Broken Vessels- Part 1

A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind Him at his feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. Luke 7:37-38

We became broken vessels when Eve brought into Satan's lies and ate the forbidden fruit. Our fellowship with God was broken and from that time God's plan to reconcile us back to Him became active. God has not ceased to work to make us whole. In fact He daily wait for us to come to Him to repair the damage Satan has continued to inflict upon us. We continue in brokenness when we fail to move beyond our hurts, shame, guilt, mistakes, past. We stay broken when we fail to walk according to God's word. Fail to trust God to fulfill His promises in our lives. When we fail to look truthfully at ourselves and admit we stand in need of transformation.

I continually stand in need of transformation and I realize that even though Jesus is my ultimate model of walking with God He also gave me examples of others in His word that I can learn from and that if I apply His truths to my life I too will be transformed. One of my favorite examples is found in Luke 7:36-50. She is a woman that was scorned by her community. She was described as a notorious sinner and the only name given to her in scripture is the "Sinful Woman". In my imagination I believe this woman to be a loner, the woman that every good woman in the town whispered about. When ever she was seen she automatically became the topic of conversation. No one in town could find anything good to say about her. In fact her lifestyle made it difficult for them to look for any good in her. Have you encounter persons that you had a hard time seeing the good in them? All you could see was brokenness, separation from God? Have you encounter a woman that it made your heart glad because in your mind she was so separated from God you didn't have to look at your own stuff. As long as you focused on her, hid behind her sins, you never brought yours to the forefront to be examine.

When Jesus was in the earth many didn't see their own separation from God because they had lived in a state of blindness so long. The Sinful Woman was in such an environment. Don't get me wrong she was indeed broken. She was a whore, she lacked respect for her self. She chose to make a living by letting men pay for her services. She took advantage of the times. The result was a broken spirit, a lost of self, no hope, and no love for self. I believe that she lived in a state of fear, her lifestyle made it hard for her to believe she could one day have a family, be loved for the woman she really was on the inside. Her girlhood dreams has long been forgotten not even a distant memory. She fooled herself in believing she didn't care what other women said about her. She had their men, she showed them the love their wives wouldn't dare think about. She had the upper hand. She was better off, she got their money and none of the headaches of the wife or girlfriend.

Sometimes life leaves us broken: physical, emotional and sexual abuse, torn down with words of doubt rather than words of encouragement. Another's pain become our pain because they too live in a state of brokenness. The result is low self esteem , feelings of worthlessness and a dreadful fear life will always be this way.

This kind of brokenness makes it hard for us to believe there is a God who loves us, cares for us, waits for us to come to Him for healing and wholeness. The truth is there is such a God and He continues to wait and wait and wait. Just as the Sinful Woman heard Jesus was near you are now hearing Jesus is near, much closer to you than to the Sinful Woman.

Now is the time for you to grab your alabaster jar. The precious jar where you haven hidden all your hurts, sufferings, shame, guilt, mistakes, bad judgments, poor choices, losses, pride, fears, secret hopes, dreams, wishes, and heart's desires. Take your alabaster jar past all you have allowed to block you from coming to Jesus and come. Come and pour them at His feet, let them kiss His feet. He can handle them all, He will take the bad and cast them as far as the east is from the west. He will take the good: your hopes, dreams, desires and give them purpose and direction. He will make them real for you again. Pour, pour until the jar is empty, until your heart feels whole. Let Jesus love you as you love and worship Him. Pour out your love on Him, give it all to Him as He gave His all for you on Calvary. He knows your pain, for He too felt pain, He knows your suffering , for He too suffer. He knows all about you for He hung at Calvary just for you. He separated Himself from the Father just for you. He did it all just for you. You can be whole if you trust Him, make Him your refuge, your strength. He is your peace, your joy. He is Emmanuel God with You. In the potter's hand you are made over again.

So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the LORD came to me: "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the Lord. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. Jeremiah 18:3-6

"But now, O Lord, thou art our Father, we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we are the work of thy hand. Isaiah 64:8

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. They say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. Psalm 91:1-2

Because they love me, says the Lord, I will rescue them; I will protect them, for they acknowledge my name. They will call on me, and I will answer them. I will be with them in trouble, I will deliver them and honor them. Psalm 91:14-15

I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridgegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10

The Sinner Woman worship Jesus, she poured her all on Him. He in return put on her the garments of salvation and a robe of righteousness. He will do the same for us when we come to Him. He is waiting with open arms to clothe you in wholeness.

What is in your alabaster Jar? Are you ready to give it to Jesus? Why? Why Not?

What were the results when and if you previously poured from your alabaster jar?

What steps have your previously taken to become whole?

What lessons have you learned from the Sinful Woman?