Good Morning Shaped by the Potter, Gifted, Sent Ones in Christ. Amen. That is us! YOU! I am late. Overslept today. Off I go. But before I do check out the devos below. We just finished up our gifts class for now. Pray we step into and use them well. Pray all of us are fertile soil where roots sink deep and much good fruit grows. Pray for our God and father to send us and use us well as we seek new connection points that may lead people to Him. He knows you, loves you, is calling you by name. He made you and gifted you for such a time as this. You matter and we are His team that needs each other to go make disciples and spur each other on to live and love more like Jesus! Amen! GO! Love!
UR: God never Fails
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. - 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)
I started journaling 23 years ago on my fiftieth birthday. Each year, I fill a journal with my thoughts and feelings about daily life. It helps me de-stress and keep track of major events in my life.
On my birthday, I add a gratitude list to that year’s journal. After completing the list, I go back to the first journal and read every journal I have. The pages contain discussions of what I’ve experienced, God’s presence, gratitude, praise reports, and prayer requests. I am always astounded to see so many prayers answered, and I feel God’s faithfulness, love, and mercy anew.
Reading the journals also makes me feel better about aging. I focus on what I can still do instead of the discomfort and changes in ability that have come with aging. I see where I have helped others and tried to be God’s hands and feet. This always lifts my spirits because it reflects 1 Peter 4:10, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others.” My journals remind me of all the good God has done in my life, the blessings God has helped me provide for others, and God’s presence with me always.
Today's Prayer
Gracious God, help us to see and feel your presence and to show your grace and love to everyone we meet. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
ODB:
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Dan Les, a lifelong potter, creates decorative vessels and sculptures. His award-winning designs are inspired by the town in Romania where he lives. Having learned the craft from his father, he made this comment about his work: “[Clay needs to] ferment for a year, to have rain fall on it, to freeze and thaw out [so that] . . . you can shape it and feel through your hands that it is listening to you.”
What happens when clay “listens”? It’s willing to yield to the artisan’s touch. The prophet Jeremiah observed this when he visited a potter’s house. He watched as the craftsman struggled with a vessel and finally reshaped it into something new (Jeremiah 18:4). God said to Jeremiah, “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand” (v. 6).
God has the ability to build us up or bring us down, yet His ultimate purpose isn’t to overpower or destroy us (vv. 7-10). Rather, He’s like a skilled craftsman who can identify what isn’t working and reshape the same lump of clay into something beautiful and useful.
Listening clay doesn’t have much to say about this. When prodded, it moves in the desired direction. When molded, it stays in place. The question for us is this: are we willing to “humble [ourselves] under God’s mighty hand” (1 Peter 5:6) so He can shape our lives into what He wants them to be?
By Jennifer Benson Schuldt
REFLECT & PRAY
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How are you listening to God today? What do you think His purpose is for refining you through your life’s experiences?
Dear God, please help me to trust You. I want to submit my life to You.
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SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
It’s a dangerous misconception that the God of the Old Testament is angry and judgmental, while the God of the New Testament is loving, merciful, gracious, and forgiving. We see abundant evidence of God’s grace and mercy throughout the Old Testament. God said through His prophet Jeremiah, “If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be . . . destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent” (18:7-8). The book of Jonah demonstrates this. When Jonah brought his message of repentance to the degenerate city of Nineveh, its citizens heeded God’s warning and were spared (3:4-10). In Jeremiah, God offers a similar opportunity to Judah (18:11). These are just two examples of God’s love and mercy in the Old Testament. God’s character is consistent. He loves His children too much to permit them to persist in sin.
Tim Gustafson |
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Connections
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March 26 - Determining a Need
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Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. —Psalm 103:1-5
When visiting my home last week, my nephew said, “I’m really hungry!” Without too much thought, I knew that he had noticed the empty candy jar in the living room. He wanted some chocolate—his and my favorite.
I wonder how he would have responded if I had offered to get him some broccoli? That wouldn’t have fed his “hunger.” A hamburger probably wouldn’t have done the trick either. Neither would a hot dog. My nephew was looking for chocolate! His need wasn’t really an empty stomach. His parents feed him regularly. No, his need was related to his “sweet tooth”—something I can strongly identify with.
When sharing about Jesus and his gospel message with your neighbor, it’s very important for you to be sensitive to your neighbor’s individual, specific need. If I had given my nephew some broccoli or a hamburger, I would have missed his real need. Jesus comes very intimately, very sensitively into each of our lives. He meets us exactly where we are. He’s available to meet each individual need.
As you continue developing a relationship with your neighbor, start asking yourself this question: “What area, what concern, what question in my new friend’s life is most in need of the presence of Jesus?” You don’t have to go far to find a possible answer to that question. Answer it for yourself. You have more in common with your neighbor (even your unsaved neighbor) than you might care to admit. Your neighbor most likely has some financial concerns. Don’t you? Your neighbor may not be feeling appreciated at work. Have you ever felt that way? One neighbor may be concerned about her youngest child. Another may be concerned about his oldest. Maybe you know what that’s like.
Or perhaps your neighbors had a major scare last week when their doctor told them the results of a physical exam. Or maybe your neighbor lost her mother to cancer last fall. You know these things could happen to you, if they haven’t already. Your neighbor’s needs are similar in many ways to your own. This week, ask the Spirit to help you be sensitive to what those needs are. Look for opportunities to help your neighbor in specific ways.
Prayer Starters for Praying Psalm 103:1-5
• Praise God and thank him for all his benefits in your life.
• Celebrate God’s creativity, thanking him for the way in which he takes into account our unique personalities as he reveals himself to us.
• Thank God that he loves all of us enough to meet us right where we are.
• Ask God to help you understand your neighbor’s unique personality. Invite God to open your mind to the specific way in which your neighbor would be most open to hearing or seeing or experiencing the things of God.
--Adapted from Be Jesus in Your Neighborhood (Developing a Prayer, Care, Share Lifestyle in 30 Days) by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayershop.org. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount.
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LISTEN ONLINE
