Becoming Clay for the Potter

“O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.” -Jeremiah 18:6.

Most of us have at least heard references to the above scripture, notably in the first verse of the song Have Thine Own Way written by Adelaide Pollard, from scriptures Isaiah 64:8 & Jeremiah 18:3-10. Many Christians sing this hymn reverently, even dedicating their lives to God anew while singing, with a desire to become new creatures in Christ, as the Lord intended.

“But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.” -Luke 5:38.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” -2 Corinthians 5:17.

God has promised to work all things together for good to those who love Him, and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28); wouldn't this be an example of the Divine Potter molding us by the clay of our circumstances? In this way, considering God's relationship with us to be as a potter's relationship to his clay can be very comforting.

“31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” -Romans 8:31,32. Bold type added to encourage!

Yet being like clay in God's hands isn't automatic, but requires an act of submission on our part; the DAILY denying of our fleshly self-will, and the taking up of the cross (Luke 9:23). There are many ways that the flesh hides stubborn areas of rebellion, and it takes effort to surrender them to the God.

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” -Matthew 5:6. Note; hungering & thirsting are uncomfortable!

We must not come before God with a PRIDE in any part of our current vessel, for that will resist the shaping of His hands; we must prayerfully examine every part of our lives, laying them on the altar in dedication, for Eternal life is at stake. The Bible directs us in this through James 4:6-10;

“6 ...God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” Bold type added for direction!

This will involve a close scriptural look at every activity in your life, even those religious ones that are affiliated with church! Remember that we cannot hide from God (Psalm 139:7-12), so let us evaluate all our works through the light of His Word, even as the Bereans did long ago in Acts 17:11;

“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

“20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” -John 3:20,21.

Religious works are really the hardest to deny, or even examine, because we feel like we're already “doing something for God” through them in our lives, and chances are that many others are also doing them, which makes us feel validated (2 Corinthians 10:18). The Apostle Paul really points the way for us to become God's clay by dealing with his own religious works in Philippians, 3:4, 7-9;

“4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more... 7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” -Philippians 3:4, 7-9.

The bold type above was added to emphasize, but through these you see that first, the things Paul already had which were highly regarded, he counted to be a loss. Second, he counts all things to be a loss in view of eternal life in heaven, and third, the purpose for the self-denial of his own good works was to attain JESUS' righteousness, which will be our righteousness before God.

Paul was a Pharisee, a religious leader of the Jews in Israel; he knew the Old Testament scrip-tures inside and out, yet persecuted the followers of Jesus, which reflects how he'd been taught to reject Jesus as the messiah. But after Jesus confronted him on the way to Damascus, he knew that he needed to understand the scriptures in the way God meant them to be seen; he didn't even go to join the other apostles and be taught, but went away into Arabia for 3 years, as we find in Galatians 1:15-18;

“15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, 16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: 17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. 18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.” Bold type added.

To give our lives as clay for God to mold truly means self-examination (2 Corinthians 13:5), and the denial of practices which mankind may generally applaud; we need to let the Lord (Luke 6:46) mold us completely without limitations; which will often cost us the esteem of others, for God's ways are thought foolish by those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18, 2:14).

So are you now ready to be molded by your maker? Can you honestly pray the words of Isaiah in 64:8;

“But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.”

“Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.” -1 Corinthians 7:23.

I also did a YouTube video on this subject at https://youtu.be/0fB-JtAQdjE and and a video Short at https://youtube.com/shorts/wWGrccbE57E?feature=share

In Opposition to Good Deeds

“I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.” -Romans 7:21.

There seems to be a “catch” to almost everything in this world, and the last 12 verses of Romans 7 talk about the “catch” of a sinful nature in the life of a Christian; as our opening verse also indicates, that even as we may try to bring forth good works, there is EVIL present with us. This condition will exist all of our lives while here in the flesh, and we should be comforted and thankful that our salvation is a gift from God, and not earned by good works.

“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” -Romans 7:18. Bold type added for emphasis.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.” -Ephesians 2:8,9.

This section of scripture is certainly focused on dealing with our (Christians) inherent sinful nature; it's a comfort to know how much even the Apostle Paul struggled with this, but let's take a closer look at what it means in daily life today when we acknowledge that, “ when I would do good, evil is present with me.”

Certainly the sinful nature is an evil present within us at all times (which we must daily “crucify,” see Luke 9:23), but another aspect of evil present with us is our adversary the devil, who never sleeps. Truly, we do NOT wrestle against flesh and blood, but with what we cannot see;

“11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” -Ephesians 6:11.12.

And so our enemy will oppose any good work we intend at any point along the way, whether it's before, during, or after the work. To remember this I use 3 words starting with the letter P; he will try to either Prevent the good, Pervert the good, or Punish for the work afterward, if unable to stop it.

Preventing the good would come through diversions like car trouble, family obligations, power outages, or even just by rationalizing why we shouldn't do it. Any good work we intend should be thoroughly prayed through in advance, which will help us to face setbacks we encounter.

