Busted!

M

ost people would never associate mining with North Carolina. In fact, when most people think of North Carolina, they imagine rolling hills, lush forests, vast tracts of pasture lands, sand dunes along the coast, and trees of every variety.  This is all true and very accurately describes my home state, but there are other things about the area that people just don’t consider.

Very close to my hometown, was a large mine which removed lithium ore from the ground.  North Carolina is one of the leading states for the production of this mineral.  The mine employed many people in our area and provided for an interesting field trip for the local school children. I will never forget seeing that large hole in the ground nor the size of the equipment needed for removing the huge boulders left after blasting occurred.

One of the by-products of the mine was gravel.  Large boulders were crushed into smaller rock which was sold to companies and individuals to be used for various reasons.  I went with my dad once to the mine to get a load of gravel.  The parking lot behind his business used to be gravel and after so much wear and tear on the lot, it was time to replenish the old gravel with new.

We took a large dump truck, drove to the mine, paid for a load of gravel, and waited for it to be loaded.  While we were there, I watched them make gravel.  It was a very interesting process.  Large boulders were placed into a heavy piece of machinery which proceeded to break the large chunk into millions of small fragments and shards.  The noise was deafening but when it was over, the large boulder had been rendered into very small pieces which could then be used for driveways, flowerbeds, drainage ditches, etc.  The large rock was useless; but once broken into pieces, it had many new and useful applications.

This is a wonderful lesson for us today.  Many times, in the Christian life, we feel as if God is breaking us into smaller pieces.  He digs deep, pulls out a large chunk of our hearts, and then places it in the grinder.  Just when we feel we have nothing left to give, God takes what we have and crushes it into smaller pieces.  Although we don’t understand why, his purpose is to make us more useful for him.

Jesus demonstrated this at the feeding of the five thousand.  A little boy brought him five loaves and two fish.  Among so many people, they were nothing.  They would hardly feed a little boy, much less a throng of five thousand people.  Yet, when Jesus took those items in his hands, he fed the multitude, until all of them had as much as they wanted.

Matthew 14:19 shows how Jesus accomplished this task, “And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.”  Jesus gave thanks for the fish and the bread and then he broke them.  That is the secret we need to see today.

In their original form, these loaves and fish could only feed one little boy.  They were meant for his lunch, to sustain him until he arrived home for dinner.  However, when Jesus began to break them, they took on much more ability.  Not only did they feed the little lad, they fed the entire group with twelve baskets full of pieces left over.

Today, you may feel as if you are being broken and crushed.  From your perspective, this brings confusion and frustration.  From God’s perspective, however, it makes perfect sense.  He is using you to touch the lives of countless others, others who are tired and hungry for spiritual food.  Who knows how many people your life will touch if you will yield yourself to the Master’s hand?  Won’t you let him break you today?

Busted!

M

ost people would never associate mining with North Carolina. In fact, when most people think of North Carolina, they imagine rolling hills, lush forests, vast tracts of pasture lands, sand dunes along the coast, and trees of every variety.  This is all true and very accurately describes my home state, but there are other things about the area that people just don’t consider.

Very close to my hometown, was a large mine which removed lithium ore from the ground.  North Carolina is one of the leading states for the production of this mineral.  The mine employed many people in our area and provided for an interesting field trip for the local school children. I will never forget seeing that large hole in the ground nor the size of the equipment needed for removing the huge boulders left after blasting occurred.

One of the by-products of the mine was gravel.  Large boulders were crushed into smaller rock which was sold to companies and individuals to be used for various reasons.  I went with my dad once to the mine to get a load of gravel.  The parking lot behind his business used to be gravel and after so much wear and tear on the lot, it was time to replenish the old gravel with new.

We took a large dump truck, drove to the mine, paid for a load of gravel, and waited for it to be loaded.  While we were there, I watched them make gravel.  It was a very interesting process.  Large boulders were placed into a heavy piece of machinery which proceeded to break the large chunk into millions of small fragments and shards.  The noise was deafening but when it was over, the large boulder had been rendered into very small pieces which could then be used for driveways, flowerbeds, drainage ditches, etc.  The large rock was useless; but once broken into pieces, it had many new and useful applications.

This is a wonderful lesson for us today.  Many times, in the Christian life, we feel as if God is breaking us into smaller pieces.  He digs deep, pulls out a large chunk of our hearts, and then places it in the grinder.  Just when we feel we have nothing left to give, God takes what we have and crushes it into smaller pieces.  Although we don’t understand why, his purpose is to make us more useful for him.

Jesus demonstrated this at the feeding of the five thousand.  A little boy brought him five loaves and two fish.  Among so many people, they were nothing.  They would hardly feed a little boy, much less a throng of five thousand people.  Yet, when Jesus took those items in his hands, he fed the multitude, until all of them had as much as they wanted.

