The Pottery Barn

 Scripture:

' “I, the Lord, say: ‘O nation of Israel, can I not deal with you as this potter deals with the clay? In my hands, you, O nation of Israel, are just like the clay in this potter’s hand.’ ' Jeremiah 18:6

Observation:

God showed Jeremiah a potter's house and showed him the potter at the wheel. As the potter worked with the clay, it changed several times before the final product was complete. We, like Israel, are like clay in the hands of the potter, we must let Him work in our lives to make us into His desire for us. We can't self-create what we want. We must serve the potter and trust Him to work out the details of our lives.

Application:

We must live our lives in the hands of the potter. We must allow God to work on us, shaping us into what he has designed for us to be. We must stay on the wheel while He is working and not take ourselves off because we don't like the way He is working on us. Our place is to be pliable and workable clay in the potter's hands, allowing ourselves to be shaped into His image. We don't live our lives for our own purposes, but for the purposes of our Creator.

Prayer:

Father, teach me to live a life shaped by Your hands. Help me to accomplish everything You want me to accomplish. You are awesome, and I want to serve You well. Teach me Your ways and let me walk on Your paths. Guide my steps and work through my life. Pour out Your Spirit this week in Ghana as I share Your word. Let my ears be open to Your voice and my heart be pure.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

Our Hope is in the Lord

 Scripture:

' Do any of the worthless idols of the nations cause rain to fall? Do the skies themselves send showers? Is it not you, O Lord our God, who does this? So we put our hopes in you because you alone do all this.”' 
Jeremiah 14:22

Observation:

In this passage, God's people cry out to Him because they have heard His plans of destruction for Judah. They told the Lord that none of the worthless idols can bring rain and the skies themselves cannot bring rain, but that the Lord can do this. Therefore, their hope was in the Lord. 

Application:

There is no sense in trying to serve ourselves or the gods of the people around us. It is God alone who can bring rain from heaven. It is God alone who can work on behalf of His people. Our trust must be in something solid that is trustworthy. Only God Almighty is really able to deliver us when things are bad, or heal us when we need healing. Our trust must not be in man or any idol. Our trust must be in the Lord. He alone is worthy to be praised and worshiped.

Prayer: 

Father, teach me to trust You more and to never try to work things out on my own. Teach me to walk with You throughout my journey. You are amazing, and I love You with all my heart. Help me to walk humbly before You. Move in power this week in Ghana. Touch many lives for Your glory. Let Your kingdom be extended through our work here.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

Humility and Special Favor

 Scripture:

“My hand made them; that is how they came to be,” says the LORD. I show special favor to the humble and contrite, who respect what I have to say.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭66‬:‭2‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

God is speaking here through Isaiah and tells His people that He shows special favor to the humble and contrite, and those who respect what He has to say. This is a very clear blessing for those who remain humble before God and who tremble at His voice. He promises “special favor.”

Application:

My place in serving God is to walk humbly before Him and to do whatever He speaks and puts into my heart. For me, I want to live in the “special favor” category. Therefore, I must walk in humility and contrition. I need to, as the end of the verse says, “respect” what God has to say. I want to live my life in obedience to God’s call and will for me. 

Prayer:

Father, You are my everything! Help me to walk in humility, contrition, and realizing that You made, You called me, You anointed me, and I can do nothing apart from You. I ask You for special favor this morning. Help me to walk in humility every day of my life and to follow You completely. 

Yours,

Jeff

Divine Intervention

 Scripture:

“Since ancient times no one has heard or perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who intervenes for those who wait for him.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭64‬:‭4‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

Isaiah speaks in this passage about God. He lets us know that no one has ever heard or seen any God that comes even close to our God. He describes God by saying that He intervenes for those who wait for Him. He is not just a god out there to be worshiped, but He is a God who intervenes in the lives of real people.

Application:

In this beautiful passage about God intervening in the lives of His people, we see that there is one condition. He said God intervenes for those who wait for Him. Waiting is much harder than we like to think. God promises to come through for us, but we must sometimes be willing to wait. Waiting implies we are looking forward to a better future once God intervenes. 

Prayer:

Father, teach me to wait. Help me to walk in patient expectation of Your promises. Lord, I’m with Isaiah, the world has never seen or heard of a God like You. You never fail and always come out as the victor. Help me to live in faith, knowing that You will intervene in the situations of my life. 