Perverting may come by yielding to temptation for making a good work toward others turn into something with our own self interest in mind. What are our real motives for the work?

“So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.” -Luke 17:10.

Punishing would usually come afterward, and could be considered a type of chastening that comes from our foe, but is allowed by God to fight against pride in our works. We need to remember that EVERY good gift comes from God, for there's nothing we could do or give that isn't first supplied by our heavenly Father (1 Corinthians 4:7). Paul shared a similar circumstance that he had gone through in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10;

“7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

Once we are certain through prayer that God is behind the good work intended, we can rest assured that He already knows the opposition we'll face; if things happen to seemingly prevent the work, we should consider that the Lord may be allowing it to steer us into a more perfect timing that HE desires, instead.

As for the possible perverting of the work, our motives behind any work should always be checked first; but with this done, the perverting could come at any time along the way through temptation by our adversary (1 Peter 5:8), or he may even falsely accuse us as he did with Job in the first 2 chapters of that book. Revelation 12:10 identifies the devil as the “accuser of our brethren.”

And if there seems to be some type of punishing afterward, it is meant for our perfecting unto holiness (Hebrews 12:5-11) because we are God's children; which in the end provides us additional assurance that GOD has led in the good work achieved.

We can have confidence that the good works we take up have the attention of God, but strangely enough they are often proven by the opposition we encounter while performing them! Our reward in Christ is sure, and eternal, but in this type of thing we can see the difference between what a Christian treasures vs. the world and its values;

“19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” -Matthew 6:19-21. Bold type added to emphasize.

“11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” -Matthew 5:11,12.

We mustn't allow the opposition of evil to dissuade us from doing good, for the scripture says we are God's workmanship; created in Christ unto good works, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10); it is a way of sharing the mercy God has shown us with the surrounding world (2 Corinthians 1:3,4). So let us not grow weary in well doing, brethren, for the scripture says that in due season we shall reap, if we do not faint (Galatians 6:9).

“35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. 36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” -Hebrews 10:35,36.

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” -1 Corinthians 2:9.

Stoking the Fire of God's Love

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” -Galatians 6:9.

Jesus told His disciples of conditions they'd see at the end of the world in Matthew 24, and in verses 12 &13 He said; “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

The Bible tells us here that “iniquity shall abound,” and it's hard to deny the evil we're seeing today which surrounds us on every side; there's so much violence, theft, and deception, that we tend to naturally distrust anyone we don't have long experience with; even to the point where we expect LIES from the leaders we elect, so how can we then trust those who elected them? The promotion of evil men & women into leadership only encourages those governed to take up wicked practices;

“The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.” -Psalm 12:8.

But these conditions present more than merely an external problem for Christians, because the exposure to them tends to corrupt us, even against our will, for the scripture says, “evil communica- tions corrupt good manners.” AND “Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” (see 1 Corinthians 5:6, 15:33).

The scriptures tell us of mankind's spiritual condition in several places, such as Romans 1:18-32, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12, and 2 Timothy 3:1-5; I do pray that you'll study these for yourselves and receive discernment of their fulfillment today. For now, I'll go over these only briefly.

The passage from Romans notably refers to the rise of evolution theory, and several references to homosexuality, which is the base behavior for the LGBTQ movement. There are 3 times in this pass-age that we're told God “gives them up” to their vile affections, in verses 24, 26, & 28;

“26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; ” -v. 26-28.

The verse from 2 Thessalonians tell us that God will send strong DELUSION at this time be-cause there's been a rejection of truth, and the embracing of lies; if a man can actually think he's a woman, or a woman believe she's a man, I can think of no better example of replacing the truth with lies, or the strong delusion which promotes and maintains it! 2 Thessalonians 2:11 reads;

“And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:”

For the passage from 2 Timothy 3 opens by declaring that in the Last Days perilous (dangerous) times would come, telling us that “men shall be lovers of their own selves”, with the specific character-istics of this quality being listed in the next several verses, concluding with v.5 which says;

“Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

We should remember that religion will continue to flourish, but the spiritual fruit of these lives will prove it's only form of godliness which really denies Him, and we must turn away from such people.

“Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.” -2 Thessalonians 3:6.

And so our reaction to dealing with such great iniquity around us leads to our love waxing cold, losing sensitivity, and often what remains has an edge of selfish defensiveness, not the love of sacrifice which reaches out to the unsaved; it is really the true love of CHRIST, that's begun to wax cold.

This coldness generally shows itself in varying degrees within TWO main types of corruption we must strive to avoid; one shows itself as a strict stance against evil behavior, and avoiding it, yet in so doing compassion is lost for those trapped by it, who need to be saved; something that may have been the snare the church of Ephesus fell into when Jesus said they had “Lost their first Love.” See Revelation 2:1-4 for this.

The second type goes the opposite way of the first, and becomes overly permissive in their efforts to promote “God's love” to the world; a way which gives new converts a false sense of peace with God, and will even lead many true converts into falling away, a condition described near the end of 2 Peter chapter 2. It is most common to find some combination of these two corruptions, but I think the majority will fall toward greater permissiveness. Referring to the false teachers in 2 Peter we read;

“18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.” -2:18-20.

