Treasure in Clay Jars

Devotion: 1 Corinthians 4:7-12

You, my sweet friend are the clay jar and God’s Holy Spirit is the treasure. You have been afforded extraordinary power through the blood of Jesus.  He is the potter and we are the clay.  Our Creator formed us in our mother’s womb.  He thought about us before the foundation of the world and wanted to have a relationship with you.  Your Lord knew you from before time began.

You just read verse nine which is one of the most powerful verses in the Bible.

“But He said to me, My grace is sufficient for yo, for my power is perfected in weakness.  therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.”

I prayed vs. 10  Lord may I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ.  No one loves to deal with any of those things but it’s part of living in a fallen world.  He longs to bring us hope and courage to live with our heads held high.  We all long to be strong and courageous and not be dismayed at whatever comes into our lives.

There are times we must draw from the treasure of the Holy Spirit who dwells inside of all believers.  He was given to us as a gift for comfort while we are still in this world and He is our mark for redemption.

Prayer in Motion:

Lord Jesus, thank You for the gift of Your Holy Spirit, for the comfort and conviction that You bring so faithfully.  I just love You and thank You for blessing me with this great gift.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

 

 

 

 

Cup of Blessing

Devotion:  1 Corinthians 10:16-17

Another version calls the cup, a cup of thanksgiving for the participation in the blood of Christ. My friend, His blood required pain and the ultimate sacrifice of His perfect life, in exchange for our sinful ones.

It’s so hard to believe.  How can we pour out the cup of thanksgiving or blessing to the LORD?  In the midst of trials and tribulations?  Are you kidding me?  I would admonish you to drink this cup that has fallen to you and follow Christ!  By doing so, you participate in the blood of Christ.

It is by the stripes of Jesus that we are healed.  It is through His blood that we are given strength from day to day.  If you know it, sing a few lines from the old song:   ” It reaches to the highest mountain.  It flows to the lowest valley.  The blood that gives me strength from day to day; it will never lose its power.”

If we have never been tested through a trial, we may refuse to drink from the cup that has been given to us.  Remember Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.  He said, “Father, if it be Thy will, let this cup pass from Me.”

God did not allow the notorious cup of whippings, scourging, nail driving, crown of thorns jammed down on his head, pass from Him.  Thank God He did not answer that prayer uttered from the lips of His only begotten Son,  We are the beneficiaries of the Father’s decision.

You see it’s hard to consider an unanswered prayer a cup of blessing.  God will take what Satan meant for evil and turn it out for our good and His glory.  Choose this day to participate in the blood of Christ.

Prayer in Motion:

Lord, thank You for the cup of __________________ that You have allowed.  You are in me, with me and for me every single millisecond of my life.  I trust You to accomplish what concerns me Lord.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

 

 

 

 

What God Wants for You

Devotion:  Romans  5:1-11

The powerful words of this passage flooded my soul on a Wednesday morning.  I’ve never liked affliction.  All I want is to be out from under it.   In fact, I pray the heaviness of a particular affliction could be lifted. There’s an old song God brought to my mind:

“I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more.  But the Master of the sea, billows His will obey, from the waters lifted me, now safe am I.”

You see, dear reader, God may not take away the affliction but teach you through it.  Hold your heart while training you in righteousness. Your Savior sees and knows the end result.  He knows how this light and momentary affliction will work out for your good and His glory.

I long for every affliction in my life to produce endurance.  I desperately want to endure so that proven character will be produced in my life.  God You alone can bring hope that does not disappoint. This is not a wishful thinking kind of hope.  This is a hope that declares: “I know whom I have believed in and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day.”

I heard God say, “In everything give thanks, for this is God’s will concerning you.”  He longs for you and I to give thanks with a grateful heart.  I replied, “Thank You Lord for revealing the hidden things.  Now I know the truth and I know how to pray more fervently and effectually.”  This my friend, is what God wants.

