Be Careful Little Hands What You Shuck

“Be careful little hands what you do, be careful little hands what you do! For the Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful little hands what you do!”

Our property is basically like our own farmer’s market. We can graze through the day, breakfast, lunch or dinner, enjoying the fruits of our labor. October brings about the harvest of our pomegranate, dragon fruit, macadamia nuts and pecans, among other things. Let’s talk about pecans.

Pecans grow in a green husk, as do macadamia nuts. But let me tell you, there’s a HUGE difference in how we shuck these nuts . . . . which I learned the hard way. I mean, who knew that the seemingly harmless, colorless oil that seeps out of the pecan husk will DYE YOUR HANDS a very, very dark, and semi-permanent color? Truth be told, I learned this lesson last year, during our first pecan harvest, but, I FORGOT, and fell right smack dab into the same predicament this year. Joke’s on me, right? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me!

I tried bleach, Ajax, Dawn, nail polish remover, Magic Eraser and a pumas stone. Nothing worked, and Magic Eraser works on everything! To add insult to injury, the dye got darker on day two and even darker on day three. It’s alarming, really, to realize that what we shuck, what our hands and minds engage in, can and will tarnish and stain us! Anyone can look at my hands and know for certain that I put my hands to work doing something that stained them. My hands are a tell-tail sign of what I did. Like crumbs on the lips of a child who stole a cookie, my stained hands declare my guilt.

As well, when we shuck our “sin of choice“, others who come in contact with us will see the stain of that sin on our hands. Or maybe they’ll hear the stain of our sin in our words, and see the stain of our sin in our actions and how we treat others. Maybe the stain of our sin will cause us such guilt, others will see the cloak of guilt draped heavily upon our shoulders. Such a weight can lead to a self loathing which may even result in suicide or thoughts of self harm. Once we have allowed the stain of sin to saturate our life, we are stained with the guilt and burden and sole responsibility of that sin and there is absolutely no amount of soap that will remove it. And others can see it on us. The stain of sin separates us from God, and there’s only one remedy. Only one stain remover that will satisfy our debt before God.

Jer. 2:22 says “Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me,” declares the Lord GOD.

Take a minute and confess the sin that is staining our hands, heart and life. Are you having an affair? Are you struggling with addiction? Are you hateful and without joy? Are you stealing from your employer or disrespecting your spouse or child? Have you turned your back on God? The stain of your sin is dark, but there is hope, because Jesus is the Light.

I tried every kind of solution to clean the pecan stains from my hands, but nothing worked, my stain was still there, screaming to the world what I had done.

These days are evil, and it’s only by God’s mighty hand that pure evil has not been totally unleashed on this earth. But one day, when God has had enough, when He has given His beloved children every opportunity to accept Jesus Christ and His stain- removing blood, He will unleash His wrath upon the earth.

There are only two kinds of people in this world. Those who say to God “Thy will be done Lord, remove my stain“, and those to whom God will say “You want it your way? Fine, thy will be done, live with your stain.” Read that again. Let it sink in. Which of those two people are you? Atheism is a temporary condition, because God promises that “EVERY knee will bow, EVERY tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” Phil 2:10-11 What does “every” mean? It means “EVERY”! It means YOUR knee will bow, YOUR tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords! On that day, when you are forced to your knees, if you are stained with sin, then it’s too late. At that point, you will kneel and confess, but God will say He never knew you.

Precious friends, we are all stained with sin. Not just our hands, but our hearts. And the bible is clear that the wages of sin is death. No politician can come in and cancel that debt or pardon that sin. But the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus! Jesus is the ONLY One, and the ONLY Way to rid yourself of the stain of sin. When you place your hope and faith in Jesus, you are stain free! Isaiah 1:18 says “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. . .”

1 Cor. 6:11 “And all this describes what some of you were. But now you have had every stain washed off, now you have been set apart as holy, now you have been pronounced free from guilt in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and through the Spirit of our God.“

When you accept Jesus into your heart, He makes you clean. “Cleanse me . . . and I will be made clean; wash me, and I will be made whiter than snow . . for the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit . . . and a contrite heart.” Psalm 51:7,17.

Needless to say, next year I will be wearing gloves to harvest our pecans.

Holy and Pure Father, You have entered the gates of hell to pay for my sin. You destroyed the iron manacles of shame and guilt that would hold me there. And now I am dressed in the purity of Christ, by the gift of faith, a gift that You gave me too! I trust you, Father, to show me my own heart, to cleanse the remaining corruption of self-sufficiency which keeps me from loving and serving you.