I'm sitting here looking out my window at a blanket of snow covering everything. There's something about the winter snow that blots out, covers every blemish, in fact every ugly thing. Everything suddenly looks just like the words, a winter wonderland. I'm curious if that's what God was thinking about when He stated that our sins will be white as snow in Isaiah 1:18.

My neighbors have this broken down porch swing sitting out by the woods. It's the kind of thing that needs a whole bunch of snow to cover up all of its defects. In fact I wish there were so much snow that an avalanche would carry that thing away. It is a sore spot even in the middle of our local winter wonderland. Every time I look out at the woods, I try not to look to my right because there is that ugly thing that needs to be taken to the dump. And we have a nice neighborhood, so what's it doing here?

Sometimes that's what life is like. The Israelites had an ugly, banged up porch swing in the middle of the wilderness all the time. They couldn't help noticing it and complaining about it. No amount of snow could have covered it up and made them forget it was there.

It got in their craw. They ended up complaining too much. God said they aggravated Him through their murmuring and complaining. He called it sin and decided to hide His face from them. What was so bad about them? Their complaining represented an absence of faith. He called them a perverse generation, one with no faith. (Deut 32:20) They became like that ugly swing set next door to God. No amount of snow could change how they looked to Him. He wanted to see and hear faith.

I do too. Last week I prayed with our congregation every night from 6-7 PM. By Friday night, we all looked different and sounded different too. We looked and sounded like faith. We were covered with snow, a winter wonderland. Snow also represents the Word being heaped up. (Isa 55:10-11)

For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.  Isaiah 55:10-11

As we move into 2011, God is looking for faith. It is a faith building and releasing time. Our words represent our faith. The Israelites expressed a type of faith in their words; a negative faith, unbelief. I am planting the heavens with my words this month. There is a harvest to be planted and released through my words; words of faith. I don't know about you, but I am a winter wonderland, speaking forth glorious words filled with faith and glory.  I am preparing for an amazing harvest.