Merely A Clay Pot

I have no rights. Nothing is owed me. God owes me nothing.

"Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him" (Romans 11:35)?

No one. "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen" (Romans 11:36).

I am simply a humbled, lowly, man of dust; a rich beggar blessed by His love, mercy, and grace.

Who am I to question God? I am but a clay pot.

What if I was to mold with my hands a clay pot, and after it was finished, my perfect work of art, it yelled back at me, "You don't know what you are doing!"

"But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? 'Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, "Why did you make me like this" ' " (Romans 9:20)?

He raises me up and He lays me down. For His purpose I was created. I love my Maker. May He destroy every pride-driven longing inside of me, and may I always remember how sweet it is that I have an infinitely worthy Potter, and I am His clay pot.

Simply In Love With Jesus

Simply in love with Jesus
Each day this love satisfies
Temptations and lies, they call for me

Idols contend for my heart
"Why deny yourself"
"You are a foolish man"

I call out in desperation
"To whom shall I go?"
"I am in love with Jesus"

He gave His life for me
He truly loves me
He does not use me for gain

Is there any other hope?
I will die trusting in Him
He is the only being I have found worthy of my trust

When all my enemies, all my friends, and all my family have left me
He still remains
I cannot deny the One I am simply in love with

Fully Known, A Lesson from Psalm 139

What a great revelation it is that we are completely known. I suppose for some it may be frightening. For example, if you have never acknowledged and forsaken the depths of your sin, it may be unsettling to know that God knows everything that you have ever done. But as a redeemed child of God, the follower of Christ should find comfort in the truth that he or she is fully known (Psalm 139:1). What a great comfort it is to realize that God knows everything about us: our actions (Psalm 139:2-3), our thoughts (Psalm 139:2), our ways (Psalm 139:3), our words before they roll off our tongues (Psalm 139:4), and every detail of our bodies (Psalm 139:13-15). He knows our flaws, our desires, our plans, our pains, our past and our future (Psalm 139:16). He knows what makes us happy, and what makes us sad. He knows our fears, our joys, our strengths, and our weaknesses. Let us rest in the truth that we are fully known and fully loved in Christ Jesus, and called children of God (1 John 3:1).

I am often tempted to measure my worth by what others say or think about me. One of the hardest lessons for me to learn (and I am still learning) is that no man or woman (Christian or non-Christian) determines my worth. We are able to praise God with the psalmist, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well" (Psalm 139:14). We are deemed "wonderfully made" not because of what our culture says is wonderful, or because of what any human deems wonderful, but rather because of the identity of our Maker. If infinitely perfect hands formed you with infinitely perfect wisdom, then in perfect wisdom you were perfectly made. "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb" (Psalm 139:13).

I pray that instead of letting humans define our worth, we as the Body of Jesus would rest in the knowledge that we are fully known, fully loved, and perfectly made.

Christ Is Our Righteousness

As I was jogging yesterday, this amazing truth hit me, and I felt joy stir within me: I am completely clean; fully forgiven; counted righteous; declared holy by God - the only declaration that matters, for He has the last word. None of my past sins have any place in my life; they do not define who I am or where I am headed.

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

"It is because of [God] that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: 'Let him who boasts boast in the Lord' " (1 Corinthians 1:30-31).

Christ is my righteousness, holiness and redemption. O how great my savior Jesus Christ! Praise His Name! See what He has done for all who believe in His Name, who believe in Him as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is great! Sin no longer defines me. The fight is hard but worth it to see that our true identity is in Jesus. Rejoice with me saints, for what is true of "me" is true of you also!

In one of the books I have recently read, When the Darkness Will Not Lift, John Piper quotes the words of John Bunyan on a defining moment when he was set free from the bondage and torment of sin. I believe that it will encourage you greatly as it has me.

"One day I was passing into the field...this sentence fell upon my soul. Thy righteousness is in heaven. And...I saw with the eyes of my soul Jesus Christ at God's right hand; there, I say, was my righteousness; so that wherever I was, or whatever I was doing, God could not say of me, he [lacks] my righteousness, for that was just before him. I also saw, moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse, for my righteousness was Jesus Christ himself, ' The same yesterday, today, and forever ' (Heb. 13:8). Now did my chains fall of my legs indeed. I was loosed from my afflictions and irons; my temptations also fled away; so that from that time those dreadful scriptures of God [about the unforgivable sin] left off to trouble me; now went I also home rejoicing for the grace and love of God" (p. 20-21).

Works cited:

1. Piper, John. When the Darkness Will Not Lift: Doing What We Can While We Wait for God-and Joy. Crossway Books. United States of America: 2006.

The God of Hope

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.     - Romans 15:13

I have recently returned from a summer job where I spent almost all of my time ministering to, spending time with, and loving on campers.  It was exhausting, yet amazingly rewarding when God would allow me to catch a glimpse of what He was doing in the campers' lives, especially when I saw it in one of my guys.  Since my return, I have struggled with major discouragement, melancholy, and sadness.    

One of my biggest struggles this past week has been the fact that I am jobless.  My faith has been tested because I do not even know where to begin looking.  What I have done is to present my anxiety and requests to the Lord.  The tough part about that is that right when I did so, I did not open my eyes to a job offer.  I continue not knowing where to go or even what step to take.  Then I came across this verse in Romans, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."  Let's break it down:

1.  the God of hope

2.  fill you with all joy and peace

3.  as you trust in him

4.  that you may overflow with hope

5.  by the power of the Holy Spirit

I have prayed this verse over myself, hoping that its truth will make its way into my heart.  As I wait and trust the Lord to guide me where He wants me, He is able to fill me with all joy and peace.  I can overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  This is real!  So, brothers and sisters, I do not know what you are going through right now, but I know that you are going through or will soon go through something; whether it is a hard decision, circumstance, spiritual attack, or daily life.  There is hope, joy, and peace available to all who trust in Jesus!  Pray this verse with me.

This Body Again Fails Me

"We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."
- Romans 8:22-25


This body again fails me
For eternal glory I must be patient

I long for perfect joy in Jesus
I long for unending satisfaction in God

This body again fails me
I am bound by its limitations

My flesh yields ungodly thoughts, actions, emotions
Of course I am only saved by grace

What a great God I have
He saved me from my failing body

This body again fails me
Yet because of Him, my new self is but a babe in the hands of eternity

For eternal glory I must be patient
But it will come

Unfailing Love

Unfailing love.  Though I am downcast, He loves me.  Though I am cast out, He loves me.  Though they think I am weird, He loves me.  Though I am rejected, He loves me.  Though I am lonely, He loves me.  Though I am ugly, He loves me.  Though I struggle, He loves me.  Though I sin, He loves me.  Though I don't know what the day holds, He loves me.  Though I am misunderstood, He loves me.  Though I am tired, He loves me.  Though I don't know what to do, He loves me.  Though I don't know how to get out of this pit, He loves me.  

"Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love."   Psalm 31:16

"Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you."    Psalm 63:3