Tag Archives: encouragement

Sing like Pottery that’s taken out of the Fire

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a1 pottery in kilnThe anticipation of getting to see our finished clay pottery was overwhelming. It was almost like being a young child before we were able to open Christmas presents. We had gone to the Potter’s House and learned about the process from start to finish. Then as if with God’s divine grace the potter let each of us young students make our own piece of pottery. But due to the curing and drying time that it entailed before the firing we left them at the potter’s shop. Now a month later and once they were done being fired in the kiln, they were delivered to our art classroom. The buzz of the news went through the school like a wild fire in the dry prairie.

In 2 Tim 2:20-22 Paul writes young Timothy and uses the allegory of a house and furniture to our spiritual man saying, “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work”. Paul in his exhorting Timothy brings out the truth that there are things in our lives that will bring honor to God and His purposes and then there are also things that bring dishonor.

If we will embrace the cleansing and working of God, the Master potter, in our lives we will be purged from anything dishonoring and become vessels of honor. Paul let’s us know that we have a responsibility ourselves as we submit to the potters forming and shaping in our lives. When we yield to His workings then we become useful to the Master and are equipped for His work. To the Ephesians Paul shares this same thought in Eph 2:10, where we read, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them”. Also to the Roman believers Paul says, “Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor”? (Rom 9:20-21)

As I am often taken back to the memory of that tour of the potter’s shop, where I remember the potter saying how the drying time of the clay pottery was so crucial and important. He said it might seem boring, as it should take between 1 to 2 weeks of just sitting and drying, but that you don’t want to hurry the process. When it is prematurely quickened most often it will bring cracks and damage to the clay pot, ending in returning to the soaking and reforming which adds much more time to the process. But when its done right the dry clay pottery goes into the kiln. The kiln is a oven that will perfectly fire the pottery from 1800 up to 2200 degrees. Then to bring beauty and brilliance it is glazed and fired again. When the piece of pottery comes out of the fiery kiln you can tap it with a utensil and it will bring forth a beautiful sound.

In our lives we can see God’s commitment to developing us into vessels of Honor in the same process as the natural potter does to His pottery. We will have times of sitting and drying and seasons of extreme heat being turned up in our lives. Peter says in 1 Peter 4:12-13, “do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice…”. When we embrace the fires in our life, keeping our eyes on Jesus we will be as the pot that sings. Glorifying the Lord!

Radically Convinced brings radical Actions!

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Image When Revival comes upon any people and place, people will do whatever it takes to get their friends to Jesus.  The harvest will truly come in, whether you are ready or not! And it will probably look differently than you had pictured it in your mind.  Let’s look at the story in Mark 2: 1-13.

One extremely afflicted individual, an overly crowded meeting and four radical friends. It doesn’t sound like a recipe for a move of God, but in the gospel of Mark we read that God moved mightily in a situation just like that. Why, because Jesus was in the midst of it!

The news rushed through the streets of Capernaum that Jesus was back in town.  Before long there were so many people coming to see Him, that there wasn’t even room about the door where He was teaching. Though the room was full to overflowing, it didn’t stop four individuals who were carrying their friend, a paralytic, to the meeting. They were so determined to get their friend to Jesus that they went to the roof and lowered him down in front of Jesus.  Now, think about it?  The house is full to the brim, Jesus is speaking words of life and then out of the blue, four individuals whether they ripped a hole in the roof or just came to an opening in the ceiling began lowering their apparent friend down to Jesus.

Talk about being downright disruptive and rude!  Either they had never been to a church service or they were totally ignorant of the protocol of such a meeting.

In churchanity of our day, in the same situation we would have had the head usher and security on top of the commotion immediately. The atmosphere of the room would most likely had been filled with a rumble coming from the sounds of the saint’s praying and rebuking the enemy, as the security dragged the men off to jail. With the only testimony being how we put to silence the enemy and regained the focus of the meeting back to waiting for God’s miracles to be manifested in our midst.

It’s extreme and out of balance to think that every commotion is of the enemy.  But one thing for sure is when we stop giving room for the supernatural activity of God in our services it will lead us down a road into legalism and lifeless religion.  So often in our feeble attempts to please the Lord we catastrophically blunder and reflect a wrong picture of His heart to others.

Now back to the story. I believe that they were so convinced that their friend’s answer was in Jesus, that they came to desperate measures?  It definitely paid off, because at the words of Jesus, this paralytic’s life was change forever.  He arose and walked out the doors that he couldn’t get in.  Also, the people were so amazed at what they saw, that the multitude followed Jesus to the sea and He taught them.  Not only was this paralytic made whole, but a whole multitude followed after Christ.  It started with four courageous friends who had a radical unction!  Or maybe a better way of saying it is they understood who Jesus was. They were convinced Jesus was the answer and because of that confidence their friend was made whole!  Being radically convinced brings radical actions.  Revelation of who Jesus is and what is on His heart will fuel the passion for revival.

Revival changes the most reserved person into a radical servant of God. It will motivate friends to do whatever it takes to get their friends to Jesus.

  •  Are you convinced Jesus is the answer?
  •  Which one of your family or friends need you to get radical and do whatever it takes to get them to Christ?
  •  Today, It’s time to get desperate and radical about bringing the hurting to Christ?

Because we are His children through the blood of Jesus, we can come boldly before His throne and ask for our inheritance, which are the souls of men. It’s time for Radical results from being radically convinced of who Jesus is.

It’s Time to get Radically Convinced!