Tag: ALS

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Mary

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.  And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one!  The Lord is with you.”  But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.  The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”  Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”  The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.  And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.  For nothing will be impossible with God.”  And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.”  And the angel departed from her.  (Luke 1:26-38, NASB)

I love the story of Mary.  Visited by an angel, given some startling news from God, and rolling with it. 

Dr. Luke’s account has the archangel Gabriel visiting Mary.  He delivers news to her:  She is highly favored by God, and she will conceive and bear a son.  His name would be Jesus.  She is more puzzled than anything–after all, she explains, she’s a virgin.  When Gabriel explains the supernatural circumstances of her impending conception, she replies, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.”  Amazing!  Totally on board with God’s plan, despite her earthly circumstances! 

“The Annunciation,” by Salomon Koninck, 1655, found at Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org

Mary has a couple of problems.  First, she’s betrothed to Joseph, a local carpenter.  The account in Matthew 1 describes Joseph as a devout and good man.  When he finds that Mary is with child, he decides to put her away secretly and quietly.  His other option under the Mosaic Law was to have her stoned to death.  But when Gabriel visits Joseph to explain the situation, Joseph takes Mary back, and agrees to be the Child’s legal father. 

Mary’s second problem, mentioned above, is her potential condemnation under the Law of Moses.  A betrothal under Jewish law was as good as being married.  The penalty for adultery, then, was death by stoning.  At the very least, if not put to death, she could be shunned and ostracized by her community (This was portrayed well in the 2006 movie “The Nativity Story.”  Sure enough, the townspeople turned their backs on Mary after they saw she was pregnant.  As Joseph and Mary were about to leave on their trip to Bethlehem, while they were being treated very badly, Joseph said, “I think they’re going to miss us.”).  Having this on her mind as Gabriel gave her the news must have amounted to enormous pressure.  On top of that, Mary was likely a mere teenager.  Yet she submitted to God’s plan, said “Your servant,” and moved on.  That’s probably why God chose her for this mission! 

A few years back (1990s?), a group of contemporary Christian singers toured the country during Advent, and put on an opera of sorts about the Christmas story.  Crystal Lewis, whose song is below, played the part of Mary.  I’ve always thought of this as a modern-day “Magnificat” (The poem attributed to Mary when she visited her relative Elizabeth.  See Luke 1:46-55).

Worship:  “Let it be to Me,” sung by Crystal Lewis

Oh, to have Mary’s faith and trust!  A mere teenager, visited by an angel (by all accounts, a frightening experience!), and given this news.  She had yet to face her fiance, her family, and the townspeople.  Yet under all this this pressure, she immediately said “Yes!” to God.  God, in the name of Messiah, Whose birth we celebrate, please give me the faith of Mary, to recognize Your will and do it, no matter the consequences.  

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Prophecy V

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  (Zechariah 9:9, NASB)

This is another prophecy to Israel about God’s Christmas gift to them and the whole world of the coming of the Savior of the world!  This one is from the book of Zechariah.  The Prophet Zechariah wrote during the end of the Babylonian exile.  Seventy years had passed since Judah was defeated by Babylon and carried into exile.  The Persian Empire in turn had defeated Babylon, and was now in power.  God spoke through Zechariah to heal the hearts of the Jewish exiles, reconcile them to Himself, and prepare them to return to the land of Judah.  (Zechariah 1)


The prophet says that Israel should rejoice.  Indeed!  The arrival of Messiah would fulfill hundreds of years of waiting and hoping for their Savior King to arrive.  Zechariah describes the future King as “just and endowed with salvation.”  Jesus fulfilled this description.  He walked among us, and taught justice and mercy, that we should love God and love other people.  Messiah would also be humble.  He left His heavenly home and humbly took the form of a man to deliver His message of salvation and gospel of love. 