Matthew 14:19 shows how Jesus accomplished this task, “And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.”  Jesus gave thanks for the fish and the bread and then he broke them.  That is the secret we need to see today.

In their original form, these loaves and fish could only feed one little boy.  They were meant for his lunch, to sustain him until he arrived home for dinner.  However, when Jesus began to break them, they took on much more ability.  Not only did they feed the little lad, they fed the entire group with twelve baskets full of pieces left over.

Today, you may feel as if you are being broken and crushed.  From your perspective, this brings confusion and frustration.  From God’s perspective, however, it makes perfect sense.  He is using you to touch the lives of countless others, others who are tired and hungry for spiritual food.  Who knows how many people your life will touch if you will yield yourself to the Master’s hand?  Won’t you let him break you today?

Right Down The Middle

O

ur backyard was filled with all kinds of wonderful things for a kid to enjoy.  We had several trees that were great for climbing.  There was a swing set where we would swing all day and where my mom used to read on cool autumn mornings and warm summer evenings.  There was also a sandbox where we played Indiana Jones, convinced there were all types of buried treasure to be found.  And last but not least, there was a woodpile that was a wonderful hiding place for games or a challenge to climb.

We didn’t pay very much attention to that pile of wood during the spring and summer.  It was more of a nuisance because weeds grew up around it and mowing the grass surrounding the woodpile was indeed a laborious task.  However, as the summer waned into autumn, the woodpile took on new significance and required constant care.

I can remember my dad bringing a huge load of logs and placing them in a large pile in our yard.  My job was to turn those logs into pieces suitable for burning in our fireplace.  This could only mean one thing—work and plenty of it!  In their original form, the logs were too long and too thick to be useful in our fireplace.  They needed to be rendered into smaller, more manageable pieces and that meant I would be spending time splitting wood.

Our preferred weapon of choice was not an ax.  My dad used one, but taught us to use a sledgehammer and an iron wedge.  The idea was simple.  The wedge was placed in the center of the log and tapped into place with the sledgehammer.  When the wedge was firmly seated in the log, heavier blows were used to force the wedge into the wood, splitting it right down the middle to form two smaller pieces.  Depending upon their size, these pieces were then stacked or split once more into usable pieces for our fire. In order to be used, the wood had to be broken.

The idea of brokenness is found throughout the Scriptures.  In fact, the word broken appears over 130 times in the New International Version of the Bible. The Scriptures speak of laws being broken, of vessels being broken, of the necks of animals being broken for sacrifice, and of hearts being broken from sin.  Being broken, it seems, is just part of the human condition and plays a role in our relationship with God.

Leviticus 6:20-22 addresses a different kind of brokenness and expresses this as something that is pleasing to God.  Let’s take a look at this passage and see what we can learn today.  "This is the offering Aaron and his sons are to bring to the LORD on the day he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half in the evening.  Prepare it with oil on a griddle; bring it well-mixed and present the grain offering broken in pieces as an aroma pleasing to the LORD . The son who is to succeed him as anointed priest shall prepare it. It is the LORD's regular share and is to be burned completely.”

This seems like an obscure verse of scripture until we understand what the Lord is saying to us.  Aaron was being anointed as priest over all Israel.  This was the offering he was to present before the Lord on the day of his appointment as priest.  Notice the last part of the passage and what it has to say about being broken.  The grain offering serves as a pleasing aroma to the Lord only when it is broken.  Aaron would only serve as an effective priest when he was broken into small pieces, humbled and yielding before the Lord. 

The same is true for us my brothers and sisters in Christ.  Before we can be used for God’s purpose, before we can accomplish any of the plans He has for us, we must be broken into small, useable pieces.  We must allow God to take the wedge of His love, to seat it firmly in our hearts, and to split them right down the middle before we can be used for His glory.  Notice that after presenting the offering before the Lord, it was burned entirely.  God wants nothing less than our all.  We must belong to Him completely if we are to be considered a pleasing aroma before Him.

Those days spent splitting wood in the backyard paid off later in the year.  During the cold months of November, December, January, and February, we were able to enjoy the light and the warmth from the fire in our fireplace. We were only able to this because the wood had been split and broken into pieces that would provide heat and light for our family.  Without the splitting, they would have been completely and utterly useless.

I

s your life a pleasing aroma before God?  Are you allowing Him to mold you and shape you for His great purposes?  When was the last time you felt God breaking a part of your life so you could serve as light and warmth in a cold world?  Where ever you are in your walk with God, don’t shy away from the sledgehammer and the wedge.  Let God take you and split you right down the middle in order to use you in a way you never dreamed possible!