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Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8
A master potter knows clay. He knows how to mix the clay to just the right consistency. A master potter never begins forming the piece of clay and thinking “Hm, I wonder how this will turn out? Will it be a large vase, or a plate, or a mug? Let’s just throw it out here and see what happens!” Nope. Not going to happen. Not for master potter.
The master potter sets out to make a clay vessel that is practical, beautiful and flawless. Yep, flawless. Because one small flaw in the vessel can make it weak and completely useless. The master potter goes into the project knowing exactly what the end result will be. He knows there will be flaws, but he’ll work them out. Flaws don’t bother him because they are expected and can be solved even if it means starting over again.
The master potter knows that a good vessel takes time and he’s willing to take all the time necessary to make sure this project before him turns out as planned. He’s not willing to leave the work undone or done poorly because his name is on the vessel. Everyone in town looks for his vessels because they know his time consuming work.
Our Heavenly Father is referred to as the potter and we as the clay. As master potter, our Father knows what he wants us to look like. He wants us to look exactly like Jesus. He knows it will take time. He knows there will be flaws that need to be worked out. Worry, addictions, guilt, rebellion, anger, hatred, judgmental attitudes…all flaws that can be worked out with time and the strong fingers of his mercy, grace and love.
People that don’t understand the art of molding clay into useful vessels don’t understand. They see imperfections in the clay and think it’s worthless and that it needs to be thrown out. Our Father knows that no clay is worthless. He knows that with time and passion he can work out any flaw. From the clays perspective it will be painful, but the potter knows that the end result will be worth his time and worth the clay’s pain.
One more thing about the master potter. His hands are on the work from start to finish. He never leaves a project to start another one. You are always in God’s hands. He is always forming you and shaping you. He is always using the events of your life to work out the flaws. He’s willing to take the time. He wants you to look just like Jesus.
PRAYER: Father God, I thank you for your great love. I thank you that your love is willing to take the time to work out the flaws in my life. I look at myself and can’t imagine these flaws ever being gone. Thank you for your patience with me. Thank you for your love and grace. Give me the strength to endure the working out of the flaws in my life. Help me to look more and more like Jesus every day. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. Isaiah 11:6
Have you ever wondered what heaven will be like? Ever thought about what we, as Christ-followers, will do for eternity? Eternity is a long time! Will we have jobs? Will we recognize our loved ones? Will we have any recollection of earthly events, or see earthly events from our vantage point?
Even though I don’t have answers to those questions there are some things we can be sure of. We can be sure we’ll see Jesus. I can’t wait for that. I figure I’ll sit at his feet for the first one or two million years and just worship him before I venture out to explore the place.
We can be pretty sure we’ll feel at home there. Jesus says he’ll have a place set up for us in his Father’s house. While I’m not entirely sure I know how that will work out, I think once we cross that line from today to eternity we’ll feel completely at home.
The Bible tells us there will be no death, no illness, no gender gap or generational gap. We’ll all live in complete and perfect harmony. Isaiah gives us the examples of mortal enemies like the lion and the lamb laying together in complete harmony.. The same with the leopard and the goat and the calf and the lion.
What will cause enemies to live together in peace? A little child. That little child is Jesus. He was there at creation when they were created. Paul tells us he is the glue that holds this entire universe together! Perfect peace has its origin and its power in the leading of the little child in the manger. The baby that grew to be king. King over death. King over sorrow and sadness. King over guilt and shame. King over my enemies.
We won’t likely see peace in our world for some time. Jesus says things will get much worse before they get better. Someday, though, if we hold Jesus as our Lord and Savior we’ll know what perfect peace is. Peace from finances. Peace from relational conflict and political upheaval. Peace from illness and worry. Peace from sin and guilt.
Until then, the sustainer and creator of peace lives within each of us. It’s unlikely that any of us will be able to exert enough change on planet earth to bring world-wide peace. But we can work towards peace in our own little corner of the world. Go ahead. Start a peace chain by praying for your enemies. Commit your worries and fears and feeling of inadequacy to the one who can bring peace in the midst of the storm. Someday we’ll live in a world of perfect peace, but until then do what you can to bring peace to your corner of the world.
PRAYER: Father God, I don’t know what it will be like to live in heaven with you for eternity. There are some days when I struggle so much here on earth that I long to ‘come home’ to you. Thank you for the peace that you promise me in eternity. Thank you that you can bring some of that peace to my world today. Empower me with your Spirit to sow thoughts of peace in my world where ever and however I can. In Jesus name, Amen.
The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. Psalm 27:4 (NLT)
Where does God live? Is there any building that can contain him? Does he have a street address? A post office box? A quaint walkway leading up from some street in heaven to the front porch, complete with wicker rocking chair?
Of course not! There is no place that can contain him. The idea of God being some kindly old gentleman sitting on his porch watching the world go by as he sips on a cool glass of lemonade is preposterous! And the notion that we can escape God’s presence is clearly spoken against in Scripture. For no one can find a hiding place where God does not already dwell.
So what does David mean that he wants to dwell in the house of the Lord all of his days and meditate in his Temple?
Here’s what I think it means. David, the man after God’s own heart, knew that his God was everywhere. He himself writes, ‘Where can I go to escape your presence’. But David never, ever wanted to forget that he was in the presence of almighty God.
During our times of loneliness he wants us to remember that God is our constant friend. During those times we of rebel and sin he wants us to remember that God is a merciful and forgiving Father. During times of illness he wants us to remember that our Heavenly Father holds the soothing oil of healing and is ready and willing to apply it to our lives. During those times when relationships fail and leave us emotionally wounded, he wants us to remember that true comfort comes from his touch.
