To the Potter's Pleasing

"But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make."
(Jeremiah 18:4)

In Jeremiah 18 God sends Jeremiah to the local potter’s house to help him get a visual on what He was going to do with the “house of Israel”. Israel had been wandering away from God for sometime & had turned to false god’s & immorality. God had planned to discipline them but was willing as always to give them a chance to turn back to Him.

Reading about Jeremiah’s trip to the potter’s house got me interested in seeing a potter at work for myself…I mean the only time that I’ve seen a potter at work is in the movie “Ghost” & that wasn’t quite what I was looking for, for an illustration. But I did watch one online from start to finish, & noticed how amazing it was to see this lady take a slab of gunk & make a beautiful vase out of it. It reminded me of what God wanted to do with Israel & what He wants to do with you & me & how we need to be willing to be formed.

When the lady started, she started with just a messy lump of clay. If it would have been set to the side, it would have just been a blob of worthless mud, useful for nothing. You couldn’t just stick some flowers in it & make it beautiful, you couldn’t drink out of it & you sure didn’t want to eat off of it. It had to be molded, shaped, worked into a useful form by the potter…& this lady was the one to do it. She took that slab of goop & plopped it down on the wheel & then put her hands on it & made sure that it was centered. Then as the wheel turned, she carefully formed that clay into a vase. Now there was only one thing that could have kept her from making this clay into what she wanted it to be, & that was the consistency of the clay. The clay had to be moldable, she did all the work, the clay just allowed her to do it.

When we first come to God we are no more than a mess of useless clay. Like that clay we can’t make something out of ourselves & we are not good for anything without the potter’s forming. But when we accept Christ, God puts us on His potter’s wheel & through salvation He centers us by indwelling us with the Holy Spirit, & when we are at the right consistency He starts to form us. Getting to the right consistency is probably the hardest part of this whole process…we have to come to the place where we realize that we are nothing & only God can make us something. Adrian Rogers said it best, 

“The only thing God makes something out of is nothing, so if you will become nothing, He will make something out of you”.

As we allow God to work on us, we become who & what He wants us to be. We become useful for His work…what once was formless & useful for nothing…becomes beautiful & able to accomplish God’s plans. 

There was one other thing that the lady did to this clay to make it into that beautiful vase. She placed it in a hot oven & baked it…or cured it. God often allows things to come into our lives to test us…to cure us…& like that clay, to strengthen us. The heat made that clay able to hold it’s useful shape.

If you do not know Christ today, accept Him as your Lord & Savior. If you have done this, then allow God to work on you, to form you into what is pleasing to Him & be at the right consistency for Him to be able to form you, through spending time with Him in daily Bible study & prayer…in a relationship with Him. Also, be willing to keep your eyes on Him when troubles or persecutions come & see it as no matter what happens, God is still in control & through all of this, you will allow God to make you into the person…the beautiful person, that He wants you to be & you will be able through Him to accomplish His will for your life.


Vern

Sin Against Love

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
(Romans 5:8)

James was all out of ideas since the economy went south. Out of money, lost his job & on the brink of insanity wandering how he would pay his bills, he came to his ill thought out plan…a robbery. James thought “It wouldn’t be right but it would work…I mean times are bad, people have to do something to survive”. But there was one thing holding him back…Mrs. Parker. She was a little old, widowed lady with not a lot of money, but what she did have she gave willingly to anyone who needed it. She new James from church when he uses to attend, before he lost his wife & his job & every so often she would send a check for $5 to James about once a month, with a note that read “God loves you & so do I, trust in him” . The thought of her good deed was a passing one as he confirmed in his heart that robbery was the only way.

So he decided to rob the convenience store two towns over…hey, it was one he never shopped in anyway, no one would know him there. The day came & James had mustered up enough courage or stupidity to go in to the store with gun drawn. The lady behind the counter started crying for him not to hurt her as he yelled at her to give him all the money in the register. While he was screaming at the girl, someone grabbed James’ arm, it freaked him out so bad that he spun around with the gun & pulled the trigger. As the body fell to the floor James turned pail white… “I never wanted anyone to get hurt!” James dropped to his knees & cradled Mrs. Parker in his arms. She had just stopped by the store to pick up some bread for her grandson who was attending the local college in town. “James” she said, “God still loves you & so do I”, the last words that James would her from Mrs. Parker, but words that would last forever in his mind. The robbery was bad enough, but living with the knowledge that you really hurt someone who truly loved you, no matter what, was almost unbearable.

God’s love toward us is great, Romans 5:8 tells us that He loved us & died for us, even when we didn’t care about Him. I often find myself, after falling to sin, cringing for the fact that I sinned against a God who truly loves me. I sinned against love…that is the worst sin that you can commit…a sin against love.

Vern

Memphis Blues

"Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"

(John 1:29)

I was with our youth on the annual "Street Reach" mission trip, sitting doing a morning quiet time outside the church on the streets of Memphis. While just sitting & being quiet, I heard a door open across the street on a little run down house that was surrounded by a 5 to 6 foot chain link fence with a big sign on the gate that read "Beware of Dog". A little old man waddled out the door with a bag of trash in his hand, he opened the lock on his fence that was attached to a large chain, he hurried out the gate threw away the trash went back in, locking it behind him. Three large dogs came up to him he patted each one on the head & then went back inside & locked his door.

