Building and Being Vessels of Honor

We recently had our annual Mother/Daughter Banquet at church.  I love the theme that was chosen this year.  Vessels of Honor.  A great topic for such an occasion.  I was asked to help decorate for the occasion and as I thought about this theme, the Lord laid some thoughts on my heart that I want to share. Though these thoughts are geared toward mothers, I believe everyone, regardless of race, color, sex or creed could benefit from them.  I want to talk about "being and building vessels of honor".  These are a few random thoughts but the message in each one is very powerful.

Our mother/daughter banquet decor 2012
see more at http://beyondtheportico.blogspot.com/

A Vessel in the Hands of the Potter---

When I was a child in school I had the privilege and opportunity to take part in a pottery class.  I got to watch the teacher as she showed us how to make a vessel on a potters wheel.  She made it look so easy and her pot turned out so beautiful.  The shape and curves were perfect.  She then gave each of us a chance to use the wheel and make a vessel of our own.  I was so excited.  I took the lump of clay she gave me and threw it down on the wheel then began to make the wheel spin.  I started to mold the clay into a vessel, or at least I tried, but let me just say that it takes much skill and practice to be a true potter.  My vessel didn't look quite like the teachers.  It was lop sided and not very pretty.  I'm not sure where that pot is today.  It was probably trashed long ago, but I want to talk briefly about a vessel in the hands of the potter.

But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter: and we all are the work of thy hand.

                                          Isaiah 64:8

The bible tells us that God is like a potter and we are his clay.  Of course, that is if we allow him to be, and when we allow him to be, he can make something honorable out of us.  It is a privilege to have God take this lump of a life and shape and mold it into something special and useful for him.  As mothers, God has given US a job as potter as well.  God gave us our children, precious little unshapen lumps of clay and gave us the duty of shaping their lives into something of beauty, value and honor.  Yes, I know they have fathers too, but a mother plays a special part in the lives of her children to nurture and train them.  As mother, we are the first to get our hands on those little lumps.  We are the first to hold them, the first to talk to them and he put them specifically in our care to give them shape and purpose.  He gave us the choice of what we want to make out of their lives.  The way we instruct, guide and live in front of our children, and the way we handle those little lumps, will determine how they turn out.  This job of potter is so very important and though it takes much practice and patience, we must dedicate ourselves to that work in the same fashion as God has dedicated to shaping our lives.  God is doing his best to make us into the perfect vessel for his service and we must do our best in shaping and molding our children into honorable vessels too.

Don't worry though if you have made some mistakes along the way.  We all have!  However, I like what the bible says in Jeremiah when God sent him to the potters house.  The potter wrought a work on the wheel and it was flawed in his hand, but the potter didn't throw the clay away, he picked it up and started over.  If you are reading this today and you haven't always been the best parent or the best example in your childrens lives, it'll be okay.  From today on you have the opportunity to start over.  You can become a vessel of honor yourself and you can reshape your children into something good as well.

Now for the younger people out there, you have a responsibility here too.  As clay you must be shapeable.  Pliable.  Allow your Godly parents to teach and train you.  They know what's best for you.   Godly parents, although they make mistakes, really do care for your well being.  Not only physically but spiritually as well.  Don't be rebellious.  Listen to them and learn from them.  Let them help shape you into godly, honorable vessels.

Definition of Vessel---

We are going to switch gears a little here, but still talk about being and building vessels of honor, just in a different sort of way.

The more I thought about this word vessel, I decided to look it up in the dictionary.  Now I know that it means something capable of holding liquid or another substance but there was another definition that I was particularly intrigued by..

...it says, a vessel is a person into whom some quality (such as grace) is infused.

This definition sparked something in me and put a vision in my mind of how this infusing takes place.

The Fountain---

There's a garden fountain at Lowe's that I would love to have for my yard.  It to me is the perfect illustration of this definition of vessel.  As a matter of fact this fountain was the first thing that came to mind when I was asked to help decorate for the banquet.

