Pots, Jars, and Empty Vessels

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I'd attended a wonderful women's retreat. That was such a refreshing and inspiring time. One of the many blessings of that time was 1 Kings 17.
Here is my big take-away verse: ¹⁶ The ^[k]bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil ^[l]become empty, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through Elijah.

You see, in this portion of Scripture, God sends the prophet Elijah to another country to find food and water. Things are pretty bad in  Israel, with famine drying everything up. God directs His man to the home of a widow, a single mom, who is actually not doing any better. He asks for  a cake to eat. The widow responds that she has just enough oil and meal to make a small meal for she and her son. Then they would die. This sister was in a hard place. No dreams, no hope for the future, no resources. But the man of God tells her not be afraid,  make a small cake for him first, then make for she and son. the widow does as instructed.  The record doesn't indicate that she had any thoughts or words of resistance. Good thing, too, because Elijah further tells her,
¹⁴ For thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘The ^[i]bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil ^[j]be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth.’”
 What an amazing promise! At that moment the single mom widow chooses to believe God and verse 16 happens. God has made many precious promises in His Word. And even as I write this, I'm not sure about a particular circumstance in my life. But I am certain that God has a plan to meet the need. I am fully persuaded that my God will, and has, supplied all of my needs from His riches in glory. I am a clay jar that will never run empty because I have Jesus living in my heart. I have no need to despair because

⁷ But we have this precious treasure [the good news about salvation] in [unworthy] earthen vessels [of human frailty], so that the grandeur and surpassing greatness of the power will be [shown to be] from God [His sufficiency] and not from ourselves.2 Corinthians 4:7Amplified Bible (AMP)

God fills me up each day that I submit myself to Him. The power of Christ is there in me to experience His wonderful grace. No more empty pots.

Never say Never

Never say what you'd never do.
I was vehemently opposed to cats. Simply could not understand how anyone could love them. Didn't want to eat anything out of a kitchen with cats. gross. I said that I would never want a cat. Would never allow one to stay in my house. I wanted nothing to do with an ole stinky cat. Again, gross.

Then Benjamin rescued the cutest kitten ever. Sparla was born of wild, feral cats. I still want those feral cats gone. They are so wily and clever. They seem to be on to the whole cage thing. rrrrrrrrr.
But little tiny Sparla was different. She is a sweet kitten. I am shocked by my care for her. I am surprised by the way she trusts me and wants to love her. It is , well... actually, delightful. I am hooked. I want to care for her and get unhappy when Ben doesn't pay attention to her. When he chooses to play video games instead of playing with her when he gets home from school.

There is a wild reflection here of how it is  with God. We see other people that we deem unlovable. We decide how unworthy they are, how undesirable they are. God sees the sweet relationship that He wants with each individual. God rescues each person by way of faith in His Son, Jesus the Christ. This Christ scoops us up out of rough places, and holds us closely. He speaks gently to us, and wraps us in a clean cloth close to His Body. Christ makes sure that each individual is examined by His Holy Spirit and delivers us from whatever sin sickness we may have, inoculating us against satan's vile ailments. God is saddened when the Body of Christ would rather play games than attend to the newly rescued. The Holy God expects us to understand that this is a relationship and not some trophy or "feel good" moment in our day.
 I was once a lonely kitten, out in the elements, in need of a Savior. I thank God, that those times when the body of Christ didn't recognize my needs, He continued to step in and care for  me. He didn't let me just hang out on my own.  Guess what? He loves you like that, too.

No More Empty Jars

So here I am. My first day blogging again. It's been a very long time. I allowed so many things to get in the way.  There were some life-sapping times, and energy-draining seasons. My pots and jars of sustenance ran dry and empty. Then this past weekend happened.

The ladies of my church went out to a lovely retreat center and were guided by a wonderfully godly woman in looking into God's word and gazing at our sweet Lord. One of the major passages that she had us work through was 1 Kings 17. Here the prophet Elijah is stationed at a brook that is drying up. He has to drink from a brook that is slowly getting murkier, stinky, buggy,  and just nasty. He is there until it is completely dry. Then God sends him to a widow in another country. He asks her for cake. The widow responds that there is just enough to make one more something for  she and her son then they would die. The prophet asks her to make one for him first. Would you know that  the widow complies, and her jars never did run dry of oil and her bins never empty of flour? How God is that! My life, my creative juices had run dry. So much of what made me me was going stale and sad. I love crafts and creative projects. They are an expression of my love for others and God. Our retreat facilitator directed us through some creative activities that helped me to see that if I would give what is left to Jesus, my jars won't run empty. If I would listen and act on the promises of God, my creative expressions will speak again.

I don't have to drink stinky, putrid water. As I drink from the Living Water that is Christ Jesus I stay refreshed and ready to flow in Him. The words are coming a bit choppy today. but I know that my jars and bins are being filled by my loving Lord. The Living Water is washing out all of the clogs in the ductwork so that my heart and mind are a free-flowing conduit of grace.
#newlifeverse1Kings17:16