Moving

I know its like way early in my bloging life, but I'm moving my Blog to Wordpress.

Update the things you need to folks - here is the new address that you will be able to see all the old as well as the new!
http://thisjarofclay.wordpress.com

Edited: Disgusted by public support

As many people may be aware, there has been a lot of talk in the media in regards to Matthew Johns and his group sex capers in 2002 in Christchurch, promopted by the ABC's 4 Corners program.

Public Support however for Johns is still running high, complete with a Facebook group, people saying "what's the big deal, it wasn't illegal", and one leage players saying:

"You're not supposed to say it publicly, but everyone knows that if you're polite afterwards and pay her cab fare home you usually don't have any problems."

Johns has been stood down by Channel 9 with David Gallop of the NRL also stating that the incident was totally unacceptable behaviour, a move which I strongly support. Yeah, i know it wasn't illegal, but this is a guy that a lot of young people look up to and admire as a 'sporting hero'.

Whilst it wasn't Illegeal, i still feel it's wrong because of 2 basic issues:

1. its just down outright degrading to women; even if your not a Christian, you should be appalled by the culture that says this sort of thing is 'OK'.
2. Even as society slides deeper into moral depravity, most people still somehow hold onto the sanctity of marriage - just look at the number of non-Christians who commit to it; Matthew Johns committed adultry.

If people still think its ok, I wonder how would these same people react if it was their sister, their wife/girlfriend or their daughter that was involved?

Click Here to read a more indepth article written by Phillip Jensen on the whole situation of League Hypocrisy.

This is my friend, my friend indeed

I've had a tune going round in my head on constant replay since chapel this morning. I know I'm not the only one either as I've heard others around college humming and whistling the same tune.

If you werent there, i'll let you in on what it was you missed out on - a beautiful hymn that focuses our attention on Christ, our Lord, who was put to death, so that we may be forgiven our sins and live in friendship with him.

My song is love unknown, my Savior's love to me

Love to the loveless shown, that they might lovely be

Oh, who am I that for my sake,

My Lord should take frail flesh and die?

He came from heaven's throne salvation to bestow

But they refused and none the longed-for Christ would know

This is my friend, my friend indeed,

Who at my need, His life did spend.

Sometimes they crowd His way and His sweet praises sing

Resounding all the day, hosannas to their King

Then, "Crucify!" is all their breath,

And for His death they thirst and cry.

Why, what has my Lord done to cause this rage and spite

He made the lame to run, and gave the blind their sight

What injuries, yet these are why,

The Lord Most High so cruelly dies.

With angry shouts they have my dear Lord done away

A murderer they save, the Prince of Life they slay

Yet willingly, He bears the shame,

That through His name all might be free.

Here might I stay and sing of Him my soul adores

Never was love, dear King, never was grief like Yours

This is my friend in whose sweet praise,

I, all my days would gladly spend.

Samuel Crossman

We also had a great encouraging sermon that fitted in well - calling us to remain faithful to God no matter what the trials and testings we are experienceing. This was based on Gen 22 when Abraham is instructed by God to sacrifice his son Isaac.

God's Growth

If you know anything about me, you would know that I enjoy gardening.

It struck me the other day that I haven't had to water my veggie garden in quite a number of weeks - since I planted new plants about 4 weeks ago in fact. The obvious reason is that we have been getting regular rainfall in the last few weeks.

On a deeper level however, this is a great demonstration of the way that God works, one that the apostle Paul picks up in 1 Corinthians

So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. 1Cor 3:7

In our lives as Christians, there are people who have influenced our faith, but they are not the reason why we believe. No - we believe because God has enabled us to believe and continues to enable us to grow in our faith!

How has God been helping you to grow lately?

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Based on the novel by John Boyne, THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS is a wrenching Holocaust story about a young German boy and his forbidden friendship with a Jewish child.

Bruno is living a charmed life in Berlin as the son of a high-ranking Nazi soldier, when his father is suddenly transferred to a job out in the country. Bruno, as well as his sister Gretel and mother must all join him at his new post. Bruno is lonely and confused by his new surroundings, and he doesn't understand why he can't wander the grounds or play at a nearby farm.