The next morning in the same place, I watched an older white man walking down the street, he looked up saw a young black man walking toward him, he immediately crossed to the other side with a frightened look on his face.

While working with the children on our site we witnessed a man standing outside a car beating a man in the car & cussing him very loudly. I was between the kids & the fight, I yelled at them & told them to stop that there were kids around, but they he didn't listen. I looked back at the kids & saw fear...there were some that it didn't bother, but those that could see it well seemed scared. All of these situations made me feel that this city was hopeless...I can understand why this city is well known for the blues.

All of this got me thinking about how sin brings nothing but fear & imprisonment. The kids surrounded by violence, the old man crossing the street & the little old man who locked himself away in his own house, all of them fear the sin that lives around them. I was thinking about how our sin doesn't just effect us, but everyone we come in contact with. Memphis is a place that after dark & even during the day, you wouldn't want to walk the streets...all because of people who choose to live in sin. If only they would choose to accept the only one who could set them all free from sin & the Memphis blues. There is hope & it is Jesus.

Please be in prayer for Memphis, Brinkley Heights Church & their ministry Street Reach. Pray that they make a difference daily & that God would protect them & give them great success in spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to the children & adults of Memphis.

Vern

Armor All

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground”
(Ephesians 6:13)

They say that the Battle of Saratoga may have very well been the turning point of the Revolutionary war, due to a group of men called Morgan’s Rifles, lead by Daniel Morgan a man who by all means was a great sharp shooter. It’s said that they did not miss what their sights were focused on.

During that battle Morgan & his men were fighting the British when it’s said that Morgan gave an odd command:

“Forget the poor fellow that fights for six pence a day, and concentrate your fire on the epaulets”.

An Epaulet is the shoulder decorations that the British commanders would normally wear on their jackets. What Morgan was saying was…take out the leaders. That’s what made the difference in the Battle of Saratoga & may have made the turn in the Revolutionary War…the loss of too many commanders. Now I find that to be a good thing & I am by no means comparing Daniel Morgan to Satan, but what was done in that battle is exactly what Satan does to the Church…focuses his fire on the leaders, the ones who take a stand, the ones who are doing something for Christ. Satan says, “We can’t shoot at all of them…shoot at the leaders, hit those who are taking a stand, those who are making a difference.”

There’s a saying that “The ferocity of Satan’s attacks on you are in direct proportion to your potential usefulness for Jesus Christ”. Are you leading, are you making a difference? Are Satan’s attacks becoming ferocious?

I was listening to a pastor the other day, who gave some tips on how to protect you from those attacks, by every day putting on the Full Armor of God that is listed in Ephesians 6.

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground…” We are told first to put on the armor of God, so that when Satan comes, we will be ready. What good would it do, to wait until your enemy got in your face for battle, to put on your armor? Don’t wait, put it on ever morning, be ready & stand firm.

Put on the “belt of truth”, this belt holds the whole thing together. Without it, the breast plate would flop around & there would be no place to hang your sword. When you put on the belt, say, “Lord only truth today, no deceit”. God wants us to be truthful. Live your life without lies, often it seems the easy way out of a tough situation that Satan brings your way, but Satan himself is called “The father of lies”. We need to live upright & honest.

Next put on “breastplate of righteousness”, this protects your vital organs…mainly your heart. Without it on a battle field, you would not last long. In putting it on every morning say, “Lord only what is pure today”. Only put into your mind that which is pure. Be careful what you take in…keep focused on what’s pure. David left off his righteousness for a day & fell hard with a lady named Bathsheba. If you go into battle with one piece missing, that will be were Satan will strike, your weakest point.

Then put on the sandals of “the gospel of peace”. These sandals are not your everyday flip flops with a strap. They were more like a wrap around shoe type sandal with cleats on the bottom, a lot like football cleats. If an offensive lineman had on slick bottom leather loafers while trying to block a defensive lineman from killing his quarterback, he would be pushed all over…the cleats help stabilize his stance. They were made to help the soldier to stand his ground. That’s exactly what the gospel does for us; it gives us the stability we need to stand on. The Holy Spirit living in me gives me the peace I need through troubling times in my life that Satan may throw at me. So in putting on the sandals of the “gospel of peace” say, “Lord only your peace today, not my worry”, let His peace guard your life.

The next item is the “shield of faith”. Roman soldier’s shields were almost as long as the soldier who carried it, it was a full body shield. During the wars they fought, they would often encounter flaming arrows. They were arrows that had been coated on the end with a flammable substance, set a blaze & shot at the enemy, this arrow would cause terrible damage to whoever it landed on. But the shields that the soldiers had protected them from these attacks, our shield of Faith will protect us as well. Just like the shield helped the soldier not to fear those flaming arrows, we have no need to fear the arrows that Satan shoots our way, we can rest in our faith in God. When you take up the shield of Faith say this, “Lord, only faith today not fear”, have faith in God, He loves you & will protect you.

