Smoke On The Blade

 

Smoke On The Blade

Whitecross “Eye to Eye” from the album Flytrap

Raging Grace “Ninevah” from the album Stand of Three Chords

Judges 6:28 “And when the men of the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was cast down, and the grove was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that was built.”

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword,…”

Revelation 19:15 “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword,…”

2 Kings 6:5 “But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.

6 And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.”

This morning’s theme?  Fervency of the strike.

With the intensity we meet it, He is there.

2 Kings 13:19 “And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.”

     I have a blade in my kitchen.  A meat clever.  With it I strike frozen meat on my four-inch- thick wood cutting board that I made myself.  The power of the blade lay in its mass.  Swinging the blade down with a strike means converting potential to kinetic energy.  The quicker I swing, the deeper the penetration as force divided by area gives the pressure at the edge.  It does a number on frozen sausage.

     Has not God given us tools?  A little paring knife to the hatchet in the back garage.  To some, He has given power tools.  They would be the anointed ones, chosen for His service. We carry them about our waist.  Muscles in our arms tell of the cyclical nature needed to work these.  But the power does not lie solely in our own strength.

     The element of friction is at the teeth of the saw.  We extract the shavings.  With motion back and forth, wood is heated.  The burn is there.  Where the tool meets the substance, more is at work.

     God surely works with us.  He calls us to apply the tool to the wood.  Put in effort.  Divide what He has ordained.  Feel His fervent touch as we rip the grain.

     I would know my child in his effort by feeling the blade.  Hot blade?  His effort would be seen in sweat and I’d be proud.

     Today, let us see God’s smiling eye upon us as we partner with Him in His fervency.  Smoke?  Oh yes, Bill Cosby. “Smoke!  Smoke!” (another story.)  Let us fling, let us saw, let us stroke in such a way to show the fervency of our Lord in His determination.  The work is at hand.  Let us be busy about it.

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