Isaiah 64:8
But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.

Undoubtedly we are all a creation of the Master Potter. Just as God formed Adam from the dust of the ground we too are formed by Him. In order to be a vessel that is useful for the Kingdom of God we need to be shaped by the Potter's hands.

We are plopped on the Potter's wheel when we're miraculously born on to this earth. Until we accept His love and forgivness we are spinning wildly out of control on the wheel. Even as Christians if we decide we're the ones in control, God will take His hands off of the clay until we realize that we cannot shape ourselves into someone that has great purpose.

As we fully surrender to God's guidance, He will take the clay and start over. In order for Him to make us into what He wants, He must reshape us. This will cause real pain. It could be in the form of leaving unhealthy relationships or getting rid of harmful habits. He opens our eyes to sin that has kept us from the blessing that God desires for us. But this is temporary discomfort as it is the Potter's hands that are shaping us, and this means He is always close.

Now that we have taken our shape, it is time for the fire which removes impurities and hardens the clay so it won't go back to mud form. Going through the fire is never the most pleasant experience but God wants us refined and ready to use. The hardships of life builds our character in such a way to prevent us from returning to our old form.

After the fire comes the glory. The Potter decorates us with his glory and goodness so that we attract others. In His creativity the Potter has made uniquely able to reach out to different people through the gifts and talents He's put in us.

Now the Holy Spirit can be poured in and out of us to bring refreshing and life to those that need it. God has called us to be His vessels of glory to touch other lives. We are to be used.  We are not made to simply sit on the shelf for decoration.

This process can happen multiple times in our lives as we go through different seasons. God opens new doors of opportunity throughout life. He always wants to shape us in to the form He desires.

The Potter is waiting to put us to use. Our job is to take our hands off and be the work of His hand.

Dr. Terry Rice wrote that, "The biblical expression 'to gird up the loin' meant to put on the girdle; it signified that the person was ready for service (I Peter 1:13). On the other hand, to loose the girdle meant the person was either lazy or resting (Isaiah 5:27)."

In 1 Kings 18, there is account of girding up the loins. In this instance we see the prophet of God, Elijah performing this task. After defeating the 400 prophets of Baal, Elijah tightens his belt in verse 46:

1 Kings 18:46 - The power of the LORD came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

Other versions say that he "girded up his loins." Here the NIV explains as "tucking his cloak into his belt." I like this word picture, but either way Elijah was ready for action. And by action, I mean he broke every sprinting world record known to man. Ussain Bolt wouldn't have had a chance.

As followers of Jesus, we have all been called to gird our loins or tuck in our cloak. We have to be ready for service at any time. Our service will be different because our Father has created us uniquely to accomplish specific objectives for His Kingdom.

In this passage we see three truths that can help us understand our service for the Kingdom of God.

1. We need the power of the Lord. Jesus let us know about this necessity right before He beamed back up to Heaven.

Acts 1:8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Whatever our specific service may be, in general it is to be witnesses to all people. Without the power of God operating in our lives there is no chance to make an eternal difference in the lives of others. From personal experience I have found out that my own power results in just about nothing, but when the Holy Spirit steps in all things are possible. This power comes when we decide that time with our Father is more important than anything else.

2. Not only is the power of God important, but we also need our cloak. Elijah's cloak or mantle was representative of the gifts of God on his life. In scripture you will see Elijah using his cloak to perform miracles. When his service was finished here on earth he passed his gifts on to Elisha to continue the work of God.

2 Kings 2:13-14 - He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. "Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.

Each of us has been given gifts and the ultimate purpose is not to make money or make us feel better about ourselves. Our cloak's first purpose is in the service of God. Those gifts your Father gave to you -- He knew  combined with your unique personality and your place in life that you could have influence like no one else. We are created for a purpose. We are gifted to fulfill it.

3. Ok, we've picked up our cloak. Now what? Tuck it in your belt. We're going somewhere ... fast. Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians that we need to put on our belt of truth.

Ephesians 6:14 - Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist...

For the Roman soldier, the belt was of extreme importance. It held everything together. The belt held his sword, his ration sack and his darts. God's truth is our sword of the Spirit. It is our daily bread. It is of extreme importance.

In order for our service to be one that goes the long haul (Elijah's run from Mt. Carmel to Jezreel was about 30 miles) we need to be secure in the Word of God. Psalm 119 reminds of this importance.

