The Potter's Wheel

 

On the Gulf Coast of Mississippi there lived an older gentleman who throughout his life was a professional potter. He and his wife owned a pottery store in the small town of Ocean Springs where many artisans lived and worked. One night a church group of young people were invited to their home for a devotional. When they arrived, the potter took the teens into his shop where he sat down at his potter’s wheel. He began his talk by placing a piece of clay on the moving wheel. It was just a lump of clay with no shape at all. As he worked the clay he talked of Jesus and how He is our potter, and we are the clay. He said that Jesus looks at us the same way he looks at the clay on his wheel. He anticipates what will emerge and hopes for a beautiful piece to come together but he can never tell until it is finished. He took his hands and encircled the clay then began very gently to mold it. He worked the bottom then the sides and the top never forgetting to have his hand on the inside of the pottery to help hold it up and shape it. Always adding water as his hands and the clay dried out, he again worked from the bottom as he moved his skillful hands up the sides once more. Soon one could begin to see the result of his patient work. He explained to the young people how our Savior does the same thing when we love and obey Him. He patiently molds us and shapes us inside and out into a Christian, pure and undefiled by the world. Soon a beautiful piece of pottery came into being right before their eyes, perfectly formed and useful to its owner. As the completed piece sat on the rotating potter’s wheel, he asked the teens to call out some words that depicted sin. From the group came words such as: drugs, sex, drinking, using bad language, immodest dressing, and smoking. With every word that was called out the potter took a small piece of wet clay and threw it at the vessel on the wheel making it misshapen and ugly and finally useless as it fell apart. Everyone watched intently as the pottery collapsed and fell in on itself. He explained that this is what sin will do to the Potter’s work. He quietly retrieved the broken piece of pottery and with water and his hands worked it all together to form the original lump of clay and placed it on the wheel once again. Without a word the potter formed another perfect piece of pottery and removed from the wheel.

[Isaiah 64:8] “Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay; you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” Jesus lovingly molds us but if we let sin reign in our life it will destroy everything the Potter intends for us. Jesus our Savior wants us to live for Him and be useful in His Kingdom. Is sin creeping in and destroying you from within? No matter how sinful one becomes and no matter how far from God one has drifted away, repentance and forgiveness is yours if one is willing to return to God and confess Him as Lord (1 Peter 5:5-11). If one submits to Jesus, He is willing to restore the sinner’s life and again work it into a beautiful, useful life (Titus 2:11-14). Is your heart right with God? “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23). “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). Where will your home be after this life is over? Look for the shape the Potter made you. Are you still that shape or has sin collapsed the Potter’s creation? “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). “…Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart… Peter said to them, ‘Repent …be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins’…” (Acts 2:38). Does your life reflect the Potter’s intent for you?

Ring Your Bell

 

There sure is a lot of noise in the world today. These noises demand our attention. “Hey! Pay attention to the election!” “No! Pay attention to the Olympics!” “What about these riots?” “No, listen to these headlines!” In the world we live in there are constant distractions. That is no news, but are we as Christians making noise to demand similar attention? “Keep ringing your bell. Eventually people pay attention,” said Conan O’Brien in reference to becoming a comedic voice and talk show host. I think the same thing can be said as encouragement to us as Christians. In a world raging with noise, we must have a consistent and constant message. Jesus is Lord. What He says goes. In order for our bell to be heard we all have to do a few things every day. We must love each other. No matter our race, gender, background, economic status, we must love one another and act like it. We must love our enemies and live that out. Above all, we must love our God, live like it, fall in love with His words, and be obedient to His commands. God loves us despite our inconsistencies, but for the sake of souls, we must be a consistent ringing in the ears of unbelievers. We must be examples of righteous living to the sinful lost souls of today.

