MONDAY MOTIVATION
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Welcome to Monday Motivation—a devotional blog to keep you encouraged throughout the week! My name is Pastor Guy Deckard and I am incredibly excited for you to join in every Monday.
Below, you will find the most recent Monday Motivation post and if you continue scrolling, you will find an archive of blog posts by date. If you’d like to get a better understanding as to how this blog came about, click HERE to read the first Monday Motivation post.
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Cracked Pots!
Cracked Pots
From the April 12th reading
What is God’s agenda for us? What kind of people is God looking for when it comes to accomplishing His plan?
SCRIPTURE:
2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (NIV)
OBSERVATIONS:
- God’s grace is sufficient for any of our needs
- His power is made perfect in weakness
- God always chose the youngest and the weakest to deliver Israel
- Paul boasts of his weaknesses: (V. 10)
- Insults
- Hardships
- Persecutions
- Difficulties
APPLICATION:
- God’s grace covers a multitude of sin
- Our weaknesses = physical or mental
- He is glorified more by using our weaknesses for His Kingdom
- God can use our afflictions
- God’s grace is sufficient to cover all of them.
MOTIVATION:
Many years ago a rich man had a servant whose job was to carry water each day from a distant stream to his master’s house. The servant carried the water in two large pots, each of which hung from opposite ends of a pole he carried across his neck. One pot was in perfect condition and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream. The other pot had a crack in it, though, and always arrived at the master’s house half full. For two years the servant delivered only one and a half pots of water to his master’s house each day. The undamaged pot was proud of itself. It had been made to carry water without leaking, and it did the job perfectly. The cracked pot, on the other hand, felt ashamed. It was miserable knowing it was not able to accomplish what it had been made to do. Still, it did the best it could, even if it was only half of what the perfect pot could do. Finally the cracked pot spoke to the servant one day by the stream. “I need to apologize to you,” the pot said, “For two years now, I have been able to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value for your efforts.” The servant simply said, “When we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.” As they made their way back to the house, the cracked pot saw the gorgeous wildflowers beside the path and was cheered a little by their beauty. When they reached the house, the servant said to the cracked pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path? I’ve always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path. Every day when we walked back from the stream, you watered them. For two years I’ve been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. If you weren’t just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.” (Youth Specialties: Hot Illustrations)
Each of us has our own unique flaws. You might say we are all a bunch of “crackpots”. But if we allow Him to, the Lord will use our flaws to grace His table.
Paul wrote, “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness” (2 Cor. 11:30). Paul had quite a few flaws, which he freely acknowledged, but God still used him in a mighty way. God has a habit of using people with flaws. While reading through the Old Testament there is one example after another of how God used men and women who were broken, and many times a mess. Just look at the genealogy of Jesus found in the gospels. There we find prostitutes, deceivers, and foreigners. God is in the business of using ordinary people with all of their flaws and weaknesses to do amazing things.
Tony Merida, in his book called Ordinary, shares this, “The book of Acts shows that the result of the early church’s efforts wasn’t’ due to their own gifting and wealth (though some were gifted and wealthy). When Peter and John were brought before the council they were called ‘unschooled, ordinary men’ (Acts. 4:13). Not even the leaders were extraordinary! But these ordinary people turned the world upside down.” God used ordinary Christians like you and me to change history! And God hasn’t changed His agenda one bit.
We see in verse 8 that Paul was given “a thorn in my flesh”. We don’t know what that thorn was but one author said: “It is understandable that Paul would consider this thorn a hindrance to wider or more effective ministry (cf. Gal. 4:14–16) and that he would repeatedly petition God for its removal (2 Cor. 12:8). But he learned from this experience the lesson that pervades this letter: divine power is best displayed against the backdrop of human weaknesses (cf. 4:7) so that God alone is praised.” (The Bible Knowledge Commentary)
Rather than removing this “thorn” God gave Paul the grace that He would need. This same grace is still “sufficient” for us today. God wants to use our weaknesses, our infirmities, our difficulties in life for greater things. God wants to use cracked pots, like us, to do amazing things!
PRAYER:
Ask God how He wants to use your weaknesses this week. How can you use your “ordinary” to do amazing things for Him?
If you would like help in growing in your faith, or if you would like to know how to have faith in Him, then please contact us at (928)636-2949 or email me at pastorguy@cvgrace.com
Devotionals by Date
January 2018
MONDAY MOTIVATION INTRODUCTION
THE GREAT SHEPHERD
January 1, 2018
THE GREAT PLANNER
January 8, 2018
PROTECTING YOUR ROOTS
January 15, 2018
FACING YOUR GIANTS
January 22, 2018
February 2018
PLEASE STAND
February 5, 2018
BE A GAME CHANGER
February 12, 2018
FINISH STRONG
February 19, 2018
STRETCHER BEARERS
February 26, 2018
March 2018
DIGGING YOUR WAY OUT
March 5, 2018
REAL PEARLS
March 12, 2018
HIDDEN IDENTITY
March 19, 2018
MYSTERY GARDEN
March 26, 2018
April 2018
THE TEST!
April 2, 2018
PASS IT ON!
April 9, 2018
CRACKED POTS!
April 16, 2018
LAY THEM DOWN!
April 23, 2018
LETTING GO
April 30, 2018
May 2018
IDOL WORSHIP OR IDLE WORSHIP?
May 7, 2018
WATCH AND PRAY!
May 14, 2018
DON’T SAY GOODBYE
May 21, 2018
TRAPPED
May 28, 2018
June 2018
GOT A MATCH?
June 4, 2018
CHOSEN?
June 11, 2018
I’M THIRD!
June 18, 2018
CHANGED LIVES MATTER
June 25, 2018
July 2018
MADE FOR MORE THAN THIS
July 2, 2018
SET FREE!
July 9, 2018
HEAVENLY PLACES July 15, 2018
LOOKING IN THE MIRROR
July 2, 2018
NO SURPRISES HERE
July 2, 2018
August 2018
INSTRUCTIONS INCLUDED
August 6, 2018
THE PEOPLE PLEASER
August 13, 2018
ONE CHURCH
August 20, 2018
BROTHERLY LOVE
August 27, 2018
September 2018
NEWLYWEDS!
September 3, 2018
WHEN GOD SPANKS US!
September 10, 2018
TAKING A STAND
September 17, 2018
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
September 24, 2018
October 2018
FROM ORDINARY TO EXTRAORDINARY
October 1, 2018
STAND YOUR GROUND!
October 8, 2018
FAITH UNDER FIRE
October 15, 2018
HOMELESS FOR A DAY
October 22, 2018
November 2018
A HEAVENLY MARRIAGE?
November 5, 2018
HOLY SMOKE!
November 12, 2018
MIRROR, MIRROR…
November 19, 2018
SECRET AGENT
November 26, 2018
December 2018