“Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. (John 6:57 ESV)

I have a guitar that I bought some years back with money my father sometime before he died.  I cherish it because it serves as a remembrance of his love for me.  Over the years, like the one I bought and wrote about in June 2003, I have had the skills to keep it functional in use as an electrified-acoustic.

It sits with me in the office on its stand, like a faithful dog quietly keeping me company and in return I like to look after it. It has a rich orange-brown cedar face which I have just sprayed internally with furniture polish. The liquid silicones and wax feed the wood and serve to prevent the wood from cracking by becoming too dry under the varnish and in the process it adds to the sound warmth.  I pick it up and play sometimes when I have the desire to pray and worship. 

As a guitar is regularly played it seems to have an impact on the wood to mellow and warm the sound it makes.  I guess it is to do with the harmonics in pure notes resonating?

A guitar has to be handled before it makes a sound. Anyway, like me it is getting older from my usage and I noticed recently that the fretboard has acquired some staining that does not polish off, where my fingers have been playing for an extended period.  However I know a little fix how to remove these stains on unvarnished wood on a guitar’s fretboards! 

Just take walnut nut, skin on, and rub it gently directly onto the wood.  The rubbing removes the skin and releases the walnut oil underneath that penetrates the wood and slightly stains it darker, feeding the wood with oil in the process. 

Gone – no more finger-mark stains.

I notice the world and the evil one, leave their figure-marks and stains on our lives too.  Now and then we are just plain imprudent enough to make a mess of our lives all on our own, no help needed.  Neither of these situations are a problem for our Saviour.  He wants to bring us back to life and refurbish the stained parts of our lives because He Loves and Cherishes us.  We then can carry on praising Him. 

Jesus brings His own anointing for us and with it He desires to remove the stains by the power of the Holy Spirit.  He will feed us with His Word, if we let Him, by the power of His grace and salvation: the price paid for us. 

Come LORD Jesus!

PRAYER: Hallelujah.  We praise You LORD for Your victory.  We love it when we are restored by Your presence and Grace.  You make us become whole again, loved and accepted.  Please feed us today in and through the name of Jesus, amen.

Rod Marshall
Roderick Henry Marshall’s Christian Reflections