"DON'T GIVE UP AND QUIT!"

"DON'T GIVE UP AND QUIT!"

One afternoon an elderly couple entered a lovely teashop. A busy waiter

directed them with a wave of his hand to sit at a table in the far corner.

Upon the table there was a beautiful teapot. Delicious looking scones,

sandwiches and cookies surrounded the teapot. The man started to

turn to go back to the counter to explain they didn't have enough money

for such a feast when the teapot began to speak.

"Please sit down and do not be afraid. My master wishes you to be

His guest. Take and eat whatever suits you while I tell you a story."

Startled but curious, the couple sat down to listen to the teapot's story.

You see there was a time when I was just an old, hard, gray lump of

clay. I was very sad because I felt so useless. One day a master potter

came along and picked me up. He began to pat, twist, turn and reshape me.

It really hurt so I asked Him to please stop. But He simply looked at me

with a kind smile and said, "Not Yet, I am not through with you."

As the teapot spoke, it poured out tea for the couple into delicate cups

that never emptied or grew cold. The teapot seemed to glow and light

the dark corner like a lamp as it continued its story.

Next He put me on this wheel and He began to spin me around and

around. I got so dizzy that I couldn't even see where I was going,

and I began to feel ill. I begged him, "Please let me off!" And he replied,

"Not yet, I am not through with you."

The worst was yet to come, however, My master then put me into the

oven. It was so incredibly hot that I cried and cried to be let out.

But all He said was, "Not yet, I am not through with you."

Finally, the oven door opened. He took me out and set me on a table.

I thought, Whew! Thank goodness that is over! But then He began to

paint me with this awful smelling stuff. I could hardly breathe when

He put me back into the oven for a second time. It was even

hotter than before! I thought I would die for sure. Just when I

was ready to give up, He gently lifted me from the oven.

After a long rest, my master came by and picked me up. I could

clearly see my reflection in His eyes and saw that I had been transformed.

I was now beautiful. He told me that it was my reward for being so patient

and strong. I asked Him how I could repay Him and His face lit up.

JESUS CHRIST, My LORD and Master then explained my purpose

to me: " Pour out your story to everyone you meet. Don't be discouraged,

if they don't hear or understand you. Keep your lid open a crack so I may

fill you with my spirit where ever you may be.

I will guide you all the rest of your days."

The teapot then seemed to glow even brighter as it finished sharing,

"It is such an honor to serve my Master that I have been filled with joy ever since!"

The couple had tears in their eyes when the teapot finished its tale. They

promised to also share his story with others and come often to visit.

This delighted the teapot even more. He knew his Master would be pleased.

The teapot was serving his purpose.

II Corinthians 1:3-4
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father

of mercies, and the God of all comfort.  Who comforteth us in all our

tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are

in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God!

Ephesians 2:10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto  good works,

which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.


There may have been a time in your life when nobody wanted ypu, nobody

liked you, nobody paid any attention to you. They just kicked you around

and walked on you.

But now you are special, but you weren't always this way! Now he uses

your pain to minister to others, so they know they are not alone in their

sufferings, Jesus Christ takes the time to mold us and make us more

into his image so we could glorify HIM and Our Heavenly Father!

Romans 8 says that we are predestined to be molded into the image

of Jesus Christ. Wow! That was Jesus Christ's plan from the very

beginning even before we showed up on planet earth. He says,

"I want you to be just like MY Son, Jesus Christ."

That will obviously take a work in our lives because by the time we

submit our lives to  Jesus Christ we usually have quite a few problems,

made a lot of mistakes that take Jesus Christ time to get us out of them

and we need a pretty awesome work done in us.

  

Jesus Christ wants to do something through you, so you have got to

let him do something to you. Every time we come up a little bit higher

a little bit of our flesh has to go down lower. He is the Potter and we

are the clay. Let him mold us into his image. It hurts a heck of a lot,

but in the end we will see it was for a purpose, and it is worth it!

We are all in this fiery furnace together and the Bible says in I Peter, I:7,

"That the trial of your faith being much more precious than gold that

perisheth, though it might be tried with fire, might be found onto praise

and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." It says in

Psalms 34:19 "Many are the afflictions of the righteous:

but the Lord delivereth him out of them all!