The "farm," of course, is a concentration camp, though Bruno doesn't know this. He soon sneaks away to explore, and meets Shmuel a prisoner of the camp and befriends him. After witnessing brutal violence perpetrated against some very kind people, he has begun to question these Nazi beliefs as Bruno is no longer sure what to make of his soldier father, whom he once believed to be a hero.

I watched this with Jess on Saturday night and we both agree that it’s a movie well worth seeing, but probably not on a first date!

As I watched it, it struck me at they way that even the most educated people can swallow lies and deceit if it is well packaged - even to the extent that they will co-operate in the attempted extermination of an entire race of people.

I'm still in the process of thinking things through on this movie. If you've seen it & want to discuss, feel free to share here. If you haven't, go and see it - it is worth it!

Standards of Society

The other day I was talking to my mother-in-law when Home and Away came on the TV. She made the statement that she didn’t like the show any more after having followed it for many years. When I asked her why this was, she said it was because of the introduction of a homosexual relationship involving a female cop and that this program was ‘prime time’ viewing. I want to make this quite clear, I'm not having a go at my Mother-in -Law at all, she is ia an awesome woman who is devoted to God, is community minded and i really admier her for having raised such an awesome daughter who is my wife!




That said, I found her reaction to the issue to be quite surprising considering many of the other social issues and values that Home and Away has touched on in recent years including sexual relationships between heterosexual couples outside of marriage, sexual relations between minors, unfaithfulness in relations, abuse of trust in relationships, overt use of drugs, underage drinking and abuse of alcohol. The actions of the producers and script writers of the show are only embracing issues that are relevant for society today, many of which are against Christian values, yet they reflect society in general.



My question to you is this: Is it right to have such a reaction based on one topic when there are so many other issues that are objectionable, or is it hypocritical in objecting to one thing but not others? Your thoughts?

We Will Remember Them

We Will Remember Them

Lest We Forget

My Great Grandfather, Harry Preston, was an original ANZAC landing at Gallipoli on 28th April 1915. He survived and later went on to the Western Front before returning to Australia.

For the Fallen

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,

England mourns for her dead across the sea.

Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,

Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal

Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,

There is music in the midst of desolation

And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,

Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;

They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;

They sit no more at familiar tables of home;

They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;

They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,

Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,

To the innermost heart of their own land they are known

As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,

Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;

As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,

To the end, to the end, they remain.

By Laurence Binyon

From fearless to Frail

At the church that I'm ministering in at present (The Garrison Church, Millers Point) we have a number of Commemorative services each year for various Military groups, mostly from WWII. I dont mind these at all as it is a great opertunity to proclaim the Gospel to people who are drawing to the end of their lives.

Last Sunday was another such service where we had Members of the Australian Army (2nd AIF) 9th Division. Some of their Battlefield Honours include El Alamein, New Guinea, and Borneo, but perhaps their most famous action was holding out against the Germans at the siege of Tobruk in 1941, which erned them the nickname 'Rats of Tobruk'. Click here for more info on the 9th Div.

As I saw these men sitting in church, frail and fatigued with age, then thought of the reputation that they earned as a fierce fighting force, it struck me at how fragile life can be. These Men know that as well having suffered 2,732 killed and 7,501 wounded during the war.

Whilst life will alwas be fragile, we as Christians will always have the hope of Eternal life. We have the promise and see the risen Christ as proof of what we will recive on that great day when Jesus comes again.

Whats so good about Good Friday

As a child, I clearly remember asking my mum “Why is Good Friday called Good Friday?”
After all what’s so good about it!

What is so good when a man is betrayed and abandoned by his friends?

What is so good about when an honest person is found guilty and sentenced to death for telling the truth?

What is so good about the promised king of Israel being beaten & spat upon & mocked by the heavy hand of a foreign army?

What is so good about the future hope of the world being nailed to a crude wooden cross – a device of torture and execution?

What is so good about son of man being laughed at by those he came to save and ridiculed by those beside him who are in the same situation as he?

What is so good about the son of God crying out at the top of his voice “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani” – My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Jesus – God made flesh – the one who created the universe cries out to the almighty father.

Normally in the Bible, when we hear Jesus speak it’s a great thing. A blind man receives his sight with the words “Be opened”. Another, lame from Birth is able to walk again with.
The disciples’ fears are ceased as Jesus commands the wind to stop and the waves to be stilled.
The sad and lonely are comforted as Jesus calls “Come Out!” and Lazarus walks from the tomb. When we hear Jesus speak, it is normally with power and authority about, but then, we hear the weak, pitiful cry to God. The pain; the agony; the distress; the suffering; ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’

How could a loving father permit this to happen? Why would he allow these wicked men to do this? Why?

Is Jesus not the King of Kings? Is he not the beginning and the end? Listen to these words that his cousin had to say - John 1:27 - "Behold, the Lamb of God”… What a beautiful image, a perfect, peaceful lamb. But John continued - "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”[i]

And there is the answer – sin! Jesus came into the world to take away that sin of the world!
All this pain and suffering happened so that our sin might be removed from us.

Sin you see had to be dealt with. It could not be ignored. Something had to happen. Under the old system of Jewish law, a lamb was sacrificed. The blood of a lamb however is only a temporary measure. It wasn’t the solution, but rather a reminder of the cost of our disobedience. After all, how can the life of an animal be equal that of a human?

In Jesus we find man who was without sin. He lived a life of perfect obedience to God.
And as Jesus hung there on the cross he took our sin upon himself. As Jesus blood flowed from his wounds, we can be washed clean of our sins. Jesus died so that we can be forgiven from our sins and have the opportunity to live in a perfect relationship with God.

In the words of the Prophet Isaiah, speaking 700 years before:
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isa 53:4-5)

It is Friday. We hear the taunts of his own people rejecting him as if they were our own.
On that day, Jesus was crowned King the Roman soldiers placed that crown of thorns on his head. And Jesus wasn’t glorified on a thrown, but rather on that cross. And we see the creator of the universe isolated and forsaken. We hear the confession of the centurion “Surely this man was the son of God”. Darkness surrounds us as his body is laid in the tomb. But do not fear; it is all going according to plan.
On Sunday we will see the victory over death! On Sunday we will see the proof that our sin is conquered and we can be reconciled to God!
It’s Friday, but Sunday is coming![ii]

[i] Max Lucado, And the Angels Were Silent, Multnomah Press (Portland1992).

[ii] Lyrics: Tree 63, Sunday, Sunday 2007 Inpop Records.

pumped for Good Friday

I've just finished my talk for church tomorrow - its a 7 min talk on the crucifxion of Jesus.

It really started me thinking about Easter, Good Friday and how important it is for our faith as Christians.

So yeah, i'm lookin forward to doin this talk tomorrow & keep en eye out here for it as i will probably post it sometime within the next 24 hours or so.

I'm also lookin forward to watching the John Dickson Doco on chanel 7, April 10 (Good Friday) 1 pm.

Reflections on Mission

So I've been hanging out on mission all of last week then all of a sudden its over and I've got all these thoughts & ideas running round in my head. This year was my second MTC mission and I'd be happy to say that it was the better of the 2 that I've been on. This is why:

Partnership with the church:
This year we had 2 members of the local church give up holidays and get involved with our ministry to the local community as well as a few who did things every now and then - for me, this was a great encouragement as it really felt like we were partnering with the church.

Pushed me out of my comfort zone:
Last year was fairly easy - I did a lot of school scripture and the only 'difficult' thing for me to do was a short talk at the local skate park. This year i knocked on doors of complete strangers & had people reject the Gospel in not uncertain terms.

Organising Kids group:By complete accident i volunteered to look after organising the Thursday arvo kids club. I don't think I'm gifted and certainly don't feel keen on kids ministry, yet things came together really well and the leader of the kids club thought we had done pretty well!

I cant wait to see how i will be challenged next year on MTC mission #3!

Mission Mumblings

I don't know about you, but when you say the word 'Mission' you may get all these images of running off to deepest darkest Africa, or maybe its spending a few weeks over the stinking hot summer living in a tent preaching to holidays makers.

Well, clear all these images out of your head! this week i'm on College mission - a week where the entire student body of the college head out and partner with various churchs around Sydney to proclaim the Gospel.

This week I'm out at Merrylands, joining in fellowship at church meetings, taking scripture seminars in the local Schools, door knocking, ESL classes, train station evangelism and a Mens outreach dinner 'Has God got a Beef with you' at the local leages club (the big problem is that its Chicken night).

Its a lot of hard work, but there are also great opertunities to have fun and get to know others as well. Feel free to check out the mission vodcasts created by Joel A at Fervr.

Great encouragement

the last few days have been hectic as for me with College mission and College graduation all happening. That said, its been also been a great 2 days with a lot of encouragement from God's word.

At Graduation last night we had a great talk from David Peterson about keeping our faith in God despite the hard times in life, especially in the face of the ongoing drought throughout Australia, the Qld floods and the Victorian Bushfires. he based it from Psalm 116 which is also the same passage that Richard Johnson preached on after arriving in Australia with the first fleet.

then this morning in Chapel we had a talk from an Anglican Bishop from Nigeria. it was really encouraging to be reminded of our role as ambassadors of the Gospel. it was also encouraging to be reminded that even though sometimes our words don't make an impact, that it will change someones life.

a great piece of encouragement from the talk was the idea that there is great rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents, and our 4 years in College will still be so worth it if through our life in ministry only one person comes to know Christ though our ambassadorship.

Luther - biggest impact

I'm sitting in Church History and we have just been asked to think about what has really struck us about Martin Luther's life.

Some of the things that people have said were his view of living your ordinary life as a great way to bring Glory to God, my mate Dave has been struck but Luther's time spent thinking on the toilet. Another big one was Luther's sermons, and the way that some of them were actually fairly anti-Semitic.

For me, the biggest thing that strikes me about Luther and his life is his view of the Church and his motivation. Luther was not out to bring division to the church - he was not seeking to make a name for himself as a revolutionary - he didn't want to be the names sake of a denomination of Christianity. No, Luther rather wanted to keep the Catholic church united as the physical manifestation of God's community. Luther wanted to bring the Church back to a truth based on the Bible, not bring division!

No Line on the Horizon

If you looked at my CD collection you would quickly see that I'm a bit of a fan of those famous Irish Rockers, U2 - actually, they were the first CD that I ever bought. And so it is that almost 30 years after the release of ‘Boy’ on 20th October 1980, their 13th studio album ‘No Line on the Horizon’ was released a few weeks back. So here I am chilling out listening to it thinking what has changed about U2 and what’s the same. Their sound is one of those things that’s still distinct yet totally different. When you think of those early songs and then their newer stuff, you can certainly hear a lot of changes. There isn’t so much of that old sense of anger that’s there in songs like ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, ‘Pride (In The Name Of Love)’ and ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’. They don't have those overtly Christian vibes such as in ‘I Will Follow’, and ‘I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For’, yet they r still rocking the world in the same way.

I know that a lot has been made of their ‘Christian beliefs’ and all that with lots of statements being made that they are and they are not Christian. Throughout their works they have often included Christian references right up to a possible reference to Jeremiah 3:33 on the cover of their album ‘All that you can’t leave behind'. I’m not going to head down that road however and start to speculate, in the end I believe that’s between you and God. But look at their Lyrics and listen to their songs and you might see what I’m talking about.

This is the words to 'Magnificent', one of my favourite songs on ‘No Line on the Horizon’:

Magnificent
Magnificent



I was born
I was born to be with you

In this space and time

After that and ever after I haven't had a clue

Only to break rhyme
This foolishness can leave a heart black and blue



Only love, only love can leave such a mark

But only love, only love can heal such a scar


I was born
I was born to sing for you 

I didn't have a choice but to lift you up
And sing whatever song you wanted me to
I give you back my voice
From the womb my first cry, it was a joyful noise ...

