Issue 936 – It Takes Effort – December 16, 2022

The river was flowing quickly, and the water was cold. The sun hadn’t been up long, but it was going to be hot. That would make the cold water more bearable. 

I grabbed my shovel, pan, and other goodies and prepared to work. I was searching for gold with a pan. 

To pan for gold (which is no way to get rich, but it can be a fun hobby), you’ll need a gold pan. While some purists insist on the old-fashioned iron or steel pans, most of us use high-impact molded plastic pans with built-in riffles. The riffles help trap the heavy sand while the lighter stuff is washed away. 

The process consists of placing the material that you want to process into your pan and shaking it in a left-to-right motion underwater to cause the gold, which is heavy, to work its way down toward the bottom of your pan. At the same time, the lighter materials, which are worthless, are worked up to the surface where they can be swept off. The process of shaking and sweeping is done until only the heaviest materials are left-namely, the gold and heaviest black sand. 

It is easier to practice than describe, and if you are interested, there are plenty of books and websites out there that describe panning in detail. You’ll have to do more than read about it, though. You’ll have to do it to know what it is about. 

Now and then, when you work the right spot with the proper technique, you end up with a bit of colour (gold) in your pan. The richer the ground and the better your technique, the more colour you will find in your pan. 

It is hard, back-breaking work. Yet the results can be worth the effort. 

In our society, we seem to have forgotten that sometimes things take work to accomplish. We want to be amused and have everything handed to us. We have an attitude of “It’s my right.” Well, your right or not, no one will do your panning for you. You will have to do the work if you want the thrill of finding the gold. 

There is a similar situation in the church. People come for the sermonette and a few songs of Sunday and wonder why they are not growing spiritually. The simple answer is they haven’t done the work it takes. Salvation is by grace through faith alone, but maturity takes effort.

God wants you to grow in maturity in your faith walk, but He also expects you to do some of the work. Just as the gold will not jump from the ground into my hands, Christian maturity isn’t just going to happen. 

About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. Hebrews 5:11-6:3

Want a little “colour” in your spiritual life? Dig out the Bible and begin to study it. Get down on your knees and pray. Start to give your tithe and offerings. Find a place to serve. Train yourself to recognize good from evil and truth from lies. 

Until next time, may your life be rich in the things of God. 

Hallelu Yah (Praise God) 

Be blessed 

Kevin Corbin 

Be blessed

Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

Kevin

Gleanings From The Word

Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life. 

Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is from the English Standard Version (ESV). 

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