I even asked if maybe there was someone in the church who had one of these fountains we could use, but there wasn't.  I considered buying one but they are very expensive ($179.00)...besides, it probably wouldn't have made it to the banquet anyway.  It would be sitting in my yard somewhere looking pretty instead.  LOL

The fountain resembles three earthen, clay vessels stair stepped in size.  Like in the picture above.  One large, one medium and one small.  As the water begins to flow through the fountain, the large vessel is the first to be filled.  Once it is full to the brim it spills over into the medium sized pot and that one then spills over into the smallest pot.  Let's imagine these pots represent us (because isn't that what the bible likens us to, earthen vessels).  We mothers (parents) are the largest vessel, and so on down the line.  The teenagers are like the medium vessel and the smallest pot is like our little children.  We, like these vessels, are pouring out of our spirits into each other every day.  Starting with the adults and working it's way down into the smallest of people.  It's important now that we talk about what it is that we are pouring into each other.

Let's imagine if you will,  two vessels....both bottles.  Just plain ol' bottles, nothing to look at and not really important.  It's what's been put in them that is important.  The first is a bottle of water.  Now we know that water has the power to hydrate, to heal and to give life.  Our second is a bottle of Spectracide, which is a poison with the potential to kill everything it touches.  As mentioned above, we as people pour into each other.  Every word that spills out of our mouths, every action or deed that pours out from us will spill over into and influence or affect someone else.  It's important that we pay much attention to what is filling up our vessel.  We need to make sure we stay full of the right stuff.  If all we are taking in is negativity, vulgarities, lies, impurities and gossip, then that's what we will pour out into other people all the while poisoning them.  As my one sunday school student would say, "garbage in, garbage out".  For our children's sakes or for the sakes of those younger or smaller than we are, we need to make sure we are filled up on the good things of God.  We need to stay full of the Holy Ghost and God's word.  We must commit to living righteous, wholesome lives, listening to and reading godly, holy materials because everything we take into ourselves, whether we realize it or not, is going to pour out into someone else.  Within each of us, simply by what we take in, lies the power and ability to either bring life and healing to others or poison one another.  Always be mindful of what you are taking in and what you are pouring out.

Okay, I know I have jumped around a bit.  We've talked about being like a potter and molding our children.  We've talked about being a vessel that pours out of our spirit into someone else but now I have what I feel to be a few words of encouragement to those out there who are older mothers who've already raised their children.  Perhaps you are feeling lonely.  The house is pretty much empty and maybe you feel as if your purpose in life has been filled, your job is done.  Perhaps you feel is if you are just no longer important or useful to those you love.  The following is a story I found on another blog I read (155 Dream Lane) a few weeks ago and thought was very fitting for you. (amazingly enough, it is almost the exact same story that the guest speaker at our mother/daughter banquet shared with us on Saturday, so this must be meant to be).

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots,

each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect

and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house,

the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily,

with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection,

and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure,

it spoke to the woman one day by the stream.

'I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side

causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.' 

The old woman smiled,

'Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path,

but not on the other pot's side?'

'That's because I have always known about your flaw,

so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path,

and every day while we walk back, you water them.'

'For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.'

'Without you being just the way you are,

there would not be this beauty to grace the house.'

So for you older ladies who feel as if you no longer have anything to give to this world, you will never know just how incredibly important you are.  Yes, you may be somewhat worn out.  You have some visable wear and tear but you add so much beauty and value to our lives.

To some of you others, perhaps who have just made some mistakes in your life and you feel as if you are cracked, flawed and of no value to anybody, you too, in the right hands (God's hands) can be a vessel of honor bringing beauty and grace to others. 

Well, I know this was somewhat of a hodge podge of thoughts, but I hope that something shared here today will inspire you to be a better mother, a better person and most importantly a vessel of honor.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

So Embarrassed...

And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. 

               Luke 18:9

At first I thought it was just coincidence that the word "snob" had surfaced in my vocabulary on three separate occasions this past week.  Really it is not a word I use much or even a concept I think about very often.  However, the "snob" in all of us surfaces at one time or another.  So unfortunate especially when a snobs ugly head rears itself in the spiritual realm.

I note the scripture above speaks of "religious snobs".  I had the unfortunate opportunity to witness such religious snobery this past weekend among my own church family.  I was astonished, appalled and sickened in my spirit.  I really did not think I went to church with folks of this mindset.  Yes, I have witnessed snobery from others in my faith but not too much from my local assembly.

