For The Sake of Christ

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That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10

When we become Christians our first struggles are with past weakness or sin. We think things like, “If only God can keep me from this temptation then I will live the Christian life.”  But as we walk down the road a bit farther we discover that we face other battles. But the difficulties which we face are not road blocks; rather they are opportunities for God to reveal His love in our everyday lives.

When I am weak He holds me!

Quite often it comes as a shock when harsh things are said about us. It is not easy to understand why others choose to be hurtful with their words. We may think that God doesn’t know how we feel. But in those fearful lonely times remember that He was despised and rejected but that we are always accepted by God in His beloved Son.

When others say hurtful things He knows my heart.

The first few laps of the Christian race seem to fly by. We easily face temptations with the wonderful joy of knowing Christ. But as the days stretch into months and years we find that the road has some long uphill stretches. There are times when it seems so hard to continue that we may in our weariness think of quitting. At that time remember that He said to come to Him when we are weary and He will give us rest!

When the weight of life seems heavy He carries me!

RSVP

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Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.”  John 1:38-39a

RSVP comes from the French phrase; “Répondez, S’il Vous Plaît” It is great a way of organizing an elaborate event so that the host knows how many people to prepare for. Now we have always loved parties but since we aren’t used to formalities we hadn’t considered using such a system for the special event we held for a few friends and family. We had reserved a room at a restaurant and invited a specific list of people. But the day of our event came and we were sad to see that some guests who we had counted on seeing had to work late and then embarrassingly some who we had forgotten to invite showed up! But when God plans a party He is way more organized than we were. His event in heaven is for everyone but when we receive our invitation we will find that inside the envelope Jesus has included a spiritual RSVP. Before showing up at Heaven’s door we will need to fill it out and send it in to be included on His list. (In the Bible called the book of life)

God’s invitation to come to Jesus is for you. The Bible tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son to pay for our invitation. Just like the disciples, we are welcome to come and see Jesus. God wants businessmen, nurses, teachers, ladies of the night and even politicians to be there! The blood of Jesus was shed to pay for us all to be there, but the question today is: What is your answer to Him?

Surrender to the Potter

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Have you ever worked with clay? Probably Jeremiah had not, so when God wanted to explain His will He invited the prophet to take a walk with him down to the potter’s house.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear Or will cause you to hear my words.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel.  And the vessel he was making of clay was ch. spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Jeremiah 18:1-4 ESV

Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Pexels.com

If you are like me there are days when you feel as helpless as clay in the grip of events far beyond your control. “Have Thine Own Way” sung by Deborah Kim reminds me of the comfort He gives when I realize that it is God who is in control of the potter’s wheel. God doesn’t expect me to understand all the details of His plan. He doesn’t ask me to form the pattern of my future. He only waits for me to humbly surrender His almighty hands. So whether we are in the middle of a hurricane or simply drifting through unknown waters we need to ask; “Have I surrendered my heart and will to Jesus today?” At that moment of yielding to His hands He becomes my potter and more wonderfully still – we become His clay!

“While I am waiting – Yielded and still.”