Prayer in Motion:

I am acknowledging that You alone oh LORD can produce the endurance I need right now. I lay ______________ at Your feet and ask that You take him/her up.  Lord I trust You with _______________’s life to bring about the perfect result.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

 

 

Written or Erased?

Devotion:  Revelation 3:5

Phone in hand, I sat typing and erasing, typing again, erasing again.  I just did not know what to say.  I wondered. “Will it be received or  will my words be rejected?  I ended up just typing surface words versus words my soul felt.  It was just easier.

I can be a wordy person but sometimes the right words just won’t come.  The words are skewed like fog covered mountains hanging low over my soul.  To my right; High Peak Mountain is just beyond my foggy view.

At this moment in time; restoration seems out of reach.  I begin to claim God’s promises for they are yes and amen.  “He restores my soul. He leads me onto paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.”  By His own hand He leads me.

Straight ahead,  my eyes behold a beautiful red and yellow sun rise shining through the trees.  In less than ten minutes the fog has enveloped that view as well.  I know it is there; it is just hidden.

My eyes see and my soul knows that every morning, God’s mercies are new and great is His faithfulness.  I cling to Him. He has me in the palm of His hands.  Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.  He loves you as well my dear reader.

God does not change.  He does not hide.  Satan tries to make you think He has left you, doesn’t love you any more, or is angry with you.

John, on the Isle of Patmos wrote; “and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

Dear one, if you have a relationship with Jesus; no one can erase that name out of the Lamb’s book of life.  When you invited Him into your heart; you were sealed for your day of redemption.

Prayer in Motion:

Lord God, I humble myself before You.  I know my name is written in the Lamb’s book of life and can never be erased.  My security is in Him, not in my circumstances.  Thank You Lord.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

 

 

At The Father’s Side

Devotion:  John 1:14-18

Sweet memories flood my mind and heart of being by my Father’s side.  Carol Setzer was a carpenter who built and restored houses. His hands were very calloused from his hard work.  He was somewhat of a perfectionist and his work revealed that characteristic.

Daddy would not allow my sister and I to help him work very often.  I suppose he thought building was a man’s work or was afraid we would get hurt.  The memory of smelling freshly sawn wood brings pleasure to my soul.

Daddy loved books.  When my sister and I were little girls; he would always read the Bible or a story of some sort at bed time.  He always prayed with us.  In his latter years when dementia ravaged his brain; he could still pray the sweetest prayers.

There was something comforting about being by my father’s side.  He was very strong physically and spiritually.  He was the One who led me to Christ.  Although not perfect, I knew he loved God, his family and wanted to serve both well.

Just as the Father loves us, the Son loves us and willingly gave His life for us.  John told us in chapter five that we must honor the Son the same way we honor the Father.  They are One.  Jesus, God’s only begotten Son is now at the right hand of the Father ever interceding for you and me.

My sister and I were by our Father’s side when he died at the age of eighty three.  We watched him breathe his last breath and now can longer be by his side.  On the day of his funeral, we looked up to see a full circle rainbow.  I knew that meant Carol Setzer was now complete.  He was in the presence of his Savior and is now by the side of the One who first loved him.

Because of Jesus being my personal Savior; I am now by my Heavenly Father’s side.  He draws close, all the while restoring my soul.  There is an unexplainable sense of peace and security there.

Prayer in Motion:

Lord, thank You for always being by my side.  You are with me always and I need not fear or be dismayed.  You will take care of me.  I love You Lord.  In the Name of Jesus, I offer up this prayer.  Amen.

All Who Wander

Devotion:  Luke 19:1-10

There is a picture in my son and daughter in law’s house that declares, “All who wander are not lost.”   I might wonder where a road leads; however in order to literally go check it out, I want someone with me.

Before GPS, I could be physically lost in a skinny minute, finding myself in unfamiliar territory.  Sense of direction deludes me.  I have learned to be intentional of my surroundings and the path I take because I have been lost so many times.

