Today's Devotional from Pastor Clay: Cracked Vessels - 2 Corinthians 4:7

August 30, 2014 View this email in your browser Cracked Vessels - 2 Corinthians 4:7 I remember when our children were younger (it seems like forever ago!), each year on their birthday we'd invite all of their friends over for a party. Mom would go all out with the cake, candles, ice cream, and banners. As the kids arrived, the presents would go onto the dining room table, all wrapped in colorful, festive paper. I found it interesting that when it came time to open the gifts, my kids would inevitably pick the brightest, most colorful gift to open first, probably thinking that the best looking container had the best gift! But it usually turned out that the gift they enjoyed the most, weeks after the party, was one of the unassuming, plain wrapped gifts. Thats often true in life, as the best things often come in plain wrappers. Paul makes a similar point in 2 Corinthians 4:7, telling us: We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. 2 Corinthians 4:7  (NLT) See, clay containers were a poor mans utensil. They were cheap to make, cracked easily, and were worthless once they broke. And for some crazy reason, God chose a plain clay vessel, the human body of a Jewish man, from an unassuming family, the son of a carpenter, to wrap the greatest gift man has ever received: The promised Messiah, Jesus Christ. That fragile clay vessel contained the light of the world! And God does the same with us. We are but fragile clay pots, yet inside of us is a great treasure, the light of Jesus Christ, shining in our hearts! And the neat thing about that is when we get hit, or pressed in, and we crack a little, what shines out is the light of Christ, which can be seen by everyone around us.  Paul noted this in the next passage: We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies. 2 Cor 4:8-10 (NLT) When you crack a clay vessel, whatever is in it will come spilling out. Remember that the next time you're pressed, perplexed, or even knocked down; While it might be painful, it's an opportunity for the life of Christ to shine bright to the world around you. "Lord, help to shine bright with the light and the life of Christ in the midst of my suffering." Pastor Clay   Enjoy this devotional?  Share it with someone! Share Tweet Forward Connect Facebook Twitter Instagram Subscribe by email Copyright © 2014 Calvary Chapel of Wilmington, All rights reserved. You're receiving this email because you subscribed through our website or my blog. You can click the "Manage Subscriptions" link to manage your email preferences.   Calvary Chapel of Wilmington 2831 Carolina Beach Rd Wilmington, NC 28412 Add us to your address book 910-791-1858 | www.calvaryofwilmington.org   unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences

Today's Devotional from Pastor Clay: The Veil is Gone - 2 Corinthians 3:16-18

29 August, 2014 View this email in your browser The Veil is Gone - 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 In this passage the Apostle Paul is referencing Exodus 34. While the Israelites were still in the desert, Moses would meet face-to-face with God in his tent, then he would go out to the people and communicate to them what God had said. At the time Moses didn't realize it, but his time with God physically affected him; It made his face glow (he had the "Mo-Glow!") But after a few days the glow would fade. Once Moses became aware of the glow, he began putting a veil on his face to hid it. We might think that Moses did that was because he didn't want to the people to be afraid, but Paul tells us the real reason: "unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away." 2 Corinthians 3:13 Moses wasn't being humble, he simply didn't want the people to see the glow fade, and perhaps get the idea God was going to abandon them. In essence, as glorious as the old covenant was, and it was glorious, it was destined to fade away. What we have today in the new covenant of Christ is glorious, and eternal. And because the new covenant is centered in Christ, who resides in us through the Holy Spirit, we are "being transformed into the same image from glory to glory!" I like how the NLT paraphrases it:  "So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image." In other words, because of our relationship with Christ, we can not only SEE His glory, the veil has been removed and we now REFLECT the glory of Christ to the world around us.  Just a few weeks ago, our moon became full on the same day it was in perigee (closest to the earth), and it appeared in the sky as an enormous, bright glowing orb. A "Super-moon." But as bright as it was on that night, it will never be as bright as our sun at noon.  And that's the point Paul is making, the old covenant looks pale compared to the new covenant, which will shine brightly in our hearts forever.  "Lord, thank you for removing the veil, and allow us to see and reflect your glory." Pastor Clay   Enjoy this devotional?  Share it with someone! Share Tweet Forward Connect Facebook Twitter Instagram Subscribe by email Copyright © 2014 Calvary Chapel of Wilmington, All rights reserved. You're receiving this email because you subscribed through our website or my blog. You can click the "Manage Subscriptions" link to manage your email preferences.   Calvary Chapel of Wilmington 2831 Carolina Beach Rd Wilmington, NC 28412 Add us to your address book 910-791-1858 | www.calvaryofwilmington.org   unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences

Today's Devotional from Pastor Clay: It might be your odor - 2 Corinthians 2:15-16

August 28, 2014 View this email in your browser It might be your odor - 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 Have you ever wondered why it is that some people you come across are drawn to you, and want to know more about your faith, yet others seem to avoid you once they find out you are a Christian? Well, it might be your odor.  No, I don't mean to say you have body odor, I'm taking about the spiritual fragrance that radiates from your life, your "Spiritual Odor" (SO). Paul makes an interesting statement in his second letter to the church at Corinth: Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. 2 Corinthians 2:15-16 It was a custom in the Roman Empire, when a conquering general returned from a hard fought campaign over one of the enemies of Rome, subduing the threat to Rome, that the Senate would grant him a "Triumph." In the Roman Triumphs, the conquering general would ride through the streets of Rome in his chariot, preceded by numbers of priests swinging pots of fragrant incense. Behind him would come the captives he had taken, being led to their execution in chains. Behind them would come the generals, the captains and the commanders of his forces. The streets would be filled with people shouting and cheering.  In this great procession, the fragrance of the priest's incense filled the air: To the prisoners in chains following the conquering general's chariot, the fragrance of the incense was the fragrance of death. But to those who were part of the army, and to the citizens of Rome who had been spared the threat to the city, that fragrance was a fragrance of life. It was the same smell to everyone, the only difference was the destination of the person who smelled it. And so it is with this Christian life; we're in a big parade! As you go through your day, interacting with the world around you, your spiritual aroma surrounds you. To those who are open to God, the people that are going to be open to hearing the good news of the gospel, you are the aroma of life! You bring the message of hope and victory for their lives! But to the person who rejects God, you are a reminder of the ultimate death they face; A death with no hope of heaven, and no future with Christ. Its the same smell, the only difference is the destination of the person who smells it. Just remember, your message of hope cannot bring life and victory to anyone's life if they never hear it. So next time you sense someone is drawn to you, remember to tell them why you smell so good! "Lord, help me to see those who are drawn to the aroma of life, and give me the burden to share with them my message of victory and life." Pastor Clay   Enjoy this devotional?  Share it with someone! Share Tweet Forward Connect Facebook Twitter Instagram Subscribe by email Copyright © 2014 Calvary Chapel of Wilmington, All rights reserved. You're receiving this email because you subscribed through our website or my blog. You can click the "Manage Subscriptions" link to manage your email preferences.   Calvary Chapel of Wilmington 2831 Carolina Beach Rd Wilmington, NC 28412 Add us to your address book 910-791-1858 | www.calvaryofwilmington.org   unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences