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What are you motivated by? Take a minute to actually think about that. Are your actions motivated by a desire to get something for yourself? A hope that you'll be rewarded? Or, are your actions motivated by true compassion for others?  There's a big difference. __________________ If your motives don't stem out of complete love for others, out of complete compassion, you're just making noise.  __________________ 1 Corinthians 13 says that if we aren't motivated by love, we are just like a "noisy gong" or "clanging cymbal." When you're just making noise, you're distracting. Annoying. Bothersome. Loud. Even if you're doing something "good," I would argue that it really doesn't even matter if your motives aren't right.  Ouch.  Today, my prayer is to be wholly motivated by the Holy Spirit, whose fruit is love, and whose desire is for all to one day be made whole, healthy, and well. May the word of our gracious God give us

I love pottery. Don't you!?  A skilled potter uses clay: an unformed, dull-looking lump of nothingness, and molds it into something not only beautiful, but also useful. You may have heard that God is the "potter" and that you're the "clay," but have you ever really thought about what this means?? __________________ You are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. - Isaiah 64:8 __________________ The potter shapes the vessel, holding it in his hands while the shaping takes place. The potter stains the vessel, giving it a unique appearance. The potter pushes and pulls the clay, using tools to create texture and designs in the clay. Sometimes, the potter even has to smash the lump of clay completely to simply start over with the whole project. Yet, the whole time, the clay is in the potter's hand.  With that, here's today's encouragement: We're all like lumps of clay. Dull, unformed, and ugly. Huh. T