Archives: Watchword

WATCHWORD:

⁸ That evening they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden; and they hid themselves among the trees. ⁹ The Lord God called to Adam, “Why are you hiding? ¹⁰ And Adam replied, “I heard you coming and didn’t want you to see me naked. So I hid.” ¹¹ “Who told you, you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten fruit from the tree I warned you about?” ¹² “Yes,” Adam admitted, “but it was the woman you gave me who brought me some, and I ate it.” ¹³ Then the Lord God asked the woman, “How could you do such a thing?” “The serpent tricked me,” she replied.  Genesis 3:8-13 Continue reading

WATCHWORD:

¹⁸ Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later. ¹⁹ For all creation is waiting patiently and hopefully for that future day when God will resurrect his children. ^20-21 For on that day thorns and thistles, sin, death, and decay —the things that overcame the world against its will at God’s command—will all disappear, and the world around us will share in the glorious freedom from sin which God’s children enjoy. ²² For we know that even the things of nature, like animals and plants, suffer in sickness and death as they await this great event. ²³ And even we Christians, although we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, also groan to be released from pain and suffering. We, too, wait anxiously for that day when God will give us our full rights as his children, including the new bodies he has promised us—bodies that will never be sick again and will never die. ²⁴ We are saved by trusting. And trusting means looking forward to getting something we don’t yet have—for a man who already has something doesn’t need to hope and trust that he will get it. ²⁵ But if we must keep trusting God for something that hasn’t happened yet, it teaches us to wait patiently and confidently. Romans 8:18-25 Continue reading

WATCHWORD:

¹ Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John ² (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did). ³ So he left Judea and returned to Galilee. ⁴ He had to go through Samaria on the way. ⁵ Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. ⁶ Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.  ⁷ Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” ⁸ He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. ⁹ The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” ¹⁰ Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”  John 4:1-10 Continue reading

WATCHWORD:

But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8

“O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. Jeremiah 18:6  

 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?  Romans 9:19-21

Meditation:

“Does God Curse Us?”

Recently, a friend asked me, partly in jest, “does God curse us”?  I had a ready answer but before I could share it, he said, “You should write a Watchword about that.”  I knew he had his share of adversity and was frustrated, but I also knew he had faith. But write a meditation on God’s role in our troubles?  Well, it felt like a challenge, so, here goes…

I thought about that question in relation to my own life journey and the few remembered adversities that I struggled through. I say “few remembered adversities” because, even though at the time I thought the sky was falling on me many times, the truth is, I can recall only once when I was truly frustrated with the Lord, and that was during the five-year health decline of the love of my life, until she passed into God’s presence. There may have been other times, but they left no mark no remembrance.

Maybe we should make a distinction between trouble, or in my friend’s words, “curses”, and holy discipline. In Hebrew 12:11, we read For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. If we take this to heart, then we are left with a conclusion that adversity, troubles, curses, or discipline are actually from God, and they are, in the final analysis, blessings.

Mark Farnham writes in Apologetics for the Church, “The problem with this answer for many Christians is they wrestle with how God can be good if he ordains trouble and suffering. A God who ordains and decrees suffering does not seem to be just, loving, compassionate, merciful, good or kind. God is sovereign and whatever he does is good and just, whether we think so or not.

When we embrace Jesus as Lord and Savior, we declare God’s sovereignty and pledge our own submission to Him. That word “submission” sticks in my throat.  Is surrender a more acceptable idea? Nah! The metaphor of the Potter and the clay teaches a truth that is hard for many to accept. We don’t like to say that God is responsible for the trouble that enters our lives, but the answer is that God is absolutely responsible for all those elements that we deem as “troubles” or  “curses”.  That should be a comfort to us, for if God were not in charge, then our lives would be left to chance, and the matter of God’s sovereignty would have no meaning.

Steve Brown shared a thought long ago that has been with me ever since. He reminded us that “God is in control, and He loves us.”  That has been the mantra for my family for nearly 20 years. If God is in control, then I’m not, and every minute detail of my life passes through His hands.

So, the answer to my friend’s question is, Yes. God is responsible for all blessings, and for those bits of adversity that frustrate us at times. The ups and the downs, even the mountain of grief and loss, what we may call curses, all are part of God’s master plan for our lives. As animated bits of clay, we can’t see around the bend, and we may be upset by our inability to understand the reason, yet, we have faith and trust in Christ, the Potter. Lord, mold me and make me after Thy will. Amen.