I thought of a line in the old hymn, “Come Thy Fount of Every Blessing.”

The refrain declares;  “Prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.”   All of us are prone to wander from the God we love. We see what appears to be the shiny things of this world and then decide to go after them, one step at a time. As we step closer and closer to these fleshly desires; all of a sudden we find ourselves lost.

Isaiah 53:6 declares; “All we like sheep have gone astray, He has turned everyone into his own way and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”  It is our wanderings that lead us down a path of sin and destruction but God loved us enough to give His only Son to die in our place.  Our sin was laid upon Him.  Jesus, our Shepherd will come after us when we wander.

Why would a wounded sheep continue to wander away from the Shepherd?  Why would he not return to the One who cares most for him?  Crazy, right?  We can all relate because we’ve all wandered into the field of sin at one time or another.

Another old hymn came flooding through my mind and heart. “Bring them in, bring them in; bring them in from the fields of sin… Bring the wandering ones to Jesus.”  That is where you and I come in.  We are to go to the lost sheep and either bring them back or encourage them to come to the Shepherd and Guardian of their souls.

We will end with another verse from “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.”

“Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wandering from the fold of God.
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood.”

Dear Reader, remember Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Prayer in Motion:

Lord, help me to be willing to go to the fields of sin to go after those who are lost.  You are the Shepherd and Guardian of their souls.  Jesus, You came for them and for us.  Gentle Shepherd, come and lead us to the lost sheep.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

 

 

Surprise Development

Devotion: 2 Corinthians 12:10

How in the world do you count a trial as joy?  My husband and I are in the worst trial of our lives.  It is deeply sorrowful.  We know what we know but there are many unknowns. My friend Julia Huff loaned me a book “Finding God’s Path Through Your Trials” by Elizabeth George.  It is based upon God’s Word which reveals His plan for our lives.

There are little sidebars throughout the pages of her book and the very first one says; “Counting trials as joy is a matter of faith not feelings.”  Ben and I have been devastated by this trial.  Our faith is being tested by fire.  Oh, how I pray we will come forth as pure gold.

When we choose to place this thing under the column of joy; we are saying “I will triumph in this.”  Although we do not feel joy, (We aren’t supposed to) We are choosing to walk forward in the joy of the Lord.  He is our strength.

Elizabeth suggested that we make a sheet with two columns, joy and sorrow.  Of course, we want to place this squarely in the sorrow column.  It is only by the grace of God that we can choose to quiet ourselves, our minds, and our emotions.  That, my friend, takes courage and discipline.  I have displayed neither in the past month.

I keep hearing “This is a test.  This is only a test.”  It has been allowed by God for our journey.  He is continually teaching us and training us in righteousness.  My friend in heaven, Teresa Brown used to say, “What won’t kill you will make you stronger.”  This has “felt like” it was going to take us out of this world.  The surprise development that has occurred in our latter days is only a surprise to us, not to God.

We want to pray and seek the face of God daily, choose to walk in joy-filled faith in Him.

Prayer in Motion:

I begin my prayer with a line from an old hymn;  Oh God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come.  My prayer to You today is found in the last verse of this hymn by Issac Watts:

O God, our help in ages past,
our hope for years to come,
still, be our guard while troubles last,
and our eternal home.

In Jesus Name.  Amen.

 

Be Careful How You Build

Devotion:  1 Corinthians 3:8-17

Our oldest grandson Luke has always loved Legos.  In fact, I would consider him a master builder.  Any project that he builds is built to perfection.  There have been times in the past when one of his younger brothers has come in and accidentally destroyed his hard work.  Of course, he was devastated his hard work was torn apart.

Luke painstakingly built his structures on a firm foundation.  Even as a younger child he knew to choose a sturdy, level place.  He has them all proudly displayed on the shelves in his bedroom.

