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Jeremiah 18:1-11
Elementary-school art teachers teach their students how to make "happy mistakes." If a student makes a mark or cuts something that can't be undone, the teacher helps them incorporate that mistake into their project. Perhaps that unsightly pencil line can become another tree branch. Maybe that zig-zag cut on the edge of the paper could be repeated to become a fancy border for the artwork. Like the elementary art teacher, the potter makes his marred pot into a "happy mistake" -- instead of throwing out the clay, he reassesses its potential and reforms it into a new shape. God does the same thing with us: He constantly reassesses our potential and recasts our lives. Look at it, perhaps, as a series of happy mistakes that God helps us work into the artwork of our lives.
Leah T.
Jeremiah 18:1-11
Adelide Pollard was discouraged. Living in Chicago she taught at several girls' schools. She was also recognized in the city for her admirable ability as an itinerant Bible teacher. Yet, she knew her real calling was to go to Africa as a missionary. A seemingly impossible task for she was unable to raise the money to fund the expedition.
One night, while walking the streets in contemplation, she stopped in on a prayer meeting. She listened to the very simple prayer of an elderly woman, whose words expressed the discontent in Pollard's own heart. The lady prayed, "It really doesn't matter what you do with us, Lord -- just have your own way with our lives."
Returning home, Pollard kept thinking about the lady's simple yet astute prayer. This led her to study the story parable of the potter in the book of Jeremiah. She began reading, "Then I went down to the potter's house…" Before retiring for the evening, Pollard wrote the popular consecration hymn, "Have Thine Own Way, Lord." Pollard did not make it to Africa in that year of 1902, but God continued to mold her into an outstanding teacher and evangelistic for a ministry in Chicago.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay:
Mould me and make me After Thy will,
While I am waiting, Yielded and still.
Jeremiah had his vision for the parable of the potter as he walked Potter's Street in Jerusalem. Watching the artisans work, Jeremiah realized that God could make us and remake us if we would only submit to his will. It was a lesson that was not lost on Adelide Pollard. Let us hope that it is a lesson that still speaks to us this day.
Ron L.
Philemon 1-21
For those of us who are under about 130 years of age or so, it may be difficult to relate to the subject matter of this passage. We have not had to witness slavery in its most blatant forms. All this talk about Onesimus and his complicated relationship with Philemon as a runaway slave turned fellow believer in Christ may just kind of go over our heads.
However, just because slavery isn't rampant in America, at least not openly, we should not deceive ourselves into thinking it has simply passed into history. A recent Time magazine article, highlighting the sex trade in South Africa, notes that slavery, if defined as people working for no pay other than basic sustenance in deplorable conditions, is more rampant now than at any point in the past 150 years, despite all the international anti-slavery pacts that have been ratified in that time. While it has major concentrations in south Asia and Africa, human trafficking has become a worldwide epidemic. For the full text of the article, go to http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1952335-1,00.html.
Craig K.
Philemon 1-21
It is not always easy to do the right thing. Sometimes we are thrust into a situation where it is not immediately clear what action to take. Cecilia recalls a moment when she was seventeen years old. She was enjoying a dinner with her family and some friends. A good friend said something that set her off, that if the United States ever went to war against a Central American country her parents would be sent to an internment camp. "It never occurred to me that we were anything but an American family," she reflects.
"My outrage that day became the propellant of my life," Cecilia claims, "driving me straight to the civil rights movement, where I've worked ever since." Her first job she helped fifty immigrant families a day. She has a heart to help people fueled by her faith. She has a "deep sense of gratitude" knowing that she is "doing my small part to make things better."
The apostle Paul was writing to his friend, Philemon, to encourage him to do the right thing. Onesimus worked for Philemon and then ran away. He met up with Paul and other believers and soon became a believer. Paul urged Onesimus to do the right thing and go back to Philemon. Paul hoped that Philemon would also do the right thing and welcome Onesimus back treating him not as a fugitive from the law but as a brother in the Lord. "For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty," Paul wrote, "yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love."
Tim S.
Luke 14:25-33
Stop for a moment and evaluate your resources. This is probably what you should do in any situation. Preparing to go on vacation? Pause and evaluate your resources. You have "x" amount of money to spend, you can tolerate "x" amount of hours in the car, you want to be gone "x" number of days. Getting attacked by a bear? Pause and evaluate your resources. You have a sleeping bag and some granola bars? Okay, plan from there. Evaluating resources is an important first step in making a decision. Your resources are things that you have -- money, vacation days, a minivan; a sleeping bag, granola bars. But a good evaluation also assesses things that you do not have -- a private jet, a rifle, bear repellant. Evaluations weigh the pros and cons of each decision you could make, including the things you have the potential to gain… and the things that you have the potential to lose.
Leah T.
Luke 14:25-33
Jesus was asked what it meant to be one of his followers. Jesus outlined the cost of what it meant to follow him. One had to forsake all to gain all. And Jesus cautioned that one should not embark on the Christian life without first contemplating this cost of self-sacrifice.
In 1937, German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer published his book titled, The Cost of Discipleship. It called for a radical Christianity to confront the oppressive regime of the Nazi government and the atrocities they were committing. The established church had become complacent, so a new voice of confrontation must be heard. Before doing so, one must count the cost. It would become a contrast between those who exercised cheap grace and those who thundered forth costly grace. He summarized costly grace in a paragraph that should guide every church of every decade. There is no place for complacency when following Jesus. It reads:
That is what we mean by cheap grace, the grace which amounts to the justification of sin without the justification of the repentant sinner who departs from sin and from whom sins departs.
Cheap grace is not the kind of forgiveness of sin which frees us from the toils of sin. Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him. Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.
Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: "ye were bought at a price," and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.
Ron L.
