Episode 170

Today’s declaration is a wonderful reminder for those of us who more readily identify with a paper plate rather than with the fine China reserved for a special occasion. Today’s declaration is designed to remind you that you’ve been crafted by God with extraordinary value and significant purpose. Our declaration today is a conditional claim, so rather than declaring “I am” we will declare “I can be”. I hope you’ll remember that with God, all things are possible. Pause to consider the condition to actually being a “special utensil”. You must keep yourself pure. That may seem hard for you, but God has already taken care of that for you. But 1 Corinthians 1:30-31 says, “God has united you with Christ Jesus… Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.” (NIV) In other words, God makes us holy. God makes us pure. And God makes us able to be special utensils that He can use for every good work. When we were united with Christ through our confession of faith, we were purified and made holy. God nailed our sin to the cross and washed us clean. God did the impossible by making us holy and pure. We stay pure by remembering and applying 1 John 1:9, which says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (NIV) We do the confessing and God does the purifying. God wants to use you to accomplish good and honorable work. You are not a common, ordinary, everyday utensil. God has made you pure and He has great plans to use you. So, trust that God has made you pure and trust that you can stay pure through confessing and repenting from sin. If you enjoy the sound of my voice on this podcast, I think you’ll enjoy listening to me read my book to you. It’s called Longing to Belong: Discovering the Joy of Acceptance, and it’s available on my website, shawnamariebryant.com and on Audible. Link to Audible: Longing to Belong by Shawna Marie Bryant - Audiobook - Audible.com Thank you for listening. Join my email list at www.shawnamariebryant.com This week's scripture: 2 Timothy 2:20-21