Psalm 119:105 - Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

There is no need to run in the dark. The Bible is here to guide us and keep us on the straight and narrow pathway. When we are walking or running with the Truth, God's light will direct us to the place we need to be and more importantly the people we need to serve.

Running with our Truth-based gift in the power of God will first of all put the enemy behind us. We will always be "ahead of Ahab" when we are running in this fashion. He may be chasing us, but he's not going to catch anything.

As we are leaving the devil in the dust we will find our way to Jezreel. Jezreel means "God will sow." Now, I know I can sow and reap, but when God begins to sow just imagine the harvest! He always sows the right seed, in the right soil, at the right time guaranteeing fruitfulness.

This journey begins and ends with God's power. This is the realization we all must come to ... without Him in the beginning, the middle and the end of our journey we are hopeless and left looking like a fool with our pants on the ground.

He is here every step of the way, though. As He is always faithful to do His part, we must do ours. It's time to tighten our belt and get ready for a run.

I enjoy hiking into the mountains and waiting on the Lord to see what He is saying. The works of His hands often can speak louder than a preacher if one is listening closely.

For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Isaiah 55:12

Today, I trekked into the woods to a spot that could be considered a "rock garden." Over many years, water has eroded the soil in this dip in the mountain between ridges and hundreds of rocks are exposed. Many are quite large. One in particular was calling my name and seemed to have a seat especially created for me to plop down on. As I sat there waiting, God directed me to Psalm 52:

⁷ See the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction! ⁸ But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.

Of course, you won't find any olive trees in West Virginia, but being in the forest while reading it was significant to me not to mention the current economic condition that the world faces. Just like the Bible says, those that trust God and not their personal wealth or talents or job or fill in the blank will be steadfast. And not just for a little while, the promise is forever. I echo the psalmist's sentiments in the next verse from Isaiah 52:

⁹ I will thank you forever, because you have done it. I will wait for your name, for it is good, in the presence of the godly.

As I sat on the perfectly formed-for-me rock I felt led to write to God. I didn't want the rock to start crying out the blessing of God because I failed to.

The glory of You is hidden in plain sight as creation calls out Your name with each gust of wind and sway of the trees.
Creatures high and low proclaim your beauty with their voices singing and their movements displaying Your grandeur.
As the sun shines brightly it is a mere glimpse of Your shining glory to come.
Each leaf that falls to the ground shows your handiwork and great care in design.
Not one detail is forgotten by You.
Every molecule of the universe is in Your mind and sprung forth from Your Word.
Great are your ways, O God. Who can know them outside of your revelation?
May You reveal Your goodness, grace, love, glory and power to all the people of the earth.
Great is Your name to be praised!

Not only do we need to pour our hearts out to God, but we also should make room for Him to do the same for us. Getting alone with God in His creation is an excellent starting place for that to happen.

¹ The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; ² for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.
³ Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? ⁴ The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. ⁵ They will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God their Savior.
⁶ Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, God of Jacob.
Psalm 24

Luke 2:8 - In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the field and keeping watch over the flock by night.

It makes perfect sense that God would choose the first people to hear about the birth of His Son to be "some shepherds," right? I mean, I would definitely pick some smelly guys that hang out with sheep all day to be the first in line to see the Messiah. Obvious choice.

After hearing and reading the story of Jesus' birth all of my life, I suddenly had a different perspective of the angels visiting the shepherds in the field. I just accepted that as part of the story. But the Holy Spirit pricked my heart. Why did God choose the shepherds? Surely God would announce the arrival of the King of kings and Lord of lords to a mighty man of God ... maybe a prophet or a priest or even the guy who washes the temple utensils, but a shepherd?

Today we think of a shepherd as one who "pastors" a flock at a church. While that is true, in this context these guys were pasturing not pastoring. They actually watched sheep. That is what they did. Nobody in Bethlehem was lining up to go hear them speak or watch them do their job. But before God told anyone else, He saw fit to tell the shepherds that Jesus was born. Not only that, but they went to see Him and were able to go right into the delivery room(stable, Luke 2:16-17)! Out of personal experience I know that you just don't let anyone into the delivery room. It's the husband and maybe the wife's mother. It's exclusive company and a very intimate setting. How did they gain that kind of access to the most momentous occasion in history ... the arrival of the Savior of mankind?

