"Keep Your Weapons Checked"

"...and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:"  Ephesians 6:17b

A friend and I were talking today about hunting.  To say he loves to hunt is an understatement... he LOVES to hunt!  In our conversation he made a remark about how some people never check their guns out before they go hunting with them after having them stored in the off season.  He said that before he starts hunting when a new  season opens, he takes his weapon out and checks it.  He went on to say you never know if the sites are off, or there may be some rust in the barrel or debris.  He always makes sure it is in good working order before he uses it.  When he said that, the Holy Spirit spoke something to my heart. 

There are so many Christians who don't make sure their spiritual weapons are in good working order-- namely the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God  They just "fling" it out there when they need it.  They haven't checked to make sure they even know it, or what it means.  They don't read it daily.  They haven't hidden it in their hearts.  They haven't let it produce faith in them.  They haven't memorized it.  They aren't keeping their minds renewed with it.  They aren't heeding it or obeying what it says. 

You can't just pull out God's Word and quote it when you need it if you haven't taken care to make sure it is hidden in your heart and you are abiding in it.  The Bible says that if you abide in the Word and the Word abides in you then you can ask (use it) what you will and it shall be done. (John 15:7)  You have to do something with it-- abide in it and let it abide in you. The Word of God works in our lives where faith is.  Faith comes by hearing the Word.  If you aren't hearing it, or doing the things we listed above, you can't have the faith that you need to come against your enemy.  In other words, your spiritual weapon won't be in good "working order" for you.

Have a great day.  Your spiritual weapons must be kept in good working order so that when the enemy comes you won't miss.  You do this by keeping God's Word fresh in your life daily. 

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Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from
About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.
Please feel free to call (601) 833-5278 or
Email : mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net
Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org 
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"The Potter's Process"

"Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?"  Isaiah 45:9

Yesterday we talked about something I learned at the "potter's house" about how every object is unique and that uniqueness is defined by the way we react to the fire.  This morning I want to share something else that I learned. 

When you and I see a piece of finished pottery, we assume that it was always like that.  Not so.  There is a process that it has to go through in order to become that object. 

First the potter decides what he is going to make.  He takes a big lump of clay, cuts off the amount he wants to use, puts it through a press, and cuts out the image.  If he wants to decorate it he may emboss it with a design.  That design has to be pounded into the clay.  Sometimes the potter will put the object on a wheel and spin it and form it with his hands.  When he gets it to look like he wants it to look, he may need to take a sharp instrument and trim off any excess.  It then has to set for days to dry some.  Next he will  put it in the kiln to fire.  After it comes out, he can glaze/color it and then put it back in the fire.  (I am sure there is more to the process than I have explained-- this was my observation and a quick lesson.)

This brings me to you and me.  We are the clay.  The Lord is the Master Potter who is making something beautiful and of honor out of our lives.  In order for us to get from His decision about what type of vessel He wants us to be and the time we actually "arrive" there  is a process.  It doesn't happen overnight.  It isn't a "quick fix".  It takes time.  It takes work.  It takes yielding to the Potter.  It takes the pounding, the cutting, the molding, the spinning and the fire.  The "potter's wheel" for Joseph was betrayal in his own home, a pit, sold into slavery in Egypt, separation from family, loneliness, false accusation by his master's wife, prison and chains.  But after the process the vessel he was intended to be shone forth.  He was purposed by the Master Potter to be a ruler and saver of His people.  The process brought him to that place.  There are no shortcuts to becoming the vessel the Lord intends for you to be.  It takes a process.  But when the process is finished you will be a beautiful vessel fit for the Master's use.

Have a great day.  There is a process you must go through in order to be and do what the Lord has planned for you.

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from 
About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.
Please feel free to call (601) 833-5278 or
Email : mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org  

"Reaction To The Fire"

"Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels".  Jeremiah 18:3

 

Recently, I had the opportunity to go to a girl's night out where we got to make a piece of pottery.  I had a wonderful time making and learning about the process of turning a lump of clay into a beautiful object.  The lady (Gwen) who hosted the night out was so knowledgeable and interesting.  She shared many things about working with the clay that I had never known.

 

The one thing that she taught us that amazed me the most is what I want to share with you this morning.  After the pottery piece has dried you put a glaze/color on it.  Gwen showed us several pieces of pottery that were completely finished to help us pick out the glaze/color that we wanted to use on our piece.  What amazed me was the fact that she showed us several pieces that were the same and had been painted with the same glaze color yet they did not look the same.  The color was the same but when they were finished they looked like they had been done with two different colors.  After you put the glaze/color on you put the piece in the kiln and fire it until the color bakes into the clay.  Gwen explained to us that the reason the color looked different was because of how the piece reacted to the fire.  It was the fire that brought out each one's own unique color.

