Are You Stoned?

The Apostle Peter tells us in his letter we call 1 Peter chapter 2, that we are stones the Lord uses to build a temple for spiritual sacrifices and that Jesus is the Chief Cornerstone. Let's take a look at what it means to be a "stone" and what preparation we need to undergo to be useful in that spiritual temple.

Have you ever thought about how a stone is quarried and made useful for building? First it is rough cut from the side of the quarry. Then the stone mason cuts it into the shape he needs for the building. Not all the stones will look the same or have the same purpose. The mason is the one who decides what the stone will look like and how it will be used.

God has chosen you and me. It is up to Him to decide where and how He will use us. He also is the one who is chiseling away on us to conform us into the shape He wants. We don't always like either of those processes. We tend to want to tell God how to use us and where we will and will not go.

We also despise the shaping process. We look at the trials that come our way as coming from the enemy. We need to change our focus. If you are a Christian, nothing can happen to you unless it has first been approved by the Master Stone Mason. Even if your trouble comes from the enemy God will use it for His purposes in conforming you into the image He has designed for you. Do you really think Satan can destroy God's work? Never!!! As Joseph told his brothers after they had sold him into slavery and God used him to save their family from starvation, "What you meant for evil, God meant for good."

Christian, the Father loves you more than you could ever know and you are not out of His care for even one moment. The chiseling process hurts and is not any fun at all, but it is the Mason molding us into the shape He wants for us. Sometimes He will even rub two stones together. Friction may arise between brethren. Instead of fighting with a fellow Christian we need to see it for what it really is. It is God just using another fellow Christian to knock some of the burrs off each of you.

King Solomon didn't want the sound of a chisel on the temple mount. All the stones were quarried and chiseled into shape offsite then brought to the temple mount and put into place. That's the way God, the Master Stone Mason, has chosen to do it. He will shape us here on earth to fit us into place in that heavenly temple.

Are you stoned? If not, you should be!

The Saga of JoJo

JoJo was a bean, but not just any bean, JoJo was a coffee bean. He was born, or came into bean, in Colombia, high up in the mountains. He blossomed as a youth and thought life just could not have been any better than hanging around on that coffee tree with his buds and twin sister, LoLo. You see, the fruit of the coffee tree, called cherries, have two seeds, or beans, inside and are very particular. They like high altitudes with about two hours of direct sunlight per day. It can’t be too hot or too cold. It can’t be too wet or too dry. They don’t do well if they are too far from the equator. They are quite particular and quite pampered.

One day, a man named Juan Valdez, came to visit JoJo. Juan had visited with JoJo many times before and he had come to look forward to these days because Juan made him feel so special. But this day was different, Juan did not come alone, as before, he brought a friend. He brought his donkey, Paco. Juan looked at JoJo carefully. Then he reached up and plucked poor frightened JoJo right off of the branch that JoJo had called home for so long and placed him in a rough gunnysack hanging from Paco’s back.

JoJo was confused at first. “Why me? What is happening to my life, my plans? I thought Juan loved me!” These are but a few of the thoughts and questions that were swirling around in JoJo’s mind. It was as if his world had been turned upside down and he had no one to talk to. He tried to talk to LoLo, but she was no help, she was consumed with her own pain and confusion.

Soon, JoJo was taken to a shed where he was put through the ringer. Although this part of his life was uncomfortable, he came through it with a new sense of freedom. The flesh of the cherry was removed and now he could breathe a little easier. He did suffer a bit of separation anxiety from his sister LoLo. JoJo saw life and the world in a whole new way now. This must have been what God had created him for. “I think I would like to travel and see the world,” JoJo said to himself.

JoJo was very excited when he was told he would soon be on a ship to America. “A cruise!” JoJo exclaimed as he could hardly contain his excitement. Our young protagonist soon found himself in a large bag, confined inside a cargo container with a few million other coffee beans. JoJo was an optimist though and he was determined to not let his life be ruled by his emotions. Even though he was missing out on the endless buffets and the ice sculptures, JoJo thought that he could use this time to meet new friends and maybe God could use him to comfort some other beans. JoJo would tell the other beans of the bright lights and big cities that he had heard about and soon everyone in the container could hardly wait to arrive in America. Some were looking forward to this new chapter in their lives, while others were just hoping against hope to finally get some peace and quiet as far from JoJo as possible.

It wasn’t long before JoJo found himself in a big shiny stainless steel drum that would continuously stir the beans. A Mixer! JoJo was finally in his element. He soon met other beans from all over the world like Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia, and even Kenya. All the different cultures and languages! JoJo could not have been any happier. That is when JoJo noticed that it was starting to get uncomfortably hot. Was this the bright lights in the big city that he had heard about? He noticed that he was starting to change. He was sweating quite a bit and his skin was starting to get oily. He was also losing weight and bulking up at the same time. What a tan he was getting and what was that smell? “This must be LA Fitness!” he told himself.

JoJo had come through this latest ordeal not only with a new outlook on life, but he found that he was bolder and stronger. He made a decision that he would serve God, no matter what came his way. He was starting to notice that he was being treated as some kind of celebrity. He was now living in a store where he and his new international friends were almost worshiped. He was learning a lot of new words, such as, “venti,” “cappuccino,” and “espresso.” JoJo was having fun just saying these new words when life once again took an unexpected turn. JoJo found himself in a hopper slowly sliding down towards a grinder. Soon his life was shattered into a thousand pieces. He once again cried out to God, but it was as if the heavens were as brass. No answer came, only more pain. Hot water came showering down upon him and he felt as if every bit of his life was being drained away. It was as he was being poured into a cup that the Lord spoke to him in the stillness of his heart. “You are no longer JoJo the coffee bean. This is the purpose for which I created you. This is your destiny. Your name is now Joe. And I love you."

It is only through the crucible of pain and suffering that we can become all that God has created you and I to be. It was A.W. Tozer who said something like, "I doubt that God can bless a man greatly until he has wounded him deeply."