White as Snow
In Zechariah 3, the Lord reveals a beautiful
picture of His heart for us. Joshua the High
Priest is shown standing before the Lord,
dressed in filthy clothes and being accused
by Satan himself. The Lord says to Satan,
"The Lord rebuke you, Satan!...Is not
this man a burning stick snatched from
the fire?" (3:2). He doesn't care about the
filthy clothes he doesn't care about the fact
that like a stick in a fire, this man is charred
and blackened by sin. He has chosen this man
- and by inference, the Jews - as His people,
and despite their sin and disobedience has
chosen to snatch them out of the fire and
captivity and restore the remnant to Zion.
Isaiah 41:9-10, "I took you from the ends
of the earth, from its furthers corners
I called you." God is reminding us in these
verses that it is NOT by accident He chose us
to be His people. God knew what He was
getting into and He know that His son would
have to die for an undeserving people, to
wash away the stain of their sins, making
them White as Snow.
the Wall
As I was doing my devotions, this verse in
Ezekiel painted a very vivid image in my
head. An image of a man willing to stand
up for the lost, the helpless, and the poor.
"And I sought for a man among them who
should build up the wall and stand in the
breach before me for the land, that I should
not destroy it, but I found none." Ezekiel 22:30
How I interpret this verse is that God is
challenging me, as a man, to stand up
for those lost, helpless, and poor. He is
reminding me of my role as a man of
God, to preach the message of eternal
salvation to those who haven't received it.
"If I say to the wicked, 'O wicked one,
you shall surely die.' and you do not
speak to warn the wicked to turn from
his way, that wicked person shall die in
his iniquity, but his blood I will require
at your hand." Ezekiel 33:9
It is my role to intervene, to speak a
warning into the lives of the wicked.
God is a just and selfish God, yet He
is full of grace. And this idea of building
a wall is, in my eyes, building up a firm
foundation in the lives of the lost. Christ
is our firm foundation. So that when the
angel of death appears, we will be able
to stand firm, holding true to our
foundation, Christ our Rock. And no,
our bodies will not endure, but our souls
will eternally remain with Christ in Heaven.
He doesn't just ask me, but requires me
to build this wall for the wicked so that
He shall not destroy the them. I am
disgusted by men in general but
especially myself for my lack of initiative.
I am ready to stand up, to fight, to build
this wall, and to share Christ's love.
"How much do you have to hate someone
to not tell them about God?" Penn Jillette
he DOES exist, you are not alone
I believe that the two biggest lies
that satan tells mankind is: one,
that satan doesn't exist, and two,
that when we deal with issues of
sin, we deal with them alone.
"Be self controlled and alert. Your
enemy, the devil, prowls around
like a roaring lion looking for
someone to devour. Resist him,
standing firm in the faith, because
you know that your brothers
throughout the world are undergoing
the same kind of sufferings."
~1st Peter 5:8-9
This verse has really hit home for
me the past couple days, reminding
me that despite the world saying,
'It is just bad luck this or that
happened, its his/her fault you broke
up, etc.' I know that the enemy IS
roaring around. The enemy exists
and his name is satan.
As the purpose of verse 8 is to
provide a warning and challenge,
verse 9 is to provide encouragement.
To encourage us that satans second
biggest lie, is simply a lie. That when
we deal with sin, we are not dealing
with it alone, that those before us,
with us, and after us have dealt,
deal, and will deal with the same
kinds of sufferings as we do.
How amazing is that? Knowing that
the two biggest lies satan tells us
have only the hold on us that we
we allow them to.
It may just be me but I love hearing
when what satan tells me consistently
is a lie.
Final Internship Post
Greetings friends and family,
So the internship has officially
ended. Wow, now that I look back
I realize how amazingly fast it
went by and yet how much was
learned from the entire experience.
In the last 2 and 1/2 weeks a LOT
has gone on. My class has gained
and lost students yet again, there
has been quite a bit of drama
between the interns, a field trip
to the Vicksburg Civil War Museum,
and a lot of preparation for the
closing banquet.
The closing banquet went really
well. It started with an intro from one
of the students then a prayer by
another. Then the four arts classes
got to share what they had learned
throughout the summer. The theater
class went first and did some improv
drills and I was thrown in last minute,
man do I not like speaking in front of
people haha. Then the dance class
went and did a dance. Then my class
was up. My fellow teacher Miss Emma
gave a little introduction and then
the fashion show began. They all did
amazing. We spent tons and tons of
time practicing and they nailed it.
I am so proud of them. Then after
they each got a sentence to share
about what they had learned, I
almost started crying. And then I
was given a few minutes to kind of
preach about being made in Gods
image. It was an amazing experience.
After the arts each class had awards
to give to their students, that was fun.
Then that was it. We said our good
byes which of course was hard.
The next day all the interns took a
road trip to Baton Rouge, Louisiana
to go to a wanna be Six Flags/
Hurricane Harbor. It was a really fun
time to relax with the interns and not
use Mr.'s or Ms.'s. Then we spent the
night in Baton Rouge, and today we
were able to hit up a mall for a bit then
make the 3 hour drive home and now
we are back.
This experience has been so amazing.
The lessons that I have learned I will
keep so close to my heart. There are
no real words to express what I went
through here to be honest. Dr. Perkins,
while in Redondo Beach last weekend,
was asked by my friends how I was doing
and Dr. Perkins said "I'd love to tell you
he was doing great, but he isn't. Christian
is suffering more then he ever has before.
He is living in the ghetto, working for
people who have been raised in the
ghetto and he has never experienced
anything like this before. But since God
is His solid rock, he is succeeding". And after
hearing that I realized that most internships
are involving working in an office and
getting practical experience in the work
place. But this internship through me right
in the middle of the lions den and the
only way to survive was to rely completely
on God. I learned about how to deal with
my own as well as others pride. How to
be more flexible. How important it is to
trust God. I learned about how unique
God made me and that I should not
strive to be like someone else when He
made me this way for a reason. And
above all, He gave me an increased
heart for the lost. I get so caught up
all the time in my own little South Bay
world that I forget about the pain,
suffering, racism, and social injustice
that is destroying the lives of people
in Jackson and all over the world.
This summer has been the hardest
experience of my life. But without God,
my amazing family, my darling Elizabeth,
and my friends, I could not have made
it through.
Thank you for all the prayers and support.
You are such a blessing! I love you all!
And am in love with Elizabeth Hild :-)
God bless
~Christian Cannon
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