Luke is now eleven years old and we do not yet know his career path.  I am certain whatever path he takes will be one to be carried out with great skill and intricacy.  It’s a blessing to watch God mold the little ones in our lives.

We are each God’s temple.  He is building us up in our most holy faith.  He is training us in righteousness by the things He brings into our lives.  Our Savior never gives up on us.  He is continually remodeling us to make us into the image of Christ.

2 Cor. 4:1 tells us, “Therefore since we have this ministry because we were shown mercy, we do not give up.”  How firm is your foundation dear one?  Have you built on the solid Rock that is Jesus?  No matter what you are going through, it will not be shaken.

If you and I can focus on the knowledge that we are God’s temple and the Spirit of God lives in us.  Be careful how you build.

Prayer in Motion:

Lord, You are my firm foundation.  I know that I will not be moved.  I am focused on You both now and always.  In Jesus Name.  Amen.

 

 

Repent

Devotion:  Acts 2:38

I think some Christians think that saying you’re sorry is repentance enough.  Honestly, that’s just the confession part.  Words are easy to say but harder to live-out.  True repentance involves turning away from the sin that so easily besets us and turning toward Jesus.

Jesus longs for us to turn away from our sin and turn toward Him. John the Baptist came out crying out. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.  Two people can admit they are wrong but only one truly repents and turn from their wicked ways

Jesus collected souls for HIs labor.  The disciples did as well.  Many of the disciples did not think twice about leaving their homes and families to follow Christ.  He said, “come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.  Jesus did not have to beg and plead with the disciples to follow Him.  How did God’s Word say they reacted to HIs bidding.  They followed immediately.

It makes our LORD so happy when we obey immediately.  Have you ever made the statement, “But God, it’s not fair?”  I have, even in the recent months.  His ways are always good and right. They are higher than our ways.  It may not be what you think is best but it will turn out for our good and His glory.

It is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance. I am thankful there is no favoritism with Gpe. I have heard people say, “I am God’s favorite.”  This word tells us God does not have favorites. The ground is level at the foot of the cross.  We are all the same in God’s eyes.

Your God just wants you to turn from your sin and go on the straight path.

Prayer in Motion:

Lord, I am repenting before You and turning from the sin of ________________________ I am asking You to holf me acountable for thie  sin of__________________________________ so that I may confess and repent of it quickly.  Lord, I want to boey You always in the big and small things.

The Character of God

Devotion:  Deuteronomy 7:9

When my two sons were in middle school I began to lead a group of moms then called Moms in Touch.  We met weekly during every school year all the way through college.  We prayed for one hour focused on prayer versus talking.  Every mom would offer up predetermined scriptures, from God’s Word to praise, confess, thank and intercede to the LORD on behalf of our children.

God says He inhabits the praises of His people.  His Word is more powerful than any two-edged sword and pierces to both joint and marrow.  With His Word, we are to “Pour out our hearts like water before the face of the LORD and lift up our hands toward Him for the lives of our children.”  That comes from Lamentations 2:19

Christian parents long to see their children walking in the faith.  Some children choose the prodigal field in spite of the prayers and efforts of the parents to train them up in the way they should go.  How does a mom and dad stay faithful when they see their son or daughter going down the wrong path? They trust in the One who remains faithful.

“Trust in the LORD with all of your heart, all of your mind and all of your strength.”  Easy words to say.  You lean into the character of God as you pray and watch with expectation.  It could be days, months or years while you wait upon the LORD for your prodigal to return.

Just remember; while you are waiting, you get to wait with God, wait on God and wait in God.  He is teaching you to truly cast your cares on Him.  He cares for you and your child.  Your circumstances may seem unbearable.  Your Savior is teaching you and training you in righteousness.

Which path will you choose?  Will you fret and be anxious or will you trust the character of God?

Prayer in Motion:

LORD, today I choose to trust Your character.  You are my LORD and my God.  The Faithful One whom I serve!  I trust Your character when mine is weak.  I love You so much! In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.