A Vessel Worthy of Treasure

           A Vessel Worthy of Treasure

Dear Friends,
     I found this giant terra cotta pot in a thrift shop and planted herbs and succulents in it and gave it an honorable place on the painted chair in a corner of the patio.
    Clay jars, pots, vessels and oil lamps are mentioned quite a few times in the Bible. 
    2 Corinthians 4:7 is a verse to look at first.  "We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves."  The light in our hearts is a great treasure!!
    In Ephesians Paul wrote some beautiful prayers for the people he cared about.  Ephesians 1:18, "I pray that your hearts will be flooded with Light so that you can understand the confident hope He has given to those He called - His holy people who are His rich and glorious inheritance."  I want my heart to be flooded with this Light, this treasure!
    God is the Great Potter who makes each of us in His image.   If you have seen a Potter at work in His shop, you probably have noticed that he has shelves of pots that are drying prior to being glazed and fired in the kiln.  Since they are  made by hands instead of a mold, each one is unique.
    Jeremiah 18:4 says,"But the jar he was making did not turn out as he hoped, so he crushed the lump of clay again and started over."  When we pray for God to shape us and make us, to remove the stones and imperfections, we can expect some pain in the process. I have felt His strong  hands digging out the rocks, pushing the clay into a mound reshaping me over and over as I pray to be His masterpiece, complete, mended, refined by fire, a vessel worthy of His treasure!
    Another of Paul's prayers is  Ephesians 3:16-19, "I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit.  Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him.  Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how high, and how deep His love is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.  Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God."
    The vessels on the shelves are fragile before the firing.  The glaze is applied often several times adding colors and shine to the pot.  Although the vessels remain fragile, they are less likely to be chipped and broken after going through the extreme heat of the kiln.  The color often changes when going through the fire of the kiln.  The end product is strong, beautiful and unique.
     When we keep our eyes on the Light as we go through the trials of life  the Great Potter is strengthening us so that His Light in us shines brightly!

     

The Well of Refreshment

              The Well Of Refreshment 
Dear Friends, 
      This was the first time I had an amaryllis bulb to add a ray of color to the frigid winter days! What a glorious sight it was when it popped open as if to shout "Happy Winter!"
     A ray of color brings refreshment during this time of winter when outdoor activities are limited.  
     Jesus needed refreshment also.  Let's look in the Word to see how Jesus was refreshed!  
      In John 4 we read that Jesus was traveling to Galilee and had to pass through Samaria.  He came to the town of Sychar.  His disciples had gone into the village to buy food, so Jesus was alone.  In verse 6 we read, "Jacob's well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime."  A  Samaritan woman came to draw water and Jesus asked her for a drink.  We see that she was surprised that He would ask her for anything, even for a drink.  
     The conversation takes a turn around when she asks Him why He was asking her for a drink, and He answered by telling her, "If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water." 
      The conversation continues on with His request for a drink forgotten.  Jesus goes on to explain to her that, "Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again.  But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again.  It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life." Jesus talked with her at length, leading her to an understanding about true worship and the knowledge that He was the Messiah! 
     The disciples returned with food and the woman ran back to the village with the news about the Messiah.  The disciples encouraged Jesus to eat, but He wasn't hungry any longer.  He said, "I have food you know nothing about....My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing His work."  
So we see from this that the life-giving spring inside of Him refilled Him as it flowed out to nourish the woman's hungry soul.  
     She went out proclaiming the Good News, becoming refreshed herself. Those who heard her rushed to hear Him!  She had received the gift  that God had for her!  The spring of life-giving water was bubbling out of her heart!
John 4:42
"Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard Him ourselves.  Now we know that He is indeed the Savior of the world."