Yours,

Jeff

The Rest of the Promise

 Scripture:

“to strengthen those who mourn in Zion, by giving them a turban, instead of ashes, oil symbolizing joy, instead of mourning, a garment symbolizing praise, instead of discouragement. They will be called oaks of righteousness, trees planted by the LORD to reveal his splendor.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭61‬:‭3‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

This verse actually continues a word from verse 2, which is very familiar. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me and has anointed me to… in this verse “strengthen those who mourn in Zion, giving them a turban instead of ashes, oil of joy instead of mourning, praise instead of discouragement, and they will be called oaks of righteousness, trees planted by the Lord.” This is the rest of the promise that Jesus came to fulfill. These trade offs are incredible promises to God’s people, but we have to walk in them. 

Application:

We need to shift our thinking from mourning, discouragement, and ashes, to joy, praise, and righteousness. Jesus, at the beginning of His ministry preached the text right up to this point, and probably this as well. He came, not just to deliver us, heal us, and free us, but to give us joy, praise, and righteousness. We must make the decision to walk in what Jesus has already provided. Today, I choose joy, praise, and righteousness. I want to live for what Jesus died for.

Prayer:

Father, let Your joy fill my life! Let Your peace fill my life. Let Your love fill my life. Let me represent You well in all that I do. Teach me Yours ways and help me to walk in Your paths. You are incredible and I love You more each day. Let my life reveal Your splendor as the end of this verse says. Reveal Yourself through my life. I give it completely to You for Your purposes.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

Sabbath Rest

 Scripture:

“You must observe the Sabbath rather than doing anything you please on my holy day. You must look forward to the Sabbath and treat the LORD’s holy day with respect. You must treat it with respect by refraining from your normal activities, and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals. Then you will find joy in your relationship to the LORD, and I will give you great prosperity, and cause crops to grow on the land I gave to your ancestor Jacob.” Know for certain that the LORD has spoken.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭58‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

In this passage I see the importance God puts on observing the Sabbath. He tells His people they must look forward to Sabbath and treat it with respect. He reminds them that they are to refrain from their normal activities on that day, then they would find joy in their relationship with the Lord. He adds that He will make them very prosperous and would bless their crops if they would love the Sabbath.

Application:

When God rested on the seventh day, it wasn’t because He was tired. He was showing us the importance of what later would become one of the Ten Commandments. When I look at Sabbath in the Old Testament, I see God promises incredible things to those who follow it and do what He says. We are not under the OT Law anymore, but we can definitely learn from it what God wants for His people. He wants us to rest in Him and trust Him with the results by taking a day to honor Him.

Prayer:

Father, help me to Sabbath well and to trust that You will take care of things in my life when I honor You with one day per week. Teach me to walk with You and to honor Your commands. I want to live in such a way that You can bless my life. Help me to trust You more and to walk in obedience to Your commands. 

Forever Yours,

Jeff

Don‘t Be Ashamed or Fearful

 Scripture:

“Don’t be afraid, for you will not be put to shame! Don’t be intimidated, for you will not be humiliated! You will forget about the shame you experienced in your youth; you will no longer remember the disgrace of your abandonment.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭54‬:‭4‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

Isaiah speaks to God’s people here saying that they will not be put to shame. He told them not to be intimidated because they would not be humiliated. He encouraged God’s people to forget about the shame of their youth and to forget about the disgrace of their abandonment. This promise comes to all of God’s children.

Application:

God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. As believers, we need to forget about our shame because we are cleaned by the blood of Jesus Christ. We need to stop thinking through a shame based mindset. He that the Son sets free, is free indeed. We are meant to live in freedom, not fear. We are to live by faith, not fear. We should never be intimidated, no matter how bad things look at the time because God will bring us out. We have nothing to fear because we have the Lord on our side.

Prayer:

Lord God, help me to walk in faith and not fear. Teach me to trust that You know all things and that You have my nest interests in mind. Help me not to walk in fear, but to know I have heard from You and then be bold and confident. Help me to lead Your people well. Let me never lead from a shame-based mindset, but by a faith-based mindset.

Your Son,

Jeff