Fabrics have certain properties, just as minerals are brittle or flammable, or plastics can be transparent or opaque. Some fabrics are designed to wick moisture from the skin, while others are windproof, fighting the debilitating effects of air against the skin in the coldest of weather.
Some of the most important properties of fabrics are temperature regulation. Lightweight fabrics allow body heat to escape. Heavier fabrics hold the heat better.
The best fabric for heat retention is fleece. Originally from sheered sheep, modern, lighter weight, manmade fleece is now made from synthetic fibers.
What is so great about fleece? It is rift with small air pockets that trap body heat, holding the warmth tightly against the skin, preventing the cold from burning our skin.
That is our God. He is a FLEECE God, offering us protection against the bitter realities of a sinful world.
Let’s look at our FLEECE God:
F – He FULFILLED the ancient prophecies that all might be washed clean.
Mark 15:28 reveals the extent of Jesus’ love for us, for he let himself be numbered with the vilest sinners that we might be cleansed of our sins.
He FULFILLED the need for a sacrifice for our sins.
L – He is LORD of all creation, subject to no man’s whim.
Colossians 1:15 speaks of Christ as the image of God. If we have seen one, we have seen the other. He is also the firstborn of all creation, and there is nothing he cannot command.
He is LORD over the evil of this world, and we can find our protection in him.
E – He is the EARTHQUAKE that releases the prisoner from sin.
Acts 16:26 relates the pivotal moment in the story of Paul and Silas. They were trapped in man’s prison, and God’s fist shook the earth, releasing them from their confinement.
Even the EARTHQUAKE from the bowels of the earth is at the command of our eternal God.
E – He ENDURES when all other protection falls away.
Psalm 19:9 encourages us with the eternal nature of our God, for we read that he is pure, his decrees are firm and righteous, and he ENDURES forever.
There is no thing under the heavens that can break loose God’s protecting hand.
C – He is the CURE to our captivity in sin.
Jeremiah 33:6 speaks to a Judah and Jerusalem embroiled in battle with Babylon. Even as the children of Israel are on the brink of destruction, God proclaims his intentions to CURE the nation with peace and truth.
Israel had no power to save herself. The CURE had to come from God alone.
E – His covenant with mankind is EVERLASTING, never reaching an end.
Genesis 9:16 bares the true heart of God. In disgust at the wickedness of man, he brought a great flood upon the earth. Yet, when Noah praised God, God made an EVERLASTING covenant with man, leaving the rainbow as evidence of his vow to never again destroy the earth by flood.
Our praise draws God unto us, and the more we praise him, the tighter he draws.
It is when we keep our God tightly wrapped around us that he can insulate us from the devastating effects of a sinful world.
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