The Potter's Work

Why don’t you be the artist

And make me out of clay?

Why don’t you be the writer

And decide the words I say?

Excerpt from the song, The Writer by Ellie Goulding 

But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.  Isaiah 64:8

Conform:  “to be obedient or compliant”  Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Admittedly this song by Ellie Goulding is not about a relationship with the Lord.  It’s about a relationship with another person.  But the parallels are unmistakeable.  Most of us have felt the pain of a relationship slipping away.  We’ve felt love melt between our fingers and slide out of our grasp.  Love we know probably isn’t healthy but that we try our best to hang onto anyway.  Most of us know what it’s like to feel like we’d do anything for another person if they would just continue to love us.  It’s funny how human relationships fail.  How humans fail at relationship.  And it’s striking where our heart leads us.  It’s striking how our heart leads us to the truth and the need for love perfected.  We see the failings of love in humanity all around us and we long for love to fix it.  We even offer ourselves as sacrifices to love.  We go through anguish, sorrow, and pain for what?  The love of another person?  Peace?  We will never experience perfect love here on earth.  But we can know perfect love everyday from the source of love Himself.  We all know it’s a bad idea to let another person shape who we are.  It’s a bad idea to let other people control our lives.  That kind of offering will never be reciprocated or appreciated.  However, there is one who is capable of shaping our lives and who we are.  There is one to whom we can sacrifice our ourselves to.  One to whom we can conform and who needs to form the words we say.  Because His love is perfect and His knowledge is complete, we can trust that He will mold the clump of wet clay that is our lives into something beautiful.  Out of nothing God created us.  And out of us He wants to make a masterpiece.  The Psalmist says this in Psalms 139:13-14

For You formed my inward parts;

You wove me in my mother’s womb.

I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are Your works,

And my soul knows it very well.

Our soul knows what we need.  That it’s love and perfection.  Our soul knows the source.  That it’s our Creator.  Let’s let the Potter do His work.

Daily Journaling Questions:

1. How did I help someone in kindness today?
2. What did I learn today?
3. What am I thankful for?
4. Who did I love today?
5. What am I dreaming of?
6. What about today do I want to remember forever?
7. What are my goals for tomorrow?

Thanks for reading,

Jake

The Preternatural

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me.’”  Erma Bombeck

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.  1 Peter 4:10

Preternatural:  “exceeding what is natural or regular”  Merriam-Webster Dictioanry

To the athlete, what is your goal in life?  To the aspiring writer, what is you purpose?  To the person who sees themselves as normal and ordinary, what is your calling?  I’ve always been bothered by the reference to people as ordinary.  I’ve always thought that all people at least have the capability of being extraordinary.  We all have extraordinary abilities lying inside us.  Chances are, right now your brain went from being in awe of a particular individuals unmistakeable extraordinary abilities to identifying someone who seemingly couldn’t possibly be extraordinary, to trying to see that extraordinary gift in yourself and or someone you love.  We all continually make judgements.  We naturally try to classify.  At the ends of the spectrum we classify people as criminals or saints, rich or poor, mean or kind, or mart or dumb.  And in the middle is the majority.  In the middle is the ordinary person.  Neither criminal nor saint, rich or poor.  Capable of being both mean and kind, and both smart and dumb.  Sadly we too often relegate ourselves to the ordinary.  Avoiding the publicity and risk of standing out, we choose to join and follow.  There is a time and place to follow.  It’s said that to lead you have to know how to follow.  However, there is also a time to lead.  A time to show off your God given ability and say no to the path that’s clearly heading over that cliff.  We’ve all seen it.  We all know what it’s like to follow a leader seeing full well that we’re heading in the wrong direction.  We all know what it’s like to be too self-conscious to correct an error.  Many have lost their lives simply because they were too embarrassed to go public with their fears.  How do we change that?  How do we muster the courage to show off the extraordinary person inside?  We travel the path God desires for our lives.  That path is to Him.  He is the goal we should all have.  Whether we’re building homes, driving truck, or using our athleticism.  It’s on the path towards that ultimate goal that we’re given purpose.  God may have given you the ability to be the best wide receiver the NFL has ever known, but that isn’t your purpose.  He may have given you the ability to capture hearts and mind through story, but that’s not your purpose.  He may have given you the ability to argue a case in court better than anyone you’ve ever known, but that’s not your purpose.  His purpose is so much more.  His purpose for our lives is to be a reflection of Him.  He calls us to be like Peter, to be fishers of men.  That means using our talents and abilities.  But not for ourselves.  That means using our talents and abilities for Him.  We aren’t all gifted athletes, or writers, or builders; but we all have what it takes to be all-stars for the highest calling.  I guarantee God put it in you.  And if God put something in you, who can call you ordinary?  No, you’re extraordinary.  You’re just what this world needs.  You have the ability to be a tool in the hand of the Ultimate Craftsman.  It’s in responding to His calling, in following the path towards Him, that we become truly extraordinary.  It's with His purpose that we can become preternatural people for Him.  

