Category Archives: Obedience

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Clay Pots Revisited

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For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.  Ephesians 2:10

Producing art, whether for functional use, aesthetic value, or some combination of the two, takes effort and skill.  In my youth I used to tool leather.  I made belts, purses, bible covers, etc.  At times  I used kits, regularly I used precut pieces such as belt blanks while the remainder of the time I started with a piece of tanned hide.  Obviously the latter required the most effort in that I had to decide what I was making, its intended purpose, its shape, and its dimensions.  From there the cutting had to be precise which was not easy with a utility knife.   Once cut, the leather had to be moistened to keep it pliable so that the stamping and carving could be done properly and evenly.  After being tooled it had to be died and finished.  Each piece was unique and an investment of time, effort, and creativity.  The process was a very faint imitation of how God has created each of us.

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Good vs Bad

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“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.”  Genesis 50:20

When starting a new support group, I ask participants to define a few words.  Two of those words are good and bad.  A quick google search provided me with the following:  good – “to be desired or approved of”; bad – “of poor quality; inferior or defective” and “not such as to be hoped for or desired; unpleasant or unwelcome”.  The synonyms are more direct with words like healthy, fine, sound, fit, robust, sturdy, strong, and vigorous versus substandard, poor, inferior, unsatisfactory, inadequate, unacceptable, imperfect, defective, faulty, and miserable.  These are consistent with most participants’ responses.  Admittedly, for a significant portion of my life, I would have agreed with these definitions.   However, God has brought me to the place where I understand that, in our haste to categorize, we are often missing two key components: complete information and perspective.  Specifically we often lack all of the finer details and regularly forget the eternal perspective which can significantly change our overall view of any given condition, situation or trial.  In that light, my health may be substandard, poor and inferior, but I would not classify my situation bad.

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Our Temples Revisited

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“They assembled their brothers, consecrated themselves, and went in to cleanse the house of the Lord, according to the commandment of the king by the words of the Lord.” 2 Chronicles 29:15

It’s February and for this month I’m doing a “best of” series to allow time for me to update the website, get ahead on some writing and spend some time on my soul.  In a sense these plans are a type of resolution.  By now some people are still pressing on with New Year’s resolutions, some are faltering, and still others have given up.  Resolutions vary widely but common ones are getting organized, taking better care of their bodies, overcoming bad habits and seeking better attitudes in the New Year.  Some are successful while others are not.  The difference is diligence and fortitude.

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Best Laid Plans

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“The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.”  Proverbs 16:9

You may have noticed that I usually post scripture during the week that coincides with the theme of the post.  That is not the case this week as this isn’t the post that I planned to publish. My body is just too exhausted and my brain is just too foggy to pull that one together.  Ironically it is about strength and I currently have none.  Consequently, this will be more brief than usual and may be a bit of a repeat from this summer’s posts, but it is what God has put on my heart today in various ways.

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Christmas is based on an exchange of gifts, the gift of God to man – His unspeakable gift of His Son, and the gift of man to God – when we present our bodies a living sacrifice.

Vance Havner
www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com
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The Love of Christmas

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“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”  1 John 4:7-11

As a father and a grandfather, I love my children and grandchildren.  If there is ever a time when I am called to give up my life to save theirs, there would be no hesitation.  Yet, as devoted as I am to my family, my love for them is imperfect.  The problem is not a lack of affection, but rather that I am a fallible human…I sin, I err, and I fail.  Lest I feel totally hopeless, God continues to provide His perfect example for me to learn from.

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We must depend upon God to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  We must, to the same degree, depend on Him to enable us to do what we must do for ourselves.

Jerry Bridges
Trusting God Even When Life Hurts (Colorado Springs,Colorado: NavPress, 1988), 112
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Carpe Diem

Seizing the day

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Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.  Ephesians 5:15-16

Today has been a rough day.  My symptoms have been flaring and I have found it difficult to keep moving and be productive.   Fatigue and lack of focus are making it rough to think and to write let alone maintain a healthy attitude.  That’s often the case for those of us struggling with illness.  Whether it’s dealing with our infirmities in general or the various symptoms that present themselves, days are regularly difficult and require much effort to endure.  Many trials offer similar effects.  It may be grief, caring for a dying loved one, attempting to redirect a rebellious child or any of the other life traumas that completely overwhelm us, but whatever “it” is, we are easily shut down and find it difficult to manage the affairs of the day let alone be industrious or thrive. 

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With what little time we have left for making life meaningful, too many of us find ourselves going through the motions and achieving very little of  lasting value.  We live as if we have all the time in the world, when the truth of the matter is that our time on earth is short.  We truly are ‘here today, gone tomorrow,’ making every second precious.

Dr. Chris Thurman
The Lies We Believe (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999), 194