Tag Archives: India

(Wednesday, Jan 11, 2012)  My final lesson from studying what God has to say about vessels in the Bible is about the importance of being available.  A vessel can be whole (not broken), empty and clean, but if it isn’t open to being used in the way the owner desires then it is not fulfilling its purpose.  One day Elijah went to live with a widow who was to feed him, but had only a small amount of oil and meal.  She was going to use it for a final meal for her and her son before they starved to death.  Elijah said if she used it for God’s service first, then He would make sure there was always enough for one more meal in the jars.  She did and there was (1 Kings 17:15-16).  She gave what she had to God until there was nothing left, trusting He would … Continue reading →

            When I look for a container to use to hold something I look for one that is empty and clean.  These are essential for me, and they are what God looks for in a person he uses as well.  But I also have to be sure the container is whole and not broken.  A ship, blood vessel or pot that is broken, even if it is clean and empty, is useless (Psalm 2:9; 31:12).              We can be broken by pain and sorrow when we feel sorry for ourselves and quit being open and available to God.  When problems and trials distract us and we become discouraged then we are broken and unusable.  Worse of all, when one rebels and disobeys then one is broken and can’t be used.  Samson is an example of a man who had unlimited potential to serve God but instead gave in to sin … Continue reading →

My challenge as I prepare to leave for India is to be a vessel, a container, a channel for God to use so His Spirit and His message can be carried to those in need.  It’s not my message I carry, nor do I convey it in my own strength.  I am just the container. He does the rest. But to be a good container I must be clean.  In India all I drink is bottled water because any other water is contaminated no matter how clear it may be.  I can only drink pure water which is put into a clean bottle.  Anything else and I will get sick.  For God to use me I must be a clean vessel (2 Timothy 2:21).  I must ask God to cleanse me of each and every sin so there is no contamination within me.  If there is His Spirit won’t be … Continue reading →

God has been showing me that my focus this trip to India is to be on being a vessel He can use.  I must be a container, a channel that is empty so He can fill me.  Elisha directed a poor widow who was about to loose her 2 sons to creditors to gather all the empty containers she could and let God fill them so she could sell them and use the money to pay off her debts.  Each and every empty jar was completely filled.  When there were no more empty jars to fill the provision stopped (2 Kings 4:6).  The lesson is clean: God filled every empty vessel she made available.  If a vessel already had something else in it then it couldn’t be filled by God.   That’s how He is with us as well. If I am filled with myself, with pride, ego or self-centeredness then … Continue reading →

            Before going to India each year I ‘arm’ myself with Scripture truth which God wants me to learn and apply.  That helps me know how to pray for the trip and where God will be stretching and growing me.  Last year it was Peter’s example that I have to get out of the boat to walk on water.  The trip before it I asked others to ‘hold the rope’ in prayer for me as I went to India.  In seeking God’s focus for this trip I have been thinking of the word ‘vessel’ over and over.  That’s not normally a word I would use, much less think about, but God has been putting it in my thoughts.  So I looked up what the Bible had to say about ‘vessel.’              When we hear the word ‘vessel we think of a boat, a blood vessel, perhaps a pot or bowl … Continue reading →