Barton W. Stone was born in 1772. In his autobiography he wrote, “My father, John Stone died when I was very young. I have no recollection of him in life.” He grew up without his father, but he never used his loss as an excuse to rebel or quit. When soldiers returned after the war cussing, drinking, and gambling, he refused to be like them. In spite of an overbearing teacher, he excelled in school. He went on to be baptized and become one of the most influential preachers in his time. * When Moses Lard was twelve his father died of smallpox. His widowed mother lost their home and found it very difficult to provide for six children. When he was seventeen, she told him and his brother, that they would have to go out and make it on their own. He never saw her again. The only thing she had to give him was a New Testament. At the time Moses couldn’t read or write. Some young men would have become bitter and mean, but not Moses. He learned to read and taught himself to write, studied God’s Word, obeyed the gospel, and became one of the most eloquent authors and preachers of his generation. * J.W. McGarvey’s father died when he was four. His mother later remarried, but his stepfather died when McGarvey was twenty-two. In spite of the afflictions he suffered, he was never resentful toward friends and families with better fortune in life. He is known to this day for his good nature and kindness. McGarvey rose above the disadvantages of life and became one of the most effective of all the writers, teachers, and preachers in the history of the American Restoration.

These stories encourage us, but we should not be surprised. Even the Bible contains many examples of those who rose above the adversity and influence of their young years. * Abraham’s father served other God’s (Joshua 24:2), but Abraham followed the Lord. * Moses was the adopted grand-son of a pagan king, but he chose to worship God (Hebrews 11:24-26). * Hezekiah’s father was an idolater, but Hezekiah feared the Lord unlike any king before or after him (2 Kings 16:2-4; 18:1-7). * Josiah was eight when his father was murdered, but he became a king who sought God with all of his heart (2 Kings 22-23). * Daniel was taken from his home when he was a young man and made a eunuch, but he had an “excellent spirit” (Daniel 6:3). * Joseph was taken from the father he loved when he was seventeen, but who could think of a better young man (Genesis 37-50)? We don’t choose many of the circumstances of our life, but we have to decide what to do with them. I pray it be your will to seek and find God – then ring your bell with joy.

Our Amazing Creator

 

Did you know that an eagle senses when a storm is approaching long before it breaks? The eagle will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, the eagle sets its wings so that the wind will literally pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm is ragging below, the eagle is soaring above it. The eagle does not escape the storm, it simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm. When the storms of life come upon us, and all of us will experience them, we can rise above them by setting our minds and belief toward God. The storms of life do not have to overcome us. We can allow God’s power to lift us above them.

The Australian Coat of Arms pictures two creatures, the emu (a flightless bird) and the kangaroo. The two animals were chosen because they share a characteristic that appealed to the Australian citizens. Both the emu and the kangaroo can move only forward, not backward. The emu’s three-toed foot causes it to fall if it attempts to move backwards, and the kangaroo is prevented from moving in reverse by its large tail.

There was a little boy who returned home from a Bible study very excited about the lesson on creation he was taught, so he told his parents about all he had learned concerning Adam and Eve. A few days later he came home from school apparently distressed about something. When his mother asked what was bothering him, he said, “Mom, my side hurts; I think I’m going to have a wife!” I’ve heard a lot of funny stories stemming from the Bible’s account of creation, and by fall that one is the best.

[Romans 1:18-25] Life is an amazing thing. The earth is an amazing place. The universe is an amazing space. God is an amazing Creator. From the billions of plants and animals to the billions of people and on up to the billions of stars that are always out there, God has shown us His handiwork. Today, more than ever before, God can be seen in all these things due to the increase of our technology. We can see the inner workings of plants and see the heavens up close with our amazing microscopes and telescopes. One would think that the amazing intricacies of life that we have discovered would convince more people of the existence of a Grand Designer of life. Sadly, this is not the case. Like the Bible says of generations of old, “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools…”

The “big bang” theory still has to have something to go bang before it becomes viable – so where did the something come from? “In the beginning, God…” (Genesis 1:1). “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He (Jesus) was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1-3). “And the Word became flesh (Jesus) and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14). There is one God, one man, one woman, one Book, and one answer. God’s creation cannot be altered. Doesn’t sound too confusing to me.