With our Heavenly Father as our Lord we need not ever feel alone or forgotten or unforgiven. We need never feel that once we have fallen there is no getting up. He never loses sight of us even though sin and worry and guilt can keep us from seeing him.
Because of the grace offered through Jesus Christ our Lord we need never feel that God is not near. Nothing can keep us from enjoying his presence if we but come to him and ask.
PRAYER: Father God. I praise you today for the promise of your constant companionship and friendship along every step of this journey we call life. There are so many times I’ve felt alone or forgotten. So many times people and religion have let me down, but no more. From this day forward I ask that I may always sense your presence with me. Through the power of your Holy Spirit I ask that you never let me forget that you are with me. In you I rest. In you I find all comfort. For I am never apart from your presence. Amen.
Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you. Hosea 10:12
The tiny seed is an amazing thing. When we plant our gardens we cultivate the soil and make it as easy as possible for the plant to grow. But in nature, that isn’t the case. A tiny seed floats to the ground. It falls into the smallest of crevices in the rock. Soon tiny fingers of roots emerge from the seed and take root in the rock.
Over the years, in all sorts of weather, the roots from that tiny seed continue to grow harder and stronger. The rock is no match for the tenacity of the roots. Soon, after years of struggle, a tree grows out of the sheer cliff. No cultivation. No special tools. Success comes from persistent pushing against seemingly impossible odds.
It happens over and over again in nature. Life springs from the most unlikely places all because of one small seed dropped in an unlikely spot. Sometimes the wind carries it to its resting place. Other times it hitches a ride with some unsuspecting carrier to a spot perhaps miles from its origin.
Each of us has an opportunity to be seed carriers along the path we call life. Sometimes we have opportunities to throw out those seeds intentionally. Other times our ‘seeds’ may be quite by accident.
A seed of encouragement scattered in someone’s life may result in hope. A seed of forgiveness fosters peace. A seed of appreciation brings the fruit of joy. A seed of understanding can make relief bloom. The seed of patience grows confidence.
What seeds can you spread today? Cultivation isn’t required, only willingness. Expertise isn’t needed only love, because passion beats technique every time. When Jesus was asked the most important commandment, he gave two and both were summed up in one word: love.
The seeds of love you spread will break the driest soil, the hardest rock, the soul that has all but given up on life. It may be something as simple as a smile or a ‘thank you’. It may be something as hard as saying ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘I forgive you.’ Perhaps it will be something as compassionate as, ‘I don’t agree with you, but I understand and accept you.’
Sow love today in the lives of those you come in contact with. Don’t worry about whether you thing the soil is ready. Ours is not to cause growth. Ours is to plant seeds. Seeds of love. Seeds of forgiveness. Seeds of grace. The seeds of Christ’s love that you sow today may take time to sprout, but nothing can stop them from growing.
PRAYER: Father God, I thank you for the love you continue to show me even when I’m hardened and rebellious. I pray that you would empower me to sow seeds of your love and forgiveness to everyone I come in contact with today. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 1 Corinthians 15:53
Have you ever watched a proud new mom looking for clothes for her new baby? Oh, fathers are interested too, or try to be, but mom’s look for that perfect outfit to show off baby. She scours thrift stores and garage sales for outfits in good condition, she shops all the sales at the department stores. She exhausts every avenue to find ‘just the right thing’ for baby.
Then baby grows up and starts to choose his/her own clothes, sometimes to the chagrin of mom, dad and grandparents. Somewhere along the line they are influenced by friends, TV and movies and who-knows-what else to develop their own look. Adulthood brings a different set of rules and a different set of clothes. Some for work and some for play, some practical and some not so much.
Regardless of the style, color or size, all clothing has some things in common. Clothing wears out. Eventually, no matter how much you care for it, the favorite shirt will someday have to be discarded. Clothing also goes outlives its usefulness. Clothing goes out of style. We outgrow a certain style or type of clothing. Life circumstances demand that we wear a certain type of clothing, especially for work.
When someone gets clothing as a gift it’s because someone very special wants you to look good. They go to the store and shop for just the right outfit. That outfit, in their mind, gives a sense of ownership to them. Every time you put it on, and they see it on you, it brings a smile to their face and a warm feeling to their heart. Why? Because, they gave it to you and when you wear that outfit it not only shows you love them, but it’s a reminder to them of how much they love you.
We not only have physical clothing. We have spiritual or emotional clothing. Clothing we put on every day to cover up how we feel about ourselves, others and God. Like physical clothing, our spiritual/emotional clothing can change with time. When that happens we go out to find something else that ‘fits us better’, but that search is meaningless because we can’t find the right thing to clothe our heart without Jesus.
A relationship with Jesus Christ is the only thing that can clothe our heart. It’s the right fit for our personality. It’s just the right style to enhance our creativity. It never wears out. Never goes out of style. Never loses its ability to protect who we are.
Best of all, when Jesus looks at us he smiles. Jesus smiles when he sees us in our spiritual clothing because he bought it just for us and it reminds him of how much he loves us and how much he gave for us.
Like physical clothing, our spiritual clothing can get dirty. We make mistakes. We choose the wrong path. We get rips and stains from life circumstances. Jesus’ forgiveness cleanses our clothing and makes it brand new.
If you haven’t done so, thank Jesus today for the gift of your spiritual outfit that will last for eternity. Remember that every day he looks at you and smiles because you are wearing the outfit he bought just for you.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. Thank you for the gift of salvation. I don’t deserve this spiritual outfit you have bought for me. I’ve made so many mistakes. I’ve done so many things to hurt myself and others. Forgive me for those times of hurtfulness. Clothe me with the forgiveness only you can give. In your name I pray, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 