1. Christ is claiming His rightful place as the prophesied Messiah.Untitled, found at crosswalk.com


Further, their future King would arrive “mounted on a donkey.”  Jesus would fulfill this prophecy during His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  We’ll talk more about this during Lent.  Zechariah’s prophecies would come true later, but they gave God’s people reason to hope as they prepared to reenter and inhabit the Promised Land.  

Jesus Messiah fulfilled 108 prophecies from the Old Testament.  God spoke through His prophets to tell Israel Whom to expect that would lead them to salvation.  The long-expected King came to the earth on that first Christmas.  He still calls us today.  God’s Gift to us is most precious.  Have you received Him? 

Worship:  “Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion,” from “Messiah,” by G.F. Handel.  Sung by Lynne Dawson. 

Meghan, my excellent nurse, made this elf for me.  I guess you could say it’s my elf-on-the-shelf!  He’s holding a pennant with a red football helmet representing the University of Oklahoma.  She tried to put a blue one on (Air Force!), but there wasn’t enough room.  I think Meghan couldn’t care less about football, but over the fall she’s evolved to root for my teams:  Air Force, OU, Ohio State, and TCU.  Oh, and the elf has my name on his shirt.  Thank you, Meghan! 

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Prophecy IV

“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.  “Speak kindly to Jerusalem; And call out to her, that her warfare has ended, That her iniquity has been removed, That she has received of the Lord’s hand Double for all her sins.”  A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.  Let every valley be lifted up, And every mountain and hill be made low; And let the rough ground become a plain, And the rugged terrain a broad valley . . . ”  (Isaiah 40:1-4, NASB)

And he [John the Baptist] came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins; as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord, Make His paths straight.  Every ravine will be filled, And every mountain and hill will be brought low; The crooked will become straight, And the rough roads smooth; And all flesh will see the salvation of God.’ ”  (Luke 3:3-6, NASB)

Another prediction of the coming of Messiah, from Prophet Isaiah.  This particular prophecy was fulfilled by a relative of Jesus in John the Baptist. 


The Bible tells us that John’s mother, Elizabeth, was a “relative” of Jesus’ mother, Mary.  Does that make John and Jesus cousins?  I don’t know, but I refer to John as Jesus’ cousin. 


The Bible describes John as a rough man who lived in the wilderness.  As predicted, his job was to “clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.”  According to Dr. Luke (the second passage above), John did exactly what he was supposed to do.  He prepared the hearts of the people for the arrival of Jesus before the beginning of His public ministry.  Many people thought John was the Messiah, but John corrected them, and explained that he was not worthy to untie the sandals of the Expected One.  
“The Preaching of St. John the Baptist,” by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1566.  Found at Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org

As John was baptizing people one day, he saw Jesus approaching.  God revealed to him that this was the Christ.  He said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'”  (John 1:29-30)  

John the Baptist recognized that Jesus was the Christ; the Lamb of God; the Savior promised by God through His prophets; God’s most precious Christmas gift.  John prepared the people’s hearts for Jesus’ arrival.  This Advent season, are you preparing your heart for Jesus?  He’s coming back for His people.  Have you accepted God’s Christmas present? 


“Comfort Ye My People,” and “Ev’ry Valley Shall Be Exalted,” from “Messiah,” by G.F.  Handel.  Performed by Nicholas Sharrott, tenor. 

One of our neighbors, Thelma, a very sweet lady, brought this angel over.  It’s on a shelf in my bedroom.  I can see it out of the corner of my eye.  I think Thelma wants to remind me that God has dispatched angels to watch over me! 
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Prophecy III

“Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me.  And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.  “But who can endure the day of His coming?  And who can stand when He appears?  For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.  He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness.  Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.”  (Malachi 3:1-4, NASB)

This is another of the many prophecies of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ from the Old Testament.  This one is from the Prophet Malachi.  Malachi was the last of the recorded prophets before the incarnation of Jesus.  There was a period of “400 years of silence” between Malachi’s prophecy and the first Christmas. 

