September 2000

[6 of 6]

hall we, overcomers, allow the DUST OF FEAR AND UNBELIEF to prohibit us from fulfilling the Will of God- knowing that, “Without faith, it is impossible to please God;”(Heb 11:6) and that “All things were created for His Pleasure” (Rev 4:11) and “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him!” (Pr 16:7) And how does He do it? He raises up His Prince of Peace (Christ) whose “Perfect love casts out ALL fear!”(1 Jn 4:18) In this world of death, destruction, demons and darkness, we must be “Wise as serpents but harmless as doves!” (Mt 10:16) We must know that, “The Lord has made ALL THINGS for Himself- even the Wicked One for the day of evil!” (Pr 16:4) As He says, “To every day is sufficient evil” (Mt 6:34) but “My Grace is sufficient for you!” (2 Co 12:9) Dust of confusion gets kicked up as carnal minds deceive themselves- and try to deceive others, that natural men are sufficient in themselves!! But as men of faith, we must SHAKE OFF THE DUST of such foolish thoughts and put our trust and our hope in “The Sufficiency of God!” (2 Cor 3:5)
Natural dust seems like a harmless nuisance that housekeepers endlessly chase with a rag; until it goes too long without being removed, then such things as “dust mites” appear! These minute “devourers”, called arachnids [Dict : “Anthropods of mostly air-breathing invertebrates with segmented bodies divided into two regions- of which the anterior has four pairs of legs- but having no antennae.”] not only attack carpets, linens and stored foods, but animal flesh! Dust is an incessant enemy that reappears as fast as it is removed. A dust-free environment is virtually impossible as most hay fever victims can attest. Watering the ground helps retard the accumulation of dust to some degree, but bright sunlight will reveal even a top layer of dust on standing-water! (Consider the Dead Sea!!)
                We give little thought to this minuscule pest unless it becomes a hindrance to our way of life or peace of mind. The same is true of our sin nature! We pay little attention to our thoughts, words and deeds till they suddenly become a devouring force in our otherwise undisturbed lives! Usually we are made aware of the negative effects of our dusty “sin-mites” when others draw our attention to them; like when idle busybodies write “Wash me!” with a finger in the dust on someone’s car. If unpleasant or negative thoughts are betrayed by our facial expressions, we may be confronted by others who notice it, and find ourselves embarrassed to be caught. Or we may let a word of scorn slip out of our mouths at the worst possible moment, and then have to deal with the consequences since there is no way to retract it! Or when we impulsively commit a thoughtless or hurtful deed and it results in wounding others, we may find ourselves unpleasantly paying the piper, so to speak.
Our merciful Christ is cleaning house to rid our lives of all humanistic dust by applying the Water of His Word! Betimes He withholds this Water to make more “dust” reappear, and then to urge us to thankfully cry out for more Water! But the ultimate deterrent of dust is the FIRE of our Father’s Presence! Fire is the greatest cleaning agent of all time! As Brother Ray Prinzing taught years ago in one of His anointed sharings, “Fire restores everything to its original state!!” Consider this well, beloveds! This is a Word on which to build our faith. For indeed, what is the “original state” of all things? It is SPIRIT! For “ALL THINGS originate from God!!” (2 Co 5:18)
                See the that effect fire had on dust on Mt. Carmel with Elijah, as “The Fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the DUST; even licking up all the water in the trench around these things (as God instructed Elijah to pour it)!” (1 Kg 18:38) Today’s sons of God are undergoing the Baptism of Fire (Lk 3:16) to rid them of all lingering “dust” in their lives. But along with that dust, as we see above, it shall also serve to consume any of our burnt offerings (futile “will-worship”, Col 2:23), wood (fleshly works, 1 Cor 3:12), stone (hardened hearts, Eze 11:19), and polluted water of our words (Rev 17:15)! For the blessed Elect, God’s “Spring Housecleaning” is nearly finished, and our lives have already begun to shine like precious gems, and sparkle like pure silver and gold! This “Earthen furnace of affliction from which we were chosen” (Ps 12:6; Isa 48:10) has been hot for the 3 men of our body, soul and spirit to bear, but the faithful 4th Man (Da 3:25) has kept His Promise to “Never leave us nor forsake us” through it all! Hallelujah! So I can say to all fearful or prideful ones who are running from the cleansing Fire of the Lord’s Holy Presence, if this is your hour to shine with the Glory of God, make haste (by His Grace) to quickly begin to SHAKE OFF THE DUST!! Amen.