God had a message that he desperately need to get through to Israel. God went to Jeremiah and sent him on a journey to the potter's house. God sometimes has to get us to the right place in order to get His message through. God took Jeremiah to the right place in order to receive the right message. Jeremiah witnessed a live parable that communicated God's desire for Israel. The potter had a purpose for the clay on his wheel. Jeremiah began to understand that God has a purpose for our life. There will be problems along the way, and there will be flaws that have to be worked through; but like the potter, God has a purpose and He intends to work out all of that to accomplish His objective. It may take a long time, but God said that He would not quit until He is finished. Clay is not pleasant to work with. It is slimy and messy. But when the potter is done with it, it is beautiful. Like the potter, God is not put off by the unattractive nature of the raw material. He continues to working with it until it is to the place it needs to be. The message of the potter is that what appears to be at the moment is not the end. God is not concerned with what we are right now; He is concerned with what can be. God is a god of what can be, not what is. If we will let Him, he will transform even the ugliest thing into something beautiful.

In our text, it is obvious that Israel was not living up to God’s potential. He could have written them off and left them to their sin, but God is not content with imperfection when His perfection is available. The potter's hand on the clay transformed it. God's influence can change our situation no matter what it is. The potter knows how much pressure to apply. He knows when to press and when not to press. God knows the kinds of pressure that is required to get the results He needs in our life. The unresponsiveness of the clay delayed the process, but it did not stop it. The flaw was limiting what the potter could do and so he crushed it down and started over. God knows how to get the things in our life out the need to be removed. The message of the potter is that a flaw does not mean that all is lost.

God sent Jeremiah to the potters house that day to receive a message in a bottle.

God had a message that he desperately need to get through to Israel. God went to Jeremiah and sent him on a journey to the potter's house. God sometimes has to get us to the right place in order to get His message through. God took Jeremiah to the right place in order to receive the right message. Jeremiah witnessed a live parable that communicated God's desire for Israel. The potter had a purpose for the clay on his wheel. Jeremiah began to understand that God has a purpose for our life. There will be problems along the way, and there will be flaws that have to be worked through; but like the potter, God has a purpose and He intends to work out all of that to accomplish His objective. It may take a long time, but God said that He would not quit until He is finished. Clay is not pleasant to work with. It is slimy and messy. But when the potter is done with it, it is beautiful. Like the potter, God is not put off by the unattractive nature of the raw material. He continues to working with it until it is to the place it needs to be. The message of the potter is that what appears to be at the moment is not the end. God is not concerned with what we are right now; He is concerned with what can be. God is a god of what can be, not what is. If we will let Him, he will transform even the ugliest thing into something beautiful.

In our text, it is obvious that Israel was not living up to God’s potential. He could have written them off and left them to their sin, but God is not content with imperfection when His perfection is available. The potter's hand on the clay transformed it. God's influence can change our situation no matter what it is. The potter knows how much pressure to apply. He knows when to press and when not to press. God knows the kinds of pressure that is required to get the results He needs in our life. The unresponsiveness of the clay delayed the process, but it did not stop it. The flaw was limiting what the potter could do and so he crushed it down and started over. God knows how to get the things in our life out the need to be removed. The message of the potter is that a flaw does not mean that all is lost.

God sent Jeremiah to the potters house that day to receive a message in a bottle.