My brethren, the scripture calls on us to examine ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5A), to be sure we are in true Christian faith. Part of this means that we need to be watchful, lest the love of God in us should wax cold, and we become unfruitful; for we never intend to fall into this state. The winning strategy in this fight will be one of endurance (Matthew 24:13), strengthened by God's Word, and in the end it will mean eternal joy with our Savior.

In the words of the last blog written by the late David Wilkerson, I admonish you to, “Hold fast to your faith; hold fast to His Word; there is no other hope in this world.”

“2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” -2 Timothy 4:2-4.

Here is a link to a YouTube video Keeping Love Warm that I did on this subject, and also a video Short titled When Love Grows Cold.

Outfitting for Eternity

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” -John 10:27,28.

Many Christians have been comforted by these words of Jesus, but for some they aren't enough; adding to them their own presumptions for interpretation;

“Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” -Proverbs 30:6.

One popular presumption often added as fact is that when a person becomes born again, they immediately receive ETERNAL LIFE. Or as it is usually told to the prospective convert, “You'll have eternal life NOW.” using this as a bait to lure the unsaved “fish.”

Most people associate eternal life with heaven, where the redeemed will be sent after the death of their bodies; yet those presuming to receive it now often use these opening verses from John 10 to justify themselves. When I first heard of this “Eternal Life now” theory I believed it to be off-base, and said to myself, “If this is Eternal Life, it sure is a disappointment.” But feelings alone won't lead us to the truth, and for that we must rest upon the Word of God.

And this topic is well-accounted for in the Bible, which plainly shows that our bodies can't receive eternal life, but a transformation needs to take place; a kind of “outfitting” before taking that significant leap. Jesus' promise in the opening verses is certainly valid, but not until our bodies die. Let me list & go over what the scriptures tell us about inheriting Eternal Life;

“50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” -1 Corinthians 15:50-53.

All bold type in the scriptures has been added for emphasis. These verses are clear, that we cannot inherit the kingdom of God while in the flesh; that all of us will be changed; and that change will bring about our immortality; A.K.A, Eternal Life.

“1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. 4 For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. 5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. 6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.” -2 Corinthians 5:1-9.

We can see in verse 1 the reference to our physical and spiritual bodies, verse 2 describing how we groan from the physical burden to our bodies, longing to be CLOTHED with the spiritual. Verses 6&8 remind us that while we're at home in our bodies, we're separated from God, but we long to leave our bodies that we might be with Him. These verses also clearly identify the separation of the earthly from the heavenly.

“19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God...21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. 24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” -Romans 8:19,21-25. Verse 19 affirms we are waiting to discover who are the true sons of God; verses 21&22 emphasizes again the corruption and pain of all flesh, while 23 describes believers as waiting to be adopted as God's children through the redemption of the body. 24&25 remind us the Eternal Life is a hope we cannot see, and MUST wait for! It is simply not yet time for us to receive the treasure that Eternal Life shall be. Even we anticipate gifts for our birthdays, yet still we wait for the appointed time.

“He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal” -John 12:25.

Just the phrase “unto life eternal” indicates that we do NOT have Eternal Life now, but it is yet to come; and almost nobody wants to wait for the gifts God has for us, do they? And if they want this gift now, isn't that a form of loving life here, instead of hating it? But those who wait for the Lord shall be blessed;

“24 The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. 25 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. 26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.” -Lamentations 3:24-26.

Yet some might say, “But if I'm saved, won't my soul be in heaven? Isn't it safe to say that I have Eternal Life, even if the change scripture speaks of hasn't happened yet?”

My first response would simply be that this isn't what the Bible teaches. But secondly, I think this kind of reasoning reflects a “once saved, always saved” viewpoint that scripture doesn't agree with. Christians are in a daily, lifelong relationship with God through their Savior; and the Bible does indicate that many will fall away. It even goes so far as to show that a believer may be blotted out of the Book of Life, or removed from it (Revelation 3:5, 22:19). I'll leave a few scriptures here, but please visit my blog on The Saving Faith of a Christian for more thorough coverage on the subject.

“They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.” -Luke 8:13.

“Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.” -Romans 11:22.

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;” -1 Timothy 4:1.

If Jesus loved, and died for us when we were still in sin, He won't lightly throw us away now that we're trying to serve Him, but sometimes fall short (Romans 5:8-10). We will always have access to God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:2). The issue isn't one of accidentally “losing” salvation, but of being deceived by the devil and his agents into CHOOSING against our Lord and His teachings. Study the Word and commit to heart, for this will be our deliverance from the “doctrines of devils” spoken of in 1 Timothy 4:1, and carry us through till the time of our outfitting for Eternal Life.

“13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” -2 Timothy 3:13-15.

Here is a link to the video short that I did on this subject, as well https://youtube.com/shorts/PP5lefoAxHk?feature=share