I am a little late in choosing my scripture memory verse again. To be honest, it was hard for me to pick a verse this time. I was praying and reading this morning trying to find something that really stuck out to me. There are so many good verses out there! I really want the 24 verses that I memorize this year to be ones that the Spirit directs me to. I was a little discouraged that I couldn't find one right away. You know that goose-bump feeling that you get when you open your bible and the Word just "pops" off the page to you?
Well, I started to scroll through some of the verses that other Siestas are memorizing and landed on a verse that is pretty familiar to me. I couldn't quote it to you without looking it up and reading it off the page, so I decided it's a good one to commit to memory.
2 Corinthians 4:7 (NIV)
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
Until today I never really thought about what "jars of clay" really means. The Amplified version says "However, we posses this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves."
Frail, human vessels of earth. That's a pretty good description of what we are. I looked up the word "frail" in Webster's dictionary. One definition said "easily broken, or fragile." I'd say that describes this earthen vessel to a tee. How many times have I felt broken and useless; worn out and ready to give up hope? Luckily, there is a "but" here...
Paul goes on to say "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." (2 Cor. 4:8) Thank goodness for the "buts" in this verse! No matter how broken I feel, THERE IS HOPE!
The good news is that the Divine Potter has chosen to use us as His vessels to shine His light into the world! Back up a bit to verse 4:1. "Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart."
God's Word is a treasure, isn't it? In my daughter's study bible it says that archaeologists have found treasures of silver in cheap clay pots. Clay pots were common back in Bible times and thousands were made. Apparently sometimes they were used to store valuable and precious things. Who would have suspected?
This is one earthen vessel that will continue to hide the treasure of God's Word in my heart as I meditate on it daily. :)
Psalm 119:11 "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."
1 comment:
Hi Melissa! I haven't chosen my memory verse yet....either I haven't paid attention to one or I haven't put a lot of effort into it. (hmm, probably both answers are right!) I'll change that today and get one chosen! :)
It turns out that Rachel and I were standing next to each other in our jr high choir picture! How funny is that?!? We got to speak on the phone yesterday...I figured it out this morning that it's been 32 years since she'd moved from Poulsbo and we'd never kept in contact. WOW!!
Hope you have an amazing rest of your week -- Happy Easter!! (we might sneak into one of your church's Easter Service, too!
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