Where have your hands been today?  What have they been doing?  Can you hold them up to God in worship right now as clean and holy, or do they need to be washed by The Spirit?

Have you been pointing to someone’s sin in judgement? Are you pointing in somebody’s face with anger and rage? Have you used them to hit someone today? Have you picked up a piece of reading material that you know you aren’t supposed to be reading? Have you used them to turn on the TV when you weren’t supposed to be doing that? Have you used them to make a universally understood signal of evil?  Yeah, I wrote that, and you get it. We need to pay attention to what we’re doing with our hands.

Yesterday I went to a Chrismon workshop. It’s a fun event to attend and to be with ladies who are fervent about making these beautiful ornaments that are usually found adorning Christmas trees. Many churches go above and beyond Christmas tree adorning, giving them out for important events in a church member’s life such as births, baptisms, graduations, and marriages. Making Chrismons is plain fun for those who enjoy doing crafts. There is a joy in it all and amazing beauty. I highly recommend learning how to do it!  Fun!

The teacher, Betty, is 80 years old and neither looks it nor acts like it! She is spry and there’s a sparkle in her eyes that only can come from Christ Himself. I love to watch her hands when she teaches how to bead correctly or when she helps someone correct a mistake in their beading work. She has to think about what’s happened to the work when it’s taken to her; she’ll see the mistake (for she knows just what to look for,) and then she fixes it right up, explaining where the mistake is, how it happened, and how to make it right. Betty’s beautiful hands. Beautifully used for making the birthday of Jesus special in many church bodies. Then going beyond that to make the life of His children special in all kinds of ways. Jesus has surely “kissed” her hands.

If you know Jesus, too, do you realize that The Spirit has “kissed” your hands? He has! When we allow Christ to be our Lord and Savior, we give Him everything, including our hands. The most amazing thing is that He continues to kiss our hands, even when we use them for things that they weren’t made to do. He is a God of patience and love.  Praise His Name!

Some of us sisters are notorious for having our nails done, especially in summer when our toes are sticking out of sandals for all the world to see. Our hands look nice with a fresh manicure and a splash of color on the ends. It makes you feel pretty when your nails are all done up! Are your nails done up pretty today and are your hands “acting as pretty as they look?”  Again, where have your hands been today?

I recently heard someone say in regards to reaching out in the name of Jesus, “Are you willing to get your nails dirty?” For a lady, especially one with a fresh manicure, there can be horror in the thought that all of the money spent (or if you do it yourself, the time, effort, and money as well) should be compromised by having to do something that would mar the work. We get all of this done to our nails and then try our best to keep them looking pretty for as long as possible. I remember the ad…”Playtex gloves, so flexible that you can pick up a dime.”  (Uh-oh, I’m really dating myself.) We get those nails done and then use gloves for housework and gardening.

I will continue showing my age now — I really don’t care about that — but do some of you remember the children’s song “Oh Be Careful Little Eyes What You See?” We sang it in Sunday School when I was a child. The second verse of that song goes like this:

“Oh, be careful little hands what you do. Oh, be careful little hands what you do. For the Father up above, is looking down with love, so be careful little hands what you do.”  

Well, are you willing to get dirt underneath those nails? What are you doing with your hands these days?  Do you realize that your hands are God’s Hands on earth, created to do the work that He planned for you before you were even born? He delights in your hands and is filled with joy as you use them in obedience to Him as you touch others in His Name! If you wear gloves when you reach out in Jesus’ Name, so that your nails won’t get dirty, others cannot feel your touch. There’s a barrier there, one made of fabric or plastic. The point is that a person would feel the holy touch of God through your hands.

Those of us that are flying up in mania or falling down in depression use our hands in all kinds of ways, too. Have you been using your hands to pull up the covers on the bed, not bothering to get up, move, and walk with Jesus out of that pit? Or have you been using your hands to switch channels on the TV until three in the morning because you have so much energy that your insides spin?

The Spirit knows just how to cleanse our Hands. We can have our hands cleansed because there was One who got His dirty. He not only got His hands dirty, but He volunteered them up for nails. This was particularly dirty, this was blood-dirty. The worst. Because He bled, all of us that choose Him have access to the “cleansing power” of His blood. “Lord, wash me and I will be whiter than snow!”

Wherever you are right now, hold your hands up to Him in worship and praise. Thank Him for your hands and ask Him to clean them up. Remember to ask for this every day. Lord cleanse me, from top to bottom, including my hands!

Do you know what I like to do? Blow Him kisses. Now there’s something wonderful to do with your hands…I do believe that He enjoys these kisses beyond measure. He has kissed your hands, so why don’t you kiss Him back?  I dare you to blow Him kisses right now. I dare you to get Him to smile at you. I dare you to love Him with all your heart….and your hands! Yay, God!

Scripture to ponder:  Psalm 18:16-29

Today’s weapon:  “The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.”   Proverbs 14:1