In the Potter's Hand

To walk with Jesus requires self-denial, it requires agreeing with God that He is the Potter and you are the clay, to seek God and Jesus actively each day. Is walking with God and Jesus in this way easy I would say No, but is it necessary for spiritual growth I would say Yes.

Matthew 16:24-25 "Then Jesus said to His disciples, if anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and pick up his cross and follow me. But whosoever desires to save his live will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

To deny yourself is to put aside my desires my way for the Kingdom of God. The cross is always a symbol of suffering and yes, the scriptures teach us that anyone attempting to live a godly life will be persecuted. It is also more than outside persecution, giving up of self can really hurt. It is saying Lord purge me, change me, mold me as you will, not my will but yours be done. You are the Potter I am the clay make me into the vessel of your choice to serve you as you desire not as I desire.

Isaiah 64:8 But now O Lord, You are our Father, and we are the clay, and You are our potter, and we are the work of Your hand.

What a marvelous place to be in the hand of a living God. Yet, so often we want to be the potter and shape our own lives.

In 1974 when I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior I set out to love Jesus and to learn what I didn't know about His holy Word. Looking back I see I learned what a lot of terms meant: Lost, Sinner, Saved, Redeemed, Justification, Sanctification, Glorification, Propitiation etc. But I didn't absorb or learn how to really walk with such a Holy God. But by 1998 I was getting ready to understand, walking required something from me.

Ephesians 4:22-24 explains that we are to put off the old man according to our former conduct. We are to put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness and we do this by the renewed spirit.

You see my responsibility was to stop behaving like I used to and as I applied the Word of God into my life my mind and spirit were being renewed and the new man created by God would come forth. If you think that this is easy or quick,well think again. Yes, God will take away certain things from us immediately but not everything. It is our job to deny self and pick up our cross and follow Him. He will not force us to change yet He will help us by exposing little by little the areas in our life that need immediate attention. It will take a lifetime of walking, praying, studying and obeying to even come close to getting the junk out of our life.

The hardest thing for me has getting control of my temper, it is now 2012 I am beginning to see some victory in this area. Remember I said "some". I am not who I was and yet I am not the finished product either. Here is a verse that just this last week God gave me some new insight and I will share this with you.

Proverbs 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath,But a harsh word stirs up anger.

I have always looked at that verse as if I came into contact with an angry person and if I replied softly that their anger would cease. Yet, God said to me "Linda, when you become angry and you speak harshly it stirs up the anger inside of you and it kindles a fire you cannot control. But, if when you speak softly instead of harshly then the anger will disappear within you. This is about you Linda, not the other person Oh they may still be angry, yet you have not only stopped fueling their anger but you have stopped fueling your own anger and God's peace will remain in you in this situation." Losing the peace of God in bad situations can bring many regrets your way, trust me I know this for I have lived with many regrets. Yet, God has showed me in this last year I do not have time for regrets, they have been forgiven and washed in blood of Jesus, so move on you can't change the past but you can change the present. Worship God and learn to walk with Him by denying self and seeking Jesus. Your walk is just beginning enjoy the journey

Update from my last post: I told the story of how the Holy Spirit guided me to stop littering and be aware of the trash that was being thrown out in parking lots. It was a lesson I have been obedient in some 15 yrs later. God showed me just this morning why I had to learn this lesson. Are you ready, after the company I worked for closed, God led me to cleaning other people's homes as the source of my income. If I had not obeyed and picked up the first piece of thrown away paper, where would I be today? God has a reason for instructing us and that is to lead us to His plan and our next step.