The Vase

Imagine you are an artist, one who works with pottery and glass. As you lay in bed, you dream of a vase, a beautiful vase with deep blue floral designs on the sides, an unusually shaped mouth and a textured lower third. The design excites you. It is unique and truly beautiful to you. So, you begin to plan to create this vase. You choose the appropriate clay and paint and organize the tools necessary for it's sculpting. Then you begin to lovingly mold and shape the formless lump into that about which you have dreamed. You put the vase in the kiln to, in the heat, firm up your work so it is ready for use and display. In completion, it is exactly as you had planned. Striking, beautiful and pleasing to you. Because you dreamed of this vase's creation and then gave it life, it is dear to you, something at which you enjoy gazing and that you long to protect and to keep near by. This is a good word picture of how God feels about those he has saved. For those in Christ, God (the artist) thinks of you as this vase - planned, beautiful, pleasing, wanted and loved.

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you have been saved --and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:4-7

The Christian Commitment

I'm a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. The dye has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.

My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer and labor by power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions few, by guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, shut up, or let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up and preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go 'til He comes, give 'til I drop, preach 'til all know, and work 'til he stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have not problem recognizing me -- my banner will be clear!

                                                                                              -- Bob Moorhead --

Lord, let it be true of me.

The Vase

Imagine you are an artist, one who works with pottery and glass. As you lay in bed, you dream of a vase, a beautiful vase with deep blue floral designs on the sides, an unusually shaped mouth and a textured lower third. The design excites you. It is unique and truly beautiful to you. So, you begin to plan to create this vase. You choose the appropriate clay and paint and organize the tools necessary for it's sculpting. Then you begin to lovingly mold and shape the formless lump into that about which you have dreamed. You put the vase in the kiln to, in the heat, firm up your work so it is ready for use and display. In completion, it is exactly as you had planned. Striking, beautiful and pleasing to you. Because you dreamed of this vase's creation and then gave it life, it is dear to you, something at which you enjoy gazing and that you long to protect and to keep near by. This is a good word picture of how God feels about those he has saved. For those in Christ, God (the artist) thinks of you as this vase - planned, beautiful, pleasing, wanted and loved.

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you have been saved --and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:4-7

The Power Of God

I meditated on the power of God this morning in prayer. He is before all things, all being created by him. The laws of creation (gravity, thermodynamics, etc, etc) are all subject to him. He created them. He sustains them, and he can at any time suspend them. Miracles mainly are just a temporary suspension of the laws of God currently in force. They are surprising because the laws that govern our lives are so ingrained in us, we take them for granted. But imagine the miracle of gravity itself being created. God has made everything out of nothing, and everything is subject to him. There is nothing outside his control. There is nothing that thwarts his plans. He is an unmovable force achieving his purposes without concern (worry) for anything or anyone that might oppose him. Not only that but his power is sufficient to handle all opposing forces in combination. There is no comparison to make between the power of God and any created thing. It is all nothing when weighed in the balance in relation to him.

Sadness

It has been a troubling twenty four hours for me. Difficult times in a relationship with one I love have led me to great sorrow. That nagging ache sits in my heart as I long for God to make things right. I cannot. I have too little power, and I am too sinful and fallen to succeed. Yet I long so for a "righteous community" with my loved one. I have prayed for God's intervention vigorously, but not vigorously enough. It has been a long time waiting...waiting on God who can intervene in his lovingkindness. Lord, do not leave it this way. Not because of any righteousness on my part but because of your great mercy Save.