When I say the word church, you probably picture a building. I live in what is often referred to as the Bible Belt of America; there are churches on every corner. And I mean, like every corner! I can hear the church bells from where I sit right now. I recently had a non-American friend ask me how anyone here picks a church when there are so many. Excellent question.

If I lived in Europe, I would be tempted to select my Sunday morning destination by which cathedral inspired the most grandeur in my heart. I’m a sucker for a beautiful building; the older the better. Have you read my article on restoring old buildings? I love architecture and if it’s old and crumbly, all the more. I’m willing to endure damp and drafty for Old World charm, but I will complain when a church has the air conditioning on too high or if they run out of coffee. So maybe I wouldn’t have made it in a 5th century structure after all.

Build your faith upon the rock of God’s word

Although we picture a building when we say the word church, be it in someone’s living room or a domed cathedral, we should actually picture people. Other believers are the “real” church. The building is simply that—a place to gather. The church is made of “living stones.” This idea comes from 1 Peter 2. Here Peter tells us that we, “as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house” and Jesus Himself, is the chief corner stone, of which all is built around.

Well, if Jesus is referred to as a “stone” in the Bible, how blessed are we to also be likened to these seemingly uninteresting pieces of rock that can be found laying around almost anywhere? So, I figured a further study on rocks would yield something interesting spiritually. As so often it goes, once the Holy Spirit has put this thought in my head, it pops up everywhere. I have never once thought of rocks as having a spiritual lesson to teach us: gardens, misbehaving dogs (my dog, Scout!) and children—sure, but rocks? But when it comes to eternal lessons, God leaves no stone unturned.

As it turns out, rocks are just waiting to teach us about God. So next time you collect a rock at the beach or arrange them around your flower beds or (gasp!) kick them down the road, think of how God uses even these lowly guys to preach His glory.

Rocks are likened to bread, to people, to the word of God and to Christ!

Satan temps Jesus to turn the rocks into bread. What a thought! Jesus has been fasting for 40 days (I would be tempted to eat a stone after, like one day of fasting). In his human form, Jesus is so hungry and of course He has the ability to turn something boring into something delicious, something inedible into wonderous bread. It is no doubt that Jesus can work miracles (something Satan certainly doesn’t doubt); he is not tempting Him to do it, rather to refrain from using his undeniable powers. Perhaps like me, you have no issue believing God can heal or rescue you, but you battle with why He doesn’t. Here Jesus could easily bring substance out of rock, yet for God’s glory, He doesn’t do it. Is it possible that the situations in our lives are meant to teach us and mature us for some greater purpose? The rocks stayed rocks to defeat the enemy. Do you have some rocks in your life that perhaps need to stay rocks?

The Bible also likens our hearts to stone. Ezekiel 11:19 says, “And I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.” I would be the first to admit that my heart can act stony. Sometimes I am unmoved by the needs of those around me because I’m too busy looking at my own wants. Perhaps I’m fed up with recurring situations or behaviors and I’ve grown weary of showing patience and love. Or worse yet, I’ve grown hardened to my own sin, it doesn’t bother me anymore. Are our hearts soft and sensitive to the prodding of the Holy Spirt? Are we being convicted to represent God well in difficult situations? In many ways it’s easier to have a hard heart. We can’t be hurt. If someone kicks our heart of stone chances are that they will get hurt, not us. Do we trust God with a soft heart?

“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering . . . and above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness.” (Col 3:12, 14)

One stone or brick by itself is fairly useless, but when fitted together and stuck with mortar they become shelter and protection from the elements. Stone houses really stand the test of time because the material is so solid. A rock or a stone is hard to damage; it can really take a beating over time. God created the church at Pentecost (this story is found in Acts) but instead of making it a physical building, he made it a living body, so it would last generation after generation. We, today, are part of that same church started in the 1st Century.

coral reef living stones — lively stones

The church is a living organism made up of souls. It makes me think of a coral reef. A reef is something solid like a wall, but it’s alive; made up of tiny living organisms called polyps. They look like wee little flowers and they are all attached together to form this living structure where other animals and plant life can survive, yet the reef itself is alive!! This makes me think of the church—a place for shelter and protection (when done right), a place that is made up of living souls, all coming together to be sanctified, to be nurtured and to grow in faith.