Elementary-school art teachers teach their students how to make "happy mistakes." If a student makes a mark or cuts something that can't be undone, the teacher helps them incorporate that mistake into their project. Perhaps that unsightly pencil line can become another tree branch. Maybe that zig-zag cut on the edge of the paper could be repeated to become a fancy border for the artwork. Like the elementary art teacher, the potter makes his marred pot into a "happy mistake" -- instead of throwing out the clay, he reassesses its potential and reforms it into a new shape. God does the same thing with us: He constantly reassesses our potential and recasts our lives. Look at it, perhaps, as a series of happy mistakes that God helps us work into the artwork of our lives.
Leah T.
Jeremiah 18:1-11
Adelide Pollard was discouraged. Living in Chicago she taught at several girls' schools. She was also recognized in the city for her admirable ability as an itinerant Bible teacher. Yet, she knew her real calling was to go to Africa as a missionary. A seemingly impossible task for she was unable to raise the money to fund the expedition.
One night, while walking the streets in contemplation, she stopped in on a prayer meeting. She listened to the very simple prayer of an elderly woman, whose words expressed the discontent in Pollard's own heart. The lady prayed, "It really doesn't matter what you do with us, Lord -- just have your own way with our lives."
Returning home, Pollard kept thinking about the lady's simple yet astute prayer. This led her to study the story parable of the potter in the book of Jeremiah. She began reading, "Then I went down to the potter's house…" Before retiring for the evening, Pollard wrote the popular consecration hymn, "Have Thine Own Way, Lord." Pollard did not make it to Africa in that year of 1902, but God continued to mold her into an outstanding teacher and evangelistic for a ministry in Chicago.
Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay:
Mould me and make me After Thy will,
While I am waiting, Yielded and still.
Jeremiah had his vision for the parable of the potter as he walked Potter's Street in Jerusalem. Watching the artisans work, Jeremiah realized that God could make us and remake us if we would only submit to his will. It was a lesson that was not lost on Adelide Pollard. Let us hope that it is a lesson that still speaks to us this day.
Ron L.
Philemon 1-21
For those of us who are under about 130 years of age or so, it may be difficult to relate to the subject matter of this passage. We have not had to witness slavery in its most blatant forms. All this talk about Onesimus and his complicated relationship with Philemon as a runaway slave turned fellow believer in Christ may just kind of go over our heads.
However, just because slavery isn't rampant in America, at least not openly, we should not deceive ourselves into thinking it has simply passed into history. A recent Time magazine article, highlighting the sex trade in South Africa, notes that slavery, if defined as people working for no pay other than basic sustenance in deplorable conditions, is more rampant now than at any point in the past 150 years, despite all the international anti-slavery pacts that have been ratified in that time. While it has major concentrations in south Asia and Africa, human trafficking has become a worldwide epidemic. For the full text of the article, go to http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1952335-1,00.html.
Craig K.
Philemon 1-21
It is not always easy to do the right thing. Sometimes we are thrust into a situation where it is not immediately clear what action to take. Cecilia recalls a moment when she was seventeen years old. She was enjoying a dinner with her family and some friends. A good friend said something that set her off, that if the United States ever went to war against a Central American country her parents would be sent to an internment camp. "It never occurred to me that we were anything but an American family," she reflects.
"My outrage that day became the propellant of my life," Cecilia claims, "driving me straight to the civil rights movement, where I've worked ever since." Her first job she helped fifty immigrant families a day. She has a heart to help people fueled by her faith. She has a "deep sense of gratitude" knowing that she is "doing my small part to make things better."
The apostle Paul was writing to his friend, Philemon, to encourage him to do the right thing. Onesimus worked for Philemon and then ran away. He met up with Paul and other believers and soon became a believer. Paul urged Onesimus to do the right thing and go back to Philemon. Paul hoped that Philemon would also do the right thing and welcome Onesimus back treating him not as a fugitive from the law but as a brother in the Lord. "For this reason, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do your duty," Paul wrote, "yet I would rather appeal to you on the basis of love."
Tim S.
Luke 14:25-33
Stop for a moment and evaluate your resources. This is probably what you should do in any situation. Preparing to go on vacation? Pause and evaluate your resources. You have "x" amount of money to spend, you can tolerate "x" amount of hours in the car, you want to be gone "x" number of days. Getting attacked by a bear? Pause and evaluate your resources. You have a sleeping bag and some granola bars? Okay, plan from there. Evaluating resources is an important first step in making a decision. Your resources are things that you have -- money, vacation days, a minivan; a sleeping bag, granola bars. But a good evaluation also assesses things that you do not have -- a private jet, a rifle, bear repellant. Evaluations weigh the pros and cons of each decision you could make, including the things you have the potential to gain… and the things that you have the potential to lose.
Leah T.
Luke 14:25-33
Jesus was asked what it meant to be one of his followers. Jesus outlined the cost of what it meant to follow him. One had to forsake all to gain all. And Jesus cautioned that one should not embark on the Christian life without first contemplating this cost of self-sacrifice.
In 1937, German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer published his book titled, The Cost of Discipleship. It called for a radical Christianity to confront the oppressive regime of the Nazi government and the atrocities they were committing. The established church had become complacent, so a new voice of confrontation must be heard. Before doing so, one must count the cost. It would become a contrast between those who exercised cheap grace and those who thundered forth costly grace. He summarized costly grace in a paragraph that should guide every church of every decade. There is no place for complacency when following Jesus. It reads:
That is what we mean by cheap grace, the grace which amounts to the justification of sin without the justification of the repentant sinner who departs from sin and from whom sins departs.
Cheap grace is not the kind of forgiveness of sin which frees us from the toils of sin. Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him. Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.
Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: "ye were bought at a price," and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.
Ron L.
