{"id":115,"date":"2009-01-18T07:42:00","date_gmt":"2009-01-18T07:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/bibleandculture\/2009\/01\/tales-from-frostbite-falls--part-3.html"},"modified":"2009-01-18T07:42:00","modified_gmt":"2009-01-18T07:42:00","slug":"tales-from-frostbite-falls-part-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2009\/01\/tales-from-frostbite-falls-part-3.html","title":{"rendered":"TALES FROM FROSTBITE FALLS– PART 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

Its snowing again, and it has zoomed up to a sweltering 12 degrees, with prospects of even reach 18 F. The picture above gives the general impression. It’s a house just down the road from here. I awoke this morning to another 2 inches or so, and its not letting up at all. Looks like I won’t make church over in Chester, but I am in a sanctuary of sorts anyway, praising my Maker for the beauty. <\/p>\n

There’s something peaceful about snow. Something gentle when it floats slowly down in huge flakes, each one different. There’s something reassuring and pristine about snow, with its purity coming down from above. When you are snowed in, in a warm house, and drinking good coffee, well, you have a sense of tranquility and sanctuary. Its as though the world is a peace with you and you with the world, and nothing can harm you here. It led to the following reflection<\/p>\n

PURITY<\/p>\n

Purity came down from above
Silently, painfully slow
‘Though your sins be as red as scarlet
I’ll wash them white as snow’.<\/p>\n

A gift of unfailing love
That chills one to the bone
Sinking in crevasses deep,
Not leaving unturned one stone.<\/p>\n

A pure and pentrating cold
Wind piercing between soul and spirit
As if the entire person was needing
To experience, to feel, and to hear it.<\/p>\n

Was needing a complete cleansing
A making of all things new
Not just an external makeover
But an internal spring-cleaning too.<\/p>\n

I stood and watched the cold beauty
And felt it with some alarm
I wrapped my mantle around me
To shield myself from harm.<\/p>\n

But a still small voice whispered
In the silence, I could barely hear
‘Open up your heart and being
And let me wash you clear’ <\/p>\n

I feared I’d be God’s frozen person
I feared an unalterable change
I feared no one would know me
I feared I’d be judged strange.<\/p>\n

But the snow it just kept falling
An ensign of his constant grace
I unbuttoned my woolen jacket
The flakes fell full on my face.<\/p>\n

Purity came down from above
And I chose to let it in
And that has made all the difference,
And yes, I would do it again.<\/p>\n

BW3 Jan. 18th 2009 (Grafton, Vermont)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Its snowing again, and it has zoomed up to a sweltering 12 degrees, with prospects of even reach 18 F. The picture above gives the general impression. It’s a house just down the road from here. I awoke this morning to another 2 inches or so, and its not letting up at all. 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A graduate of UNC, Chapel Hill, he went on to receive the M.Div. degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from the University of Durham in England. He is now considered one of the top evangelical scholars in the world, and is an elected member of the prestigious SNTS, a society dedicated to New Testament studies. Witherington has also taught at Ashland Theological Seminary, Vanderbilt University, Duke Divinity School and Gordon-Conwell. A popular lecturer, Witherington has presented seminars for churches, colleges and biblical meetings not only in the United States but also in England, Estonia, Russia, Europe, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Australia. He has also led tours to Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. Witherington has written over thirty books, including The Jesus Quest and The Paul Quest, both of which were selected as top biblical studies works by Christianity Today. He also writes for many church and scholarly publications, and is a frequent contributor to the Beliefnet website. Along with many interviews on radio networks across the country, Witherington has been seen on the History Channel, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, The Discovery Channel, A&E, and the PAX Network.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/author\/bwitherington"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}