Pots n Pans

The story goes like this, one day a young girl went to her mother while cooking and ask her, "why do you chop off the legs and parts of the chicken and throw it away?" Her mother thought to herself, hm... I'm not sure, this is the way I was taught by my mother. So on the next visit to grandma, her mother went and ask her mother, " Why is it that we dont use certain parts of the chicken ...?" The grandmother took a pause and thought, "I'm not sure, I was taught by my mother to do it this way" and she went to see her mother, which was great grandma and ask her, "mother why do we cook it this certain way, is it because it taste better?"

Her mother gave the reply, "In the old days, we had smaller pots and pans, so the chicken couldn't fit on the pan, so we had to chop those parts off"

We go through life doing the things we do without knowing the reason and purpose at times. It's maybe because we are so used to it, its convenient, or we have been taught a certain way through our families, traditions and teachings. Sometimes these small things can really become an obstacle to knowing God deeply and experiencing his full grace and mercy. We need to find these old nails and pull them out and replace them with new ones, Jesus nails. It's a process and we need the Holy Spirit to renew us each day in our thinking, our character and our actions to be more like Christ. To die to self but live in Christ is the ultimate goal. It will be painful, long suffering but the promises and blessings are there if we are faithful to follow.

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of
regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"
Titus 3:5, KJV
Psalms 119:9, KJV
John 15:3, KJV
2 Corinthians 5:17, KJV
Romans 12:2, KJV
1 Corinthians 2:16, KJV

Forgiveness in Psalms

Passage Psalm 32:1-6:

¹ Blessed is he
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.

² Blessed is the man
whose sin the LORD does not count against him
and in whose spirit is no deceit.

³ When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.

⁴ For day and night
your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
Selah

⁵ Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, "I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD "—
and you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
Selah

⁶ Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you
while you may be found;
surely when the mighty waters rise,
they will not reach him.

Passage Psalm 51:1-17:

¹ Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.

² Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.

⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.

⁵ Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

⁶ Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;
you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

⁹ Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.

¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.

¹⁴ Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

¹⁶ You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are ^[c] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.

Passage Psalm 86:2-6:

² Guard my life, for I am devoted to you.
You are my God; save your servant
who trusts in you.

³ Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for I call to you all day long.

⁴ Bring joy to your servant,
for to you, O Lord,
I lift up my soul.

⁵ You are forgiving and good, O Lord,
abounding in love to all who call to you.

⁶ Hear my prayer, O LORD;
listen to my cry for mercy.

Passage Psalm 103:1-13:

¹ Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

² Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-

³ who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,

⁴ who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,

⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

⁶ The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

⁷ He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:

⁸ The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.

⁹ He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;

¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.

¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;

¹² as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³ As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

Passage Psalm 55:22-23:

²² Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous fall.

²³ But you, O God, will bring down the wicked
into the pit of corruption;
bloodthirsty and deceitful men
will not live out half their days.
But as for me, I trust in you.

Refiners Fire of Gold and Silver

Passage Proverbs 25:4-5:

⁴ Remove the dross from the silver,
and out comes material for the silversmith;

⁵ remove the wicked from the king's presence,
and his throne will be established through righteousness.
¹¹ A word aptly spoken
is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

Context: It says to remove the "dross" meaning waste, worthless, impurity from silver before the silversmith (God) can use his craftsmanship to mould and build the silver into a fine product of beauty and glory. Only when we ask forgiveness does this process begin. Because lies, deceptions, and sin in our lives will not build holiness and righteousness in our character. We can not be changed unless we want to and ask God to help us. So when we are corrected by God's word, we should be delighted that God wants to speaks to his children to make them stronger and better. His words are like treasured apples of gold that is worthy and precious in the grounds of silver. Although hard at times, but it is to remove the dross in our hearts.

Passage Haggai 2:8-9:
⁸ 'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,' declares the LORD Almighty. ⁹ 'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty."