Only love, only love can leave such a mark

But only love, only love can heal such a scar


Justified till we die, you and I will magnify

The Magnificent

Magnificent


Only love, only love can leave such a mark

But only love, only love unites our hearts



Justified till we die, you and I will magnify
The Magnificent

Magnificent

Magnificent


Whether it be the true God of the Bible or one loosely created around their own ideas and Christian heritage I don't know. It doesn’t change the fact that U2 is still one of the biggest name bands in the world and I really enjoy listening to them.

* Lyrics copied from U2.com

Demons - they are out there!!!

I was cruising through my Feeds about an hour ago when i saw an article on Sydney Anglican site talking about the fact that most Christians today ignore the reality of our spiritual struggle. Click here to read the article.

I thought that this would be a great opportunity to share with you my latest sermon that i preached a few weeks back. At the Garrison we are working through the Gospel of Luke looking at selected passages that show who Jesus is and what the purpose of his life on earth was. this isn't the full text of my sermon, but rather a highlight of what i feel are the important parts.

Today we investigate the notion and idea of Evil Spirits and ask some big Questions. Does Jesus hold authority over them? if so, how much? Do evil spirits even exist? And how is this important to us? For us living in 21st century Australia it
may be all too easy to downplay and ignore these ideas of demons and evil
spirits, after all we live in the age of science, logic and reason and spirits
generally have no place in this life we live. The closest thing to an evil
spirit that we seem to come across has its origins in a Hollywood studio and
comes to us in the form of ‘Lord Voldemort’ from the Harry Potter movies or
Ghost busters if we are a little older.

When it comes to looking at the happenings of passages such as today, even amongst Christian scholars there is some debate. There are those who are more liberal and try to suggest that what we see has a logical scientific explanation, that he was a man who was merely mentally ill, but I disagree with them, as do many others. I believe that when we look at these passages in the Gospels, in conjunction with the rest of scripture, we are presented with an insight that there is a spiritual realm as well as the Physical world in which we live. Whilst I admit that this sounds a lot like superstitious garbage, as we look at society we see that more and more people are starting to embrace these new age ‘spiritual’ religions.

In the Old Testament we see that as Moses gives the law to Israel there are warnings against the occult and 1 Samuel 28 we read of King Saul visiting a witch to seek advice from the spirit of a dead prophet. In the New Testament, time and time again we find mentions of the fact that there is a constant struggle between the powers of good and evil on a scale so epic that it makes ‘The Lord of the Rings’ look like a walk in the park. Paul’s letter to the Church in Ephesus is loaded with references of this spiritual reality saying in ch6:12:

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

As Jesus taught in the Synagogue at Capernaum we read in verse 32 that the people “were amazed at his teaching because his message had authority.” And again in verse 36 they say ““What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders…” Time and time again the writers of the Gospels make note that Jesus teaching was different to that of the religious leaders of his time. Again and again people gathered and listened intently to what Jesus was talking about. Repeatedly we learn that the religious elite took offence at what he had to say for because Jesus didn’t just try to explain things, He said how things were. Jesus after all, with the full authority of God.

And there sitting calmly in the synagogue was a man who was, as Luke reports, possessed by a demon – an unclean spirit. Now it would seem from reading Luke’s account that the majority of the time this man was his normal self – he hadn’t been alienated from society, nor was he excluded from the Synagogue – yet as this spirit recognised Jesus, he takes control of his victim and cries out

“Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to
destroy us? I know who you are —the Holy One of God!”

This evil spirit was disturbed and in fear of the power and authority that it knew Jesus had. This spirit knew that this man standing and teaching in the Synagogue that day spoke with the Authority not of man, but of God. This evil Spirit also knew that there was coming a time when this man Jesus was once and for all going to put an end to all evil. And Jesus, unphased by the direct confrontation, stood his ground, and with 6 simple words, 5 if your reading the Greek, the Demon was silenced and sent away, bound by the command of God and made powerless. This is not the only time that Jesus confronts demons – Luke tells of at least 3 other occasions where Jesus stands his ground, commands these evil and unclean spirits, and they have no choice but to obey.

