Day Nine, January 20th – Vessels of Glory in Christ
Before I begin, I want to remind you and invite you to our Prayer and Worship night at 7pm tonight at the Church, last week was a beautiful encounter with the Holy Spirit and was a beautiful night of soaking in His presence.
I encourage you to take a moment to read Colossians 1:27.
“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27 (ESV)
This year’s theme for the fast has been all about consecrating ourselves in preparation for God’s glory. In doing so, we have been intentionally making ourselves available for the release of His glory in our lives.
Preparation is about availability. When we are expecting a guest, we prepare our home, we tidy up, make space and sometimes we even make it look like no one lives there (guilty). But we don’t go through all that preparation just to turn our guest away at the door. Preparation assumes presence. Unlike a guest who only visits, we receive something even greater in Christ which is Christ in us. Christ in us is not just a promise, it is a completed work, Christ himself dwells in us. Christ in us allows God to work through us. Our availability though is not about us doing more for God, it is about making room for Him.
I’ve had several conversations this last week about the work that God has been doing in our hearts, and while each of us seems to be having our own unique encounters with Him, the underlaying theme seems to be the same. God has been preparing our hearts – house cleaning, so to speak, which has been intentional. He has been healing areas that may have felt callused, which Pastor Landen spoke about in his message on Sunday. It’s been preparing us to be carriers of God’s glory. This consecration is signaling a readiness, and our availability opens the door to become carriers of God’s glory, and our consecration is what will keep that door open.
Being ready to be used by God requires ongoing surrender to His will. In the first portion of Colossians 1:27 we see that God chose to reveal His glory to us, and because of that choice we get to respond. Do we want to make ourselves available to Him? The mystery of Colossians 1:27 is that God’s glory isn’t distant, it lives in us when we make ourselves available. We do not carry glory by effort; we carry it because Christ lives in us and flows through us.
When we surrender to God in this way, we reflect His glory to those around us. Every act of obedience, moment of surrender, becomes an opportunity for His glory to be seen through us and experienced by others. Our availability and consecration are not a one time decision, they become daily choices to let God work in and through us.
My challenge is this, as we finish our fast, and continue this season of consecration, I want to challenge and ask is your heart available? Our preparation, our surrender all position ourselves to be carriers of His glory. Colossians 1:27 reminds us that God’s mystery is not hidden from us, it is revealed in us. Christ in us is the hope of glory, and the more available we are the more clearly His glory can shine through us.
Prayer:
“Make me a vessel for Your glory. Flow through me with purity, compassion, and Your presence.”
Blessings,
Pastor Stephanie