God speaks through His servant Malachi in this narrative above.  He speaks of His messenger to come, Who is Jesus!  Then God asks two questions:  “But who can endure the day of His coming?  And who can stand when He appears?”  God then answers His own questions:  “For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap.”  On that first Christmas, God sent His Son because He loves us.  He wants us to have a personal relationship with Him, and the resulting eternal life. 

But God warns us that Jesus may be different than what we think.  He compares Jesus to a refiner and then a cleaner.  You see, we’re full of impurities.  The Bible says we’re like filthy rags.  The smelter sits at the refiner’s fire, melts the metal, and removes the impurities, or dross, leaving a more pure product.  Likewise, the cleaner of the time used fullers’ soap, which was very harsh, to get stains and filth out of laundry.  In like manner, Jesus removes the impurities and filth from us.  Sometimes the heat or the harshness He uses is mighty uncomfortable.  Sometimes it hurts! 

File:El Greco 13.jpg“Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple,” by El Greco, before 1570.  Found at Wikipedia Commons, commons.wikipedia.org

Jesus is not always the fuzzy, lovable character we think.  Yes, He loves us with perfect, infinite, agape love.  He only wants what’s best for us.  But during His earthly ministry, He sometimes displayed righteous indignation toward people who showed blatant disregard for His Father.  For example, twice He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and merchants at the Temple, who showed disrespect for His Father’s House. 

God loves us so much that He sent His only Son as the most important gift that anyone could give.  Jesus loves us so much that He took our sins upon Himself, and went to the cross to die, and take the punishment we all deserve.  Salvation is a process.  Jesus refines us and cleans us along the way, to make us acceptable to His Father.  Have you accepted God’s most precious gift of His Son? 

Worship: “But Who May Abide the Day of His Coming” from “Messiah” by G.F. Handel, performed by The Brandenburg Consort

This wreath hangs on my bedroom door during the Advent season.  I can see it during the day and evening when my door is open.  One of our daughters, Laura, made it for me two years ago.  She placed the nutcracker near the bottom as a reminder.  Several years ago I took both our daughters, Meredith and Laura, for a daddy-daughter outing one Saturday this time of year.  We went to Norfolk.  First we went to the Freemason Abbey for a very nice lunch.  Then, to Chrysler Hall for a performance of “The Nutcracker.”  This was a truly wonderful and memorable day with my girls! 

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Prophecy II

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.  There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore.  The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.  (Isaiah 9:6-7, NASB)


From the book of Isaiah, prophecy of the then-future Messiah.  This is just one of many that Jesus Christ our Lord fulfilled in accordance with God’s plan of redemption and salvation.  
Isaiah predicts some of the names that Jesus would be called.  I found a great description of these names recently in a Bible study on the names of Jesus: 


“When we consider Jesus as Wonderful Counselor, we need to look at this in context. ‘Wonderful’ depicts a God who is out of the ordinary, and can do amazing things. And ‘Counsellor’ indicates a wisdom beyond what we have in ourselves. Historically in Hebrew culture, a counsellor referred to a king giving counsel to his people. We are the people of God in this way. When we consider Jesus as Mighty God, we are reminded of His protection and provision. He is strong when we aren’t. He will protect us when we need to be defended. He is our strength. When we consider Jesus as the Prince of Peace, we are reminded that we serve a God of peace, who came to bring ultimate peace to the world. That was His mission and ministry, and without Him, there is no peace. Jesus came not to bring peace to the world as in the absence of war, but peace between God and man who were separated by sin. He died to reconcile sinners to a holy God. We thank God for His goodness in bringing us ultimate peace and rest in Christ.” (from “Names of Jesus for Advent,” by the Bible Society of Australia, at bible.com, or You Version app)

Untitled, found at The Foundry Community, https://www.thefoundrycommunity.com/for-unto-us-a-child-is-born/

Jesus is a descendant of King David, on whose throne He will sit someday.  And when He does, “He shall reign forever and ever.”  God loves us so much that He sent His only Son on that first Christmas.  He has promised that whoever believes in the Son will have eternal life in the presence of the King.  Have you decided? 

