Tag: Clay

Avoid

tarynbarnesLeave a comment

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Hi Peeps,

Today’s Quote

“Do not avoid uncomfortable situations or moments. Instead, walk boldly in the truth that God is with you in all things.”~TB

Unpleasant

The world teaches us to avoid unpleasant experiences. Human logic dictates that if the moment induces discomfort, it must be a bad thing, therefore we remove the “yucky stuff” from our lives. What an amazingly ironic and counterproductive paradigm! The problem with that ideology is that it eliminates the most vital and necessary aspect of our spiritual growth. Through the unpleasant times, we get to grow closer and know God in a more personal and one-on-one manner. In fact, it’s those uncomfortable and painful moments where we grow the most. That is if we take them as they are and not as we perceive them to be.

Kiln

When I was a kid in elementary school, we’d have the opportunity to participate in an art class. Some of the projects included working with clay, making different sorts of things. I loved it. Being able to mold and shape things– essentially making something out of nothing– is something I love. My favorite part was seeing my work after it was fired in the kiln. For those that don’t know, a kiln is a heating chamber that transforms materials in high temperatures. When the clay is heated properly, it is then ready to be turned into a vessel. If you’ve ever worked clay, you’ve seen firsthand how a slippery and malleable substance is transformed into a sturdy and utilitarian product. God is the Kiln to our clay.

Good Burn

In order to be the vessel that God has called you to be, you must learn to reexamine your mind about the kiln process. Trials and tribulations are the firey elements that shore up your vessel. Without them, you remain mushy and unsustainable. When you avoid the molding and kiln of God, your ability to rise to the calling on your life is impossible. Don’t avoid the process,  but trust that all things in your life are used to strengthen your relationship with God. Let the Bible mold you and your time with God be the fire that hardens the clay. In doing so, we see as God intended us to see. When that happens, we walk in the way that God called us to.

Today’s Question

Are you going through the kiln or do you want to remain mushy and broken?

Enjoy the reading

Jeremiah 8

1 “In that day,” says the LORD, “the enemy will break open the graves of the kings and officials of Judah, and the graves of the priests, prophets, and common people of Jerusalem. 
2 They will spread out their bones on the ground before the sun, moon, and stars—the gods my people have loved, served, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up again or buried but will be scattered on the ground like manure. 
3 And the people of this evil nation who survive will wish to die rather than live where I will send them. I, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken! 
4 “Jeremiah, say to the people, ‘This is what the LORD says: “‘When people fall down, don’t they get up again? When they discover they’re on the wrong road, don’t they turn back? 
5 Then why do these people stay on their self-destructive path? Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back? They cling tightly to their lies and will not turn around. 
6 I listen to their conversations and don’t hear a word of truth. Is anyone sorry for doing wrong? Does anyone say, “What a terrible thing I have done”? No! All are running down the path of sin as swiftly as a horse galloping into battle! 
7 Even the stork that flies across the sky knows the time of her migration, as do the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane. They all return at the proper time each year. But not my people! They do not know the LORD ’s laws. 
8 “‘How can you say, “We are wise because we have the word of the LORD,” when your teachers have twisted it by writing lies? 
9 These wise teachers will fall into the trap of their own foolishness, for they have rejected the word of the LORD . Are they so wise after all? 
10 I will give their wives to others and their farms to strangers. From the least to the greatest, their lives are ruled by greed. Yes, even my prophets and priests are like that. They are all frauds. 
11 They offer superficial treatments for my people’s mortal wound. They give assurances of peace when there is no peace. 
12 Are they ashamed of these disgusting actions? Not at all—they don’t even know how to blush! Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered. They will be brought down when I punish them, says the LORD . 
13 I will surely consume them. There will be no more harvests of figs and grapes. Their fruit trees will all die. Whatever I gave them will soon be gone. I, the LORD, have spoken!’ 
14 “Then the people will say, ‘Why should we wait here to die? Come, let’s go to the fortified towns and die there. For the LORD our God has decreed our destruction and has given us a cup of poison to drink because we sinned against the LORD . 
15 We hoped for peace, but no peace came. We hoped for a time of healing, but found only terror.’ 
16 “The snorting of the enemies’ warhorses can be heard all the way from the land of Dan in the north! The neighing of their stallions makes the whole land tremble. They are coming to devour the land and everything in it— cities and people alike. 
17 I will send these enemy troops among you like poisonous snakes you cannot charm. They will bite you, and you will die. I, the LORD, have spoken!” 
18 My grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken. 
19 Listen to the weeping of my people; it can be heard all across the land. “Has the LORD abandoned Jerusalem? ” the people ask. “Is her King no longer there?” “Oh, why have they provoked my anger with their carved idols and their worthless foreign gods?” says the LORD . 
20 “The harvest is finished, and the summer is gone,” the people cry, “yet we are not saved!” 
21 I hurt with the hurt of my people. I mourn and am overcome with grief. 
22 Is there no medicine in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why is there no healing for the wounds of my people?

