Empty Vessels

“‘Go and borrow empty containers from everyone—from all your neighbors. Do not get just a few. … pour oil into all these containers’. … When they were full, she said to her son, ‘Bring me another container.’ But he replied, ‘There aren’t any more.’ Then the oil stopped.”
2 Kings 4:3-4, 6

Empty is an adjective. Empty jars. Empty hands. Empty hearts. Empty pages. Hollow, aching, empty vessels … waiting to be filled, waiting for rain from heaven, waiting for oil from God’s provision. Yet, isn’t that just what a useful vessel should be? Empty? How can a jar hold oil unless it is empty? If hands and hearts are hanging on to material things, they cannot be held by the love of God. If it is already full, a page cannot be written upon. That is why Elisha told the widow to ask for all the empty jars she could find. He wanted her to be able to receive as much of God’s blessing as she could hold. As soon as she ran out of empty containers, the oil stopped flowing.

It’s the same in our lives....

Precious in His Sight

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. …Because you are precious in My sight and honored and I love you. Isaiah 43:1,4

“Watch me go down the slide, Mom!” “Hey Dad, watch me ride my bike!” “Look at me! Watch me! Keep your eyes on me!” Sometimes it wears you out just listening to children call for attention from their parents—especially when you are the parent, and there is only one of you and three of them. But recently, I’ve noticed that we “older kids” aren’t much different from those demanding little angels. We all want to be special to someone. It’s ingrained in who we are. We all want to belong, to be the best friend, the favorite child, the cherished one. We all need to feel loved, and we will do all kinds of crazy things to get the attention we crave.

Sometimes, when we feel isolated or rejected, we withdraw from others and build a protective cocoon around our pain. The problem with this plan is that it serves to further isolate us and to...

Finishing Well

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith 2 Tim. 4:7.

One of the many good things about walking or running outdoors is that you can’t quit before you make it all the way home. But, alas … I walk on a treadmill. That pretty much says it all for me. Yes, I have trouble finishing what I start. I get really excited about the idea of exercising. I like thinking about it and imagining how great it will be when I am able to jog for miles without breaking a sweat. But when I am actually huffing and puffing through the easiest program on my treadmill, I find many creative excuses to justify stopping rather than sticking with it to the end. Can I get a witness?

When I look at the examples I see in the scriptures, I can find many who failed to keep to the prescribed course. Abraham lied about Sarah being his wife. Moses struck the rock. David turned to Bathsheba. Peter denied knowing Jesus. I think just about everyone has turned the treadmill off early at one time...

Get Real

And climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the water and came toward Jesus. Matthew 14:29

The other evening I watched the 2001 film, “A Beautiful Mind,” which tells the story of John Nash, a 1994 Nobel Prize winner and brilliant mathematician who struggled to overcome the delusions and reality-warping effects of schizophrenia. I have seen this film before, but I continue to be profoundly impressed by the man’s ability to use more than his sensual perceptions to ascertain reality. By trusting family and friends who loved him to tell him if something was “real” and by choosing not to feed his delusions, Nash managed to keep his feet in the real world and to contribute to it greatly. That’s pretty deep stuff, but what I really mean to ponder here is how much of what we see as reality really is real?

A commonly spoken mantra today is “perception is reality.” And while I understand the assumptions behind it, that our perception affects our understanding of reality, I cringe every time I hear...

Dare to Compare

For we don’t dare classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. But in measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves to themselves, they lack understanding 2 Cor. 10:12.

Last evening a rodeo evangelist spoke at my church. Yes, you read that right. A “rodeo evangelist.” Before he began, I wondered how I could relate to what he would have to say, but as I listened I was delighted by his passion for sharing the gospel in such a unique way. He loves his job! He is perfectly suited for it, and God is using him in awesome ways. So as I listened and smiled at his enthusiasm, I started to compare myself to him. Yes, it’s a bad habit born out of insecurity, and I usually am not encouraged by such comparisons as I tend to rank myself far below others. Such was the case last night, too. And, no, I do not want to join the rodeo circuit — I don’t think I could walk in those pointy boots, and hats really damage my curly hair. But, I do want to have a similar kind of impact in this world....

