Winter in July?

O.K. so maybe not. But I wanted to share this article that I wrote back in Feb.2010. I hope it will bless you.

Make me white as snow

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”       Isaiah 55:10-11

Snow is falling! For the past week we’ve been listening to the meteorologists say that snow was coming our way. They said that about a month ago, but it didn’t happen then. Well this time it really did happen! Oh, how beautiful it is to see it falling down from the sky and touching the ground gently. All you hear is a soft and gentle whisper as it touches the ground.

I had to call my family that lives overseas to let them know about it. As I was talking to my dad he mentioned that it’s been ten years since he accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of his life. I couldn’t believe it, but time does go by so quickly.

Ten years ago he was a full blown alcoholic and him and my mom where very close to being separated. He would get lost for a couple days even a week without coming home. If you’ve lived with an alcoholic or know how they act, you really don’t want to be around when they come home before bed time. They begin asking for things, like bring me this and give me that. All they talk is foolishness. As a teenager I remember waiting up with my mom for dad to come home, so that she wouldn’t be alone when he came and to help her get him in bed when he fell asleep.

Those days are long gone.

It is so precious to me, that just as the snow falls softly and with a gentle whisper touches the ground, that is how His word, His truth touched my dad’s life ten years ago. His word does not return to Him empty. It will accomplish what God sent it to do. This is why it is so important for us to share Christ with others, especially with our family members.

Isaiah 1:18b says: “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.”

Scarlet is a bright red color and was a type of fine and expensive woolen cloth. Our sins being as scarlet is the high price Jesus Christ had to pay for them. The Father sent His only Son to die on the cross for our sins. But now they are as white as snow. We’ve been cleansed with no spots.

Our sins are compared to crimson which is a deep red permanent dye and its deep stain was virtually impossible to remove from clothing.

Just as a bit of a background; crimson was produced using the dried bodies of the kermes insect, which were gathered commercially in Mediterranean countries, and sold throughout Europe. They fell out of use with the introduction of cochineal, because although the dyes were comparable in quality and color intensity it needed ten to twelve times as much kermes to produce the same effect as cochineal. Cochineals are soft-bodied, flat, oval-shaped female insects that cluster on plants and suck out their juices.

Even though our sins may seem impossible to remove, because we think they are too big or too evil and that we have to do something about them and make our lives better, before we can accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives, we are making a huge mistake. This is why Jesus was the only and the ultimate sacrifice for our sins to be forgiven. The sacrifices of old were not enough to be cleansed for our sins. It would have to take a sacrifice per sin to be forgiven. But Jesus paid it all and in full.

They will be like wool. Did you know wool fibre is so resilient (capable of withstanding shock) and elastic that it can be bent 30,000 times without danger of breaking or damage. The structure of the wool fibre means fabric can be set permanently, as in the permanent press process.

This is how our sins have been forgiven, permanently.

Psalm 51:7 says: “Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”

Hyssop is a common herb which grew in Bible times and still grows extensively today in many varieties all over the world. It has beautiful purple blue flowers and a strong mint smell.

Hyssop was readily available, especially in the Middle East. Because it had detergent properties, it was widely used to clean sacred places such as temples.

Here are some times it was used in the Bible:

• A bunch of hyssop was used to dip in the basin of blood of the Passover lamb to apply to the lintel and doorpost before the Israelites left Egypt. (Exodus 12:22) Since hyssop has strong woody stalks it could stand up to being shaken.
• Cleansing ceremony for a leper in Leviticus 14:1-8. Again, hyssop was the dipping agent into blood of a bird and used to sprinkle over the unclean person.
• In John 19:29, it was used at the crucifixion. “A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth.”

So in Psalm 51:7 we see that this was a plea from King David to the Lord for forgiveness. He had sinned with Bathsheba and had been called to account for it by Nathan the prophet.

David is asking for deep heart cleansing and uses hyssop to symbolize that, since it is a common cleaning agent. When he says "wash me" he is talking about the way clothes were washed in his time, with beating and pounding. He is so deeply sorry; he wants more than a quick wash up. He wants the very desire for sin to be washed out of him. He wants to be whiter than snow.

Do we ever feel that repentant over our own sin? Do we want to be whiter than snow?

We can be whiter than snow. Today is the day of salvation says the Lord. Everyday the Lord is saving us, forgiving us from our sin.

Lord thank you for forgiving my sin permanently and for making me spotless and white as snow.