIV]

      Gene had been a jeweler most of his life, and his brother-in-law, who was also his business partner, delivered a beautiful eulogy. He concluded it by telling us that if Gene's ashes were mixed with a particular chemical, then heated to over 2,000 degrees and put under an enormous amount of pressure (4000 bars), they would produce a VVS-1, D color diamond. This would be the most brilliant diamond imaginable-- nearly perfectly clear in color with one very, very slight inclusion (flaw)! What a glorious tribute toward which any of us can aspire. Then again, isn't that how our Father God sees us all if we have been washed in the blood of His perfect Son, Jesus, tried in the fires of this imperfect physical realm, and pressed by the stresses of life in this broken world.

"Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts."  [2 Peter 1:19 NLT]

 

    "He must increase and I must decrease."

John 3:30

 ✝️

Homestead Rescue

   

   Bill and I have become enthralled with a television series called "Homestead Rescue" in which a generations-experienced family of homesteaders travel throughout the U.S. assisting other families which are foundering in their attempts to live "off the grid." The first surprise to me was the ever-increasing numbers of people taking to the hinterlands in order to escape the frenetic life most of us live every day. Though it's very difficult to find statistics, every source I could find agreed that homesteading is increasing, and (not surprisingly) experienced a particular surge thanks to the Covid pandemic. These assumptions can be made in part on rising sales of solar power systems, chainsaws, portable sawmills, and undeveloped land. 

      After watching several seasons of the show, I can't help observing that there are four needs that recur in every episode, four things every family must have in order to survive-- water, food, shelter, and power. "That's obvious," you might immediately respond, but you would be amazed at how many of the well-intentioned folks on this show sell all accoutrements of their "civilized" lives and venture into varying degrees of wilderness without planning for some or all of these four necessities. From Alaska to Hawaii, the desert to the rainforest, they go on a dream of self-sufficiency, but have no idea how to achieve it. It may sound simple, but it's the farthest thing from easy! The Raneys, expert homesteaders, find shockingly horrible situations, and with amazing ingenuity based on their years of experience, provide these inept beginning homesteaders with water, power, food, and shelter, and most importantly the skills to maintain all of these. Their aim is to accomplish this with as little cost as possible, most often "upcycling" old unused objects from around the very land they are rescuing.

      Have you ever considered that our souls require the same four elements-- water,  power, food, and shelter? But how do we obtain those things for our souls? Never fear, dear Christian: our loving Savior who dwells with us, IN us, provides all those necessities and more! As He tells us Himself in His Word:

"Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”  (John 7:38 NLT)

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7 KJV)

"Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."  (John 6:35 NIV)

"For You have been a shelter for me, A strong tower from the enemy." (Psalm 61:3 NKJV)

     I can't help thinking of the times my soul has felt dried up, thirsty for I knew not what, when all the while it was there within me, waiting to be tapped. Or hungry, starving for life-giving bread, when all I had to do was turn to the Bread of Life living in me. I'm sure you've felt powerless like I have, whether we'd like to admit it or not, possibly in the face of a great loss, or a life-threatening illness (yourself or a loved one) you had no idea how to cure. But I'm here to testify that within you (assuming you've repented of your sins and accepted the gift of Jesus' substitutionary sacrifice) is the Great Physician, who made you and knows everything about every cell in your body, and He has risen "with healing in His wings." (Malachi 4:2)

      Invariably, each head of each family on "Homestead Rescue" at some point during the show talks about feeling the obligation and desire to provide these necessities for the family. Just like they turn to the knowledgeable Raneys for instruction, we have at our fingertips God's Instruction Book, His Word, to guide us to all these necessities. My friend, the Head of our family has already provided for our souls all that we will ever need, and He is waiting to rescue the homestead of our hearts. I leave you with His comforting promises found in Psalm 27 (BSB):

The LORD is my light and my salvation—

whom shall I fear?

The LORD is the stronghold of my life—

whom shall I dread?

When the wicked came upon me to devour my flesh,

my enemies and foes stumbled and fell.

Though an army encamps around me,

my heart will not fear;

though a war breaks out against me,

I will keep my trust.

One thing I have asked of the LORD;

this is what I desire:

to dwell in the house of the LORD

all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty of the LORD

and seek Him in His temple.

For in the day of trouble

He will hide me in His shelter;

He will conceal me under the cover of His tent;

He will set me high upon a rock.

Then my head will be held high

above my enemies around me.

At His tabernacle I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy;

I will sing and make music to the LORD.

Hear, O LORD, my voice when I call;

be merciful and answer me.

My heart said, “Seek His face.”

Your face, O LORD, I will seek.

Hide not Your face from me,

nor turn away Your servant in anger.

You have been my helper;

do not leave me or forsake me,

O God of my salvation.

Though my father and mother forsake me,

the LORD will receive me.

Teach me Your way, O LORD,

and lead me on a level path,

because of my oppressors.

Do not hand me over to the will of my foes,

for false witnesses rise up against me,

breathing out violence.

Still I am certain to see

the goodness of the LORD

in the land of the living.

Wait patiently for the LORD;

be strong and courageous.

Wait patiently for the LORD!

    "He must increase and I must decrease."

John 3:30

 ✝️