Jar of Clay

Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Mark 14:37-38

We have the Holy Spirit in our weak body, our jar of clay. I must learn to submit to the Spirit within me instead of my weak body. So I must fix my eyes on what is not seen instead of what is seen. Because what is seen is only temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4)

I believe one of the keys to focusing on the unseen is fasting and praying. When I do this I’m denying to upkeep my jar of clay and instead I’m feeding my spirit through the Word. I’m letting my jar of clay become weak so that the all-surpassing power of God inside me bleeds through. I feel like if I let my jar of clay remain strengthen then I’m concealing what the grace of God has done within me. And maybe the lost people around me won’t smell that aroma of Jesus within me and will never see past my outer jar of clay.

I feel like we live in a world where all the attention is paid towards our jar of clay, instead of what really matters, which is what is inside our jar of clay. This is a hard refocusing for me because the world and culture I grew up in has always taught me to tend to what is seen. But this is something I feel the Lord is showing me now, and will continue to unveil for me. Because like Jesus said “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” So now I’m seeking deeper revelation to know what it is to live on every word that comes from the mouth of God instead of worrying so much about my weak body.

Big Impact through Obedience

It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly’s wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world. -Chaos Theory

The phrase “The Butterfly Effect” refers to the idea that the single flap of a butterfly’s wings change the initial conditions of the system enough to cause large-scale phenomena (hurricanes and such) since any variation in the initial conditions is vastly magnified with each repetition of a wing flap. And every flap of every butterfly wing in the world continually changes those conditions.

I find this as an encouraging example in nature of how small influences of the world can eventually greatly impact the world. If a single flap of a butterfly wing can possibly cause a hurricane on the other side of the world; then how much more of an impact on the world would one obedient man of God make. God just needs one man to stand in the gap. This is encouraging to me, hope it is for you.

“The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying them justice. “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none. So I will pour out my wrath on them and consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD.” - Ezekiel 22:29-31

Credit: http://nimbleit.squarespace.com/simple-curiosity/2007/8/12/the-butterfly-effect.html

One Sacrifice

“For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” Hebrews 10:1-4

The 4,000+ years of sacrifices made to God before the time of Jesus never took away any sins (to go with the picture analogy, all those animals don’t weigh anything). These sacrifices were only an annual reminder of the sins of the people, and that the sins had to be paid for. These 4,000+ years of sacrifices were a foreshadowing of the Messiah to come and pay for them all. Through these annual sacrifices, the Jews had it ingrained in their culture that sins had to be paid for. Then Jesus is revealed and labeled as the “Lamb of God” by John the Baptist, when the Jews heard this they must have been star stuck. After countless sacrifices and thousands of yearrs the Lamb of God was finally here to pay for sins with one grand sacrifice, Himself.

I just wonder what John the Baptist was thinking. He was probably the only one with true revelation of who Jesus was at that time. And after a lifetime of preparing the way for the Lord, he finally sees Jesus and immediately knows its him through the Spirit of God. That has got to be one of the greatest moments of joy felt by a man in human history. I wonder what it would have been like if John the Baptist didn’t go to jail and instead followed Jesus for his 3 ½ years of ministry. But maybe it would have been a lot harder for people to relate to John the Baptist than the simple fishermen he chose instead.. just a thought cause I don’t know.

But Hebrews 10 explains this picture pretty well I think if you want to read more into it.

The Lamb of God

“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29

John the Baptist, the anointed man of God who was sent ahead of Jesus to prepare the way for Him called Jesus the “Lamb of God”. But for what reason? John the Baptist could have called Him by so many of His other names (King of Kings, Prince of Peace, Son of Man, Messiah of Israel, Savior of the World, Son of God, etc.) but he chose to identify Jesus by calling him the Lamb of God. That title was loaded with meaning to the Jewish crowd who was with John the Baptist. John the Baptist laid stress on this point for the benefit of the Jewish audience who was with him. Identifying Jesus as a Lamb immediately marked Jesus as a sacrifice to God; the lamb had been God’s preferred sacrifice since Abel. God had already foreshadowed Jesus’ sacrifice when a lamb, “without blemish, a male…” Exodus 12:5, saved the entire Jewish people back in Egypt. But the lambs in Egypt were only for the Jewish people, Jesus, the Lamb of God, was sufficient to take away the sins of the whole world. Understanding this Jewish connection helps us to see the beautiful picture that God is making of saving this fallen world. It also helps us become better witnesses to the Jews.