What part do you play? Do you provide stability by being someone that is always there and available. Are you a good listener or ready with Biblical advice? Can you help someone physically who is struggling or financially who can’t cover their expenses? We are lively stones, making up the invisible church. While we do have a calling to spread the Gospel we are told to take care of each other, other believers; we are family. Discipleship, encouragement, teaching, correcting (in love) and understanding are all part of the coral reef that is the living church.

worship truth love encouragement — The Lord God made them all …

Have you ever looked at picture of an underwater reef? It is a bright and colorful place, made up of many different plants and animals that are part of the ecosystem. We, as a church, are joined to all people, kindreds, tongues and nations that call Jesus, Lord. We often do things a bit differently, but I believe God loves variety; look at how different He has made each one of us and still we are all made in His image. The church is a place of diversity, yet what unites us in Christianity, is that Christ is our corner stone—the rock of our salvation and we believe the Bible to be the inerrant Word of God, from which we take instruction. In this ecosystem, the orange fish and the purple plants are living on the firm foundation of Christ Jesus as Lord. “The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.” (Ps18:46). “The Lord is my rock and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust, my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.” (Ps 18:2). “He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.” (Ps 62:2)

God does not need us to praise Him. Jesus taught in Luke 19:40, that even if the people keep silent the rocks will cry out in praise. So watch out, we can be replaced by a mere rock. I, for one, am now completely intimidated by rocks. These guys are impressive!

rejoice in the lord Holy Spirit — Even the rocks will cry out …

Further reading:

More on my dog Scout (God can even use him!)

Running Scared

Nose Pressed Against the Glass

Clawing at the Door

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I love your prayers most of all

We all have vulnerable spots. I’m sensitive to bright lights, as everyone in my life will attest. I have never met a dimmer switch I didn’t love. We have two light switches in my bathroom. One goes to a lovely muted luminary that bathes the room in soft warm colors. The other activates three fluorescent lights that are equivalent to the white hot glow of an operating room. I never ever use that light. It feels like a direct switch to a headache. I don’t care if I have something in my eye or need to remove a sliver out of a child’s foot, it will be done in that low lighting. While the rest of my family uses this other light switch without a thought; they even seem to enjoy all the extra eye-popping brightness.

In the same way my eyes are sensitive to bight lights, my emotions also have weak spots. Things that have happened to me in the past have caused wounds. Like when people talk about sisters, it sometimes feels like a prick. I have to quietly deal with a wound that no one can see. I lost a sister. So, when someone starts causally talking about plans they have with their sister or how they talk everyday or even how annoying they might be, I can’t help but feel that loss. Time has healed much of that wound, but it’s still there. Nobody means to hurt me, of course. Some days it doesn’t even phase me, but other days it cuts; but I just keep smiling and nodding. I don’t want my friends to not mention their sisters.

Perhaps all your friends are getting married and you just experienced a terrible breakup. How do you get through those wedding showers and sit at a table with your parents pretending to be happy when inside you are hurting? You can’t ask people to not get married, you can’t not be happy for them. But there is a wound there that nobody can see. We have all had losses. A friend mentions how her dad fixed her car and you never even met your dad. A wound is touched. Your co-worker is buying a house when you are thinking you might have to move back home to save money. You started a ministry that can’t seem to get any funding while others seem to flourish. We try to hide our invisible hurts, so no one sees us flinch when when they talk about their spouse, their baby, their job . . .

The Enemy Hits Us Where it Hurts the Most

The places we feel like we aren’t enough are the places the enemy hits hardest, because it does the most damage—the quickest. If you were in a fight with a guy who had a broken arm, where are you going to punch him? In the place that will bring him to his knees. We are in a spiritual battle and our adversary does not play fair! You have a difficult child who is hard to parent, where will you get attacked? There! Someone will point out what you are doing wrong (when they don’t know anything about it). And bam! The enemy has you reeling. Your marriage is struggling and someone will go on about how great their marriage is and how it just gets better every year while yours seems to get harder. A hit in just the right spot. You feel stuck in your office job and are wondering about purpose when your roommate from college calls to announce they are opening their own business. You are glad this conversation is over the phone so they can’t see your face while you take the hit.

We do not feel the punches in our strong areas. If you rock at your job or have an easy marriage or are about to get a book published, comments can be made and they just roll off because you know they aren’t true. We are attacked in the vulnerable places. In the spots we worry about or the areas we carry a hurt or that secret fear. How do you recover when you are punched in a broken spot? Those comments can take your breath away, make you lose your footing. You want to just lay on the ground. It’s easy to be mad at that person or the situation, but we need to remember that it’s often the enemy at work and this is what he does. If you are in a knife fight, you can’t be surprised when you get cut. Yet, I find myself surprised. Like . . . “hey, that hurt!”