I had taken my family to an outdoor walking Easter drama a few years back at a Baptist church in our area.  We really enjoyed it, so when I found out that this play was being held again this past weekend I asked the pastor about getting the whole church together on Saturday evening to go see it and he approved.

Now I will tell you that we are not Baptist.  We have a completely different doctrine than the Baptists.  That is apparently where things went wrong.  Although each and every one of us knew that we were visiting a church that did not believe the way we do, for some reason there were a few in our group who thought it appropriate to demean these good folks and the efforts they made to share their "wrong" beliefs.  Now there were really no one on one confrontations between us and them but there were some things being said and shared amongst our group about how "we had truth and they are telling lies" that I know the Baptist folks overheard and I was just so completely embarrassed.

From the beginning of the tour to the end, there were times when I felt like ditching my group and pretending that I was not associated with them.  What's worse is I believe Jesus felt the same way...for this is the parable which he told to the "certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others"...

Two men went up into the temple to pray: the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself.  God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

I fast twice in the week.  I give tithes of all that I possess.

And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

                       Luke 18:10-14

Ouch!!  It's not good when someone begins thinking more highly of themselves than they ought especially for those people who "have truth".  In the eyes of the Lord it is a disgrace and he promises that they "shall be abased" or humbled, if you will.  If any of my church family is reading this, I hope my little message does just that; humbles you.  You can have all the truth you want but when you despise others you are no Christian.  Christ would have never treated them that way.  No one likes a snob!

I'm so embarrassed.

And the Tragedy continues...

In 1978 a self-proclaimed prophet, Jim Jones, led nearly 1000 of his faithful followers to Jonestown, Guyana in an attempt to escape the law and charges against him here in the states.  While in Guyuna Jones somehow convinced his followers that they could drink poison but that it would not hurt them.  I assume he used this scripture, "They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." to lure them into believing that his concoction of kool-aid and Cyanide would not kill them or even make them sick.  As most people, they believed their "pastor" (and I use that term lightly) and drank the deadly concoction.  Sadly, all those who had partaken of this mixture died, including Jim Jones himself...such a tragedy.

On the morning of February 28, 1993, outside of Waco, Texas, governmental authorities descended on a religious camp of the Branch Davidians, a small religious group of about 1400 people led by David Koresh.  The government had been tipped off that this religious group was ilegally buying and selling "arms" and that Koresh had been raping and abusing young women and children.  Although it was not the governments intentions that anyone be harmed in the sting, hoping only to take Koresh into custody and rescue his followers, nearly everyone in the compound was killed, including Koresh when the compound burst into flames and burned to the ground.  Sad!!

Here we are reminded of two separate tragedies.  Two very diffrent incidents but with one common denominator.  Innocent, good people lost their lives from following the wrong leader.  We've asked ourselves how can these things happen?  How do completely normal, hard working people get involved with and become followers of crazed religious lunatics, not to mention allow their families and children to be influenced by and become victims of them as well?  Of course, that is IF we are speaking of rational, normal people, right?  I mean no one in their right mind would become a member of a cult or follow someone who wasn't teaching them directly from the word of God, would they?  What was wrong with all these people?  Were they crazy?  Were they mindless, ignorant, simple folks?  Were they possessed?  I mean really, how does someone come to the point of blindly following a so called religious leader to their own death? 

Can I just say, this is still happening today!  Yes, it really is.  Though people are not being led by droves to the nether regions of South America and though we don't hear of too many Jim Jones' or David Koresh's these days, people are still blindly following "liars" for leaders even to their own destruction.  I believe the bible calls them false prophets and they have been around since day one. 

The original false prophet..."Satan" in the Garden of Eden perverted God's word and Adam and Eve fell prey.  There are self-proclaimed even bible college proclaimed "men of God" everywhere who, instead of teaching the unabridged, complete and accurate word of God as it is written; are teaching opinions, fables and traditions of men to good folks around the world, and people are still falling prey to the lies.  (Read Matthew 24) Why? Are these people stupid?  No!  In fact, most of them are very intelligent. So how then can they be sucked into the lies of a false prophet?  Because people want to go to heaven and "preachers" are supposed to know the way.  Most people really do want a good, solid relationship with a good and loving God; so much so that they are unwittingly putting their own souls and the souls of their family in jeopardy because they are listening to and trusting some "nice guy" standing behind a pulpit at their church.  Am I saying that all preachers are liars?  NO!!  Absolutely not! However, I am saying that there are good people who sit in church services week after week who believe they are "saved" simply because the preacher told them so and because they have repeated some ritualistic "sinners prayer" and accepted Jesus as their personal savior.  This in itself is more of a tragedy than a hundred Jim Jones or David Koresh stories put together because the slaughter and abuse to souls goes unnoticed.  People by the thousands even billions are sitting on church pues every week but are sadly dying and going to hell because of the misrepresentation of God's word.  Let me just go on the record as saying, I am afraid for those people.

