II Timothy

II Timothy 2:19-22 Nevertherless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

Verse 20 says that in a great house there are vessels for honour made of gold and silver and also vessels made to dishounour. We decide what type of vessel we are to be by what we fill ourselves with. Verse 21 says if we purge our self from sin we will be a vessel for hounour. To purge is to separate completely. The things that cause us to war within ourselves have to be removed. In other words, if something triggers our struggles, a TV show, a magazine, a place, or a certain person then we have to separate ourselves from those things completely or as much as possible. Satan will try to make us believe we shouldn't have to separate ourselves, we are just being weak, but that isn't what the Bible says. It is wisdom to see danger and hide.

Proverbs 27:2 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and Hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

In verse 22, Paul lists what to fill ourselves with to be vessels for hounour; Righteouseness, faith, charity, and peace. Then we will have a pure heart. We can obtain those good things in prayer, bible study, and good Christian fellowship.

Differences between materials:
Wood and Earth don't reflect, they are flammable, and they decay. They are broken easily. Gold and silver are refined until they are pure. They can be dented but not destroyed. They can be melted down and reshaped. Gold and silver are harder to find and take more time and effort to make.

You my friend are designed to be a vessel of honour made for the master's use. He wants to fill you with wonderful things and use you to help others. To do this you must make yourself a clean vessel by separating yourself from the things that you know aren't good for you.

Staying Close

Romans 8:1-6 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. The law could not free us because it depended on our ability.

We needed Jesus to come so we can rely on His ability. We cannot walk in the Spirit without His help. We can try but He doesn't want us to and we are destined to fail without Him. You have to walk after the Spirit to be free from the lust of the flesh. You have to stay close to God. You will not always feel Him. You will not often want to. It will always be easier not to. But you must press through all of these to get to the Spirit. He is life and we must seek Him as if our life depended on it because it does. Again and again in the scripture we are told to lean on the Lord.

John 15:4-5 (Jesus talking) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit for without me ye can do nothing.

Zechariah 4:6 Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.

John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; for I have overcome the world.

He overcame the world because we needed Him to so we could have the power to do so also. Remember how I told you about how good God was during my labor and how He helped me every step of the way? Well the next church service I was in was about the cross and I realized that Jesus endured all He did on the cross and did so alone so I would never have to. We can't do anything without His power. I know it seems backwards. Why would God want to do all the work? Grace. He did all the work to save us why not to keep us? Stay close to Him and He will take care of everything.

Jude 1:24-25 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen.

He will give you all you need and more but you have to go to Him to get it.

Psalm 139 in my own words

Lord, You have taken the time to really know me. My thoughts, my wants, my needs, and my heart. You know me and what I do all day. You understand what I'm going to think before I even think it. You surround me everywhere I go and know about everything I do. There isn't a word I say that You don't understand completely. You surround me and stake care of me. I don't understand why the God of the universe would care so much about me. There is nowhere I can go to hide from You. You will still lead me and Your presence will still be with me. If everything is going great You are with me. If I am miserable You are with me. Even when I feel surrounded by darkness You are there. The night shall shine as the day because You are there. You have directed e and known me since my conception. I will praise You because You wondrously made me and taught me right from wrong. Before I had form You saw me and knew where I was. You saw me before I was formed. You designed me before I was formed and then formed me according to that design. You or thoughts toward me are precious and great in number. If I could cont them there would be more that there is sand in the deserts. When I am awake I am with You. Surely You will kill the wicked God. Get away from me therefore who are Godless. For they speak against You wickedly and take your name in vain. I hate those that hate You and I am grieved with those who rise against You. I hate them perfectly they are my enemies. Search me and know me Lord. Try me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, remove it or reveal it to me so I may remove it. Lead me in the way everlasting. Lead me to Your heart.

Mary

Almost every little girl dreams of her wedding day. I am sure that no matter the culture the desire to be joined to another and leave the family of origin is scary and exciting all bundled into one. Everything surrounding Jesus' birth was amazing. Imagine what kind of life Mary must have led. She had a perfectly normal life. She was betrothed and probably excitedly waiting the day he came to take her home. Then one night she was visited by an angel and her whole world changed. Joseph was a good and just man. When the angle told her she would conceive she didn't hesitate. She didn't bring up Joseph and what would he think. She didn't bring up the shame a pregnancy would cause her. She trusted God. She was willing to serve Him no matter the cost. God was faithful and worked everything out but she didn't know for sure that He would. she just stepped out in faith. I want to be surrendered like that. I don't want to hesitate no matter the obstacles. I want to trust God with a simple faith just like Mary did.

God wants us to believe in Him

I know it is an obvious statement. But it is not one that is always easily lived out. For me it is scary to believe the best about God. I think if I trust Him completely He will let me down. I think if I share my heart with Him He will leave me. These are not conscience thoughts. But they are lived out in my actions. We decide how close we get to God. John wasn't the only disciple who could have gotten close enough to lay his head on the Lord's chest he was just the only one that did. Our past and perceptions can keep us from a deep intimacy with the Lord. Our fear drives us from Him. A friend once told me when God reveals deep dark places in our hearts it is only new to us not Him. He has always seen those places. He chose to save us when our whole heart was one deep dark place. Jeremiah 17:7-9 7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? God knows our hearts and He still wants to be our hope, our strength, and our rock. So believe in Him trust in Him hope in Him and He will not let you down. Our outward circumstances may not be to our liking but He will never leave us or forsake us and he offers a peace that surpasses all understanding and a joy unspeakable.