Clay doesn’t talk back to the fingers that mold it, saying, “Why did you shape me like this?” Isn’t it obvious that a potter has a perfect right to shape one lump of clay into a vase for holding flowers and another into a pot for cooking beans? (Romans 9:21-23 MSG) We may try to tell God he hasn't done a good job at creating us the way he did, but we will never be able to be other than what we are created to be. The moment we accept that the gifts and talents he has given us are for his use, regardless of what they are, we will find ourselves presented with opportunity after opportunity to put those gifts and talents into use. When we resist what God has designed, we find ourselves miserably lost in an attempt to be other than what we were created to be. Our gifts and talents don't have to be 'big' or 'noteworthy'. God uses the painter to create beauty, the mechanic to make things hum, and the welder to hold things together. He uses the musician to lift our hear...
Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. (Romans 14:1 NLT) We spend far too much time judging others for what they do or don't do, forgetting that we do some of the same stuff, or at least we did it at some point before we invited Jesus into our lives. The old adage, "It takes one to know one," isn't all that far from the mark. We notice the things in others that we either struggle with presently or have had a history with at some point. That doesn't mean we can judge them for their behavior, though. If we judge others, we can count that we will be judged by the same standard. So, do we really want to find ourselves in that same pickle? Arguing about what is right or wrong isn't going to bring us together - it will drive a wedge between us. In fact, that is why there are so many break-off denominations and churches these days! We have become so critical of the style of worship, the way pe...