 

I thought about Jesus being the Master Pottery and we are the clay.  He is making you into a vessel of honor.  How you "look" in the end depends on how you come through the "fire".  The fire I am referring to are the trials and situations we go through.  Didn't Job say that when he was tried he would come forth as gold? (Job 23:10)  How is gold purified-- in the fire.  

 

Don't fear the fire. Don't shrug back from the trials.  Just like the fiery kiln at the potter's house produces the beautiful colors of the clay vessel, the fire of trials, tribulations, afflictions, etc. are producing in you the beautiful colors of God's plan for your life.  He is making you into a vessel that will glorify Him.  Like the pieces of pottery that Gwen showed us each one is unique.  No two were alike although they had each been painted with the same glaze and gone through the same fire.  You may face the same trials as someone else but how you respond to them will determine how you look in the end.  How you "react" to the fire will make you unique from anyone else. 

 

Have a great day.  The fire is what brings out the beautiful colors of God's plan for us.  How you react to the fire determines your uniqueness.

 

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from 
About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.
Please feel free to call (601) 833-5278 or
Email : mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org  

"Where Are You Searching?"

"In him was life; and the life was the light of men".  John 1:4

 

Everyone is searching for something.  Some are searching for the meaning of life.  Some are searching for love.  Others are searching for happiness, joy, peace and contentment.  There are some who are searching for their purpose-- why are they here.  The answer to their search is not hard to find unless you are searching in the wrong place.

 

Most are searching in exterior/outside sources.  They are searching for happiness through material things.  They are searching for love in that "right" person.  They are searching for contentment and peace through education, wealth, accomplishments, through feeling good about themselves, as well as a whole list of other places and things. 

 

If you are looking for peace, joy, contentment, etc., through the things the world has to offer, you are looking in the wrong place.  You are looking to something that only gives you a temporary answer.  It will last for only a short while and then it will be gone. 

 

There is only one place to find your true answer.   It is found in Jesus Christ.  He gives peace-- a peace that passes understanding and establishes your heart and thoughts.  He gives joy-- fullness of joy.  He gives contentment-- you will never thirst again.  He gives the meaning of life-- He is life, and life is found in Him.  He will show you the purpose of your life-- He has plans for you. 

 

Where are you searching today to find your answers?  If you are searching in the world, through material things, through temporary sources you will have to search again and again and again.  If you will come to Jesus and let Him be as well as show you your answer, your search will stop.  You will find what you are looking for.

 

Have a great day.  Whatever you are searching for in life, is found in Jesus Christ. 

 

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from 
About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.
Please feel free to call (601) 833-5278 or
Email : mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org  

 

"Following Whose Knowledge?"

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children". Hosea 4:6

 

Without knowledge we can be destroyed.  For example, if you are driving down the road and you don't know the bridge is out, you could be destroyed/killed.  But the knowledge the verse is talking about isn't just any knowledge it is the knowledge of truth.  A lot of people have knowledge but their knowledge is rooted in falsehood and untruth. 

 

The knowledge this verse is referring to is truth according to the Lord.  If you don't know the truth according to God's Word you will be destroyed because you will spend your life in opposition to Him.  If you don't know what God desires concerning situations, circumstances or issues then you will wind up destroyed because you aren't following Him.  You will be living your life after your own flawed knowledge, after your emotions, after intellect, after philosophy, after your own opinions and the opinions of others, after the customs of the day and based on false reasoning.  Therefore, you will be like Saul, "kicking against the pricks" (opposing God).   

 

If you don't have knowledge based on His Word you will be destroyed because you will wind up like those in Matthew chapter seven who thought it was well with their souls based on their good works.  God's Word says that His requirement for access into eternal life is to be born-again.  Good works don't save you, faith in Jesus Christ does.  The Bible teaches us that God is seeking a relationship with us not a religious formality.  Many will say to Him then, and are saying to Him now, that they are His followers but they aren't because they have rejected His truth and leaned to their own understanding and knowledge.  

 

We must know the truth, that is what sets us free.  We must know the truth according to God's Word not according to any other resource.  We must know the truth, we can't assume we do there is too much at stake.  It is a matter of life and death.  It is the difference between being destroyed and being saved.  

 

Have a great day.  If you don't know the truth, according to God, you will be destroyed.  Your knowledge won't save you, following His will.   

 

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell
and is sent to you free of charge for the asking from 
About the Master's Business Ministry, Inc.
Please feel free to call (601) 833-5278 or
Email : mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net

Visit us on the web: www.mastersbusiness.org