Bulletin Board:

Vernon McGee tells the story of when he was a seminary student traveling from his home in Tennessee to the seminary in Dallas, he always passed a large pottery plant near Arkadelphia, Arkansas. One day he took time out to stop and see pottery being made. He says there were two very impressive, very striking sights that he has not forgotten. Behind this plant was the ugliest patch of mud he had ever seen. It was shapeless and gooey and looked hopeless. Out in front of the plant they had a display room, and in that room were some of the most exquisite vessels he had ever seen.

“We went inside the plant, and we saw many potters at work. There they stood, bent over their wheels, giving their full attention to working with that helpless, hopeless, ugly, mushy messy clay. They were intent on transforming it and translating it into objects of art. The only difference between that mass out back and those lovely vessels in the display room were these potter’s hands, working over their wheels.”

I wonder, without the potter, would we be a work of art or simply a mass of gooey mud?

Let’s Pray – Have Thine Own Way, Lord:

Have Thine own way Lord
Have Thine own way
Thou art the potter I am the clay
Mold me and make me after Thy will
While I am waiting yielded and still

Have Thine own way Lord
Have Thine own way
Search me and try me Master today
Whiter than snow Lord wash me just now
As in Thy presence humbly I bow

Have Thine own way Lord
Have Thine own way
Hold over my being absolute sway
Filled with Thy spirit till all can see
Christ only always living in me.

Amen

WATCHWORD:

²² Immediately after this, Jesus told his disciples to get into their boat and cross to the other side of the lake while he stayed to get the people started home. ^23-24 Then afterwards he went up into the hills to pray. Night fell, and out on the lake the disciples were in trouble. For the wind had risen and they were fighting heavy seas. ²⁵ About four o’clock in the morning Jesus came to them, walking on the water! 26 They screamed in terror, for they thought he was a ghost. ²⁷ But Jesus immediately spoke to them, reassuring them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. ²⁸ Then Peter called to him: “Sir, if it is really you, tell me to come over to you, walking on the water.”

²⁹ “All right,” the Lord said, “come along!”

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. 30 But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. ³¹ Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and rescued him. “O man of little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” Matthew 14:22-31 Continue reading

WATCHWORD:

¹ Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. ² For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. ³ During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” ⁴ But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” ⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, ⁶ and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”  ⁷ Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” Matthew 4:1-7 Continue reading

WATCHWORD:

⁵ “Don’t you remember, O my people, how Balak, king of Moab, tried to destroy you through the curse of Balaam, son of Beor, but I made him bless you instead? That is the kindness I showed you again and again. Have you no memory at all of what happened at Acacia and Gilgal and how I blessed you there?” ⁶ “How can we make up to you for what we’ve done?” you ask. “Shall we bow before the Lord with offerings of yearling calves?” Oh no! ⁷ For if you offered him thousands of rams and ten thousands of rivers of olive oil—would that please him? Would he be satisfied? If you sacrificed your oldest child, would that make him glad? Then would he forgive your sins? Of course not! ⁸ No, he has told you what he wants, and this is all it is: to be fair, just, merciful, and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:5-8

“Yes, woe upon you, Pharisees, and you other religious leaders—hypocrites! For you tithe down to the last mint leaf in your garden, but ignore the important things—justice and mercy and faith. Yes, you should tithe, but you shouldn’t leave the more important things undone. Matthew 23:23 Continue reading

WATCHWORD:

I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun!   Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. Isaiah 43:19 Continue reading

WATCHWORD:

³⁹ One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!” ⁴⁰ But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? ⁴¹ We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” ⁴² Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” ⁴³ And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:39-43

²⁰ But our homeland is in heaven, where our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, is; and we are looking forward to his return from there. ²¹ When he comes back, he will take these dying bodies of ours and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same mighty power that he will use to conquer all else everywhere. Philippines 3:20-21 Continue reading

WATCHWORD:

³⁶ After some time Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit each city where we previously preached the word of the Lord, to see how the new believers are doing.” ³⁷ Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along John Mark. ³⁸ But Paul disagreed strongly, since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in their work. ³⁹ Their disagreement was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus. ⁴⁰ Paul chose Silas.  Acts 15:36-40

A friendly discussion can be as stimulating as the sparks that fly when iron strikes iron. Proverbs 27:17 Continue reading