Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Whiter Than Snow

It came! The snow that the weathermen forecast really came to Mississippi last week! We were as ready as we could get I think and enjoyed the beauty of it even if we didn't get out and play in it!

When I see the fresh fallen snow...before anything has walked or driven on it...I am reminded of how fast I forget just how blindingly brilliantly white it is! If the sun is shining ,sunglasses are really the necessary accessory for the day!

James L. Nicholson wrote a song called "I Shall Be Whiter Than Snow". I can just imagine that he wrote this after seeing a fresh covering of snow...perhaps with the sun glinting on it. Here's the first verse and refrain of his song:


Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole;I want Thee forever to live in my soul;Break down every idol, cast out every foe—Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Refrain:Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow,Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

And that is Biblical. The Prophet Isaiah recorded this in Isaiah 1:18 : Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

So when the beautiful white snow comes and covers the dirty, muddy ground, let it always be a picture to remind us how God's love and salvation covers our dirty ugly sins and makes us white as snow!

God bless!

Marilyn

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Prepared for Tomorrow

Today has been a beautiful sunny day with clear blue skies. Quite a contrast to what the weather forecasters are telling us will be happening tomorrow. In fact, we are under a "Winter Storm Warning" with the prospect of snow accumulation of 4 to 8 inches possible. That's pretty unusual for Mississippi! So we've been getting things ready. Since we heat our house with a big Ashley wood heater, Benny has already been cutting wood for the winter for a few months. He has a huge stack of wood in front of the house.

But in preparation for the "Big Event", he filled up the big wood ring on the front porch so that we'd have dry wood not covered by the snow.

And the big woodbox we've had in our living room close to thirty years (can you believe that?? lol) is brimming over with good seasoned oak wood cut from our farm. So, Lord willing, we will stay nice and warm if and when the snow comes.

I was thinking that it's good to be prepared for tomorrow physically. But how much more important it is for us to be prepared for tomorrow spiritually. The most important thing we need for preparedness in our spirit is salvation. Without knowing without a doubt we're saved, we have no hope of tomorrow. Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

After a person is saved, then something else he can do to prepare for tomorrow (the future) is to read the Bible to find out what God's will is for his life. Psalm 119:11Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

When we put our trust in God, then we are completely prepared for tomorrow. Period. Proverbs 30:5Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

May God bless you...tomorrow and every day!

Marilyn