Daily Journaling Questions:

1. How did I help someone in kindness today?
2. What did I learn today?
3. What am I thankful for?
4. Who did I love today?
5. What am I dreaming of?
6. What about today do I want to remember forever?
7. What are my goals for tomorrow?

Thanks for reading,

Jake

Better Hands Now

It’s like the sun is shining

When the rain is pourin’ down

It’s like my soul is flying

Though my feet are on the ground

So take this heart of mine

There’s no doubt

I’m in better hands now

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are the children born in one’s youth.  Proverbs 127:4

Hoard:  “a supply or fund stored up and often hidden away”  Merriam-Webster Dictionary

“Sir look, a chimp.”

“A what?”  The captain asked looking out at the plain of tall grass through his binoculars.

“A chimp, you know, a chimpanzee, a great ape.”

“Ya, I know what a chimp is Scott, but what is a chimp doing here?”

“I don’t know sir.  Shall we try and find out?”

“Go ahead...”

“Oh, and Scott, be careful.  You never know what one of these things is up to.”

“Yes sir.”

It’s crazy what life can bring.  Things unexpected and exciting.  Things to be explored and wondered at.  New things to learn and understand.

“Can I get some cereal?”

“What do you want cereal for, it’s not breakfast time?”  Replied their cook.

“There’s a chimpanzee outside camp, it looks like he needs something.”

“You’re crazy, you know that Scott.”

“Ya, I know that.  Just give me some cereal.”

“Here you go.  But be careful.  You never know what one of these things can do.”

Life can be scary.  Not everything to be learned is enjoyable.  There are dangers in life.  Dangers we are powerless to overcome.  Dangers we must face to make a difference.

“It ran off sir.”

“What ran off?  Where?

“The chimp.  I gave him some cereal and he took it and ran off.  In fact he’s done it everyday for the past week since that first day we noticed him.  Poor thing, he looks so bedraggled and hungry.”

“Sir, this is weird I know, but can me and some of the boys check out what this thing is up to?”

“Are you caught up on all your duties.”

“Sir...  Have I ever been known for slacking?”

“Ok then, just be careful.  You never...”

“Know what these things are up to.”  Scott mumbled the end of the captains phrase before he could finish.

“I’ll be careful...”

Sometimes things are different than what they seem.  “It is what it is.”  Isn’t that the phrase we use when life isn’t exactly satisfactory?  “It is what it is.”  Is it?  

“Sir, you remember that chimp?”

“Ya, why?”

“Well, it seems the food I’ve been giving it.  Well, it’s not been for him.  He’s been taking it back to his group and sharing it.  It looks like another clan of chimps has been keeping them from hunting and foraging.  They’ve been starving.  I think the little food I’ve been giving them is all they’ve had.”

