LLLV18 4-5-2018 Getting in Shape for Up There
A man lost everything, his job, his money, even his wife. Somehow, he managed to remain faithful. One day as he watched some men doing the stonework involved with building a large downtown church. One of the men was "working" a stone into the correct shape.
The man asked, "What are you doing?" The man said; "See that little opening up near the spire? Well, I am shaping this stone down here, so it will fit in up there."
The man then understood that God is shaping him here for a good fit up there!
Job understood this principle and life becomes less painful when we grasp the truth that God is still working on us to smooth out the rough places. The potter and the clay present this work of God on our behalf in several verses. Here's one on the subject:
"But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand." Isaiah 64:8. (NKJV)
Those who know about making pottery tell us that wet clay is placed on the wheel while it is spinning. The potter holds one hand firmly against the outside to form the desired shape. He is also putting the other inside the spinning vessel to keep it from collapsing from the external pressure. Such is the way God is shaping us; outside force made useful by the pressure inside. This truth comes to life in this famous verse:
"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." 1John 4:4. (NKJV).
According to the book of Job, the supposed tragedies of life are upon us via the tool, Satan. God's way of using external pressure, permitting it in varied manifestations, while He is working on the inside, to cause the troubles of life to shape us into a vessel suited for His glory.
Our congregation often recites in unison this: "With Christ in me I am tougher than the tough things of life."
Copyright © 2018 Larry Lilly
Crafted IT Work, Oral Deckard
A man lost everything, his job, his money, even his wife. Somehow, he managed to remain faithful. One day as he watched some men doing the stonework involved with building a large downtown church. One of the men was "working" a stone into the correct shape.
The man asked, "What are you doing?" The man said; "See that little opening up near the spire? Well, I am shaping this stone down here, so it will fit in up there."
The man then understood that God is shaping him here for a good fit up there!
Job understood this principle and life becomes less painful when we grasp the truth that God is still working on us to smooth out the rough places. The potter and the clay present this work of God on our behalf in several verses. Here's one on the subject:
"But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand." Isaiah 64:8. (NKJV)
Those who know about making pottery tell us that wet clay is placed on the wheel while it is spinning. The potter holds one hand firmly against the outside to form the desired shape. He is also putting the other inside the spinning vessel to keep it from collapsing from the external pressure. Such is the way God is shaping us; outside force made useful by the pressure inside. This truth comes to life in this famous verse:
"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." 1John 4:4. (NKJV).
According to the book of Job, the supposed tragedies of life are upon us via the tool, Satan. God's way of using external pressure, permitting it in varied manifestations, while He is working on the inside, to cause the troubles of life to shape us into a vessel suited for His glory.
Our congregation often recites in unison this: "With Christ in me I am tougher than the tough things of life."
Copyright © 2018 Larry Lilly
Crafted IT Work, Oral Deckard
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