Your Heavenly Potter

Your Heavenly Potter                                                                         6-16-12

Eph. 3:20 "Now unto him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us."

Isaiah 64:8 "But now, O Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all the work of thy hand."

Eph. 2:10 "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

When we surrender ourselves to Jesus, and accept the gift of eternal life in him, we have in effect become clay in the hands of our Heavenly Father. You can trust him to shape your life into something that will show the world how good and merciful he is. You are his work of art, to be displayed to all the world and admired as the product of his artistic ability and his loving care.

Don''t fight the influence of the Holy Spirit in your life, as he tries to change your thinking and behavior, you are being changed into something wonderful! What makes you think that you know better than your creator, what you can become when he is finished working on you?

No matter how things may appear to you, at any given time, he is working his will on the raw material of your life. You don't know what you are capable of being, but your Heavenly Potter has a picture of the finished vessel that you are becoming in his hands. 

 

Let him knead all the meanness, fear, and insecurity out of your life. Allow his love to heal all your hurts and change your nightmares into pleasant dreams of safety and peace. He will heal your sick conscience and wash away your your regrets. His gift of righteousness will restore your twisted self image and give you hope for a better future.

Rom. 8:29 "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he [Jesus] might be the first born among the brethren,"

Expect him to fashion you into someone special! don't limit your expectations only to what you can desire or imagine, let God supply the picture of who you are, and who you are to be. Trust him to exceed your wildest dreams, and keep in mind, the things that are not seen are eternal. In other words, he is developing character and virtue in you that you haven’t yet realized. You are a new creation in Christ, the old you is no longer relevent, and you have no idea what God has in store for you! We get glimpses of our potential from the Holy Spirit occasionally, but the revelation of Christ in you is not yet complete.

Don't make the mistake of trying to continually assess your rate of spiritual growth, and don't judge your progress against the standard that other well-meaning Christians try to supply for you. Your Heavenly Potter has everything under control, even though you may not see the growth that is taking place in your life. He knows what he is doing, and he knows how to accomplish his will in you.

You are unique, and you are perfect for the role that you play in the Kingdom of God. You are right where you are supposed to be right now, and you are loved by your Heavenly Father just as you are! Trust him to lead you through all difficulties and trials, as he shapes you into the perfect vessel that you are. You are accepted in the Beloved, and your future is secure in the Heavenly Potter's hands.

©2012 Rev. Charles J. Loubert

God's Word and His Spirit Work Together to Change Us                   6-12-12

Psa. 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;

Psa. 19:8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;

Psa. 19:9 the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.

Psa. 19:10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.

Psa. 19:11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

The Word of God, conveys the life of God; His Spirit and Life act upon us, and make changes in us as we give His Word access to our hearts and minds.

John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

As you read your Bible, look for Jesus there. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you deeper into the knowledge of the truth about who Jesus is to you, and who you are to him. Your relationship with Him is secure and complete, but our awareness of our place in him is incomplete in many ways. The gap between truth and awareness can only be closed by the work of the Holy Spirit and the Word, as they work in our hearts and minds together, to enlighten, encourage, and empower us.

Rom. 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Rom. 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

God's word transforms us, reveals God's will to us, and renews us. The word 'transformed' in this verse, is derived from the Greek word 'metamorpho', from which we get the word 'metamorphosis'! The word of God fundamentally and literally, transforms us in such a way, that we are no longer what we once were!

Just as a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, we are 'changed' [gr.metamorpho] "from glory to glory". ( II Cor. 3:18 ) We behold the face of God through his word, and He changes us as we focus on Him, and trust him to lead us into all truth.

God's word will guide us and direct our steps as we read and study it:

Psa. 119:103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Psa. 119:104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.

Psa. 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

The Holy Spirit is our teacher, and he uses the written word which we have planted in our hearts and minds, to guide us and counsel us.

Isa. 30:20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers:

Isa. 30:21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.

God's word heals us, mentally, emotionally, physically,and spiritually:

Psa. 107:20 He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

He has promised to give us a new heart and a new spirit, and to write his statutes,

laws, and judgments (words) on our hearts. the new covenant is God's Living

Word dwelling in us and changing us from within, to become conformed to the

exact likeness and image of Christ.

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Jer. 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Jer. 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more

(Good news! He doesn't remember your sins, they are forgiven!)

Eze. 36:25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

Eze. 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

Eze. 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

We can trust God's word, because He is truth, and he will not lie. What he says, will stand

forever.

Psa. 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. 

 

Num. 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

We grow in grace through the knowledge of Jesus our Savior, and that knowledge is made

alive in our hearts and minds by the Word and the Spirit working together, to bring us into

conformity with the perfection of Christ. (See: 2Peter 1:2, and 3:18)

God Bless You, as you continue to read and study His Word and seek to know

him better!

©2012 Rev. Charles J. Loubert