{"id":2408,"date":"2012-03-21T13:55:30","date_gmt":"2012-03-21T13:55:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/?p=2408"},"modified":"2012-03-20T13:58:51","modified_gmt":"2012-03-20T13:58:51","slug":"you-are-a-tool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/the-welford\/you-are-a-tool\/","title":{"rendered":"You Are a Tool"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When Jesus said that He \u2018no longer calls us servants but friends\u2019, he must have known He was in for trouble. He must have known that most of us would use this as an opportunity to do what we do best \u2013 thinking we know best. That most of us would treat Him as though He has actually said &#8220;I no longer call you servants but boss&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>We seem to have an uncanny knack of telling God how He should be, what He should do and who He is allowed to bless. We mastermind His every move and then wonder why things don\u2019t turn out the way we expected.<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s the real rub isn\u2019t it? Things not turning out how we expect. The world would be a much better place if things turned out that way I expected all the time. A much better place\u2026 for me at least.<\/p>\n<p>Out of all the people who have walked this earth Jesus could have felt this way more than anyone. Fully God, fully human, yet fully committed to doing only what He saw the Father doing. Let\u2019s remember we are the tools in God\u2019s hands not the brains behind His plans.<\/p>\n<div class=\"linkwithin_hook\" id=\"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/the-welford\/you-are-a-tool\/\"><\/div><script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png?w=750\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Jesus said that He \u2018no longer calls us servants but friends\u2019, he must have known He was in for trouble. He must have known that most of us would use this as an opportunity to do what we do best \u2013 thinking we know best. That most of us would treat Him as though [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[312],"tags":[20,23,87,125,287],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7PoLK-CQ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8732,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/50plus\/the-uncommon-agreement\/","url_meta":{"origin":2408,"position":0},"title":"The Uncommon Agreement","date":"30 January 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"God and Satan had one thought in common; Jesus had to die!\u00a0 This may seem to be a strange thing to say but on face value it carries much truth. Of course the rationale for this statement collides as different agenda are being declared. The Cross became the accumulation of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;50 Plus&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/conqueror-1410207.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6050,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/demolition-squad\/the-cross-stands-above-it-all\/","url_meta":{"origin":2408,"position":1},"title":"The Cross Stands Above It All","date":"4 April 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"In the 6th Century a monk by the name of Dionysius Exiguus suggested that the calendar be reworked from the existing Roman model to a model based around the birth of Jesus Christ. 1500 years on and still the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus comprise the pivotal period of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Demolition Squad&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/cross-above-it-all.jpg?fit=1120%2C747&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5183,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/50plus\/are-we-an-island\/","url_meta":{"origin":2408,"position":2},"title":"Are we an island?","date":"1 May 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"While on holiday in Malta we were sitting having a coffee opposite the island where St Paul was shipwrecked on his way to Rome. A desolate place, yet a stopping off place for him. He must have considered what and where he was going to next? We often find ourselves\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;50 Plus&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4512,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/demolition-squad\/why-did-god-have-to-die\/","url_meta":{"origin":2408,"position":3},"title":"Why Did God Have To Die?","date":"2 August 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"\"So, why did God have to die?\" This question, asked by many, runs to the heart of the Christian faith. Had To? Chose To. One of the most well known Bible verses starts this way, \u201cFor God so loved the world \u2026\u201d (John 3:16). Love is a choice. It has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Demolition Squad&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/why_did_god_have_to_die.jpg?fit=800%2C423&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7762,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/its-christmas\/","url_meta":{"origin":2408,"position":4},"title":"It\u2019s  Christmas","date":"22 December 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"To quote Noddy Holder \u2018It\u2019s Chriiiiiiiiiisssssstmaaaaassss\u2019 (nearly). What are your expectations of Christmas? We very often have this lovely \u2018Christmas card\u2019 image in our mind of snow, Christmas trees, angelic children singing carols, a beautiful lunch, perfect gifts etc etc \u2026 but for most of us the reality is a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/its-christmas.png?fit=565%2C350&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1830,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/not-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":2408,"position":5},"title":"Not Me","date":"12 October 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"(By Dean Gray: CVM MD) The problem I have when I get closer to God and venture out to do that great commission; is the target on my back gets bigger. (And what selling point is that to my mates?) Recently I\u2019ve been wondering what actual benefits are we to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/team-CVM-blog-640x360.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2408"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2408\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}