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Grace and Hope Mission Inc.
1900 Columbus Avenue,
Boston,MA 02119-1086
Sunday school, 11 a.m.
Worship service 12:00
Children's Bible Club, Tuesday, 5:30 p.m.
Adult Bible Class, Tuesday, 7:00 p.m.
Choir Practice, Thursday, 6:45 p.m.
Music classes, Saturday, 12 noon
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Monthly Message
The Potier and The Clay
By Karen Harp In Jeremiah 18: 1-6 we read, "The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then 1 went down to the potter's house, and behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, 0 house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord, Behold as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, 0 house of Israel." Jeremiah was sent to the house of the potter so the Lord God could teach him something not just by words, but by seeing how the potter operates. Jeremiah had to be obedient to the message of the Lord, which he was. He watched the potter, observed how he moved his feet and his hands on the wheel. We must first of all be obedient to the call of the Lord in our lives. "GOD'S PEOPLE WILL SUCCEED WHEN THE MASTER POTTER'S WILL IS DONE." I Samuel 15:27 relates how we need to obey - for it is better than sacrifice. Then in Acts 5:29 the apostles said, "We ought to obey God rather than man." Again in Malachi I: I 0 we are told that God prefers no offering to a blemished one. When we bring our offering to God let us come with obedience. In the potter's house are many vessels and containers holding a variety of things. When the potter makes the vessel he thinks about what he wishes to make and he rolls out the clay - throws it down a few times - takes it in his hands and kneads it (like a woman making bread). His hands are so sensitive that he can feel any impurity in the clay and removes it as it will not burn or endure the fire without cracking. The Lord is the Master Potter and He will work in our lives to do as seems best for us and for His glory. Romans 9:21-23 shares these thoughts with us. God as the potter molds us as He sees fit. He sees the design when we are still lumps of clay. The wonderful thing about the potter was that when he molded the vessel, he would breathe into it. His breath as it was - gave it life. So the Lord God breathed into man the breath of life and he became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7) For your own study read the following scriptures:
Galatians 2:20; Galatians 4:19; Romans 12: 1,2. The potter chooses the vessel to use and removes the cracks and impurities. he designs each one and fills us to make us vessels of honor for God. "GET INTO THE WORD OF GOD AND LET THE WORD OF GOD GET INTO YOU." Then there won't be any room for all the debris that Satan wants to put into the vessel that belongs to God. Remember we have the power to defeat Satan - to remind him that he is already defeated. We can say, "Get thee behind me, Satan." Vessels come in varieties (all shapes and sizes) just like people. The Lord fashions us spiritually to serve Him. Proverbs 17:3 says, "The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but the Lord trieth the hearts." Let the Lord do the molding in your heart for His glory. He wants you to be a vessel of honor for Him. We cannot do as we please with our lives and shape them. We must remember we are only the clay and put ourselves in the hand of the potter and let Him do the molding. The Lord gave me this song when He touched my heart with this message: My Lord picked up a lump of clay
He held it so lovingly in His own way
His eyes looked beyond that lump He saw
A vessel of honor for His cause. The potter places his hand on the clay
Getting the feel of what cannot stay
The sin of life, hardness of heart
Cannot in this vessel have any part. Lord, make me a vessel of honor for thee
A vessel of service and love, I plea.
Take this clay Lord, shape and make me
Into the vessel, pleasing to Thee. Chorus:
I stand before you - that lump of clay
That the potter carefully wanted His way
As he continues to shape me
The vessel that Jesus wants me to be. Be glad this day that the Lord didn't throw the clay away - but keeps on molding it to make it a vessel of honor for Him. "Cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord." Are you soft and pliable in His hand') Can God accomplish His purpose in your life? Every vessel, meet for the master's use, will be a vessel used for His honor and glory. Yield yourself to Him! |