Was this a random act of kindness from God? God is not random. He always has purpose in His actions. "But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations." Psalm 33:11. There are some keys in Luke 2:8 that I believe can help us understand how these simple shepherds received such privileged access to Jesus. In turn it can help us gain the same access.

In the same region... The shepherds were already close to where Jesus was in Bethlehem. Bethlehem which means "house of bread" is where Jesus our Bread of Life (John 6:35) was born. If we want encounter Jesus in a close and intimate way we need to eat of the Bread of Life every day. In the King James version it says the shepherds were "abiding in the field." They were there for more than a few minutes. Jesus said "abide in Me" (John 15:4). This speaks of a constant closeness to God and He desires that kind of relationship with us.

There were some shepherds... We've already established that these were no "special" mighty men of God, but they were doing what they were called to do in humility. No one knows their names or what they look like, but to be sure, God knows. Humility makes room for God's grace. James 4:6 tells us that "God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble." Grace is unmerited favor. A host of angels telling you about Jesus and then seeing Him in person qualifies as unmerited favor in my book. Oh God, grant us the grace to see You as we humble ourselves!

Staying out in the fields... The shepherds had a job to do and they were staying there to accomplish it. I grew up on a sheep farm and staying in a field watching sheep, as exciting as it may be, will grow tiresome at some point. There has to be some conviction and passion to stay there throughout the night. No halfhearted shepherd will commit to that. He must be all in. The shepherds cared for the sheep. This was their livelihood. They depended on the well being of the sheep for the shepherds to stay alive themselves. We cannot "stay" effectively unless we are diligent and passionate about God or the things He has given us to do. Romans 12:11 says, "not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." God responds to the passionate.

Keeping watch over their flock by night... Darkness had come but the shepherds kept watch. We cannot let down our guard when the darkness of the enemy comes against us to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). As we press through the trials and tribulations that come, God is always faithful. Jesus said in John 16:33, "In the world you will have trouble but take heart I have overcome the world." Just as sure as we are about the trouble we are facing, we must be sure that Jesus has overcome! Keeping watch despite our hardships builds our character. James informed us of this truth, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,  knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing," James 1:2-4. Our character needs to be like Jesus' if we are to enter in to His presence like the shepherds did. Jesus in us will be revealed as our character becomes like His.

This heavenly encounter the shepherds were blessed with shows us that God does not show partiality (Acts 10:34). Those that are willing to draw close to Jesus, walk humbly before God, live passionately for His purposes and persevere in the face of darkness will see Jesus and dwell in His house forever. Even a lowly shepherd.

Psalm 23

A Psalm of David.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness  for His name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;  for You are with me;  Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil;  My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life;  And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

1 Samuel 3:1-7 - The boy Samuel ministered before the LORD under Eli. In those days the word of the LORD was rare; there were not many visions. One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place.  The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the LORD, where the ark of God was. Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. Again the LORD called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD: The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.

What a great picture of two different people and their hearts toward God. Young Samuel is serving faithfully and waiting patiently for the Lord while Eli is old and has grown complacent.

It is apparent that despite the lack of God's presence at that time, Samuel was willing to serve and minister to the Lord. He did not sit back and wait for the blessing of God to come before taking action and doing what was put before him. God desires that we take the step of faith towards Him and then He steps towards us.

James 4:8 - Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

Meanwhile, Eli could barely see. Not only did he not have physical vision, but his spiritual vision was also dim. Eli was doing the usual; doing his thing. If we as followers of Jesus Christ continue to do the usual we cannot expect God to do the unusual. Also, when we do our own thing we exclude when God wants to do His thing. No wonder the word of the Lord was rare! Eli had it all wrong.

Even with these issues the lamp of God had not gone out. The fire of God was still smoldering and waiting for someone to fan it in to a burning flame ... someone with a servant's heart of obedience and a desire for the presence of God. What would that look like? How about a childlike heart willing to lay down in the Holy of Holies where only the chief priest was allowed to enter once a year? That sounds unusual.

Then the Lord called Samuel! Because of rarity of the word of the Lord, poor Samuel didn't know the source of the voice. How often has the happened to us? We've been doing the usual, engrossed in our own issues and problems and we fail to recognize the voice of God calling our name. God Almighty in heaven is desperately trying to grab our attention so that He can speak words of life, encouragement and blessing to us and through us!

Samuel had a heart for God but did not know Him or God's ways. The Bible tells us that the word of the Lord had not been revealed to him. We do the seeking. God does the revealing. We do the listening. God does the speaking.

