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GLEANINGS FROM THE WORD Experiencing an extraordinary God in ordinary life Issue 755 March 13, 2003 - How Do You Describe? The inside of our house needs painting. It needed painting when we moved in a year and a half ago, and it is even more in need now. Something "more important" always permits me to postpone the job. I've finally begun the steps to start to prepare to paint. We're picking colours and I've decided to get back after the prep work (which always takes far longer and is a lot more work than painting itself). We picked a colour for the front entranceway, the stairwell and the dining room. We don't use the dining room as a dining room, but rather as a sort of sitting room called the "hidey-hole." It was originally to be the place for Kathy to have a quiet place to study. It evolved into a family room of sorts and Kathy moved her office up to the living room. Off the front entrance is a bathroom which uses a lot of pink, including a bright pink countertop which is the width of the room. Since we don't want to go through the hassle of replacing the counter, the entrance way need to complement the bathroom and flow up into the hidey-hole and not clash with the furniture or window dressings. I went to the paint store and was trying to explain the colour. I needed a grey, about the colour of a fresh water pearl with just a hint of pink. Not so pink as to be "pink" but enough to pick up the pink and not so grey as to be "grey". I wanted a subtle, soft almost neutral colour that had to have a definitive character. A simple boring off white just won't do. I brought a few samples home to work with. Like my paint shade, some things, even when you have experienced them simply defy description. How do you convey the feelings you had the first time you fell in love? How do you describe the conviction in your heart that tells you it's true when you find Jesus? How do you describe the feeling of being filled with Holy Spirit, or of knowing you heard the voice of God? How do you describe being in the presence of a Holy God? Some things you simply have to see and/or experience yourself. No description or photograph will ever do them justice. The Bible is full of descriptions of God or heaven that simply give us a taste but really don't do justice to what is being described. Then there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking. Ezekiel 1:25-28 NIV If ten skilled artists drew a rendering of what Ezekiel saw, there would be similarities, but you would see ten completely different pictures. One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man's measurement, which the angel was using. The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass. I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. Revelation 21:9-22:5 NIV Even the most skilled wordsmiths and artists will not be able to draw these things as they actually are. God, heaven and the things of God could described in every superlative there is and never comes close. There are things in your Christian walk that will simply sound strange or unbelievable to a non-Christian (sometimes even to other Christians who have not had a similar experience). That's okay, perhaps it's even a privilege of being a child of God, to know His presence fully enough to not be able to explain it to someone who hasn't had that experience. Simply be blessed by the experience and be patient if you can't communicate it. Until next time, may the presence of God be so strong in your life that even the tiny snippet the world understands draws them towards Him. Be blessed. Hallelu Yah (Praise God)! Kevin YOU ARE Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour you are a disciple. To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-32 NIV Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. You have value in the eyes of God so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. Don't depend on the efforts of others to describe the joys of knowing Christ and experiencing His presence. Come and meet Him for yourself. If you want to know how that's possible simply email us and we'll send you some Bible verses that will explain it to you You can simply begin the relationship by honestly and completely opening your heart, admitting you need God's help, and saying a prayer along the lines of: Jesus: I have made many mistakes in my life and done things I am not proud of. I have sinned. I need your love and forgiveness. I believe that you came into this world and gave your life on a cross to pay for my sins and that you defeated death and rose again. Please forgive me, and be the Lord of my life. I give my life to you Lord. Amen If you pray this prayer for the first time let me know so I can rejoice with you. Did you know that at Gleanings, we have a dedicated team of prayer warriors and all prayer concerns are kept strictly confidential? Your comments, your questions and your joys are shared with the prayer team, to keep me accountable as the head of the ministry and to encourage them as they see God at work in your life. As with prayer all these things are kept confidential within the Gleanings team. To share your questions, comments, thoughts, prayer concerns and praise reports email us If you enjoyed this issue of Gleanings From The Word, email it, in its entirety, to a friend. For information on use of Gleanings in your church newsletter or other situations please visit the permissions page . You can write to us at Gleanings From The Word Ministries International 114 Oak St Sherwood Park, AB Canada T8A 0V8 © 2003 K.F. "Kevin" Corbin Gleanings From The Word Minististries International - All Rights Reserved
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