Clay Pots | Feb. 28th

"O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand."

Isaiah 64:8

When I was a child, my mother had a small picture of a little boy on the fridge. It was a drawing with a quote on it, " I know I'm somebody 'cause God don't make no junk!"

This childish little character spoke the truth. God does all things well, and it would be good for us to remind ourselves of this. We are the work of God's hands, and we are precious in His sight. There is nothing that can befall us that the Lord does not know. He works all things for the good of our salvation, and nothing can separate us from the love He has for us in Christ.

We must also know that we belong to God. He created us for His purposes, and we are not our own. Daily, we seek the Lord while entrusting ourselves, knowing that the exalted end of our life is to live for the glory of God.

We are the light of God in our families, friends, and every person in our lives. Let us live for the glory of God as His chosen vessels today, filled with His Spirit, serving Jesus to all those around us. We are the clay, and our Father is the potter. He has created us for his purposes.

In Christ Alone,

Pastor Wight

Suffering | Feb.27th

"That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death."

Philippians 3:10

Do we possess the desire to know Christ? Reading this devotional is a small reflection of that desire brought forth into action. Our prayer life, the daily reading of scripture, and gathering to worship on the Lord's day with God's people are evidence of a desire to know Christ.

Paul speaks of something that we do not often entertain, that is suffering. The Apostle desired to share in the sufferings of Christ. God providentially walks us through the sufferings of Christ through our daily experience and our faithful obedience to His word.

If we follow Christ, we have taken up our cross, counting ourselves dead to the world and our desires. We suffer at the hands of others for our faith in Christ, buffeted by the enemy of our soul, and experience the strain of resisting the spirit of this age.

The Holy Spirit enables us to be a servant of the Lord, and in turn, we serve others. We sacrifice time and set our needs aside to help others. In this way of following Christ, we share in His sufferings. Let us not shrink back today but take up our cross and follow Him. There is a depth of knowing Christ that can only come by suffering for Him.

Joy is Coming | Feb. 26th

"He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him."

Psalm 126:6

Beloved, what seeds have you planted with tears? It is hard to imagine that there will be a harvest of rejoicing when all there is is grief. In the moment of pain, we do not anticipate a time when there will be shouts of joy.

The promise is the place of sorrow will turn into a harvest of joy. You do not think joy will spring from pain. God, who works all things for the good of our salvation, can turn our mourning into dancing. He can change the nature of seeds and cause them to multiply so that we return with sheaves of rejoicing.

In this life, we will know the depths of sadness and hope for times of rejoicing. The promise is that there is comfort in all of our days and times of great rejoicing, but there is coming a time of abundant harvest when joy and peace will have no end. Sighing and sorrow will flee away one final day. Let us anticipate the sheaves of rejoicing for our prayers planted with tears.

In Christ Alone,

Pastor Wight