All this information is from a series Zola Levitt did. “The Miracle of Passover” Zola is a Jew converted to Christian, and he has great insight on the Jewish traditions that help Christians better understand Christianity. I highly recommend reading his stuff, I have most of his stuff if anyone wants to borrow.

And picture is from http://www.breadonthewaters.com/add/0638_Jesus_fulfills_Passover_christian_clipart.jpg

Fix your eyes on Jesus

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” - Hebrews 12:1-3

These are just a few of the many distractions the world has to offer to me. I pray that these distractions are faded away by the brilliant light of Jesus as he is constantly revealing more of Himself to me. I pray for a pouring out of God’s grace here.

Jesus Unveiled

John in Revelation saw Jesus unveiled in his awesome glory. John describes Jesus as he saw him, and as we will see him when this age ends. Breaking these verses down is important because it reveals who Jesus is and who he isn’t. It’s important to not have any misconceptions about Jesus.

“I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.” Revelation 1:12-16 (NIV)

Daniel which was written about 530 years before Christ was born also speaks of seeing Jesus in a very similar way, (He wasn’t known as Jesus yet though)

“His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.” Daniel 10:6

These have been interpreted in different ways, but these are the interpretations that I accept.

Seven Golden Lampstands:

The seven golden lampstands are the seven churches in Asia to whom the letter is written. Jesus is walking among them, as he will in the last days when miraculous things will occur in His name.

Jesus’ robe reaching down to his feet with a golden sash around his chest:

In the first century, wearing a sash, especially across the chest, indicated leadership and authority. Also, Hebrews 2:17 identifies Jesus as the final priest. As our high priest Jesus goes into God’s presence to obtain forgiveness of sin for those who have believed in him. Just like the Jewish high priests before Jesus did. These Jewish high priests would accept sacrifices from the people and go before God in the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle and ask for forgiveness for the peoples sins. This act which occurred for thousands of years before Jesus was only a symbol that pointed to what Jesus would later do. Because not a single sin was paid for until Jesus came.

Jesus’ head and hair white like wool, as white as snow:

The color white is a symbol for purity and sinlessness.

“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”Isaiah 1:18

Jesus is sinless, absolutely pure, holy, and whiter than the virgin snow. Jesus is unblemished purity and this description indicates his wisdom and divine nature.

Jesus’ eyes like blazing fire:

His blazing eyes symbolize that he knows all. Nothing that is done is hidden from Him. His eyes symbolize the judgment of all evil and deep insight.

Jesus’ feet are like bronze glowing in a furnace:

I not sure about this really, but bronze is a symbol used in the bible to symbolize power. The might of Rome is thought of when bronze is mentioned because bronze was used by the unstoppable Roman army. And in the statue that Daniel describes, bronze is the part of the statue that undoubtedly stands for Rome. But if anyone has a good answer for this one let me know.

Jesus’ voice is like the sound of rushing waters:

If you have ever stood next to Niagara Falls, you know nothing else can be heard except the rushing waters. Thus, Jesus’ voice is powerful and awesome. When Jesus speaks with authority, nothing else can be heard

Out of Jesus’ mouth came a sharp double-edged sword:

“This type of sword, invented by the Romans, represents invincible might. Only 2-2 ½ feet long, these swords were quite possibly the greatest military invention of the ancient world. Previously, swords were about three feet long and made out of an inferior metal. They could not be sharp on both edges because the metal wasn’t strong enough. The double-edged sword was lighter and sharp on both edges. With the older swords, fighting was done by drawing back and hacking, but when the Romans used their double-edged swords, they could slice and cut both ways. These swords gave such a great advantage in hand-to-hand combat that the Roman army was called “the short swords.” it made them virtually invincible.

