September 13, 2013

2 Corinthians 4:7-10

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard- pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

Encouraging Words...

I love plants, plants in the garden, plants in pots, plants all around the house. In this love I have the opportunity to work with earthen vessels, clay pots. By themselves they are very fragile and easily broken. Filled with the incorrect material they can still be very fragile. But filled with the right material they can take a lot of "abuse" and still hold their precious package. God uses us in the same way. We are earthen vessels, fragile and easily broken. But when we are filled with Christ and the Holy Spirit we are transformed. We can be hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down, but by the grace of God and because of His power and not ours we can make it through this not crushed, not forsaken, not destroyed. Glory be to God! It is because of Him and the work of Jesus Christ on the cross that we can magnify God through our trials and ordeals as well as our accomplishments and successes.