Now take the “helmet of salvation”, the helmet in battle was a very important part of the armor, without it you could loose your mind…literally. To battle Satan, you must be in your right mind; the only way to do that is to be in Christ & have the mind of Christ…you must be saved. Salvation is the only way to be in your right mind. When putting on the “helmet of salvation” say this, “Only the cross no other power”, there is no other power that will work or that we need other than the power that Christ provided from the cross & resurrection.

The last piece of the armor the “sword of the Spirit” the Word of God…the Bible, is very important, it is the only offensive part that you have, the rest is to defend with. But it is the most neglected part of the armor in today’s society. J. Vernon McGee said that almost every home in America has a copy of the Bible, if you don’t have one, you can ask & someone will give you one. In most “Christian’s” homes there are at least four or more Bible…but who is reading them? We can not neglect God’s word & make it through this battle of life. We can put on all the armor we want, but when it comes time to fight…we will be seen as unarmed, when our enemy comes fully loaded, if we do not have our “sword of the Spirit”. When Jesus encountered Satan in the wilderness, He used God’s word to defeat him, we do too.

Without knowing God’s word we can get pulled into all sorts of false teachings. I had a guy send me a video the other day & that was trying to prove that Jesus was not God. In the video they used the book of Jude, written by the brother of Jesus, to say that he was warning about a group of people who had infiltrated the group of believers & these infiltrators had been teaching that Jesus was God & that Jude knowing Jesus so well was saying that Jesus was not God. Now this is the verse they used Jude 4 & this is how they quoted it, “For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality.” The Guy who was asking the question said, “Now I’m a Christian, but all they showed is really good evidence that Jesus was not God. How do I defend that?” I thought to myself, are you kidding me…lets actually look at what Jude 4 truly says, “For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality...” It does say that, but read the rest, “…and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” If the guy would have picked up his Bible & actually read it, he would have had no reason to ask the question he did…he would have seen the attack of Satan & fended it off with God’s Word. When you are taking up the “sword of the Spirit” say this, “Lord, only what you say, not my feelings”, the guy asking the question about Jesus being God was going on how that video made him feel, not by God’s Word.

Now that we have on the “Full Armor of God”, it goes on to tell us, “…pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints”, be in pray at all times. Prayer meetings & things like that are fine, but we often feel as though when we leave one, that we are through praying. We need to be a people of prayer, people who pray at anytime & any place. We need to stay in constant contact with God. The soldier could put on the armor & hold his sword, but if he didn’t train, it would all be for nothing, much like trying to live the Christian life without prayer.

When asked, a Roman commander said that one of the reasons that Rome fell was due to laziness. Rome got comfortable & lazy, they stopped the military drills & the soldiers petitioned Cesar asking to be able to not wear the heavy, bulky armor. They hadn’t kept in shape, they hadn’t trained…they were weak & they couldn’t handle the extra weight of the armor. When they went to battle the Goths, without their protective armor…they were defeated. The sad part is that no one stood up & said, “Put the armor back on!”

When we face Satan day in & day out, without God’s armor…we too will be defeated. The Full Armor of God is one of the main things we are lacking in the church, so I’m saying now…”Put the armor back on!”

Print off the portion below & keep it with you, tape it in your Bible, put it in your wallet or purse & daily put on the armor of God:

“Lord only truth today, no deceit”
“Lord only what is pure today”
“Lord only your peace today, not my worry”
“Lord, only faith today not fear”
“Only the cross no other power”
“Lord, only what you say, not my feelings”
Pray at all times

Vern

Kill The Epaulets

"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. "

(Ephesians 6:11)

They say that the Battle of Saratoga may have very well been the turning point of the Revolutionary war, due to a group of men called Morgan’s Rifles, lead by Daniel Morgan a man who by all means was a great sharp shooter. It’s said that they did not miss what their sights were focused on.

During that battle Morgan & his men were fighting the British when it’s said that Morgan gave an odd command:

“Forget the poor fellow that fights for six pence a day, and concentrate your fire on the epaulets”.

An Epaulet is the shoulder decorations that the British commanders would normally wear on their jackets. What Morgan was saying was…take out the leaders. That’s what made the difference in the Battle of Saratoga & may have made the turn in the Revolutionary War…the loss of too many commanders. Now I find that to be a good thing & I am by no means comparing Daniel Morgan to Satan, but what was done in that battle is exactly what Satan does to the Church…focuses his fire on the leaders, the ones who take a stand, the ones who are doing something for Christ. Satan says, “We can’t shoot at all of them…shoot at the leaders, hit those who are taking a stand, those who are making a difference.”

There’s a saying that “The ferocity of Satan’s attacks on you are in direct proportion to your potential usefulness for Jesus Christ”. Are you leading? Are you making a difference? Are Satan’s attacks becoming ferocious?

So how do you protect yourself from those attacks? By every day making sure that through a time spent with God, that you put on the "full armor of God". It's simple, the closer your walk with God the more and easier He can and will take care of you. God wants you close so He can walk with you through this life. So that it is His strength that you are relying on and not your own. Satan is more powerful than you...but not your Father. 

Vern