An Empty Vessel

God cleanses us at Salvation and creates an empty vessel to fill with Himself. As our flesh decreases, Christ is able to increase in us (John 3:30). He brings with Him all the attributes of the Trinity to abide within us.

We welcome every trial and look for the hand of God in both the negative and positive aspects of life - knowing that it is all part of His pre-arranged will for us and that He works out everything for our ultimate good (Ephesians 2:10; Romans 8:28).

We have confidence in the fact that nothing in heaven, on earth or in hell can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:35-39). We trust in His divine will and draw from His power within us to obey His Spirit each moment of the day.

We delight in working according to His good pleasure (Psalm 40:8). He fills us with all peace and makes us pleasing in His sight (Romans 15:13; Hebrews 13:21). We start as an empty vessel at salvation and He fills us to the brim with Himself (Ephesians 3:16-19).

Our weakness makes room for His strength, His will is our sole motivation and His ways are the only desires of our heart. We find glory in our short-comings, idiosyncrasies and infirmities, because through them, He is glorified.

Our peculiarities are God's sign of ownership. Do you have issues with the way you talk, look, the balance of your bank account, the profession in which you work?

God uses these peculiarities to keep us humble and dependent on Christ in us rather than our own special human abilities. As we submit to His will, He can accomplish His will on the earth.

If we are still full of our self, we leave no room for God to fill us with His presence and purpose for our life. The more we empty our self of our self, the more of us He can use.

Prayer:

Father God, we bow before You in humble adoration and praise. We depend on You for the very air we breathe. Your almighty power is at work within us, in nature all around us, and in the lives with which we come into contact every day. We totally surrender to Your perfect will for every moment of our life.

We trust in You to use us as You will and to work out everything in our life - even the negative aspects - for our good (Romans 8:28). You work mightily within us by Your power and we lift up Your majesty on high. We give You Your way in our life and trust You to use us now and to take us home to glory with You when we complete our mission for You here on this earth.

Thought for the Day:

In the solace of surrender and faith, we find the deepest measure of God's love and presence.

Lift Up Your Head

Rahab hid the Israelite spies who came to scope out the land for the Israelite invasion. She was rewarded with salvation during the destruction of Jericho.

The amazing part of this story to me is that she lived in the outside wall, and God sent her deliverance before the wall fell straight down on the seventh day.

God kept her safe even through this time of destruction, as well as redeemed her from her former profession. She married Salmon; and her son, Boaz, married another gentile convert, Ruth.

Rahab is the great-grandmother of King David and is in the ancestry lineage of Jesus Christ. God truly lifted up her head and turned her ashes into a thing of beauty (Psalm 3:3-4).

Our Father God does this same thing for anyone willing to surrender their will to His will (Luke 22:42). He exalts our head above our enemies (Psalm 27:5-6).

When our soul is depressed and unsettled within us, we hope in God and praise His name, and He puts a smile on our lips and joy in our heart (Psalm 42:11).

He sets our feet to dancing (Psalm 30:11) and gives us something to shout about (Psalm 98:4). He changes our focus from the temporal to the eternal and gives us a future full of hope and blessings (Jeremiah 29:11).

Eventually, we leave this carnal earth behind and enter into the glories of Heaven, living in the presence of God for eternity and inheriting His Kingdom with Jesus (Revelation 21:23; Psalm 16:11; Romans 8:17).

Prayer:

Father God, we praise You all the days of our life and still do not have enough time to thank You for all You have done for us. We look forward to eternity and having endless eons to worship You in all of Your beauty and holiness. We give you praise, honor and glory.

Thank You for Your love for us, for holding us in the palm of Your hand and for lifting up our head when we face the trials we encounter on this earth. You fill our hearts with joy and peace; not the tentative harmony that the world offers, but Your lasting and eternal peace which surpasses our human comprehension (John 14:27).

Thought for the Day:

God leads us by His Spirit each moment of the day and fills our life full of divine appointments which make a difference in our life and in the lives He brings across our path.