Our text is sobering and thought provoking. We have to stop and ask if we understand what we read. The scripture calls Lot righteous. Yet even with this righteousness, he lived in an atmosphere that had an affect on him. How could this man let what happened to him happen to him? Lot was the nephew of Abraham. Lot’s father died on the way to the promised land, and Abraham took Lot under his wing. God blessed Lot because of his association with Abraham. Lot’s life is an interesting study in contradictions. He knew what he needed to do, but somehow could never get around to doing it. Lot's life was marked by indecision. His heart told him one thing, but his mind convinced him differently. Leaving Sodom he lingered; going to the gate he lingered. When problems arose between he Abraham, Lot hesitated. Even when he did flee Sodom, Lot argued with God about where to go. The bible describes Lot as vexed. There was a constant war between his mind and his heart. Lot had been raised around an alter and in a righteous environment. He was blessed because of that, but we do not read of Lot building an alter for himself. There is nothing that comes from lingering in a bad situation. There are many people who have been around alters and blessing all their life, but they have not built that alter themselves. Many are blessed because of who they walked with. Many have grown up in church and have known it all their lives, but they have not built that relationship with God themselves. Lot failed to appreciate the value of Abraham's presence and of his influence. As time passed, Lot failed to properly appreciate the blessings of righteous fellowship. Lot never seemed to grasp the implication of the choices he made. When he and Abraham separated, Lot did not use any of the lessons learned by his association with Abraham. The bible tells us that Lot simply looked with his eyes when he made his decision on where to go. He did not consult his heart. We must be careful what we look at, because what we look at can be deceiving. Lot saw the well watered plain and decided that it was the most promising. Often the way God wants us to go is not the most attractive life, but it is the best way. If Lot had been able to go back to that moment when he made that decision, he may have made a different choice. He put everything that mattered to him in a compromised situation that once it was all done, was a path of destruction. He didn't move into the city of Sodom right at first, He moved in that direction, and over time it began to affect him. What Lot saw was different than what Abraham saw, but that different view did not make it right. Lot had to compromise his principles in order to live in Sodom. We cannot embrace Sodom without compromising our faith. Lot continued to prosper after moving to Sodom, but his relationship with God suffered. The bible has no account where Lot ever rebuked what was going on around him, or that he used his growing influence to change that wicked city. He tolerated what was going on around him, and it took him down a path that would lead him to a place that he did not recognize. It started because he looked with his eyes and not with his heart. He pushed down what his heart told him in order to gain earthly wealth. The bible tells us that he was vexed, buy we never read where he tried to move away from that corrupt culture. What are we exposing our self and our families to because of where we chose to live? When we have a choice to make, we must make sure that it is made at an alter and under the influence of prayer. Our eyes will tell us one thing, when our heart is telling us another. The price of living in Sodom is our faith, our fellowship and our family.

Our text is sobering and thought provoking. We have to stop and ask if we understand what we read. The scripture calls Lot righteous. Yet even with this righteousness, he lived in an atmosphere that had an affect on him. How could this man let what happened to him happen to him? Lot was the nephew of Abraham. Lot’s father died on the way to the promised land, and Abraham took Lot under his wing. God blessed Lot because of his association with Abraham. Lot’s life is an interesting study in contradictions. He knew what he needed to do, but somehow could never get around to doing it. Lot's life was marked by indecision. His heart told him one thing, but his mind convinced him differently. Leaving Sodom he lingered; going to the gate he lingered. When problems arose between he Abraham, Lot hesitated. Even when he did flee Sodom, Lot argued with God about where to go. The bible describes Lot as vexed. There was a constant war between his mind and his heart. Lot had been raised around an alter and in a righteous environment. He was blessed because of that, but we do not read of Lot building an alter for himself. There is nothing that comes from lingering in a bad situation. There are many people who have been around alters and blessing all their life, but they have not built that alter themselves. Many are blessed because of who they walked with. Many have grown up in church and have known it all their lives, but they have not built that relationship with God themselves. Lot failed to appreciate the value of Abraham's presence and of his influence. As time passed, Lot failed to properly appreciate the blessings of righteous fellowship. Lot never seemed to grasp the implication of the choices he made. When he and Abraham separated, Lot did not use any of the lessons learned by his association with Abraham. The bible tells us that Lot simply looked with his eyes when he made his decision on where to go. He did not consult his heart. We must be careful what we look at, because what we look at can be deceiving. Lot saw the well watered plain and decided that it was the most promising. Often the way God wants us to go is not the most attractive life, but it is the best way. If Lot had been able to go back to that moment when he made that decision, he may have made a different choice. He put everything that mattered to him in a compromised situation that once it was all done, was a path of destruction. He didn't move into the city of Sodom right at first, He moved in that direction, and over time it began to affect him. What Lot saw was different than what Abraham saw, but that different view did not make it right. Lot had to compromise his principles in order to live in Sodom. We cannot embrace Sodom without compromising our faith. Lot continued to prosper after moving to Sodom, but his relationship with God suffered. The bible has no account where Lot ever rebuked what was going on around him, or that he used his growing influence to change that wicked city. He tolerated what was going on around him, and it took him down a path that would lead him to a place that he did not recognize. It started because he looked with his eyes and not with his heart. He pushed down what his heart told him in order to gain earthly wealth. The bible tells us that he was vexed, buy we never read where he tried to move away from that corrupt culture. What are we exposing our self and our families to because of where we chose to live? When we have a choice to make, we must make sure that it is made at an alter and under the influence of prayer. Our eyes will tell us one thing, when our heart is telling us another. The price of living in Sodom is our faith, our fellowship and our family.

Nehemiah was stirred by a the vision of Jerusalem, in ruins. Being moved to do something, he marshaled the people of God to rebuild a city left in rubble by the Babylonians. Nehemiah had a burden. A burden is necessary to be used by God. Someone with a burden makes more of a difference than a person with talent. Nehemiah accomplished much in a short time. He organized people and rebuilt the walls of the city in only 52 days. There was much that came against him in the process, but Nehemiah did not let that distract him from his mission. Our text is from the end of the rebuilding. After six long weeks of work, the enemy came once again. Nothing is finished without opposition. Often this opposition comes when the task is almost done. The greatest struggle comes right before the victory. It is here that Nehemiah asks two important questions that speak to finishing and finishing strong. First he asks why should we stop our good work to be distracted by the enemy. Nehemiah then asks in verse 11, why should I run? Nehemiah faced descent, doubt and weariness in his own people. He faced enemies who masqueraded as friends. These "friends" tried to distract him right before he finished. Nehemiah lived by the code don't quit until you are finished. Nehemiah's questions help us to stay focused. He said "I am doing a great work" The enemy tried to draw him away, but Nehemiah would not be distracted. The enemy will try to distract us and cause us to focus our energy on things that do not matter. We must not be so caught up on this world that we lose focus of the things that really matter. In the latter part of our reading, the enemy tries to intimidate and scare Nehemiah from his task. The world hates what we are doing. They do not want us to succeed. Like Nehemiah, the enemy is trying to frighten us from completing our work. Nehemiah's response was “why should I be afraid.” God has something for us to do, and we cannot stop until we finish. We must stay focused and faithful. We must finish what we started.

Nehemiah was stirred by a the vision of Jerusalem, in ruins. Being moved to do something, he marshaled the people of God to rebuild a city left in rubble by the Babylonians. Nehemiah had a burden. A burden is necessary to be used by God. Someone with a burden makes more of a difference than a person with talent. Nehemiah accomplished much in a short time. He organized people and rebuilt the walls of the city in only 52 days. There was much that came against him in the process, but Nehemiah did not let that distract him from his mission. Our text is from the end of the rebuilding. After six long weeks of work, the enemy came once again. Nothing is finished without opposition. Often this opposition comes when the task is almost done. The greatest struggle comes right before the victory. It is here that Nehemiah asks two important questions that speak to finishing and finishing strong. First he asks why should we stop our good work to be distracted by the enemy. Nehemiah then asks in verse 11, why should I run? Nehemiah faced descent, doubt and weariness in his own people. He faced enemies who masqueraded as friends. These "friends" tried to distract him right before he finished. Nehemiah lived by the code don't quit until you are finished. Nehemiah's questions help us to stay focused. He said "I am doing a great work" The enemy tried to draw him away, but Nehemiah would not be distracted. The enemy will try to distract us and cause us to focus our energy on things that do not matter. We must not be so caught up on this world that we lose focus of the things that really matter. In the latter part of our reading, the enemy tries to intimidate and scare Nehemiah from his task. The world hates what we are doing. They do not want us to succeed. Like Nehemiah, the enemy is trying to frighten us from completing our work. Nehemiah's response was “why should I be afraid.” God has something for us to do, and we cannot stop until we finish. We must stay focused and faithful. We must finish what we started.

Sometimes it seems that life is conspiring against us. The events that come at us seem to be a coordinated effort to try to derails our hopes, dreams and prayers. It is easy to play “what if.” What of this had not happened? What if that had gone differently? When everything is in turmoil we look for a sign of hope; for a sign that God has heard our prayers. It is difficult to carry on when God is silent. Questions, doubts and fear creep in to our thoughts. It is important to understand that life cannot be judged by a small segment. If we are not careful, we can become lost in a moment, a week or a month of life. Some storms last a short time, others can last a long time one, two or even ten years. We must not judge our entire life by a turbulent period. We cannot see the whole picture, but God can see it. In our text, we read the story of a great soul in a great crisis. This story reinforces that we are not the first to face stormy times. Even God's chosen people have to endure tough times and storms. Going through a storm is never an easy experience. The longer the storm lasts, the more if affects our attitude and the way we deal with others. Our focus narrows to simply survival. Our text is about more than a storm, or survival. it is about a message that came to Paul. God delivered the message that Paul must stand before Caesar. Paul's destiny would not be determined by the storm. God had already determined destiny and it was not wrapped up in the storm he was currently facing. Paul's life, and ours, is determined by God's word, not our circumstances. God has a plan for our life and that plan has a good end. The destiny that God has for us has a purpose. God reminded Paul, and us, that His plans trump life's troubles. No matter how painful whatever we are in now, God's plan is better. There are things that God has written about each one of us that must be fulfilled. God has a story written about each one of us. This does not mean that we can do whatever we want. God's promise to Paul came with a condition. To see God's plan through, Paul had to stay with the ship. God did not call Paul to have him perish in the storm that night. God brought Paul, and us to where we are. He did not do that to leave us to die. There is no storm, no problem, that can change God's plan for our life. We must remain with the ship and keep pressing toward the promise that God has given us.

Sometimes it seems that life is conspiring against us. The events that come at us seem to be a coordinated effort to try to derails our hopes, dreams and prayers. It is easy to play “what if.” What of this had not happened? What if that had gone differently? When everything is in turmoil we look for a sign of hope; for a sign that God has heard our prayers. It is difficult to carry on when God is silent. Questions, doubts and fear creep in to our thoughts. It is important to understand that life cannot be judged by a small segment. If we are not careful, we can become lost in a moment, a week or a month of life. Some storms last a short time, others can last a long time one, two or even ten years. We must not judge our entire life by a turbulent period. We cannot see the whole picture, but God can see it. In our text, we read the story of a great soul in a great crisis. This story reinforces that we are not the first to face stormy times. Even God's chosen people have to endure tough times and storms. Going through a storm is never an easy experience. The longer the storm lasts, the more if affects our attitude and the way we deal with others. Our focus narrows to simply survival. Our text is about more than a storm, or survival. it is about a message that came to Paul. God delivered the message that Paul must stand before Caesar. Paul's destiny would not be determined by the storm. God had already determined destiny and it was not wrapped up in the storm he was currently facing. Paul's life, and ours, is determined by God's word, not our circumstances. God has a plan for our life and that plan has a good end. The destiny that God has for us has a purpose. God reminded Paul, and us, that His plans trump life's troubles. No matter how painful whatever we are in now, God's plan is better. There are things that God has written about each one of us that must be fulfilled. God has a story written about each one of us. This does not mean that we can do whatever we want. God's promise to Paul came with a condition. To see God's plan through, Paul had to stay with the ship. God did not call Paul to have him perish in the storm that night. God brought Paul, and us to where we are. He did not do that to leave us to die. There is no storm, no problem, that can change God's plan for our life. We must remain with the ship and keep pressing toward the promise that God has given us.

There is no forward moment in life that is without setbacks. Any time a person sets his mind to grow, there will be things to come up and challenge that effort. In our text, a young man lost the head of his ax while working to build a new place for the prophets. Something important was lost. It was small, but it's purpose was great. The lost ax head represented the effectiveness of the tool. This situations speaks to that in our life which gives us power. The bible says it was lost. No matter how perfect the handle and the quality of the materials, without the ax head, the handle was worthless. Work literally came to a stop. It was lost in a time of busyness and in the midst of a good work to build a house of God. So it is in life. Many people lose their cutting edge, but the are too proud to acknowledge it. Many people in life will try to make up for this loss by trying to improve what they have left. They try to learn better methods, or they posture themselves in other ways. They however are still ineffective without their cutting edge. The only answer is to get that cutting edge back. Bro. Hughes asks a simple question. Has there ever been a time where we have felt closer to God than now? If the answer to that question is yes, then we may have lost our cutting edge. How can we recover our edge? First we must admit that we have lost it. That is difficult to admit. To be honest about that involves a swallowing of our pride. Recovering the ax head in our story involved returning to where it was lost. It required a tree being lowered into the water. The tree represents the cross of Calvary. The power of the cross can restore what we have lost. It is the key to recovering our cutting edge.

There is no forward moment in life that is without setbacks. Any time a person sets his mind to grow, there will be things to come up and challenge that effort. In our text, a young man lost the head of his ax while working to build a new place for the prophets. Something important was lost. It was small, but it's purpose was great. The lost ax head represented the effectiveness of the tool. This situations speaks to that in our life which gives us power. The bible says it was lost. No matter how perfect the handle and the quality of the materials, without the ax head, the handle was worthless. Work literally came to a stop. It was lost in a time of busyness and in the midst of a good work to build a house of God. So it is in life. Many people lose their cutting edge, but the are too proud to acknowledge it. Many people in life will try to make up for this loss by trying to improve what they have left. They try to learn better methods, or they posture themselves in other ways. They however are still ineffective without their cutting edge. The only answer is to get that cutting edge back. Bro. Hughes asks a simple question. Has there ever been a time where we have felt closer to God than now? If the answer to that question is yes, then we may have lost our cutting edge. How can we recover our edge? First we must admit that we have lost it. That is difficult to admit. To be honest about that involves a swallowing of our pride. Recovering the ax head in our story involved returning to where it was lost. It required a tree being lowered into the water. The tree represents the cross of Calvary. The power of the cross can restore what we have lost. It is the key to recovering our cutting edge.