In my opinion, “Messiah,” by George Frideric Handel, is perhaps the greatest piece of music ever written.  I try to listen to the whole thing at least once during Advent.  It was common for composers in the old days (Handel lived from 1685-1759, per Wikipedia) to inscribe their manuscripts “To the Glory of God.”  This is truly heaven-sent!  “Messiah” was written following the prophecies of Jesus Christ.  Here is the movement corresponding to Isaiah 9:6: 


Worship:  “For Unto Us a Child is Born,” from “Messiah,” by G.F. Handel.  Performed by the London Symphony. 


Today, December 6, is Saint Nikolaus Day.  It’s celebrated mostly in Europe.  We learned about it when we were stationed in Germany, 1988-91.  Traditionally, children leave their shoes by the front door before they go to bed.  Over night, Saint Nikolaus and his wingman, Schwartz Piet, leave gifts.  We’ve kept up the tradition over the years, first with our children and now with our grandchildren.  Sue sends the gifts in time for everyone to be “surprised” when they get up in the morning.  Of course, the things she sends don’t fit in shoes.  But who are we to mess with tradition? 

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Cleansed

Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.  Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit.  Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.  (Psalm 51:7, 10-13, 17, NASB). 

The text is from Psalm 51.  King David wrote this after his adultery with Bathsheba; after he had her husband, Uriah the Hittite, one of David’s mighty men, murdered by having him placed in a vulnerable place during battle; and after the prophet Nathan confronted David and convicted him of his sins.  David was a broken man, convinced of his guilt before God, and was seeking His forgiveness. 

I haven’t seen my Bible for some time.  With my ALS, at some point I could no longer pick it up, then I wasn’t able to turn the pages.  These days I do my Bible study online using my eye-gaze tablet.  But if you were to look in my Bible at Psalm 51, you’d see what I wrote in the margin:  “What to do when I blow it!”  Trust me, I’ve blown it a lot, and I’ve referred to David’s advice. 

Psalm 51:7, found at The Soaring Eagle, thesoaringeagle.wordpress.com

To ask God’s forgiveness requires us first to understand we’ve sinned.  Next, sometimes we must be broken of our stubborn pride.  David says that God recognizes a broken and contrite heart.  Ask for forgiveness and He supplies it! 


In ancient Israel, the Law of Moses required animal sacrifice for forgiveness of sins.  This Advent season we prepare our hearts as we remember God’s Gift to us on that first Christmas.  God sent His Son Jesus to die as a perfect sacrifice, once and for all time.  If we ask God for forgiveness, and ask Jesus to be Savior, then we’re covered by His blood.  Washed clean.  Whiter than snow.  Have you received God’s Christmas present?  If not, this Christmas season would be a perfect time. 
Here’s my favorite version of “White Christmas.”  At the end you’ll hear a line from Psalm 51: 


Worship:  “White Christmas/Whiter than Snow,” sung by Twila Paris 

Ho ho ho!

My excellent nurse, Meghan, fashioned my beard.  One of my wonderful daughters, Laura, said I look like a gnome.  Sue said I was a good sport for wearing this getup.  As if I can prevent anyone from dressing me up! 

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Immanuel

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.  (Isaiah 7:14, NASB)
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows:  when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.  And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.  But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”  Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:  “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”  (Matthew 1:18-23, NASB)

Immanuel.  God with us.  The desire of humankind since God created us.  
“Oh, that You would rend the heavens and come down,That the mountains might quake at Your presence . . . ”  (Isaiah 64:1)
Isaiah’s prophecy at the top of the page, and his yearning immediately above, came true a little more than 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem of Judea.  Jesus Christ was born, and the world hasn’t been the same.  Apostle Matthew used Isaiah’s prophecy to demonstrate that it was one of many that Jesus Christ fulfilled.  He came to save you and me from God’s wrath. 

isaiah-7-14

Isaiah 7:14, found at Page Hughes, pagehughes.com
Jesus is Immanuel.  If you are one of His followers, “Immanuel” has a new meaning.  Not only is “God with us,” but He lives in your heart!  The Bible says that you are a Temple of the Holy Spirit.  When you pray to ask Jesus to be your Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live in your heart as Helper and Teacher. 

