Vessel of Honorনমুনা

Sixth Day

At the end of this Plan, I want you to take a moment and consider the responsibilities of being a Vessel of God. The more we desire to be used by God the more it will cost us. Obedience always comes at a cost. Jesus said if we are not willing to deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow Him we are not worthy of Him.

Those are some harsh words if you think of it, but Jesus was highlighting the fact that we cannot be used by God on a Sunday and be used by the devil on a Monday. We can’t jump between devotion to God and the world. We have to make a choice every day when we wake up, to be used by God as a Vessel of Honor. It will be difficult at first, but with consistency and perseverance, our characters will be changed to Christ-likeness.

In the book of Luke chapter 9, Jesus emphasized again the importance of being dedicated to God or the devil. He said we can’t put our hands to the plow, and when things get tough, we want to go back (paraphrased). We can’t wear the crown without carrying the cross. Jesus wants total dedication from us, not half-hearted commitment.

The Father knew that we would need the help of the Holy Spirit to accomplish these things. He knew it would be for our benefit to be guided by His Spirit every day. We may fall or fail at times, but the Holy Spirit will always be there to pick us up, dust us off, and strengthen us to go another day. As the proverb says “a righteous man falls down seven times, but stands up eight.”

If we keep our eyes on Jesus, He will write our story into His. He is the Author of our faith, He is the One that finishes our story. He began a good work in us and He will complete it to Glorify the Father.

When the nation of Israel was about to enter into the Promised Land, God spoke to their leader at that time, Joshua, and He commanded Joshua to be strong and courageous. Not only once, but three times Joshua was commanded to be strong and courageous. God really wanted His instruction to sink in for Joshua.

And it is the same with us. We need to be strong and courageous if we want to follow Jesus and be Vessels of Honor. We need to spend quality, intimate time with God so that our hearts can become like His, His mind can transform ours and His Voice should be the clearest we hear every day.

After Joshua was commanded by God three times to be strong and courageous, he finally got it, to the extent that when Joshua gave the command to his men on how to possess the land, he told them the same words. Be strong and courageous. The Words of God need to filter through our very being so that we can share His Words with those around us. That is being Vessels of Honor, Vessels that are filled with the Good News of Jesus, sharing it wherever they go.