Beauty for Ashes

I have been drawn to Upper Room’s “Beauty for Ashes & You Are Good”. (Click here to see YouTube Video) . There have been mornings that this video has helped set my mind for the day ahead. Helping me to stay in the spirit of praise instead of wallowing in the ashes of my circumstance. God speaks to each of us. Sometimes it is a still small voice, sometimes a scripture, a song lyric, or a word of knowledge from a minister of God. We often miss these moments as God speaking because we fail to still ourselves and listen or we dismiss them for a plethora of reasons.

God makes all things new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” I have read this many times. I have heard it in my Church almost on a weekly basis. It was not until this past weekend that this verse connected with me and came alive. (One of those I thought I got it, until I really got it moments.)

 

Sewn Together

My Mom and Dad recently visited. During their visit, my Mom taught me some basics of sewing. We made a quilted pillow cover to hide some ugly brown pillows in my living room. When she left, I had the tools to complete the other two covers…alone. I dodged this task for a couple of days. I wanted to do it but was afraid of making mistakes. Finally, I decided to work on my pillow covers. My stitching is still not as straight as it could be but for a beginner, not too bad. I had my block laid out and ready to cut to create the pattern I used on the first pillow. The ruler slipped, the cutter sliced through the fabric ruining the squares. I started crying. I was heartbroken that I ruined this project. (I wanted to text my Mom a photo of success…not of ruin.) I curled up in my recliner and pouted the rest of the night. Convinced I would never touch sewing again.

 

After a couple of days, I decided to try the pillow business again. I had another set of squares to make a pillow. I took a little more time, especially in the cutting process. This pillow cover turned out nicely. A touch small, but passable. I proudly send Momma a photo of the finished product. Then I started looking at the ruined effort from a few days before. I could try to make something, but the damage was too great to make a matching pillow cover. I searched through some scraps Mom left me with to see if anything would work. I found a piece that coordinated and would fill the shortage.

 

As I pieced together the ruined parts, I discovered it was not ruined…it was something different…something new. I sent the picture to Momma and told her it was my “Beauty for Ashes” pillow. When God makes us a new creation, we are not identical to how we were before. We have been forgiven. We are shown God’s grace and mercy. What mercy would it be to return us to the same old condition? God’s touch changes us. This is one of those times the still small voice taught me a practical lesson, but only because I was listening.

ALL Things New

2 Corinthians 5:17 is beautiful scripture about how God makes things new. Our Pastor, Luke Brugger, has spoken about 2018 being a year of open reward. In obeying God, Deuteronomy 28 lays out many blessings promised to the obedient. Isaiah 61 carries a heading of “The Year of the Lord’s Favor”. This is also where you find the scripture about beauty for ashes.

The Year of the Lord’s Favor

^“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning
and a garment of praise, instead of a spirit of despair.” (Isaiah 61:1-3)

Read that passage carefully. It speaks of freedom for captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. Although I believe this passage addresses those captive in sin, I believe it is equally practical. Jesus ministered to a thief as he died on the cross. This man had no time to do good works or “prove” his faith, but the Savior knew his heart. There are over two million people incarcerated in the United States.  There are 2713 of those inmates that are currently on death row. These are souls God wants to turn to him too. God makes all things new and he is more than able to do a new thing in anyone who seeks him. It is not a promise to be free of the consequences of the justice system. Even Jesus said “give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s” regarding taxes. What is promised is that God will work ALL things to the good for those who love the Lord.

What I am stumbling over to express is that we either believe God is able and willing to forgive ALL who have sinned, or we do not believe at all. This is perhaps the toughest element for us in our legalist, justice fueled minds to comprehend. Jesus commands us to “love one another”. He does not say, love one another with these exceptions.

Love is the very center of our relationship with God. In our modern culture, we have reduce love to an adjective for how we feel about pizza or chocolate. Real love is not easy. Real love takes work. It takes reassessing yourself, putting others before ourselves, and humility. None of those things are popular in society today. It is worth it to stand in the gap and love others.

You cannot do it in your own power. The only way love, real love, will shine out of you is to have the Holy Spirit guiding you, Jesus in your heart, and praise for God ever on your lips. Let God give you beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning.