Pottery or Jars of Clay?

I love pottery!
To me, pottery is art.
and is usually created with a purpose in mind.

I had often read this verse from 2 Corinthians 4:7,

"But we have this treasure in JARS OF CLAY

to show that this all-surpassing power

is from God and not from us."

This past week I was pondering the thought about being a

"JAR OF CLAY".

I read the passages both before and after its mention

by the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians.

Paul talked about how Moses had to cover his face with a veil

after he had spent time with the LORD,

been in His presence, and seen His Glory.

Exodus 33:12-23

Moses wore the veil because his face shone so brightly

with the LORD's glory

 that the people couldn't stand to look at him!

(Exodus 34:29-35)

Paul says that when we spend time with the LORD,

His glory shines out of us,

and God doesn't want us to hide it.

This was not a new subject to me,

but then God opened my eyes to see an answer to something 

that I had been struggling with.

It had to do with a seeming unanswered prayer.

Awhile back I had believed that God had given me faith

 to believe a certain person would be healed,

but he wasn't...

I've struggled with this and asked God for answers.

God showed me that sometimes He gets more glory

 from letting us go THROUGH something,

then He does from delivering us FROM something.

This is how Paul said it:

 "Everyone can see that the glorious power 

within must be from God and is not our own...  

We are perplexed because we don’t know 

why things happen as they do,

 but we don’t give up and quit... 

 God never abandons us. 

We get knocked down, 

but we get up again and keep going... 

We never give up." 

Sometimes our "Jars of Clay" are sick,

chipped, cracked or broken... 

Romans 14:7-8 TLB

" We are not our own bosses to live or die 

as we ourselves might choose.

 Living or dying we follow the Lord. 

Either way we are his."

It's all about God's glory!

Isaiah 40:5

"And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
    and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

I don't know about you,

but I don't want to be just an empty piece of pottery,

but a JAR OF CLAY through which God shines!

Thanks for dropping by!

Have you checked out my Names of God on Rocks lately?

Click on Rock4Today to take you there!

Unveiling

I have often thought of and been a bit envious of Moses' experience with God on Mount Sinai when he received the ten commandments.  To read this story for yourself click on this link from the Blue Letter Bible: Exodus 34:28-35.  As I thought about how awesome it would be to actually see God face to face, I wished, begged, prayed, and hoped that I could sometime see the glory of God without having to wait until I died to see it!  "Show me your glory," I would often pray.

I also found it very interesting that Moses' face was so radiant that the Israelites could not stand to look at him.  Because of this Moses would cover his face with a veil when he talked to them, but he would take it off when he talked with the LORD.

So, after years of pining and whining about not getting to see the glory of God like Moses had, I came across this passage in 2 Corinthians 3:7-18 that really blew my mind.  In essence it seemed to be saying to me that although Moses' face shone and reflected God's glory so much that he had to wear a veil to hide the brightness, it wasn't nearly as big a deal as we have today when the glory of God shines through us by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

What do I mean by that last statement?  We receive something Moses never was able to know.  He lived under the law, the commandments that no one could live up to.  We who have believed in Jesus Christ as our Savior, however, experience not only forgiveness of our sins, but also the life giving presence of the Holy Spirit within us. 

And here's the deal! God wants to shine His glory through us for all the world to see.  He doesn't want us to try to hide it and veil our faces.  Just as a groom pulls back the wedding veil, we are the Bride of Christ;  He wants to pull back that veil and let everyone see the life and joy that we have received from Him! 

When I think about this, I'm not so jealous of Moses anymore!  ...And I do hope that His glory is shining through me!  Unlike Moses, I don't carry a tablet of stone with the commandments on it, ...but I do write God's name on rocks!  (To see some of my art work, please check out  my other blog by clicking this link - Rock4Today.)

Blessings on Spiritual Sundays for allowing me to link with them!