“It is what it is.”  We’re all starving.  Scratch that.  God has a plan.  He gave us His word.  We don’t have to starve.  But too often we see people starving and do nothing about it.  We take the food, we take His Word and keep it to ourselves.  As if there isn’t enough to go around.  As if we don’t know how to hand it out.  As if we don’t have the means to do His work.  That sort of thinking always starts and ends with us.  “I can’t.”  I don’t know how I...”  Recently Whitney (my wife) and I announced that we are going to have a baby.  If you know much about us, you know that we have been in the process of adopting for a while now.  Nothing about that is going to change.  However, along the way God decided to give us a biological child as well.  I don’t know what our children will be like yet.  However, one thing I do know.  God said children are like arrows in the hands of a warrior.  What does that mean?  For me that means that my children aren’t just for me.  Arrows are useless to a warrior until they’re nocked, drawn, and released.  And so it is with everything God’s given us.  This world is our clan.  Many are starving for God’s Word.  Are we sharing what’s been given us.  I don’t know if a chimp would ever share food with its starving clan.  But I do know that too often we’re in the same position and we hoard.  We worry about our kids being good.  We worry about our retirement savings and our house.  We worry about everything as if everything is for us.  Imagine the worry we would have if we lived like everything was to be shared.  Like everything was for the purpose of Christ.  God wants us to share Him through our children, through our homes and our money.  There’s nothing He’s given that can’t be used to share Him.  And there’s nothing that He’s given that can run out.  Like that chimp, we only have two hands.  We can only carry so much.  That’s why God blesses us with tools.  His blessings expand our ability to care, like arrows expand the reach of a warrior.  And so I’m not going to worry about what our children will be like.  Because I know God has blessed us with them to do His work.  Whatever that may be, and however that may look.  Why worry?  Why worry about how our kids will turn out?  Why worry about our home and our savings?  Why worry if it’s all for the Lord anyway?  Of course that doesn’t mean we neglect our children, home, or bank account.  However, it does mean that when we put our lives in God’s grasp we will truly see.  We’re all in better hands now.

Daily Journaling Questions:

1. How did I help someone in kindness today?
2. What did I learn today?
3. What am I thankful for?
4. Who did I love today?
5. What am I dreaming of?
6. What about today do I want to remember forever?
7. What are my goals for tomorrow?

Thanks for reading,

Jake

Knowing Christ?

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.”  G.K. Chesterton

We may throw the dice, but the LORD determines how they fall.  Proverbs 16:33

Straw man:  “a weak or imaginary opposition (as an argument or adversary) set up only to be easily confuted”  Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Did Jesus exist?  Did He rise from the dead?  Is the Bible true?  Is Christianity merely a means to gain power and money?  The popular politically correct answers to these questions today are, probably, no, a little bit, and yes.  That is, Jesus probably did exist, but He didn’t rise from the dead.  The Bible has truth in it, but it’s also full of myth and its truth is relative.  And Christianity exists mostly because people used it to gain power and or money.  What do you think?  Here’s what I know.  I know that Jesus is real because He’s changed my life.  I know that God cares about us because of Jesus’ death.  And I also know the skeptic wouldn’t even consider this an argument.  But to that skeptic I ask them to prove love.  Love is a feeling we all know.  Still there’s no empirical evidence it exists.  We see the effects of love all around us.  But they could just as easily be the effects of people trying to gain a foothold in society.  The skeptic could say that my mind is creating an experience.  I say, God created my mind.  How many times have you heard someone disprove Santa Clause, then equate Christ with Santa.  It’s easy to set up a straw-man, knock it down, and then call the straw-man Jesus.  But how many skeptics would die for their skepticism.  The people who have faced the choice of rejecting Jesus or life and died for their decision can’t be counted.  Ten of Jesus’ original disciples died for their for their belief.  Paul the greatest Apostle and arguably the greatest Christian ever to live, died for Christ.  Non of these men ever gained personal wealth or great power.  Sure, they had influence, but their political power was nearly non-existent.  It’s true that through the ages, Christianity has risen in power.  It’s been used terribly to wield personal influence and gain riches.  However, it’s also true that no belief has ever been attacked like the belief in Jesus.  No belief has overcome abuse and doubt like the belief in Christ.  It’s because Jesus is the only person to live who’s ever claimed to be the Son and the Word of God and been taken seriously.  It’s because of the undeniable credibility of the Bible.  And it’s against all odds that Christianity even exists today, let alone that it influences more people than any other belief system in the world.  But then again, it’s God who determines the outcome of everything.  God is not affected by odds, period.  And if one were to count the odds, they would say there is a God.  They would say that there is a God and that He loves you.  They would say that there is a God and that He sent His only begotten Son to die for you and me.  Go ahead and doubt.  Go ahead and consider the odds.  Go ahead...  But consider these words by George MacDonald.  “How often we look upon God as our last and feeblest resource!  We go to Him because we have nowhere else to go.  And then we learn that the storms of life have driven us, not upon the rocks, but into the desired haven.”

Daily Journaling Questions:

1. How did I help someone in kindness today?
2. What did I learn today?
3. What am I thankful for?
4. Who did I love today?
5. What am I dreaming of?
6. What about today do I want to remember forever?
7. What are my goals for tomorrow?

