GENESIS 17:1 "And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect."

Would you like to be perfect? Perfection is something we should all strive toward. Every time I see a rose I think of how God made that perfect blossom. But first, the rose starts out as a tiny seed, then it shoots out ugly roots into the black dirt. As the stem emerges from the ground, tiny thorns appear, then the leaves. It is not perfect yet but we still call it a rose. Then the tiny bud forms and opens up to a beautiful flower with perfect pedals. We are like that rose. We must grow just like the rose bush and some of us get dirtier and develop more thorns than others, but we all have the potential to become a perfect rose. So...how do we attain this perfection?

JAMES 1:2-4

"Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

James said we should be happy when we are confronted with different temptations; when we are tempted, our faith is tried. As we resist the temptations, we become stronger in the Lord. As we patiently allow God to strengthen our faith through temptations, we become "perfect and entire, wanting nothing." No one can be perfect through his own efforts. An athlete or a model, through diet and exercise, may look perfect but only God can make a perfect person. We must allow Him to mold us and make us perfect. We can trust Him and walk before Him with a perfect heart.

If a young executive presented a rough draft of a fabulous plan to the president of his company with the excuse he went to a party and didn't have time to finish it, what do you suppose his superior's reaction would be? Similarly, if a potter delivered a shipment of half finished vases to a flower shop and explained he had fallen asleep and the clay had hardened, do you think the florist would pay him? How about this: imagine Jesus taking an "unfinished child" and presenting him to the Father with the explaination, "I'm sorry Father but this child was stubborn and would not let me mold him."

A potter's clay must be soft and yielding. He can make nothing with old clay that has dried up. Likewise, we must be willing to yield to the Master's hands and let Him remake us. We must be willing to change, open to suggestions of improvement, and always searching for ways to be better. If we will allow Him to brush off the dirt and trim off the thorns, we can be perfect just like the beautiful rose!

Here are a few ideas I hope you can use:

1. At the beginning of each day, ask God to open your eyes to ways you can become a better person.

2. If there is something in your life, something you do, that you are not sure whether is right or wrong, pray about it and ask God to show you what to do about it.

3. Sit down somewhere quiet when you have some free time and write down where you would like to be and what you would like to be doing 10 years from now. Then pray over it and ask God if that is what He wants for you. When you feel sure that is God's wish for your life, too, begin to take steps to achieve your goals.

4. At the end of each day, think about what you've done, think about what you accomplished and where you fell short. Then pray and ask God to help you do better tomorrow.

HAVE THINE OWN WAY, LORD

Have Thine own way, Lord!
Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter,
I am the clay;
Mold me and make me
After Thy will,
While I am waiting,
Yielded and still.

by
Geo. C. Stebbins

I hope you will be willing to turn your imperfect life over to the Master this year and allow Him to mold you into a beautiful, fragrant rose.

MEME

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