[APRIL 16] The Treasure and The Pots

Read: 2 Corinthians 4:1-11

"We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be God and not of us."

--2 Corinthians 4:7

It has been said that the Roman Empire ran on olive oil. It was used in cooking, bathing, medicine, ceremonies, lamps, and cosmetics. For decades, olive oil from southern Spain was shipped to Rome in large clay jugs called amphorae. Those jugs, not worth sending back, were discarded in a growing heap of broken shards known as Monte Testaccio. The fragments of an estimated 25 million amphorae created that man-made hill, which stands today on the bank of the Tiber River in Rome. In the ancient world, the value of those pots was not their beauty but their contents.

Because of this, the first-century followers of Christ would have clearly understood Paul's illustration of the life jesus in every believer. "But we have this treasure in earthen vessel, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us" (2 Cor.4:7).

Our bodies, like amphorae, are temporary, fragile, and expendable. In our modern world that highly values outward beauty, we would be wise to remember that our greatest treasure is the life of Jesus within us. By God's grace and power, may we live so that others can see Christ in us.

We are just the clay pots. Jesus is the true treasure within us. --David McCasland

Although my outward shell decays,

I'm inwardly renewed each day,

Because the life and power of Christ

Indwells this fragile jar of clay. --Sper

REFLECT ON THIS:

Christ is seen most clearly when we remain in the background. 

[FEBRUARY 4] A Question of Values

Read: Colossians 3:1-11

"Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth" 

--Colossians 3:2

On a trip through Chicago, I saw a poster advertising a business management seminar. The poster’s message was intriguing: The Value of a Leader Is Directly Proportional to That Leader’s Values. The accuracy of that statement struck me. What we value shapes our character—and will ultimately define how we lead, or whether we can lead at all. This does not apply only to leaders, however.

For the follower of Christ, values are even more significant. When Paul wrote to the believers at Colosse, he said, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:2). His point is that only as we allow our values to be motivated and shaped by the eternal (not the temporal) will we be effective ambassadors of Christ in the world. It is in the understanding that we are pilgrims in this world, not tourists, that we can keep a clear perspective and an undistracted heart—and can more effectively serve the Savior.

It has been said that we live in a world that knows the cost of everything but the value of nothing. In this world of the “here and now,” however, followers of Christ are called to build our values around what lasts forever. To say it another way: The Effectiveness of a Believer Is Directly Proportional to That Believer’s Values. --Bill Crowder

O Lord, You see what's in the heart--

There's nothing hid from You,

So help us live the kind of life

That's honest good and true. --D.De Haan

REFLECT ON THIS:

Hold tightly to what is eternal, but loosely to what is temporal.

[JANUARY 6] Ordinances of Heaven

Read: Psalm 19:1-7

"If I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth, then I will cast away the descendants of Jacob and David" 

--Jeremiah 33:25-26

Mark your calendar now if you want to see the next celestial convergence of Venus, Jupiter, and the moon. On November 18, 2052, you’ll be able to peer through the evening darkness as those solar system neighbors “gather” in a tiny area of the sky. That remarkable juxtaposition of reflective spheres last sparkled the night sky on December 1, 2008, and it will happen again 4 decades from now.

This predictability, as well as things such as eclipses and the return of Halley’s Comet (July 28, 2061), prove the orderliness of the universe. If no fixed set of laws governed the movement of everything in the universe, such predictions could not be made.

Are these set rules more than random standards? Can we see God’s hand in these celestial certainties? Look at Jeremiah 33:25-26. God has in view the covenantal relationship between Himself and His people, and He uses a scientific fact in the analogy. In effect, God says that His fixed universal laws, “the ordinances of heaven and earth,” have the same certainty as His promises to His covenant people.

God’s laws have governed the universe since its creation — and continue to do so with astounding predictability. So mark your calendar, and be amazed by God’s unchanging control. --Dave Branon

A Prayer: Dear Lord, I marvel at the wonders of Your creation. You are such a great and awesome God who does not change. As I place my life in your hands, I will trust You to be faithful. Amen.

REFLECT ON THIS:

The wonders of creation reveal God at work.