,

Teaching Ministry of
Barbara Markland

Change My Heart,
O God
Eddie Esinosa
 

Change my heart, O God
Make it ever true.
Change my heart, O God
May I be like You.

You are the Potter
I am the clay.
Mold me and make me
This is what I pray.

Change my heart, O God
Make it ever true.
Change my heart, O God
May I be like You.
 

Sign up!   Receive Devotional by email weekly

Under Construction

Have you seen the tee-shirt, "Be patient with me.  I'm under construction!" It's a cute perspective.  Makes me think of a painter adding brush strokes to an almost finished painting. Or a lovely garden where the last few flowers are being planted.  It doesn't make me think messy or ugly.  But right now I'm living "Under Construction" up close and personal.  And I'm discovering,  it ain't pretty!

Our son Luke is getting married in July. The rehearsal dinner will be a picnic for 100 people in our backyard.  Seems like the perfect time to tackle that "little project" we've dreamed of ... removing the deck and adding a patio with brick retaining wall and brick steps. As the deck disappeared, I cheered.  We're "Under Construction!"   Messy, yes, but we're underway.  Then the backhoe drove across our back yard to dig footers, leaving muddy tracks and smashing the green grass.  Hmmm ... yard looks a little scruffy for a lovely picnic.  

But digging the footers was exciting.  Each time the bucket dug another scoop of red dirt, I could see our patio taking shape.  I saw the enclosure for the grill.  I saw the landing for the steps.  I saw ... huh?  An old rag hanging from the bucket?  How did a rag get buried in our dirt?  An empty Lipton iced tea bottle?  A broken hammer?  A paper plate? Pieces of broken bricks?  Globs of dried concrete?   Yikes!  The backhoe uncovered a mess of buried junk.  Junk I never knew was there. Suddenly the tee-shirt came to mind - "Be patient with me.  I'm under construction!"  Hmmm ... if I am "Under Construction,"  as the tee-shirt (and God's Word) proclaim, am I seeing a spiritual message about my heart in this messy construction?   Yikes!  This ain't pretty!

Next day the cement truck arrived. More muddy tracks over smashed grass that's brown now.  But just before the driver released the cement, he revved the engine 'til it sounded like a jet and spun the cement canister really fast.  I loved that part!   Over the roar of the engine, I wondered if there could be a messy lesson about my heart in the cement too?   I watched as dark cement slid down the chute,  It was thick with gravel lumps, but it dried white and smooth.  Now among the piles of dirt, muddy tracks, and smashed grass, we have a strong foundation to build on.  That lesson is easy to see!  

Today the bricks arrived.  Soon our patio can be built, the smashed grass covered with mulch, and the mess gone!  But as I look at this construction zone mess, doubts creep in.  What if the contractor doesn't finish his work?  What if we're left in this mess forever?  Mulch can cover a lot of messes, but we can't cover this huge area with mulch!  Suddenly I "see" an entirely different rehearsal dinner picnic than I planned ...  with quilts spread unevenly on high dirt piles and people's plates of food sliding away from them, right down into the hole in the ground ... tablecloths cover the brick pallets, turning them into pub tables where people gather standing on smashed brown grass ... the volleyball goes out of bounds, bouncing onto the footers as a child slides down the dirt pile into the hole in the ground to retrieve it ... and a ladder decorated with streamers rests against the house so our guests can climb up to the screened porch and go inside to the restrooms!  Yes, indeedy, this is going to be a rehearsal dinner to remember!

Once I captured my runaway thoughts, I looked for the lessons to be learned in this construction mess:   

• Our heart is a continual "project" of God's Spirit
  "... He has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like Him"  1 John 3:2 . 

• The Holy Spirit will uncover the junk hidden in our hearts and get rid of it so He can build 
  "Search me, O God, and know my heart... See if there is any wicked way in me...." Psalm 139:23,24.

• The Foundation is critical
  "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have - Jesus Christ"  1 Corin. 3:11.

• God will finish His work in us 
  "And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns" Philippians 1:6.

• God cleans up His mess and His finished projects are beautiful
  "And when He tests me, I will come out as pure as gold"  Job 23:10.

I'm learning that construction projects go through a series of stages -- first clearing away the old, then messy, dirty, ugly, overwhelming, exciting, clean-up, and finally finished!  Our patio project will soon be finished ...   in plenty of time to spread mulch over a few messy spots, and enjoy the rehearsal dinner!  

As a child of God, we are construction projects too.  The Holy Spirit is always working in our hearts. Sometimes it's unpleasant when He tears away the old.  Sometimes it's messy when He uncovers ugly dirty stuff and gets rid of it.  But the project gets exciting when we start to "see" the beautiful new character traits He is building.  Then before we know it, His work is finished and the mess is cleaned up ... until He begins His next project.   Maybe this explains a lot of things.  Maybe it explains why we sometimes feel torn up inside, why life can feel overwhelming.  Now we know the  reason.  Life is messy sometimes. There's a demolition project going on inside us.   So hold onto your hard hats. We're Under Construction!

Original Christian Cartoon by
Chris Hambrecht
each month on this website. 
These cartoons are available to use in your
church bulletin or newsletter for FREE!
Contact Chris at www.emdoodle.com.

Today's
Quiet Time

God's Word for
July 4
Independence Day

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
2 Corinthians 3:17

Barbara's most popular
Bible study!

Maybe it's time to rediscover the wonders of the Cross.
 

Ministry Vision:

To bless the Lord
by sharing His Word
with His people.