Happy New Year. A hope Filled and very Blessed New Year to you all in the Lord Jesus, who is the Alpha and the Omega.
I watched some football last Sunday. One of the most fascinating games was between the Cowboys and the Redskins. Sunita and Andy are Redskins Fans. Monday morning many of Coaches and the mangers who lost the season were fired. General George Patton famously once remarked, ”Americans love a winner. The statement FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION from the movie, "Apollo 13" is part of American Psyche. America will not tolerate a loser.
Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft stated: “Success is a lousy teacher. It makes smart people think they can’t lose.” That’s the problem with winners. Once you think you can’t lose, you feel invincible. At that point, you are about to become a loser. You just don’t know it yet. You can win too much, too soon, too easily. Before long you prove the old adage that it’s just a short step from victory to defeat. For all the problems that losing brings, at least it cures the illusion of invincibility.
The God of the Bible prefers losers - that is, he can use people who know their weakness, see their flaws, admit their mistakes, and cry out to him for help. God specializes in taking losers and displaying his power through them. We need to think about a few Biblical heroes. Abraham lied, Moses had committed murder, David committed adultery and murder, and Peter denied Christ. The Lord loves to use people like us in His Kingdom, That is, He chooses people with FEARS, failures and frailties, doubts and denials, flaws and faults, sin and self-centeredness.
If God
chose only well-rounded people with no character flaws, some of the credit would
inevitably go to the people and not to the Lord. By choosing flawed people
with a questionable past, a shaky present, and an uncertain future, God alone
gets the glory when they accomplish amazing things by his
power.
This is what Paul was saying in 2 Corinthians 4:7. It’s one of the most important verses for understanding who we are and how God works through us. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."
The word used for “jars of clay” refers to ordinary earthenware. These clay pots were used by common people to store grain, hide valuables, and to keep oil for lighting their lamps. Paul was saying, “We’re not like a vase from the Ming dynasty. We’re cheap brown pots you can buy at Wal-Mart.” Here are two things we know about those clay plots:
They were fragile.
They were easily broken.
The same is true of all of us all the time. We all have limits, whether we like to admit it or not. We can go and go, but sooner or later life catches up with us and we break like everyone else.
We, as humans, like to think we can handle anything, but we cannot. We like to think we can go forever, but we do not. We like to think we can stand up to anything, but we cannot. Here’s a good lesson in biblical self-esteem: "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust".
We really are nothing but a bunch of ordinary clay pots. God formed the first man out of the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7), and all are made from the same clay. In one of his sermons John MacArthur writes about what it means that God chooses to work through “jars of clay.” He points out that when God wanted to communicate his message, he didn’t go to the elite of Egypt, Greece, Rome, or even to the elite of Israel. “Where did He go? He went to the shore of Galilee and found a bunch of fishermen.” “He’s still doing it." God intends to bless the world by “hiding” the gospel in “clay pots” that don’t seem very impressive by worldly standards.
We wouldn’t do it this way, but God has a special purpose in mind. He does it to demonstrate the true source of spiritual power - His divine Power. His power is different. His power is at work in the world today. God’s power truly is different. It unites people, tears down walls, restores marriages, rebuilds families, lifts up the downtrodden, heals broken hearts, forgives the deepest sins, imparts hope in the darkest hour, and gives light in the valley of death. God’s army isn’t perfect. Someone has called the church “the march of the unqualified.” So get in line and join with the rest of God’s clay pots and see what he can do through us.
In Christ , Happy New Year,
Brown
http://youtu.be/sR8rlTIU8_Y
This is what Paul was saying in 2 Corinthians 4:7. It’s one of the most important verses for understanding who we are and how God works through us. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."
The word used for “jars of clay” refers to ordinary earthenware. These clay pots were used by common people to store grain, hide valuables, and to keep oil for lighting their lamps. Paul was saying, “We’re not like a vase from the Ming dynasty. We’re cheap brown pots you can buy at Wal-Mart.” Here are two things we know about those clay plots:
They were fragile.
They were easily broken.
The same is true of all of us all the time. We all have limits, whether we like to admit it or not. We can go and go, but sooner or later life catches up with us and we break like everyone else.
We, as humans, like to think we can handle anything, but we cannot. We like to think we can go forever, but we do not. We like to think we can stand up to anything, but we cannot. Here’s a good lesson in biblical self-esteem: "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust".
We really are nothing but a bunch of ordinary clay pots. God formed the first man out of the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7), and all are made from the same clay. In one of his sermons John MacArthur writes about what it means that God chooses to work through “jars of clay.” He points out that when God wanted to communicate his message, he didn’t go to the elite of Egypt, Greece, Rome, or even to the elite of Israel. “Where did He go? He went to the shore of Galilee and found a bunch of fishermen.” “He’s still doing it." God intends to bless the world by “hiding” the gospel in “clay pots” that don’t seem very impressive by worldly standards.
We wouldn’t do it this way, but God has a special purpose in mind. He does it to demonstrate the true source of spiritual power - His divine Power. His power is different. His power is at work in the world today. God’s power truly is different. It unites people, tears down walls, restores marriages, rebuilds families, lifts up the downtrodden, heals broken hearts, forgives the deepest sins, imparts hope in the darkest hour, and gives light in the valley of death. God’s army isn’t perfect. Someone has called the church “the march of the unqualified.” So get in line and join with the rest of God’s clay pots and see what he can do through us.
In Christ , Happy New Year,
Brown
http://youtu.be/sR8rlTIU8_Y
No comments:
Post a Comment