Are we useful to the Master?

2 Timothy 2:21 (ESV) 

Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. 

Are we useful to the Master?

Is our life open and willing to do the Master's will?

In today's world it is easy to get distracted and move away from what our Master wants for our life. We have our own ideas of what career path we want to follow, how we want to appear to other people, and in doing so live a life that may hide who we really are and who God want us to be. 

It can be incredibly difficult to be ourselves, to be who God made us to be. We may hide our true colours because it has caused us pain in the past. Naturally we want to protect ourselves from being hurt again. The movement away from dishonoring God's creation and accepting His true version of us as He saw us before we were born, is a journey of courage, self acceptance, and freedom. It will strip away the layers and make us holy and ready for every good work. 

God made us all for a purpose. It is our duty as followers of Christ to find out what that purpose is. Only then can we be a vessel for honorable use. The clutter that we have filled our temples with can only be thrown out through the power of the Holy Spirit as it is only He who can delve into the secrets of our hidden rooms and bring healing and peace to us and ultimately make us holy. 

We must all want to be useful to the Master. He is our creator, and as a writer plans out his/her story, so the Master has planned out our own unique page turner. We are hero's and heroine's who have an important role to play in this world. When we follow our own story line and disregard the Master's plot we move away from the glorious future that God has for us. Each moment or step that we take away from God's design for us takes us away from holiness and our own special calling. 

God made us right down to the colour of our hair. He did not make a mistake when he formed us. Every little detail was thought out carefully so that it could be used for His honour and glory. 

So do we rejoice at the way we look or do we hide it? Do we celebrate our differences or do we reject them? Do we thank God for his vision of us or do we shrink away unhappy with what we see in the mirror?

If we do then we dishonor His creation. In our rejection of ourselves we open the door to other grievances. We ask God why did he do this, or why did he do that? We look at the physical instead of the spiritual. We block the path of the Master who already sees us as perfect. 

Therefore before we can become useful to the Master we need healing. To be set free of our perception of what is beautiful and to see through the eyes of the greatest Potter who formed us. 

When we are cleansed of our judgement which has been molded by the world and its hurts, we can move into the Love of the Father who can then restore us and use us for His works. 

His beauty will then shine through us and there is nothing more beautiful than the Love of Christ expressing itself through one of His creations. 

So my prayer today is that we embrace who we are in our naked form with no adornments or alterations. That we empty ourselves completely and desire only to be filled up with God's perception of who we are. That we relinquish our dishonorable, misguided and self filled goals and ask God what His plan is for our life, so that we can be honorable and useful to the Master. 

And lastly, that we celebrate the person that God made, because in his making of us he carefully chose the colours and tones to make YOU. Be proud of who God made.

God bless you all.  

  

Be strong in the Lord and in his might power.

Ephesians 6:10-17

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

When I got married and had three children I did not know that this scripture reading would be so important. I thought it was about the world and did not realize that in fact it would impact upon my home, the place where I felt safe and secure. The place where I could be myself and have some peace from the demands of the day. This was a naive assumption as over the years the 'battlefield' has become routed in my home. The mighty powers and evil rulers of the unseen world have edged their way through my front door attaching themselves to comments, prejudices, actions, teen attitudes and friendships. Not only that the TV and other media sources have invaded my belief systems and been a source of battles as my teenagers try to grapple with the world and all its lures. Schools with their political correctness have tried to water down religion, morals and parental values through weak religious education. Indeed I found out recently that my youngest is going to be taught 'Religion' by an atheist!

Two of my children no longer take what I believe in as something they want to follow. They would prefer to be free of religion and just be like all of their friends who do not go to church. They do not see the value of a belief system as it appears to get in the way of what they want to do. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. 

I am standing my ground, and showing through my love and actions that God is the most important authority in my life. I pray constantly for my family, asking the Holy Spirit to take authority over their life. I pray into their friendships, asking God to bring faithful servants of His Kingdom to walk along side them. I have handed over my children to God's loving care as the battle against unseen forces continues to rage in my house. I read scripture and put on every piece my armor daily. And I love till it hurts, knowing that I am not alone in this battle. 

Being a parent has never been easy, but with respect and a disrespect for authority being at an all time low, it is even more important to put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 

With teenage girls not believing that they need to respect their own bodies and thinking that sleeping around is 'okay' as it doesn't hurt anyone, I fear for the consequences of this attitude. This lack of respect for ones own temple is very sad and plays into the hands of unseen forces.  

I  am so grateful that we already have the Victory in Christ Jesus and no matter what, He, will remain faithful to all my family. However I shall never stop loving or praying for them that their eyes will be opened to the freedom that God offers them. God's spirit is within them and He will never let them go. Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

John 17:23 God loves us as much as He loves Jesus

John 17:23 I am in them as you are in  me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.

Wow, wow, wow. Jesus is praying for us so that we may know that we are loved as much by the Father as Jesus is. Jesus' own words. That the world (being you and me) will know that you (God) love them as much as you love me (Jesus).  

We are loved by God as much as Jesus is.

That is one awesome statement. I am loved as much as Jesus is. 

Me, broken, a sinner, who has issues with trust, love, authority, commitment, low self esteem, who has made little of my life, is loved as much as Jesus is. Jesus who is God's own son, Heir, Prince, of Royal Blood, Saviour, Beloved of God. This is mind blowing. 

This is the God of my life, my Father in Heaven, Lover of all mankind. He loves me no more or less than he loves His own son. 

Praise God. This is life changing stuff. If this knowledge does not change your life then what can? This fact repeated over and over and drawn into your heart and soul and ruminated on will bring about miracles in your everyday situations. 

Mark 11:24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours.  

John 14:13 You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.  

That promise means us. We are sons and daughters of God. When our spirit is in alignment with God's we can expect miracles, answers to prayer to be a daily occurrence.  

John 17:23 I am in them as you are in  me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.