As Christians today, the reality is that we are constantly under attack from these forces. They will lead us astray and distract us from our goal of living lives in service of God. Whilst the attacks and distractions are not as obvious as we saw in this reading, they are still there. In a life that is as hectic as it is today, it doesn’t take much to make us loose our focus. It’s been a hard week and I don't feel like going to church! I’m too tired to read my Bible tonight and too busy during the day to pray! These are all common thoughts that are used against us to shift our focus away from living for the one who holds true authority.

Today we have a baptism but this act of baptising isn’t some magical act that ensures safe passage into heaven. Instead, it’s a public statement of belief that the ones being baptised, or those bringing the child to be baptised, want to live a life under Gods rule. It’s a statement that we want to freely submit to the authority of God and take a stand and 'fight against sin, the world and the devil' as we read in the service.

There are two things I want you to think about as you head home today. The first is that there is going to come a time when all things will submit to Gods authority. The question is whether u will freely submit by your own will now, or will you be forced to submit to Gods authority as the demon in this passage we looked at. The second, if you are living a life in submission to the authority of God, it will be inevitable that you will encounter times of hardship, times of doubt, times when it seems there isn’t a point at all. When that happens – do not despair! Stand strong in the knowledge that the victory has been won. Stand, in the strength of God, encouraged by His Spirit that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ has the Authority and has exercised his authority over evil!

Reply and clarification

I recieved a coment on my last post asking me about part of what i said. Here is part of what he said:

'...I got a question. The part where you say “...to Glorify God as I grow in Christ and witness to what he has done for me and through me.” What does all that
exactly mean?'

Here is my quick reply:

Let me first state that I’m follower of Jesus (a.k.a. a Christian). Sometimes I’m hesitant to use the term Christian because of the atrocities that have been committed in the name of the church, but there it is – I’m a firm believer in the God that is presented in the Bible. You may not agree with everything that I say, but hope that you will listen and respect what I believe to be true.So here we go & I will try to break it down.

"to Glorify God": I don’t want to live my life for myself - I want to live my life for my God, I want to live my life for Jesus – God incarnate, and give God the Glory for anything that I achieve.

"as I grow in Christ": I'm the first person to admit that I’m not perfect, but my aim is to live my life following the example set for me by Jesus. I know that from time to time I’m going to stuff it up and follow my own selfish ways, but I know that God will forgive me which leads me into the next part.

"witness to what he has done for me": I believe that Jesus was more than just a prophet, but rather the fulfilment of God's plans to save all people - this forgiveness of sin and reconciliation to God is made possible through the death of Jesus and God raising him back to life. This happened not by accident, but because it was the will of God, because God loves all people and wants all people to know him (1 Timothy 1:15, 1 John 2:1-2). I want to show the same love that has been shown to me, to those that I meet, and let them know that they too can be reconciled to God.

"witness what Christ has done through me": I believe that God will use me, my life and my experiences, to let other people know more about him. That really brings me to the title of my Blog – “this jar of clay” – it’s not about me, but the message that I have inside me. My life is not about me – it’s about God and what he has done for me.

Welcome

Well, this is a big step for me - I've finally decided to set up a blog!

So, welcome to This Jar of Clay!!! I love the book of 2 Corinthians as much as i love the rest of the Bible, but the image of Clay Jars has always captured my mind. Paul reminds us in 2Cor 4 that we, as followers of Christ Jesus have been given a special gift to share with the whole world - that being message of the Gospel that brings salvation to all. In Romans Paul also reminds us that we are lumps of clay in the hands of the potter and he will mold our lives to become what he wants us to be and not what we want.

Later Paul tells his friend Timothy:
"In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay;
some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble.
If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes,
made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
(2Ti 2:20-21 NIV)

I think this idea of me being a Clay Jar willing to do the work of my Master tells everything you need to know about me: I'm a simple, human bloke wanting to be used for whatever purpose God calls me to.

This tool of my ministry is where I aim to Glorify God as I grow in Christ and witness to what he has done for me and through me.

Sit back and enjoy the journey with me.