Room to Grow

… the Lord answered me and put me in a spacious place. Psalm 118:5

Those who know me will be expecting this week’s devotional to be about change. Or maybe loss. Or maybe even a stirring tribute to my two oldest children who left this week for college. Guess I won’t completely disappoint you, as this is about change and the kids’ moving. But instead of memorializing the two older ones (who I do think are great, by the way), I want to focus this thought on the son who is still at home and the important lesson I learned from him last night when we returned from our daughter’s campus and the “BIG MOVE.” You see, Nick had been home all day and had texted me several times complaining about being “bored” and “hungry.” So I was expecting to return to a surly, sad, and lonely 16-year-old. Instead, he couldn’t wait for us to unload our car of empty boxes, and before we could shower the grime of the day away, he called for us to come upstairs to see and hear what he had done. Dutifully, we pulled our weary,...

Here Again?

I alone am left, and they are looking for me to take my life. 1 Kings 19:10

Elijah had been to the mountain top. He had taken on the 450 prophets of Baal in a sacrificial duel and slaughtered them—literally! God had shown His power in a mighty way, and Elijah had been smack dab in the middle of it. He had to have been on the greatest adrenaline rush of his life. Yet, no sooner did he reach this mountain peak than he began to plummet down the other side into the valley. Ahab told Jezebel what had happened to her priests, and she was breathing fire. “May the gods punish me and do so severely if I don’t make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow!” (1 Kings 19:2). Elijah hit the road running and didn’t look back. Lonely and afraid, he forgot all about his recent victory and laid down in defeat. He prayed, “I have had enough! Lord, take my life” (1 Kings 19:4). But God wasn’t finished with him yet. Twice He sent an angel to Elijah and got him back on his feet, and Elijah...

Still Our Choice

Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. Heb. 3:15

Last Sunday my pastor preached an awesome sermon on the “Posture of Purity” from Psalm 141. People were visibly moved by the challenge, and I heard many solemn comments about his request for us to grade ourselves on six areas: prayer, worship, words, emotions, thoughts, and our relationships with Jesus. It was evident that many of us felt conviction and realized the need for change in our lives. But as the week has gone on, I wonder how many have put their thoughts into actions?

You see, conviction is not an end in itself. Yes, it is important to recognize sin. After all, that’s the first step to our salvation. In His grace, the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to the fact that we are sinners, and then we can see our need for Christ’s redemption. But what about after we have become believers? What is conviction’s role in our lives as followers of Christ? At best, it is a catalyst for change and our continuing...

Keeping Up Appearances

But Jesus turned and saw her. Matt. 9:22

We live in a world in which it is getting easier and easier to hide who we really are. We post profile pictures that have been “photoshopped” for perfection and meticulously write status updates to keep our friends informed and make our lives sound interesting and quirky if not downright worthy of national headlines. Our likes and dislikes, our relationships and breakups, our busy schedules and random thoughts—all carefully chosen and listed on our “page” to give the perfect impression of what we want others to see as the real us. And to some extent these virtual personalities nearly are real. At least they reveal who we really would like to be.

But keeping up appearances is not a new phenomenon. The woman who approached Jesus for healing had a medical condition that made her religiously unclean. She had suffered from bleeding for 12 years, but she was in a crowd, and Jesus wasn’t looking. If she could just blend in and surreptitiously touch his robe,...

Choices

… choose for yourselves today the one you will worship…. Joshua 24:15

Choice is a very powerful thing. We can choose to sing or to moan, to rejoice or to complain, to act in faith or to fear, to bless or to curse, to encourage or to tear down, to live or to die … so many choices and so much power contained in each one. We know it’s true. Or do we? The proof is in the pudding, as the saying goes, and we often live as though we have no power of choice at all. We blame emotions or circumstances and act as though we are victims rather than victors. Okay, yeah … when I say “we,” what I really mean is “I.” I have been struggling lately. Discouragement, depression, aversion to change. Whatever you want to call it, I’ve been battling it. And every time someone has mentioned that we have the ability to choose our responses to our circumstances, I have thought, “Sure! How can I help how I feel?” Every time, that is, until I finally decided to give it a try. It being faith, of course. You know, putting...