If a tool won't do what you want it to...you don't use it. If a hoe is unable to pull up dirt, or kill a weed...what good is it? Can it be called a hoe if it cannot do what a hoe is made for? A hoe must be able to move dirt, to make a special place for the seed, to kill the weed that threatens the growing plant, to continue to create an environment for the plant to mature. The fruit on the plant becomes food to give life.
All these benefits hinge on the hoe performing the task it was created to accomplish. As a useless instrument, the hoe, will not move dirt or kill weeds...it is dull and weak. The hoe cannot help to nurture the plant making the fruit...to give life to those who eat the fruit. Sitting in the rain or in the corner of the shed it will rust and become even more dull and useless. It is of no value to the master.
A working instrument that is being used, that is being obedient brings life, fruit, food, beautiful plants and exciting rewards.
A useless instrument, that is rebellious, that is selfish and corrupted brings bad taste, hunger, ugly, dry dust and regrets.
An owner can see the useless tool in the dark corner and begin to save it. It can be sharpened and restored to serve it's purpose and begin to be used. It can be made to be valuable to it's master once again.
The master can make all things new.
What does the master want you to do? Are you fulfilling the purpose He made you for? Will God use me if I refuse to be sharpened? Have I determined that I like to be dull and weak sitting in the corner, that the easy life is for me?
Do we do what we were made to do? Does the master use us in a noble place in His home?
Are we changing to become all He wants us to be?
I want to become the kind of tool that can be used for His glory and His kingdom...sharp, shiny, new paint and ready to work. I want God to be proud of the instrument He is holding in His hand.
I will determine to be that which God is calling me to be. I will step out in faith and do the hard thing. I know He is always there with a loving smile to guide me...I only need to ask and listen.
2 Timothy 2:21 The Message
"In a well-furnished kitchen there are not only crystal goblets and silver platters, but waste cans and compost buckets- some containers used to serve fine meals, others to take out the garbage. Become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing."
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Monday, March 5, 2012
A Lesson from a Shadow
The shadow was perfect. It was a sunny morning, the bird was eating at the feeder. By the movement in the birds shadow he must have been very hungry. I could not see the bird but I believed he was there. I could not know for sure the bird was eating, but I had faith he was.
The movement and the detailed outline of the shadow was intriguing. I could almost "see" the real thing in my mind. I assumed the bird enjoyed the food by the vigorous eating movements. I believed the bird was unafraid because he did not fly away. I also had faith that the bird in the shadow had feathers.
I couldn't see the brightness or kind of color or the contour of his body. However, I knew that the feeder was a finch feeder and finch birds are yellow and black. This gave me an image to mentally add to the shadow. When I walked to a new position I saw the bird as he really was.
I know Jesus is here beside me. I can't see Him. I don't know how tall He is or the color of His skin nor can I see the expression in His eyes. However, I can see how He works in my life. Things are that could never have been without His intervention.
I believe He is with me. I know the peace He gives me. I know the sustaining strength that is not my own. I know the thoughts beyond my ability to know and how those thoughts bring success to impossible situations. No, I can't see the details of the face of Jesus but I know He is smiling. His word tells me He loves me, that I am His precious child, that He cares about every detail of my life. I know that His arms are around me, holding me. Sometimes they keep me from falling: other times they keep me going another day. Still other times His arms hold me back...keeping me in His perfect will.
By faith I know Jesus is there with a loving smile just as I know the bird is there eating at the feeder. The shadow cast an outline that gives me a belief that the bird is there. The peace inside of me fills me with a calmness giving me faith that Jesus is with me. Until I can walk to another position to see Jesus as I saw the bird, I will continue to believe and have faith from the evidence of His presence. How glorious it will be to see Him as He really is!
I John 3:2
"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see Him as He is."
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.
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The movement and the detailed outline of the shadow was intriguing. I could almost "see" the real thing in my mind. I assumed the bird enjoyed the food by the vigorous eating movements. I believed the bird was unafraid because he did not fly away. I also had faith that the bird in the shadow had feathers.
I couldn't see the brightness or kind of color or the contour of his body. However, I knew that the feeder was a finch feeder and finch birds are yellow and black. This gave me an image to mentally add to the shadow. When I walked to a new position I saw the bird as he really was.
I know Jesus is here beside me. I can't see Him. I don't know how tall He is or the color of His skin nor can I see the expression in His eyes. However, I can see how He works in my life. Things are that could never have been without His intervention.
I believe He is with me. I know the peace He gives me. I know the sustaining strength that is not my own. I know the thoughts beyond my ability to know and how those thoughts bring success to impossible situations. No, I can't see the details of the face of Jesus but I know He is smiling. His word tells me He loves me, that I am His precious child, that He cares about every detail of my life. I know that His arms are around me, holding me. Sometimes they keep me from falling: other times they keep me going another day. Still other times His arms hold me back...keeping me in His perfect will.
By faith I know Jesus is there with a loving smile just as I know the bird is there eating at the feeder. The shadow cast an outline that gives me a belief that the bird is there. The peace inside of me fills me with a calmness giving me faith that Jesus is with me. Until I can walk to another position to see Jesus as I saw the bird, I will continue to believe and have faith from the evidence of His presence. How glorious it will be to see Him as He really is!
I John 3:2
"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see Him as He is."
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