Thanks for reading,

Jake

A Purpose-List

“Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.”  John F. Kennedy

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

Ward:  “the state of being under guard”  Merriam-Webster Dictionary

“Keep moving.  Keep moving!”  The world tells us.  It says, “Go to school.”  Then it says, “Either go to school some more or get a job.”  Then it says, “Retire if you’ve got the means.”  Then at last it says, “Die.”  It’s as if the world is standing guard, watching us as a warden watches their wards pass from cell block to cell block.  Stay orderly and keep moving.  That’s how to live.  That’s how to stay out of trouble.  But what happens when we don’t conform?  Is non-conformity even possible?  Have you ever noticed that so called “non-conformists” are generally more conformed to non-conformity than conformists to conformity?  For the non-conformist there is one overarching rule.  Don’t conform to anything, except non-conformity of course.  Can we escape what seems to be an everlasting conveyor belt of life?  Many of us try to distract ourselves from it.  We make bucket-lists, plan vacations, and set goals and dreams.  In fact a little later I’ll ask to write them down.  But can they really change anything?  There are a few things that are certain in our lives.  We all were born.  We all will die.  And God is present.  We can’t escape the progression of life.  It’s real and it is required.  However, there is a way to escape conformity.  There is a way to escape the prison guard we call this world.  It’s in changing who we live for.  As long as we live for ourselves we will always be conformed to the ways of this world.  It’s in living for God that we are given a higher purpose.  Ya, we’ll still have to go to school.  We’ll still have to work.  We’ll still die.  However, we’re promised something greater.  A new life!  An everlasting life!  There’s nothing wrong with a bucket-list.  But what if we had a greater list?  A purpose-list?  A list of purposes God created us for?  There's no way to know everything God has put on that list.  But I guarantee that if our purpose is for the Lord, we won’t be stuck in a boring nine-to-fiver, planning ways to simply escape the stressful monotony of life two weeks a year.  I guarantee that if our purpose is for the Lord, life will have a greater meaning.  I guarantee that if our purpose is for the Lord, life will be full of joy.  I’m reminded of the hymn by Bill and Gloria Gaither that states, “Because he lives, I can face tomorrow.  Because He lives, all fear is gone.  Because I know He holds the future.  And life is worth the living, just because He lives.”  It’s because He lives that we know the Gospel.  It’s because He died that life can be everlasting.  And it’s because He rose from the dead that we are offered salvation.  It’s the Good News and it’s the only way off the treadmill we call life in this world.  Don't conform, be transformed.

Daily Journaling Questions:

1. How did I help someone in kindness today?
2. What did I learn today?
3. What am I thankful for?
4. Who did I love today?
5. What am I dreaming of?
6. What about today do I want to remember forever?
7. What are my goals for tomorrow?

Thanks for reading,

Jake

Synthetic Life

“I regret that it takes a life to lean how to live.”  Jonathan Safran Fore

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.  John 10:10

Life:  “the sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual”  Merriam-Webster Dictionary

So my cat is addicted to the iPad.  I don’t know if you’ve seen them, but there are games for cats to play that you can get for tablets.  They feature mice and goldfish and birds that run, swim, or fly across the screen enticing any cat to try and catch them.  As I’m writing this my cat is pawing at a blank screen trying to conjure a chasuble object to appear.  Of course there’s nothing to catch.  It doesn’t matter how long Millie plays, or how many times she claws at that same rat she will never catch anything on from an iPad.  My wife and I have wondered if it’s torturous for her.  If she gets depressed never catching anything.  But then I wonder if it’s torturous for me when I watch TV all day?  Or play on the computer all day?  Or..?  We laugh at a cat chasing an object it will never catch and ignore the fact that we do the same thing.  How much of our time is synthetic living?  How much of our time do we spend vicariously living through a reality TV family?  How much time do we spend actually getting out into what God has created, interacting with His creatures?  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not casting any stones.  I’m one of the entertainment industries best customers.  But to come back to a question I asked a few sentences ago.  Yes, it is torturous and depressing to watch TV all day.  Have you ever tried it?  Sometimes it’s good to relax and enjoy lazy entertainment.  However, the end of the day doesn’t quite feel as good as when we’ve actually lived real life.  When I’m watching TV who am I?  Who are we when we’re not making a difference in the world?  We’re like a tree falling when no one is around to hear.  The only one effected is us.  And the affect isn’t good.  What’s the point of having all these talents and abilities if they lay dormant and smother in laziness.  Ability without action leads to depression.  Depression can’t exist in the presence of our true purpose.  I’m not saying we should all throw our TVs out.  I don’t plan on throwing mine away anytime soon.  But if there’s something keeping us from living with purpose, it needs to be handled.  If not, we’re no different than my cat trying to catch a fake mouse that can never be caught.  Let’s get out there and catch some real mice.  I guess Jesus threw down the gauntlet when He said to Peter and Andrew, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  Matthew 4:19  He’s calling us all to do the same.  Let’s not let it take a life to learn how to live.

