God Recycles People Series

Today, I ponder recycling. God has a recycling program, but He needs us to get involved. Don’t give up!

1) DON’T GIVE UP ON PEOPLE!

Is recycling in the Bible? Yes! Jeremiah 18, God sends the Preacher to the Potter’s house to make some observations that would apply to the spirit realm. Vs. 2) God says Arise, get up, apply some effort and go to the potter’s house for God has a word to launch forth. In verse 4, the Preacher watched as the clay was spinning on the potter’s wheel and something happened, something bad happened, the clay was marred. What the master had planned for the clay was spoiled, and the clay could not reach the perfection the Master had planned. This vessel could not be whole? The is a plan.

Did the Master throw the marred clay away? Was hope gone because things went different from the plan? Read what the Master did ---

he took the marred clay and made a choice, I WILL MAKE IT AGAIN ---so HE MADE IT AGAIN ---another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter, HE MADE IT.

The story goes on, this is not a story of a spinning potter’s wheel and clay, this is a story of people. There is a Divine process to REGAIN GOD’S PEOPLE and sinners to the Cross. God does not make junk! God will cause us to pass through a process to alter, adapt, recover and bring back His people.

Don’t give up on yourself. Don’t give up on your family! Don’t give up on people. Try again, and again! If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. It is always too soon to give up on people.

2. PUT FORTH A GREATER EFFORT!

When I was in the first grade in Cincinnati, Ohio, we learned to draw and stay in the lines. My family could only afford the box of eight crayons. My eight crayons were big and fat and hard to keep in the lines. The girl that sat right in front of me had a big box of 64 Crayola Crayons. She had 8 times the selection I had for colors. Hers was skinny and if they dulled she could sharpen them.

As we draw there was a weekly prize for the best, she always beat me! I am a competitor and this hurt my feelings week in and week out, I LOST! I at first would asked her to borrow her flesh color for people, she would not loan her crayons to anyone because they might get dull. I knew there was a sharpener right in her box. I learned to rotate mine as I drew and keep the point sharp. At first all my people were embarrassed, red faced, I had no choice?

I thought, This is not fair, she can beat me, I don’t have a chance. One day, I decided I was going to get good enough that I would win.

I started learning how to get different shades out of one color. I practice hard to keep my coloring in the lines. I got better and better. I learned how to softly mix two colors and make a different color. I started winning some of the weekly contests, not all of them, she could beat me on some, but I started making a choice: quit crying that you only have 8 fat Crayons and she has 64.

I learned life is not fair, but do the best with what you have and God will help you. Life not being fair made me a better artist. I just had to apply myself better and work harder. I have told this story and people have bought me several boxes of 64 Crayola Crayons. Then I allow this to hurt my feelings, WHY GOD COULDN’T I HAVE HAD THESE WHEN I WAS YOUNGER? Then it came to me, you are to give these to some kid that doesn’t even have the 8, to level the playing field.

With my nose in the air, I tell you I have a box of 96 on my desk. Are you impressed? When my sons were in school, they had 64. When Josh went away to college each year, I would want to buy him a box of 64 crayons? He would say, Dad get real. I was!

3. OFTEN THE MANUFACTURE WILL HAVE A RECALL.

Cars are not the only things manufactors recall, God recalls people to make changes in their marriages, in their giving, in their attitudes.

How sad the story in Luke 7:39, the Pharisees had invited Jesus home with them. A dirty, sinful lady came into the house, she had heard about Jesus and had to meet the Man. The Pharisees in their holy religious form said, IF Jesus was real he would know WHO and WHAT this woman was? JESUS KNEW! How easy is it for us to base what we see and think on others past performances, to see their outside. The religious crowd knew what this woman was!