Eli had enough knowledge of God to instruct Samuel on what needed to be done when God calls. In verse 10 it says, "The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, 'Samuel! Samuel!' Then Samuel said, 'Speak, for your servant is listening.'" Oh, that we would be people that have that heart to listen the voice of God when He stands before us calling our name!

We need to read the Bible and let God speak to our hearts. We need to listen to great preaching and teaching. But God has a specially tailored message for us. He has a specific purpose for our life and His word will give us the power to accomplish it. In order to hear God's voice we need seek His presence relentlessly and not settle for the usual.

When we encounter the presence of the God and the Holy Spirit begins to speak, we will never be the same and neither will those around us.

1 Samuel 3:19-21 - The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the LORD. The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.

If our usual is not bringing the life of God, it's time to do the unusual. Hear the word of God and answer, "Here I am."

We all dream. Whether its the sleeping kind or the day kind, dreams invade our conscious and unconscious thoughts all the time. The question is do they invade our reality? Do your dreams come true? Or maybe a better way to say it is ... are you doing your part to make them come true?

Dreams are a gift from God just as the talents, abilities and people are that He gave to us to help fulfill those dreams. How do we get our dreams to materialize in front of us? It always starts with belief. We often hear the phrase "hopes and dreams" in relation to things that have yet to happen. The Bible talks about this:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Most of us have dreams that are not seen. It's time to start believing. God has placed things in our hearts that we have only toyed with up to this point or blatantly ignored in some cases. These are the dreams that we are afraid to share with others because of incredulous looks we would surely get if we dared speak of them. The dreams that God gives are ones that make your head hurt when you try to figure out how it could ever happen. It's our responsibility to believe in the unspeakable dreams.

In our belief there needs to be prayer. The apparent paradox in prayer is the idea that I need to pray to God for something that He gave to me in the first place. God is looking for our desire, our desperation and our dependence on him. No one wants to give a gift that is not wanted. Do your outrageous dreams regularly make it into your talks with your Father?

Belief in your dream is not blabbing the details to any passerby and hoping for a thumbs up. It is about taking a step toward the dream in faithful obedience. God is always looking at the seemingly insignificant details in the dream-to-reality journey. He wants your dream to come true more than you do. But even more than that He wants you ready for it when it comes. Stepping into your dream unprepared will quickly turn it into a nightmare. God knows that. So he waits. He waits for us to do the "little" things He told us to do.

Sometimes dreams die. The good news is Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He is all about bringing dead things back to life. It's time to resuscitate the dreams God once gave us. Other dreams are small. The only limits on God are the ones we put on Him. Let God be big in you and your dreams will grow in magnitude.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us. Ephesians 3:20

These are not just our hopes and dreams. These are God's dreams he has chosen to put in us. He wants to use us to preach good news to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, and proclaim liberty to the captives. He's looking for dreamers that take action and believers that bring hope. So those that once had no hope can begin to dream.

Its never too late to start dreaming. If you've been guilty of stifling your dreams, no worries. God is still waiting expectantly. He is on the edge of His seat. He is ready to make your dreams come true. Are you?

I have a part to play in my intimacy with God. And my part is to start. It starts with us. We must first make an effort and say "God, I want you." What a revelation. If I do it do my part, God will surely do His. He never fails.

Every human is born with a burning desire to be in fellowship with God, and often spends his whole life trying to fill that void. Many of us burning with this desire are Christians and we never find the true intimacy that we were designed to have. Why is this the case? It simply comes down to whether or not we are willing to do what it takes to build a relationship -- the most important relationship.

In the natural world we do not expect someone we spend fifteen minutes a week with to be our closest confidant. We also would not expect to have a very healthy relationship with anyone where only one person did all the talking and never listened. That relationship would never last. But this is often where I have been in my supernatural relationship with God as have many other Christians. I would say the majority. Unfortunately, there has been very little that has been super or natural about this relationship for much of my Christian life.

Have I been ignorant of what I needed to do? No, it has always been a simple truth that I have known. But to know what it takes and do what it takes are two entirely different things. I've noticed that we humans sure do like to talk about a lot of nice things, but we rarely put them in to action.