Daily Journaling Questions:

1. How did I help someone in kindness today?
2. What did I learn today?
3. What am I thankful for?
4. Who did I love today?
5. What am I dreaming of?
6. What about today do I want to remember forever?
7. What are my goals for tomorrow?

Thanks for reading,

Jake

Waiting On God's Smile :)

I’ve got peace like a river

I’ve got peace like a river

I’ve got peace like a river in my soul

I’ve got love like the ocean 

I’ve got love like the ocean

I’ve got love like the ocean in my soul

I’ve got joy like a fountain

I’ve got joy like a fountain

I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul

I’ve got peace like a river

I’ve got love like the ocean

I’ve got joy like a fountain in my soul

Excerpts from the song I’ve Got Peace Like A River an African-American Spiritual

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:7

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16

Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.  Nehemiah 8:10b

Peace:  “cessation of or freedom from any strife or dissension”  Dictionary.com

Love:  “a person’s adoration of God”  Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Joy:  “a source or cause of delight”  Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Peace, love, joy...  All things we want.  Things we don’t always have.  Things it sometimes seems impossible to obtain.  Are they always available?  Are they ever available?  Can I get them?  They’re questions I often ask myself.  And I’ve found the answer to be yes.  But honestly sometimes I have to take people’s word for it.  Many have proclaimed to have peace in time of ultimate strife.  Many have let love overcome an enemy.  Many have had joy in the face of sorrow.  They are available, but at a price.  And what price is that?  The price is simply waiting and trusting on God, the source of peace, love, and joy.  Here’s where you’d often hear that all these things can be obtained on your knees in prayer and supplication.  And perhaps that would be true for you.  It’s not always true for me however.  I find that life is always stressful when we don’t accomplish what we know needs accomplishing.  A good movie will never reduce the stress of a sink full of dishes.  A trip to the beach will never remove the anxiousness of a chronically neglected relationship.  And a favorite song cannot assuage the need to make an important phone call.  They may temporarily allow us to forget the things that are keeping us from having peace, love, and joy; but they’ll never be able to erase them.  Sometimes the dishes need to be done.  Relationships always need to be cultivated.  And that phone call will eventually need to be made.  Too often we ignore the sources of anxiety and turmoil in our lives and still expect God to calm the waves.  However, God calls us to be responsible as well.  Sometimes peace comes after confrontation.  Sometimes love has to be worked for.  And sometimes joy simply needs to be recognized.  There are times when everything is in order.  Life is good.  But there’s still a storm inside.  Sometimes our work is done, but the effects of laboring remain.  Sometimes we’re tired of the battle.  In those moments it’s time to lay down our tools and simply be with God.  However, that doesn’t always seem possible.  The kids may be screaming, or the dinner might be burning.  Still, be with God.  Sometimes that means being deliberate about the influences in our lives.  Sometimes it means shutting off the TV and listening to Billy Graham.  Sometimes it means closing GQ or Vogue and picking up a periodical like Relevant.  God is always available, but too often we drown Him out with problems.  God can overcome our problems, but not when we put our problems first.  He must come before everything.  God solved our ultimate problem when He sent His Son to the Cross.  But too often we forget to be thankful for our gifts.  Even the ultimate one.  Join me in committing to be with the Lord.  It’s only with Him that we can have peace, love, and joy at the same time.  The Bible says, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Galatians 5:22-23a  In order to have those fruits we must have the Spirit.  And because Jesus promised the Spirit, that simply means accepting Him as our Lord and Savior.  Let’s strive together in continually doing just that and see what peace, love, and joy God can bring to our lives.

Daily Journaling Questions:

1. How did I help someone in kindness today?
2. What did I learn today?
3. What am I thankful for?
4. Who did I love today?
5. What am I dreaming of?
6. What about today do I want to remember forever?
7. What are my goals for tomorrow?

Thanks for reading,

Jake