“His expertise is taking into his masterful care ordinary people who have lived broken lives, and turning our lives into nothing less than masterpieces.”

A thought by Erwin Raphael McManus, (2014-02-25) from his book, The Artisan Soul: Crafting Your Life into a Work of Art (p. 178). Harper Collins. Kindle Edition.

There are two words in this thought that caught my attention. The first was broken. There are so many in this world have and are living broken lives. They have no hope.

I’m looking at this in my other blog, Bill’s Front Porch. There are so many areas in our life that we need to recover from. Areas such as: Overeating * Overworking * Alcohol/Drugs * Overspending * Grief * Guilt * Anger/Rage * Fear/Anxiety * Divorce * Abuse * Insecurity * Sexual Addictions * Codependency * Habit * Perfectionism * Lying * Hypochondria * Hurtful Relationships * Procrastination * Gambling * The Need To Control. There are so many areas of brokenness and helplessness in people’s lives. One of these could be yours and you see your world through your area of brokenness and you see no way out. Life can be very hopeless can’t it?

The other word that caught my attention was masterpieces. In short Erwin says that His, God’s expertise is turning broken lives into nothing less than masterpieces. He takes into His masterful care ordinary people, that’s you and me who have lived broken lives, no matter what area of your life is broken He can turn in into nothing less than a masterpiece if we let Him.

Peter denied knowing Jesus after he had been with Him as one of His chosen ones. He denied knowing Him when Jesus was on trial. And when he realized what he had done Peter went out as a totally broken man and wept and wept but Jesus forgave him and it was upon Peter that Jesus built His church. He truly became one of His masterpieces.

And He wants to do the same with you. Put this thought up somewhere and start living with the hope of what God wants to do and can do in and through your broken life. There is hope in Him. Let Him through His masterful care start doing His work in and through you.

So in what area are you broken?

Comments

"Jesus comes in the midst of the torrent."

A thought by Max Lucado from his book, You Are Never Alone (p. 60). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) We all have storms in our lives, don't we? Max says, "No one gets through life scot-free. At one point or another the sky will darken, the winds will rage, and we will find ourselves in a modern-day version of the Galilean gusher." John 6:16–18 (NIV) says, "When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough." Max goes on, "The hearts of the followers began to sink as their boat was certain to do. Their skin was soaked, throats hoarse, eyes wide. They searched the sky for a break in the clouds. They gripped the boat for fear of the waves. They screamed their prayers for help. But they heard nothing. "If only Jesu

“When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing is insignificant in your life.”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 57). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. To realize that from God’s perspective life is a test goes a long way in determining how you handle your life. It is important to see that in testing your character is both developed and revealed. Rick goes on to say that “even the smallest incident has significance for your character development. Every day is an important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on God.” So there is a God purpose behind each situation in your life. Even the bad ones are there to strengthen you and develop you. You see those bad situations are really good ones because they are there for your good. I start each day with a reminder that God is good. Not every situation that is going to come in my day is good but because God is good He will use e

“What areas of my personality, background, and physical appearance am I struggling to accept?”

A thought by Rick Warren, (2012-10-23) from his book, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) (p. 35). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. Rick posed this question at the end of his chapter, You Are Not an Accident. In this chapter he deals with the fact that God created you the way you are with a purpose. In other words you are not an accident. I am also reading the Apostle John’s view of Jesus and what He said and did while He was here on earth. In the beginning of Chapter 9 there is a story about a blind man. And the disciples who were with Him asked Him a good question, “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind? ” Have you ever asked the same thing about something in you that you don’t like? Like that characteristic is a curse or something. Society has set a standard that is not a standard of God. Remember, He created you and you are not an accident. Jesus did answer the question about the blind

Just Continue That Thought...

Search This Blog