Tomorrow (Sunday, 28 November), is the beginning of Advent.  We use this time before Christmas to remember God’s most precious Gift, and to prepare our hearts for His coming.  Of course, if you’re a Jesus follower, you know that He’ll return again.  He said He’d be back to come for His people.  Let’s use Advent to prepare our hearts for His return! 

Worship:  “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” sung by Joshua Aaron (video scenes from “The Chosen”)
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Thanksgiving

Now when the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord according to the directions of King David of Israel.  They sang, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying, “For He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever.”  And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.  (Ezra 3:10-11, NASB)

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the United States.  I don’t know about you, but I have a great deal for which to be thankful.  In the passage above, we see a time in the history of ancient Israel in which the people took time to give thanks. 

The southern kingdom of Judah had been conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians.  Jerusalem had been destroyed, to include the Temple.  Most of the people of Judah who hadn’t been killed had been exiled throughout the Babylonian Empire.  As had been prophesied, the exile lasted for 70 years.  Meanwhile, Babylon was conquered by the Persians.  King Cyrus of Persia had given permission to the exiles of Judah to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.  The foundation laid eventually became the Second Temple, or Zerubbabel’s Temple. 

Ezra image, found at Verse by Verse Ministry, versebyverseministry.org

The people of Judah were thankful to be back in their Homeland, the land God had promised to their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  They were thankful to be back in God’s Town, Jerusalem.  And they were thankful to have laid the foundation for God’s Temple, where Yahweh could dwell among them.  The people sang, praised the Lord, and gave thanks that the Temple foundation was finally in place. 

This Thanksgiving Day, I’ll give thanks for many things:  For my wonderful wife Sue; for three great children and their terrific spouses; for 12 wonderful grandchildren; for friends who keep in touch and pray for me; for the people who take excellent care of me; for being born in and having had the honor to serve the greatest nation ever founded by God; and most of all, I’m thankful that the Creator of the Universe had regard for me, a sinner, and sent His Son to die for my sins, to take the punishment I deserve, and because He did, to be able to look forward to an eternal, heavenly home in His presence! 

“Freedom from Want,” by Norman Rockwell, 1943

God has blessed me far beyond what I deserve, and beyond measure.  I thank Him that I have the breath of God each morning when I am awake.  If you can read this, you have reason to be thankful, and praise God.  Praise Him from Whom all blessings flow!  Have you accepted God’s most precious gift of salvation through the blood of His Son, Jesus?  I have ALS.  I’m thankful for the hope God has given me because of Jesus! 


Worship:  “Give Thanks,” by Don Moen

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Well

There came a woman of Samaria to draw water.  Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”  For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.  Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)  Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water . . .  From that city many of the Samaritans believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, “He told me all the things that I have done.”  So when the Samaritans came to Jesus, they were asking Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  Many more believed because of His word; and they were saying to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”  (John 4:7-10, 39-42, NASB)

This is an interesting story:  The Samaritan Woman at the Well.  Jesus is traveling with His disciples through the region of Samaria.  They arrive on the outskirts of a town called Sychar.  The disciples go into town to buy some food.  Jesus sits down at a well.  He’s waiting for her. 
Interestingly, this is Jacob’s Well, dug by the patriarch himself!  The woman arrives, and starts to draw water.  Jesus asks her for a drink.  She is amazed, John explains, because she is a Samaritan, and He is a Jew.  The Jews at the time looked down on the Samaritans, thinking of them as a mongrel race.  Sometime before, the Assyrians had conquered the northern kingdom of Israel.  Many people were exiled, and the Assyrians settled many of their people in the region.  The people intermarried, producing people called Samaritans.  The Samaritans worshiped idols, and some worshiped the God of Israel. 

