Unapologetically Apostolic

All throughout scripture, we as human beings are likened to pottery. We are as earthen vessels created by a master potter. Jeremiah 18:2-6 says, "Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.  3  Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.  4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.  5  Then the word of the  Lord  came to me, saying,  6  O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the  Lord . Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel." Knowing that God is our Potter, however, does not always negate those feelings of helplessness, hopelessness and unworthiness that we feel. When you think of your life as a vessel, created on the potter's wheel, it's easy to think of being useless ...

The enemy is crafty in the ways in which he attacks God's children, although it's not anything new. In Genesis when he tempted Eve in the garden, the temptation was to her intellect. Genesis 3:1-5, "1Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil ." He raised the question in her mind if God was being truthful, causing her to question the very heart of who God is. Adam and Eve both had spent time with Him in the ga...

Every day, almost without fail, I am sent a text message of a devotion. It's sent from one of my sisters at church, written by the pastor of a church that we fellowship with. Todays devotional has struck a chord within me. Please allow me some time to explain. The passage of scripture was Psalm 124, "1 If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, Now may Israel say; 2 If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, When men rose up against us: 3  Then they had swallowed us up quick, When their wrath was kindled against us:4  Then the waters had overwhelmed us, The stream had gone over our soul: 5  Then the proud waters Had gone over our soul. 6  Blessed be the Lord, Who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth.7  Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: The snare is broken, and we are escaped. 8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth." This resonated within me like the vibrations of a building crescendo as an ...

Everywhere you look these days you are seeing a new construction of some type being built. Sometimes, there is a huge amount of dirt being dug out with cinder blocks being placed one upon the other to form a basement before the dwelling is erected above it. Others, you see a maze of pipes laid out among a rebar grid as the concrete foundation is poured. No matter if it's a business, a multi-story dwelling or a single family abode, the contactor is careful to ensure that the structure is built on a firm foundation. As I was studying tonight, this scripture was discussed. Many people have discussed it in Sunday school lessons, we sang songs about it as kids and we've heard numerous sermons preached on it, but how many of us are actually hearing the lesson? Matthew 7:24-27 The Wise and Foolish Builders 24   “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  25  The rain came down, the streams ros...

Back in the early part of last year, my friend introduced me to a song by Tasha Cobbs Leonard that she was hopeful our praise team at church could learn. We were never able to learn it but the song resonated within me. Still to this day, I'll find myself singing it. "Take all I have in these hands and multiply God all that I am. And find my heart on the altar again, set me on fire. Set me on fire." Just words, lyrics of a song. For over a year, I would sing these as an anthem before starting my workday, asking God to use my hands to glorify Him in the job I was doing, to keep me safe in the industrial setting I was in and to be a beacon of hope for someone that day. As I drove into work this morning, the words hit a little differently. These words are words of worship. When we stand before God in worship, with our hands lifted to Him, all we have in our hands to offer Him is our praise, our thanksgiving, ourselves. When we offer Him those things with a humble spirit, plac...

When I was a teenager, what feels like many moons ago (because it was), I fought fear in my life. I was afraid of everything. My biggest fear was of being a failure. My parents had instilled in me that I had to work hard and be my best at all times, demanding A's in school and anything less was unacceptable. The bar was set very high and I felt as if I was barely skimming over it, that my day of failure would inevitably come. As I matured with age, that fear of failure never left me. I would get a job that I excelled at and without fail, I would sabotage myself in some way to keep from succeeding or being the best I could at it. The fear of failure lead me to fail. Since April 27, 2011, many people who live in the Southeastern US have a fear of weather, specifically tornadic weather. That day changed the landscape across many states, costing millions of dollars and many lives. Even now, the mere mention of possible severe weather sends many into full scale panic attacks.  I remembe...