Leaky Vessel

tarynbarnesLeave a comment

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Hi Peeps,

Today’s Quote

“Who told you to remain in your brokeness? Surely that message was not from God.”~TB

Remain

The biggest lie the devil wants you to believe is that you are broken and that you will never overcome your circumstance. It doesn’t help matters when you look to other broken people, cling to their broken solutions, and wallow together in your self-imposed exile. Friends, these lies aren’t from God. The Bible is so important because it helps you navigate these falsehoods. The truth is, you are wonderfully made in Him and His power and spirit lie within you. When you remain in your ignorance, you suffer the atrocities of this world, because you are following the wicked.

Reject

Without God, you are like a leaky clay pot, trying to use human understanding to patch your holes! In your stupor, you leak all over the place, infecting one another with evil solutions that magnify your brokenness.  Reject those lies that plague your mind and you will find your way to the truth. Look to the Word and you will find that when you rely on God’s Truth, He encapsulates your leaky vessel, sealing any brokenness that once was. In God, your leaky vessel is no more as you have become set aside as His vessel. Once He has claimed you, rest in the truth that He has set you free.

Today’s Question

Are you still holding onto your brokenness or are you ready to receive your Holy repairs?

Enjoy the reading

Psalm 79

1 O God, pagan nations have conquered your land, your special possession. They have defiled your holy Temple and made Jerusalem a heap of ruins. 
2 They have left the bodies of your servants as food for the birds of heaven. The flesh of your godly ones has become food for the wild animals. 
3 Blood has flowed like water all around Jerusalem; no one is left to bury the dead. 
4 We are mocked by our neighbors, an object of scorn and derision to those around us. 
5 O LORD, how long will you be angry with us? Forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire? 
6 Pour out your wrath on the nations that refuse to acknowledge you— on kingdoms that do not call upon your name. 
7 For they have devoured your people Israel, making the land a desolate wilderness. 
8 Do not hold us guilty for the sins of our ancestors! Let your compassion quickly meet our needs, for we are on the brink of despair. 
9 Help us, O God of our salvation! Help us for the glory of your name. Save us and forgive our sins for the honor of your name. 
10 Why should pagan nations be allowed to scoff, asking, “Where is their God?” Show us your vengeance against the nations, for they have spilled the blood of your servants. 
11 Listen to the moaning of the prisoners. Demonstrate your great power by saving those condemned to die. 
12 O Lord, pay back our neighbors seven times for the scorn they have hurled at you. 
13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will thank you forever and ever, praising your greatness from generation to generation.

Guarantee

jonmbarnesLeave a comment

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Hi Peeps,
Today’s Quote
“Certain conditions must be fulfilled to receive God’s Guarantee of Salvation, so pray that you are allowed to fulfill the requirements and commandments set before us.” ~ Jon Barnes

 Loan

God gives us the loan of life with an eternal soul to bare. He mixes up some dirt and spit to create the body’s ingredients in there. The breath of life was blown into our nostrils to take in our first breath.  The air now surrounds our entire planet, like a balloon, as God only used one breath. The air is a loan stuck in this atmosphere with the many gifts from God. The fullness of the earth is for us to share and use, because it belongs to God and it is not ours.

Obligation

We must perform our own work of repentance to connect with the love of God.  Life is short so be about your work and avoid the lies and the fraud. I’m thankful to find the time to read, reflect, and share what I have learned.  It is your obligation to hold fast to the things God has taught and only the work of faith you can earn. Did  you let someone take your crown?

The Promise

Reading about the promises of God seems so crystal clear. Just stop and think for one second, pause, are you still here? God is still making good on His promise of life so abundantly. Imagine how good and fair life will be in Heaven for you and me. He sustains all of creation with one finger pointing into the direction of eternity.
Today’s Question
I can see God’s Guarantee Clearly, can you?
Enjoy Today’s Reading

Revelation 4

The Throne in Heaven

4 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here,and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit,and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. 4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits[a] of God. 6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle.8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
“‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,’[b]
who was, and is, and is to come.”
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
    to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
    and by your will they were created
    and have their being.”
Love,
Jonathan