Don’t be Mistaken: We Are in A Battle

This life is a battle; it isn’t practice, it’s the real thing. We are in active combat. This is why the Bible instructs us to pray on the amour of God each day (Ephesians 6). Not because we are going to spar with a friend, but because we are in battle everyday—if we like it or not (1 Peter 4:12). So, when the enemy (through that guy at work or even your sweet grandma) says just the right thing, that speaks to your biggest hurts and fears you can know immediately you are in a fight for your emotions and your heart. The point is to take you down. To make you doubt God’s love (If God loved me, would I have lost my sister?). To make you doubt your calling (I’m not good at talking about my faith, maybe I should just be quiet). To make you doubt the hard things (someone else would be a better parent to this child). To make you doubt your purpose (Shouldn’t I find happiness in my family/job/ministry—maybe there is something more?).

As if the hard things shouldn’t be hard.

As if the struggles can and should be avoided.

As if the lies are true.

We must be ready for battle. We must suit up and pray up and read up. The Bible will instruct you; the prayers will empower you; the Holy Spirit will lead you. You have everything you need to fight the good fight. But you will get hurt. Nobody goes into war thinking they will emerge the same. They will be shot at, wounded and hardened by the blows of the enemy. From each battle we emerge with more experience (2 Tim 2:4). I know if I don’t start my day in prayer, I’m already set up for some blows. It’s not that prayer stops the blows; actually, I think it often “ups” them, but I’m ready to handle them.

If we are wounded, it is much harder to keep fighting. We often need others to drag us to safety. We need to go to the medic. Who is our Great Physician? Who is the Healer of our souls? The very One who created us, will also heal us. When we bring our soul wounds to Him, our Lord and Savior will do a great work in us. Sometimes it is major surgery (which could be preformed under the lights in my bathroom!). When we come to Christ, our loving Father lays us out and removes our hearts of stone and give us new hearts.

Ezekiel 36:26-27

“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

Nobody questions the major undertaking of a heart transplant. Getting a new spiritual heart is pretty major, also. It changes our life in dramatic ways. Things that used to bring us pleasure become dull, as we shift from a selfish worldly view to an eternal spiritual view. There are aspects of this change that happen suddenly. I once sat with a friend in my home and could see the heaviness of her past etched in her face; yet, a few moments later when she came to the Lord, it was instantly lifted. One of the first things she said after we prayed was, “The heaviness is gone!” She didn’t need to tell me. I could see it in her face. She met her Saviour and he removed her heavy heart and put in a living/beating heart that pushed blood through her soul into places that were formally crippled.

Other changes come on slowly, over years as our new hearts pump the oxygenated blood of new life to parts of our souls we thought were dead. Healing soul wounds that were caused by sin done to us, sin we fell into, perhaps, because of a family cycle of hurt or a temptation that we thought would soothe our wounds. But, in fact, it deepened the damage. I have been walking with the Lord several decades and just in the last few years, I have come to realize some of the places I carry wounds. Instead of letting air and light get to them where they can heal, I instinctively hide them, keeping them in the dark where they fester and spread into other aspects of my life.

Let the Healing Begin

I asked the Holy Spirit to expose them, so I could pray for the healing I didn’t even understand I needed. The wounds I had wrapped up in the loss of my sister were many and painful. There are ways I unknowingly respond to life—reacting in hurt or depression, never connecting it back to that vulnerable spot. God has removed much of that weight, just by exposing it. When something pricks me, I can say I know why this hurts. I don’t want to react in a way that brings me low. I can feel sad. I can feel the loss. But, I don’t want my reactions to be something that causes me to sin or causes me to pull back when I should be pushing in.

What soul wounds do you have in your life?

Can you connect some of your seemingly odd or extreme reactions to that hurt?

What if you asked the Lord to start healing those spots?

The Lord keeps showing me that He is enough. His grace is sufficient. The things I think I need to be okay are the very places He will fill. The hurts are a reminder that this world is not home. I have a promise that I will see my sister again (along with others gone ahead). Meanwhile, He has brought women into my life that I call sister . . .and my heart fills. I stand up in their weddings and the program says—sister to the bride. And that wound closes a little. I have a group of women in my life that are as dear to me as sisters. We have a depth in our relationships that I imagine is as deep as a blood sister (and perhaps deeper in some cases). That spot is very tender, but not as gut-wrenching as it was at one time. The term “soul sister” means more to me than most.

Ask the Lord to reveal your wounds so you can ask for healing in those areas

Have you already experienced some healing? Was it instant or slowly over time?

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