Context: Haggai speaks on rebuilding the temple of Judah after the return from Babylon which they were held captive under the Persian king Cyrus for many years. The promise that glory of the new House will be greater than the old. The promise of Jesus coming, the claim of Gods wealth in the universe being used to build the new house; its all his and he will make his present house greater than the glory of the former house where he will grant it peace. This is a promise that God will restore our lives, he will help us along the way when we face trouble just as Judah faced opposition in the 16 years they tried building the temple. God will forgive us when we ask him, he will teach and guide us, he will use us to bring him glory through our life transformation when we come, when we come and seek help from him.

Passage 1 Corinthians 3:12-15:
¹²If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. ¹⁴If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. ¹⁵If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

Context: Paul writes to strengthen the church on division, mature levels of spiritual babies and solid food, and how God is the one that makes things grow. It is by Gods foundation laid by Jesus that we stand, but if we were to build by other materials such as gold, silver, etc when the day comes, the fire will reveal if it will with stand the heat. If its pure, if its true, if its solid, any material that passed through fire it will stand firm but those that are impure will be sifted like wheat. Paul encourages us to come to repentance of our pride, of our possession and of self so that God can work in our lives, so that our foundation is solid on the day of judgment.

New International Version (NIV)
9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Context: Peter shares about Jesus being the corner stone and believers as the living stone of a building, the church. That believers ought to bring themselves as pleasing sacrifices through Jesus. That is to be made holy and cleanse before God. These called are the chosen people of God who used to walk in darkness but now walk in truth and mercy. Hence, there needs to be sanctification in our lives with the remembrance that Jesus died for us once and for all.

Cleansing Vessel

Isaiah 66:20 (King James )
And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.

Context: God detests human efforts to please him by keeping ritual laws without respecting moral laws. Sacrifices meant nothing to God if they were offered by merciless, unjust people or immorality. Rituals and outward righteousness but inward hypocrisy is not what God desires. These detestable things that are associated with idol worship, superstition and immorality will not help purify them but bring judgement. Only when they offer themselves as a pleasing sacrifice with repentance, made clean inside out by the Lord, that is acceptable. Shows importance of being made right before God by asking forgiveness. How can a rusty knife be used in surgery if it is not clean and sharpened first. How can we be used by God if we are not first washed by him. Mark 13:1-17

1 John 1:9 (New International Version)
9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Context: John wrote to encourage and strengthen believers that only the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. Some claimed that they live a sinless life of perfection, others say they never sin but we all know we live in a fallen world and no one is perfect except God. Additionally, although perfection and idealistic is not attainable at least here, but forgiveness and cleansing of Jesus blood gives us the free gift to heaven where it is without sin and this available to everyone who believes.

2 Timothy 2:21 (New American Standard Bible)
Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.

Context: Paul encourages believers to present themselves to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. And to be someone that God can use for noble purposes, he needs to be cleaned and made holy before God to use as instrument to do his good works.

Leviticus 14:2-9 (NIV)
² "These are the regulations for the diseased person at the time of his ceremonial cleansing, when he is brought to the priest: ³ The priest is to go outside the camp and examine him. If the person has been healed of his infectious skin disease, ⁴ the priest shall order that two live clean birds and some cedar wood, scarlet yarn and hyssop be brought for the one to be cleansed. ⁵ Then the priest shall order that one of the birds be killed over fresh water in a clay pot. ⁶ He is then to take the live bird and dip it, together with the cedar wood, the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, into the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. ⁷ Seven times he shall sprinkle the one to be cleansed of the infectious disease and pronounce him clean. Then he is to release the live bird in the open fields. ⁸ "The person to be cleansed must wash his clothes, shave off all his hair and bathe with water; then he will be ceremonially clean. After this he may come into the camp, but he must stay outside his tent for seven days. ⁹ On the seventh day he must shave off all his hair; he must shave his head, his beard, his eyebrows and the rest of his hair. He must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water, and he will be clean.

Context: Ceremonial ritual for cleansing, and the two birds represented the person being cleaned and the other killed showed the death the person might have suffered but it was atoned for his uncleanness.. This freed bird symbolized the person's physical and spiritual restoration. However we know that when Jesus came, he was the ultimate sacrifice and his blood is the strongest cleaning agent to remove the hard grind sins that people have in their life. It is only through asking forgiveness, trusting and turning to him that he begins purifying our hearts.