Jesus and the woman converse.  Jesus tells her that He is source of living water; that His water is such that she would never thirst again, and would provide springs of water leading to eternal life.  She doesn’t understand, and asks for this water so she doesn’t have to keep coming to the well to schlep water to her home.  Jesus then tells her things about her life that a stranger wouldn’t know:  How she’s had five husbands; and the man she lives with now is not her husband.  She believes that He is a prophet, and tells Him that she expects the Messiah, the Christ, to appear soon.  Jesus tells her that He is the One! 

Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the Well by Angelika Kauffman, 1795

The woman runs back to town to spread the word about Jesus.  The townspeople come to see for themselves.  They ask, and Jesus agrees, to stay with them for two days to teach them. 

The disciples were “amazed” that Jesus had been speaking with a woman.  I believe that Jesus was serving notice to his students that even in this culture that was dominated by men, His message of salvation was for women, too.  That He would spend time with the Samaritans said that salvation was not only for the people of Israel, but also for Gentiles! 

The story of the Samaritan Woman teaches us lessons of salvation:  She believed.  She went to tell others.  They came to see, and then believed.  Salvation is for everyone. 
Have you heard the news of God’s salvation?  Have you believed?  Have you told somebody else who needs to be saved? 


“Woman at the Well,” by Olivia Lane (video scene from “The Chosen”)

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Pottery

The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will announce My words to you.”  Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel.  But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel . . .  ”  (Jeremiah 18:1-6, NASB)

When I was growing up, my Grandma had a kiln in her basement.  Her hobby was ceramics.  I don’t know if she ever made pottery with a wheel.  Mostly she worked with molds.  She would pour the clay into the mold for whatever shape she wanted, put it into the kiln to bake, and when it was done she would take it out of the kiln.  Then she would paint it.  She would then have the ceramic object she wanted.  I remember things like roosters and chickens, Santa Claus mugs and such.  My parents had a couple of rooster/chicken lamps, and I think Sue and I may still have some Santa mugs laying around somewhere.  The point is, she made whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted.  It was her good pleasure to do with them as she pleased (gifts mostly, I think!). 

My Grandma’s hobby is similar to the Prophet Jeremiah’s parable of “The Potter and the Clay,” part of which is above.  In the story, God tells Jeremiah to report to the potter’s house, and that He would have further instructions for Jeremiah there.  Jeremiah watches the potter as he shapes an object on his wheel.  Dissatisfied with the pottery he’s shaping, he stops, turns the clay back into a lump, then starts the process over.  He would spin and shape until the object met his pleasure. 

Jeremiah 18:6, found at Dayle’s Blog, daylekinney.com

When God addresses the prophet, He tells Jeremiah how His relationship with Israel is the same as between the potter and his lump of clay.  God established the Hebrew nation for His good purposes.  He expected Israel to be a light unto the nations, an example for the rest of the world.  He had established commandments and rules for them to follow, but God’s people had gone astray, and they would be punished–conquered and led into exile.  The Potter would start over with His lump of clay! 

The Bible uses the Potter and Clay several times as a metaphor to illustrate our relationship to God.  He is the Potter, of course, and we are the clay.  We are here to serve His good purposes.  We are on the good earth for God’s pleasure, and to praise His name in everything we do.  When, on His wheel, God becomes dissatisfied with what He sees, He makes us into a lump, and starts to shape us over again! 

I don’t want to be a lump (With my ALS, I feel like a lump.  I can’t move, and I have no strength.  However, maybe that makes me more pliable, easier for God to shape!).  I want to be molded, shaped into a useful vessel for God to use.  If you put your your faith and hope in God’s Son Jesus, He can shape you into that beautiful vessel. 


Worship:   “The Potter’s Hand,” Hillsong Worship, ft. Darlene Zschech
God, take me; mold me; use me; fill me; guide me; lead me and walk beside me.  I give my life to the Potter’s hand.  In Jesus’ name.