This sharp two-edged sword is coming from Jesus’ mouth, symbolizing the power and force of his message. Jesus’ words of judgment are as sharp as swords; he is completely invincible.” (Life Application Bible Commentary: Revelation) When Jesus was tempted by the devil in the desert he fought the devil off by using the Word. His word defeated the devil.

Jesus’ face shining like the sun in all its brilliance:

Because of the glory of God on Jesus he shines like the sun. (Pretty basic one)

Colonel Quote of the Day: I had a car pass me today going so fast, it was like I was tied to a stump. (Funny, if you know the Colonel)

Recreation of Noah’s Ark

I thought this was pretty interesting. This man recreated Noah’s Ark as a testament to his literal belief in what the bible says. It’s a big boat…

It’s much smaller than the original one, but nonetheless it’s pretty interesting. The boat is fully functional also. I’m working on getting some more posts on here to share, but I ran across this and thought I’ve give the man credit for his enormous boat.

The Beautiful Picture of the Seven Feasts of Israel

Recently I have started really trying to look at the roots of these seven feasts that God ordained, and the picture that God is creating through the feasts is overwhelmingly amazing. Understanding these feasts is such an important part of understanding the New Testament. I was explaining to a friend earlier that only knowing the New Testament (or the bottom half of this picture) is like walking into a movie after it’s already half way through. You can’t understand a movie very well if you’ve only seen the 2nd half of it. And that is how learning about these feasts has been for me, I feel like I have just now seen the 1st half of the movie. Things make so much more sense now. I strongly encourage everyone to research these feasts. The 2nd half of the movie makes so much more sense now.

The amazing realization this look into the feasts had on me was that God is going to fulfill each of these feasts. These aren’t just times of celebration which God has ordained they are actually pointers to what God is going to do in the future. He has already fulfilled the first four feasts and now we are eagerly awaiting for the fulfillment of the next feast, The Feast of Trumpets.

In ancient times, the trumpet was the signal for the field workers to come into the Temple. The high priest actually stood outside the Temple and blew the trumpet so that it could be heard by the surrounding fields. At that very instant, the faithful workers harvesting the fields would stop harvesting and leave immediately for worship services. This is a WOW for me because there will come a time, and in my opinion soon, when our high priest (Jesus) will sound the trumpet and we will stop harvesting and goto worship him (rapture of the church).

Gift from my Savior.

I’ve been inspired to start this blog as a place for me to share my love for Jesus Christ. I want this to be another way I can grow in the love and understanding of God while also possibly helping others to grow. I will try to keep this updated with the latest things going on in my search for Jesus. I hope this reaches whoever it reaches well.

 

This is a picture I remember coming to my mind during corporate worship in my church cell group. (I’ve tried to recreate it the best I could remember by using Paint, but Paint is a pretty limited program) For me it was an interesting picture that captured the place I was in at the time. At the time I saw this, the story of Jesus was mainly just a story that happened a long time ago. It was a story that I really wanted to believe, but I had very little faith. I had felt the pulling of God for about 5-6 months and I was only 2-3 months into really trying to seek him. For me this was an incredibly frustrating time and I felt I was going no where in my walk to find Jesus. With God’s perfect timing, I had this vision of what was going on with me spiritually.

I believe this picture was placed in my mind to show me that God was hearing me. I had lived my whole life lost in lies and so I had a lifetime worth of lies covering the truth and life that Jesus had to offer. God was showing me that he had his eye on my life, and that he cared about me even though I had lived a seemingly worthless life up until that point. My lifetime full of lies was finally being realized and God was starting the process in me of shedding those lies.

This was a little more than a year ago now, and I can just now truly appreciate the visual I had. I have come so far in my walk with Jesus and he has given me a great thirst for more. I hope that I can look at this a year from now and see a tremendous amount of growth in Him. I want my future be filled with increasingly more of Him.