Life is not easy at times, and we don’t have to know everything to be successful and live righteously except Jesus and the love of God. God enables us to ride the winds of the storms that bring sickness, tragedy, failure, and disappointment into our lives. We can soar above the storm. Remember, it’s not the burdens of life that weigh us down, it’s how we handle them (Isaiah 40:31). “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28-30). Those who truly choose to follow Jesus should try to be like the emu and the kangaroo, moving only forward (Luke 9:62; Philippians 3:12-14). Do not be deceived or confused. When one strays away from God as our Creator we stray away from God as our Ruler and Savior, wandering about in a lost condition.

Time To Abandon The Bible?

 

Most of us cannot abide thieves. Borrowing is one thing; stealing is something else. All moral codes and governmental laws condemn stealing, and all just societies punish those who engage in such. And rightly so! There is an insidious worldwide thievery going on, of which many are totally unaware: Bible Stealing! There are persons whose aim is the theft of God’s Word. They are robbers of truth, stealers of Scriptures, thieves of Divine revelation. “Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” says the Lord, “who steal My words every one from his neighbor” (Jeremiah 23:30).

Let’s turn the clock back to 2009 when the headlines read: “President Patronizes Bible-Believers: ‘Give up your worn arguments and old attitudes.’” At a recent White House celebration of Gay Pride Month, our President told a group of homosexual activists he hopes to persuade those of us who believe homosexuality is immoral to give up our antiquated views and accept their agenda (an agenda which includes redefining marriage and criminalizing speech which condemns homosexuality). Mr. Obama said, “There are good and decent people in the country who don’t yet fully embrace their gay brothers and sisters – not yet” adding, “There are still fellow citizens, perhaps neighbors and friends or even family members and loved ones, who still hold fast to worn arguments and old attitudes.” He also said Congress should repeal what he referred to as “the-so-called” Defense of Marriage Act. Past Presidents of our great nation extolled Biblical morality and unabashedly regarded respect for that moral code as essential to the wellbeing of our Republic. But the current occupant of the Oval Office (2009 & 2022) – who once contemptuously characterized his opponents as irrational, frustrated, jingoistic racists who “cling to religion” – now openly patronizes all who take the Bible seriously. Obama has stated he believed Jesus endorsed homosexuality in the Sermon on the Mount and the Bible texts condemning homosexual behavior are “obscure” and irrelevant.

Almost without exception, Hollywood portrays Christians as weird or uneducated people on television and in the movies. But history tells a very different story. When one recalls the “Who’s Who” of history and science, the vast majority believed in God and that the Bible is God’s Word. These include Robert Boyle, Michael Faraday, Lord Kelvin, Johannes Kepler, Galileo, Copernicus, Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Dickens, Florence Nightingale, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington Carver, Louis Pasteur, Daniel Webster, General George Patton, and Ronald Reagan, among many others that could be listed. President George Washington said, “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible…He is worse than an infidel who does not read his Bible and acknowledge his obligation to God.”

To the ignorance and denial of our past and present Presidents, and many others notwithstanding, the Bible unequivocally teaches marriage is a Divine institution, the union of one man and one woman for life (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4-6), and that homosexual behavior is shameful (Romans 1:24-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10). While we are all sinners in need of God’s grace and should treat all with love and compassion, we cannot “fully embrace” an evil and destructive agenda which denies God’s plan. Times have changed, and in the names of “tolerance” and “progress” many want to cast the Bible aside as dated and passe. But one does so at their own peril. I for one am not ashamed to be among those who “hold fast” to God’s Word. Old? Yes. Outdated? Never. Nations rise and fall; Presidents come and go; but “the Word of God abides forever” (Isaiah 40:6-8; 1 Peter 1:25).