In the Potter's hand

Jeremiah 18:1-6

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD : 2 "Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message." 3 So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6 "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

poster photo by Bethany R. Freed.

I am taking it one day at a time. If you know anything about me, you know that I am some what a perfectionist. I want to do everything right. I want to know how to do things the right way, so I don't mess up. I don't want to make the slightest mistake. Guess what? The more I try to do everything exactly right, the more I find myself stressed out, tired and upset. I say this because I know we are all looking for the perfect way to praise God, minister and serve him. The truth is this there isn't a perfect way! Wait a minute.... what if we make a mistake? What then?

Webster dictionary defines perfect as: being entirely without fault or defect: Flawless. God knows that we are not perfect in and of ourselves. I just didn't get the memo yet! Hebrews 10:14 says:... "by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy."  The one sacrifice is referring to what Jesus has done for us on the cross. In a nut shell, Because Jesus died on the cross, those who accept him is being made perfect.... "being made" Wait... that sounds like a PROCESS to me. Each day God is making us perfect... not by our own strength.

The Potter that is in Jeremiah 18:1-6 formed the clay in the way in which He wanted the clay to be. Let's be putty in Gods hands and let Him shape us in the way in which we should be. This is definitely easier said then done. especially when we may feel like we need to be in control and relinquishing control may make us feel weak. Guess what? Being weak may not be so bad.  

The beauty of this is in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 we become perfect in weakness!

(9) "My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness."

Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. (Message)

(10) So for the sake of Christ, I am well pleased and take pleasure in infirmities, insults, hardships, persecutions, perplexities and distresses; for when I am weak [[d]in human strength], then am I [truly] strong (able, powerful [e]in divine strength). (Amplified)


I realized that I must give myself room to make mistakes. Though I want to be perfect, I am perfected through Christ! With God's help we WILL be who He has created us to be! God cares about us so much and wants us to the best representatives for Him. Our flaws make us interesting. embrace our mistakes and turn the into lessons to teach others. Remember the only thing that is flawless is the word of God. (Psalm 12:6).

By Vicky S. Joseph

You're a gift!

You are a gift to this world! Celebrate! You are Unique. You were created on purpose. Give yourself room to make mistakes, Guess what? You are only human! His grace is sufficient. Stop beating yourself up and walk tall. This world is a better place because you woke up this morning!- Via Holy Spirit -Vicky S. Joseph

“Rejected? Who cares?”

1 Peter 2:4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—

I realize hey! Jesus was rejected by people, insulted, brutally murdered for my sake. (1 Peter 2:23) What do I possibly have going on in my little bubble that is so hard? Yes! People may reject me, take advantage of me, and hurt my feelings… but God won’t. All He asks of us is to trust in Him with all of our heart. We get into trouble when we lean on people for support, love and help apart from God. What is He chopped liver? NO! He is the maker of Heaven and Earth, creator of all things. It’s great to have friends, but when we value man’s opinion above God’s word, that’s when we enter into a realm of people pleasing. God doesn’t want half of us, He wants it all...EVERYTHING! Just like Jesus, (if we believe) we are God’s children. God will never leave us not forsake us. Let’s make a habit to gain God’s approval! 1 Peter 2:9-10 (Message) “But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted”. The bible says we were chosen. Chosen means best, superior (dictionary.com) and synonyms for chosen are: elite, excellent, exceptional, exclusive, rare, hand- picked, special, valuable, winner (thesaurus.com). God chose us because He knows we are valuable to Him! So I say: “Rejected? Who Cares?”

The Pursuer

What a gentleman.... pursuer...with quiet authority, renders a heart which is stonecold to melt like ice. A knight in shining armor, the lover of our soul.... look no further... He is here in our mist. Closer than a brother, in Him there is no other... try if you will, there is no comparison to Him.... His hand is out stretched, will you let Him in?

LIVE

http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/474747/wyclef-jean-rivers-of-babylon-yele-live.jhtml#id=1630164

What's love Gotta do with it?

We should be very thankful that love is not a person, because it would be beat up, dragged threw the mud and probably thrown in a casket for burial. Love has been abused and taken for granted so much so that many people are questioning its existence. We need to first know the creator of love to get a better understanding of how to operate in love.


God is the mastermind behind love. As a matter of fact, He is love. God first loved us and He demonstrated that by sending his only son to die on the cross for our sins. (according to 1 John 4:9). Death is a very important factor in understanding love. We must die to our fleshly desire and rid ourselves of selfishness. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthian 13:4-5 that: Love is a patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it does not keep records of wrongs. By this definition of love we see that love is much more than a secondary emotion, it is an action. We show love not by what we say but merely by what we do.

It is funny how many of us hoard any and everything that someone does to us in our hearts. We have a mental tally sheet, three strikes policy or even build a defense mechanism around ourselves. God does not run his kingdom that way. He is not tallying up all our wrongs to throw it in our faces later, nor does He put conditions on His love for us. His love endures forever!

There are so many intricate parts of love that the Greeks have three different definitions. Eros is a passionate love, Philia is a friendship/family love and Agape is the type of love that is an unconditional and self-sacrificial. 1 Peter 1:22 says that once we purify ourselves we are called to love each other deeply from the heart.

This is only attainable if and only if we stay connected to our Lord. Jesus says apart from me you can do nothing. Just remember that this is not something that will occur immediately. Our daily connection with God determines our elevation in our love walk. The way we treat people, how we feel about ourselves and how we behave all goes back to our connection with God.

Life experiences may it be positive or a negative can either piece our hearts together into a figure which is whole or corrode it with anger and bitterness. There are instances where past hurt can hinder us from being vulnerable, just remember love can not blossom out of fear. The choice is yours! Free will is a blessing; we have the ability to choose our state of mind and how we feel. The relationships that we are in are not supposed to hinder our growth. They are supposed to teach us something, elevate us to the next level and fill our hearts with love and compassion.

Love, who needs it? Well studies have shown that babies who were not held or given any type of affection died. Though they were being feed nutrients for their physical bodies, that was not adequate for their over all development. We can presume that love is a not only a necessity but it has everything to do with our overall spiritual, physical and emotional advancement. If we let God’s love shine through the crevasses of our hearts what’s the worst that could happen?



Vicky S. Joseph