There is much more to salvation than repeating a prayer and accepting Jesus, but there are tons of people who believe only that simply because that is what their pastor teaches without researching the matter for themselves and that is where the problem lies.  Is your pastor a nice guy?  Probably!  Does he have evil ulterior motives to purposefully lie so folks go to hell?  I doubt it, but folks, there is no sinners prayer found in the bible and there is no recorded incident in the bible of someone being saved by repeating one.  As far as accepting Jesus as your personal savior, that's a great thing, but wouldn't it be more beneficial to find out if Jesus accepts you as his child?  Because if not, you are not going to heaven. There are some definite truths in the bible regarding salvation that many churches and preachers simply do not believe in or teach. Namely, repentance and baptism in Jesus' name followed by the reception of the Holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking in other tongues.

What's worse is that many denomations believe in and are teaching a division of the godhead stating that there are three parts when the bible specifies that there is only ONE God and his name one (Zech. 14:9).  There is never any mention of a triune godhead in the bible.  The word trinity is not in the bible nor is there any suggestion that there are three divine beings that are co-equal and co-eternal, yet millions upon millions of people believe in the trinity.  The trinity is simply NOT truth.  It is a made up and far fetched system of beliefs, founded by the worlds so called religious and paganistic leaders at the council of Nicea in 325 A.D., and which was NOT founded on the bible or any of it's principles, yet it has been passed down from generation to generation as truth.  Preachers today still teach this concept of the trinity because that's what they were taught, and it's what momma, daddy and what grandma and grandpa believed.  Though they study the word, the revelation of Jesus Christ has either never really hit home or they have seen the truth in God's word but have chosen to dismiss it simply because it would be too hard to admit that they and everyone else they know have been wrong all these years; and so they continue passing the lies and misconceptions of God's word down to other unsuspecting souls.

Now, I'm sure I have offended some folks with these words, but that truly is not my intentions.  My hope is that these words will stir you into taking a good look at your personal walk with God and also into taking a good look at your spiritual leader and what he is teaching you.  Are the principles he teaches for your life founded in the word of God and not in fables or opinions?  Have you followed and obeyed ALL the steps to salvation as recorded in the Holy Bible?  Do you know all the steps needed for salvation?  Do you have a clear understanding of the godhead (who and what God is)?  Do you study the word for yourself so that you know if what you are being taught is truth, or have you been told that there is no need for you to study the Word yourself because lay people cannot understand it?  If you have questions about any of these things, please examine your walk with God and by all means examine your spiritual leader. 

Am I saying that you should ditch or distrust your pastor?  No, but you don't have to be a sucker either.  After all it is YOUR eternal soul at stake.  We are exhorted to "study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15).  Do we still need a man of God in our lives.  Absolutely! But only one who teaches, believes and practices God's word in it's entirety.  The Apostle Paul said, "follow me"; however, not just "follow me" but "follow me as I follow Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1).  In other words he was saying, so long as I am following Christ and his teachings, follow me, but if or when I choose not to follow Christ, you are no longer obligated to follow me.  He also said than if he, any other man or even an angel from heaven preach any other gospel than what was first preached, let them be accursed (Gal. 1:8-9).  Just because someone's a nice guy, just because they have gone to bible college and earned a degree, and just because they call themselves a preacher doesn't mean that you must follow them or their beliefs.  You do have a mind of your own and you are NOT stupid; so please make sure that you know who you are following, that your man of God preaches the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  Make absolutely sure that you are following a man who is following Christ so that at the end of your life you do not find yourself as another victim to some tragic story, but that you really do get to meet Jesus face to face and hear him say "well done, thou good and faithful servant".