Raw Oak Tree or Varnished Deck?

How many times as Christians do we varnish our lives? We say we want to be used of God but we have put up a wall of protection that no one can enter beyond that wall even the Lord. We may not even realize that we have so many walls but we have been hurt, used, and abused. This hurt in our lives causes us to pull away from loved ones and the one who loved us so much that he died for our sins so that we might be free from the bondage of sin and oppression in our lives.

How do we build walls? Every hurt and every pain adds anouther coat of varnish the decks of our lives. Instead of handing over our pain to the Lord we slowly and steadily year by year add a new coat of varnish as a shield of protection to our lives. Each new coat of varnish simulates an imagined protection from the storm, the heat, the cold. This translates to the problems in our lives, the firey trials, and the times we can't feel the Lord because we are so cold and distant. Walls and coats of varnish do not protect us!

Isn't it easier to hide ourselves from this world? Then we can't be hurt and the walls protect our lives right? No! This is a sudo imagined protection that can only last so long before we crumble and we break down. The devil uses our fears against us and we even allow our ownselves to be our worst enemy. We tear ourselves down and we imagine that we cannot be used of God. And if we were once used of God then we are too bad to be restored. This is a lie! "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance" Romans 11:29

We cannot allow the varnish on our decks to become so thick that there is no raw oak for God to use to create something more beautiful in us!

Everyone was not meant to become a plank on a deck floor. When we are a raw piece of oak the possibilities are endless. We may be formed into a dresser or maybe a mirror or even possibly a beautiful dining room table. Yet, when we allow our deck to be varnished we lie flat and year after year the protective coat builds up but we are still lying flat and we are going absolutely nowhere. A dresser is formed and can be moved at will and a dining room table is beautifully carved and go from house to house. Don't be a varnished deck who lies down and allows the varnish of this world to become thickened on your life!

How does one become a raw piece of oak wood?
1) You must first have the truth in your life. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved!" Acts 4:12
Jesus is the only saving name whereby we can be saved.

The Apostles in Acts asked Peter what they had to do to be saved, "Then Peter said unto them , Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost". Acts 2:38

What is the Holy Ghost? "And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Acts 2:4

2) Begin by praying and asking God to strip the varnish off your life. This is done by daily prayer and by asking God to shape and to mold you. You have to want to change! You must fall in love with Jesus he must be your everything. Seeking him first in all things! "Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually." 1 Chronicles 16:11

3) You have to forgive those who have hurt you. "But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." Mark 11:26  This is a process and it probably won't happen over night. As the Lord strips away at your varnish you will feel the peace and forgiveness in your life and it will come. You must forgive the ones who have hurt you, you must forgive God for allowing you to go through the pain in your life and you must finally forgive yourself! You are not perfect but you are wonderously made and God doesn't want you to live in condemnation. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Romans 8:1

Conclusion:
Are you willing to become a raw oak tree or are you content to stay a varnished deck? The choice is yours! You have the power to overcome the obstacles in your life. There is nothing you cannot do with the lord by your side. You have to want to change!

I will leave you with my personal testimony: I was raised in church all my life, went to Christian Schools, and attended Bible school right out of high school. I came home after four years; I taught Sunday School, praise singer, outreach, youth leader, all the things of God.

I began to become very disappointed in God because I felt he had left me all alone. I was disappointed and that turned to resentment, anger, and then bitterness. I became cold and distant and allowed the walls in my life to pile to the ceiling. I was vulnerable and I allowed the things of this world to draw me in, I slowly began to slip away and I applied varnish to the decks of my life.

I was in a church that lulled me to sleep for five years and then I met someone he seemed amazing and he is a wonderful person but he pulled me away from the things of God. I began to do and say things I never thought I would for four years I hated life, myself, and everyone who was around me. Then finally I broke, he was never going to marry me and I was left standing all alone. I cried out to God, Lord I don't want to be this person anymore!

It was then the process changed in my life and God began to make me over in October 2011 at General Conference with Bro Stoneking. The power of God fell so strongly that I never wanted to be the same again. I met with my pastor and together we formulated a plan and began to pray over that plan!

I then began to let God strip away my life and I surrendered it back to him. In the meantime my life fell apart, but God told me in prayer, "You will be in the fire but you will not feel the affects of the fire, I am there walking beside you!" It was at this point in my life that I began to radically change my life for the Lord. I surrendered everything I had and gave it back to him.

 I asked the lord why I had felt the way I did when I came home from bible school and was doing his work, he said, "you were so concerned with all you were doing for me, Lord I did this and this, but he said you were not focused on me." I was so humbled and I fell to my knees and I have never wanted to not be seeking him in all I do. The lord has given me promise after promise and has shown me in his word that yes, even I who was a sinner could find my way back to the cross.

He also said unto me, "Do unto me because you love me not because you are expecting me to do something for you and because you love me I will bless you!" These are the promises of God and if they are for me then they are for you! Don't let the varnish pile on in your life but allow God to mold you and shape you into a beautiful dining set that can be moved anywhere God wants you to be used!