Reverence and Awe

» Today's reading at Blue Letter Bible

Morning:

My first thoughts as I read Spurgeon’s morning devotional are that potters, who work with clay, which is nothing more that dust and water from the earth, are in service to an earthly king. We are frequently reminded throughout scripture that God is the potter and we are the clay (Jeremiah 18: 6, Isaiah 45: 9, Romans 9: 21…etc) yet I find it interesting that Spurgeon uses the analogy of the potter and the clay to speak to us of our service to our King.

No matter how menial we may view our labor on this earth it is important to remember that God can do amazing things with the seemingly mundane tasks that we perform on a daily basis. When the potter begins his work we see only a dripping wet slab of mud that does not appear to be capable of anything other than making a mess. Working with these materials at this stage is anything but glamorous. As the potter diligently performs his duty the mass of muck begins to take shape and ultimately becomes a useful tool or a beautiful work of art.

At the onset of the process the potter may have little or no idea of what the finished product may be but diligently performs his calling, one turn of the wheel at a time. It is only upon completion of the task that the fruit of that labor is revealed.

Let this be an encouragement to us as we perform our daily duties trusting that God has a plan to make great the faithful execution of our calling. Thanks be to God.
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Evening:

This really speaks for itself and I find myself at somewhat of a loss for words. It is difficult in this present day to live in accordance with biblical humility as society tells us that pride and self esteem are avenues to success. Reading Spurgeon’s evening devotion seems to place a magnifying glass over my prideful self and causes me to ask: How do I dare possess even one small grain of pride? I ask this in light of Spurgeon pointing out who Jesus was, what He did for us, and how He humbled Himself.

Consider that Jesus is God who created the universe because He willed it! If a man ever walked the earth that had a just claim on pride it was He. Yet He lived a life of humility before allowing Himself be scorned, tortured and crucified to death.

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:8)

May God help us to meditate on these things through His Word and through His Holy Spirit that we may live a life of humility.

Labels: Devotional, Morning and Evening, Spurgeon