Jewels for Jesus

This past Saturday, I had the privilege of sharing a devotional at our Women's Fellowship meeting.    

I have always wanted to dye my hair pink, so I got pink strands.
We were learning how to put sparkly hair strands in our hair, so I chose a diamond themed devotional.

I made each lady a bookmark with a "Diamond" acronym on the back (see the end of this blog).

What is your engagement story?  Brad and I had been dating for about 3 months when he took me to a fancy dinner at the Broker, in Denver.  Of course, it was a wonderful dinner.  Afterwards, we drove back up to Fort Collins and were walking around Old Town.  When we passed in front of Austin's restaurant, where we had our first date, Brad got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.  Yes!  Then, we headed to the wine bar next door, Ciao Vino's, to celebrate with champagne and strawberries.  It was a wonderful night and has been a wonderful 8 and half years.

Jer. 9:7 "...I will refine and test them..."
Isa 1:25 "...I will thoroughly purge away your dross."

Fire is always used for purging, for burning up the impurities found in precious metals and stones.  Let's take a look at how diamonds are made, a brief geography lesson.:)

• they are under incredible pressure and intense heat deep within the Earth's surface.
• they are carried to the surface through volcanic eruptions via kimberlite magmas.
• both diamond and graphite (which is the stable form of carbon at the Earth's surface) are made of carbon.
• in contrast, diamond is the hardest gem while graphite is the softest.  Odd?
• to prevent diamond from converting to graphite, they must be transported to the Earth's surface extremely fast.
• diamond hardness comes from the carbon atoms being linked together in a 3-dimensional network.
• whereas, graphite atoms are linked into loose sheets, sliding past each other easily
• when cutting, diamond dust must be used to cut diamonds since they are the hardest known substance.
• diamonds are cut precisely to maximize the brilliance and fire (the rainbows and glints of color) of the stone.  the placement of each facet around the diamond and the table on top are carefully measured and cut to take advantage of the prism effect and let the diamond sparkle.
• the presence of any blemishes, flaws, scratches or nicks effect the diamonds clarity.

How is Christ like a Diamond?

• He underwent incredible pain and pressure to bring us a beautiful gift...salvation.
• He is omnipotent; having infinite and unlimited power.
• He is the only thing strong enough to "cut" us.
• the Trinity is linked together in One.

How are we like diamonds?

• we have times when we feel like we're under incredible pressure and intense heat.
• many of us go through some turbulent journeys that feel like volcanic eruptions.
• we are made up of the same stuff as non-believers, but held together and refined by God.
• Christ cleansed us of all our impurities by dieing on the cross.
• Phil. 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  In Christ, we become mighty, whereas we were soft and weak before.
• We are cut by the Master Craftsman to sparkle and reflect the light of Christ to the maximum.
• Our impurities and sins effect the scale of our clarity, but God's refining fire can purge away our dross.

engagement ring

sweet 16 ring

Diamonds can also be an heirloom that you pass down from generation to generation.  My engagement ring diamond is Brad's grandma Maston's.  I never met her, but the diamond feels special and loved.  My mom gave me a diamond ring on my sweet 16 that her mom had given her and my grandma's mom had given her.  I'm looking forward to passing that on as well. 

How much more important, though, is our faith and salvation to pass down?  The definition of heritage is "something that comes or belongs to one by reason of birth; an inherited lot or portion."  When we believe that Christ is our Lord and Savior and accept His salvation, we are born again.  Jesus Christ is our heritage to be passed down from generation to generation.

How can we pass down this inheritance?

• allow Christ to "cut" the lines in you the way He as our Maker wants.  Then, we will reflect His light to the maximum in our lives.
• maintenance.  Don't forget to "clean" yourself, as I've done with my ring.  I have let gunk and dirt build up around my diamond, making the shine and sparkle dull.  Regular "cleaning/maintenance" will keep dirt from building up in us, allowing Christ to be reflected in our lives.
• even if we've let some dirt build up, we can always come to the Lord and He will shine us up.  He will do the work.  We just have to be willing to sit and rest in Him and let Him chip away all that dirt.  He will never neglect us, as I've done with my diamond.  John 15:4 "Abide in Me and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me."

My mom just recently, within the past few years, got a diamond ring.  She didn't have an engagement ring.  It's never too late to become a diamond.  God's love and salvation is eternal and unbound.  It is a precious gem that He is giving to us for free, transforming us into Diamond Reflections of Christ's love, glory, grace and mercy.

• D- Delight In The Lord
"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." Psalm 37:4
• I- Increase In Love
"And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men,
• A- Abide In Christ
"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." John 15:5
• M- Minister To Others
"Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality." Romans 12:13
• O- Obey God's Word
"And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." 1 John 2:3
• N- Never Give Up
"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1,2
• D- Die To Self
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20

Dear Lord, we are diamonds in the rough and need You and Your sacrifice on the cross to make us shine.  I pray that You would help all of us to be in regular, daily communion/relationship with You so that we can feel like Your beautiful and precious treasures and sparkle for You daily.  We love You and thank You for Your death and resurrection so that we can one day be in the presence of our Master Craftsman.  Amen.

(Diamond acronym from http://www.juliabettencourt.com/dev/diamondsdev.html)