So what action needs to be taken? Sit down and shut up or as The Truth states "Be still and know that I am God." We let so many things in life dictate our time. Many of them are good things. And how many good things are keeping us from the very best thing -- a deep personal relationship with the Creator of the universe. Just think of that! The God of all of creation has something personal and intimate to share with us! To miss out on that is ludicrous. Unfortunately, we are deaf. Our ears have been tuned in too long to the noise of this world, and the still small voice of the Holy Spirit has been drowned out.

We have some work to do, now. Our part is to draw close to God first. That means taking time to quiet our heart, mind, and soul before God and let Him speak to our spirit. The fact is that He has always been speaking. We just haven't stopped to listen. We haven't drawn close.

My daughter is 15 months old, and communicating with her sometimes is quite difficult. She obviously does not have the capacity to understand all of the things I try to tell her at this stage of her life. But as she grows, and we develop our relationship over the years she will understand more and more and at some point will probably even know what I'm thinking. For many of us we've been in the infantile stage of our relationship with God for way too long. We've not taken the necessary steps of development to hear the voice of the Lord, to draw close to Him.

God is so patient. He has been waiting for me to wait on Him for a way long time. I intend to wait on the Lord as long as it takes to hear from Him, to know His will for my life, to truly experience the kind of relationship that the great men and women of The Truth experienced. Noah, Moses, Abraham, David, Elijah these were people that knew what it took and did what it took. They drew close.

It says in The Truth that His sheep know His voice. His sheep have to be listening in order to hear Him.

Time to stop thinking and start doing. Thinking can often paralyze us from ever accomplishing what we began to think about in the first place. According to James 1:22 we are to do not just hear.

"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." (KJV)

We've heard the word of God and now it is time to act upon it. When God has proclaimed a truth there is no need to think about whether or not we should do it. Now, it is merely a matter of getting it done.

The Bible is full of simple truths that are not difficult to follow. What keeps us from implementing them in our lives on a daily basis? Paralysis by analysis, perhaps?

Many times Christians have wonderful intentions that never become useful inventions. The greatest idea ever formulated will never do anyone any good as long as it stays an idea. The Bible is not a book of ideas, but of absolute truth that has been proven over and over again by individuals that have taken it upon themselves to do what it says.

Action must be taken. Don't get me wrong -- carefully thought out plans are a necessity. But there is no shortage of committees and think tanks mulling over what might be the Church's next move. What is needed is a committee of doers willing to do whatever it takes to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ spread to the ends of the earth.

We have a clear mandate: "Go make disciples of all nations," (Matt. 28:19). What does that mean? That means teaching others to live like Jesus. Jesus did not say, "Go hold a crusade for 50,000 people." If God calls you to do that then you had better get it in gear, otherwise try loving your neighbor as yourself, (Matt. 22:39) or giving a cup of cold water to one who is thirsty (Matt. 10:42).

Being a disciple of Christ is about living and loving as Christ did when he walked the earth. He was our example. His love was always in action -- loving the lonely, feeding the hungry, healing the broken, and saving the dying. His desire for us is to do the same.

Because of his constant communication with the Father and his being led by the Holy Spirit, Jesus did not spend his time here thinking about great things to do, he did them. We must have the same objective -- pray to God, listen to the Holy Spirit, and do the work of Jesus Christ. Let that be your committee. Don't wait for someone else to hear from God and tell you what to do.

My challenge to myself and to you for 2005 is to thinkless domore.

What else would you die for? Would you be willing to die for a cheater? How about a liar? Who wants to be the first to take the place of a serial killer in the electric chair? I know I'm not raising my hand. Who in their right mind would? If a man killed another person, he deserves to die rather than me.

Somehow in God's infinite and incomprehensible love, He looked at man in all our grievous ways and said, "You are worth dying for." God's passion is us. Jesus showed us the kind of love that no man can truthfully understand. Completely innocent, He did not voice one word of defense for Himself as He was tortured and killed for every guilty person ever born. The only thing that may be harder to understand than this love, is why someone would reject it. His love is for everyone and knows no bounds.

We can be passionate about many things today. We want to have passion for something, anything. It is how we are made. But our passions will always leave us feeling empty without first accepting the passion of Jesus ... His love for us.

Jesus did not "somewhat" die on the cross for us, therefore we cannot "somewhat" live for Him today. He literally gave everything. Passion implies holding nothing back. What is holding you back? Fear? Pride? Tradition? What ever it is I can tell you its not worth it.

Now is the time to make a choice. What is your passion? What would you die for? Who will you live for?