Have you ever felt crushed and didn't understand why it was happening? Listen to this:
"Arise and go down to the potter's house....Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make." Jeremiah 18:1-5
Israel is the subject of the text. Jeremiah is receiving a vision of what will be....long after Israel returns from captivity. He was seeing Israel remade, reborn, renewed. He was seeing our day and times and that sheds a massive amount of light on the heart of God.
Israel's first go-round on the potter's wheel ended with flaws, nasty chunks of rebellion, and an inability to stand upright before the potter...God! The potter chose to squish the lump and keep spinning the mass into something useful for his purposes. The new vessel began to take shape in 1948, and the more the potter spins, the more that lump will take a form that will work to the potter's desire. We know that God will continue to work on reborn Israel until the vessel is ready...but that day is coming soon.
The verse also tells us something about ourselves and our discipleship in Christ, and that is the; God doesn't give up on us as easily as we give up on ourselves, or Him. He loves us so much that he continues to spin. He even occasionally flattens us out, but he does it so that we can end up being the best vessel we can possibly be. The thing is, he does it for his own use, not ours. At times, I wish that he would mold my talents and my strengths into something stronger so that I can go where I want to go. It's not that this is a bad desire, its just not exactly what God has in mind. He spins me on the wheel so that I will conform more and more to image he wants me to have....the image that will be most useful for his purpose, not mine. You and I can have all the talents in the world, but if they are only fulfilling our own purpose, who gets the glory? What good are those strengths and talents in the grand scheme of eternity? Not much! But put the lump in the hands of the master potter and you get a masterpiece...one that is exactly what he wants, when he wants it, and for whatever use he desires. That somehow fits in the grand scheme of eternity. Don't you want to let him do that to you? I hope so.
Happy Spinning,
Pastor Jim
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Exerpt From Chapter Five of DISTANT THUNDER
CHAPTER FIVE: LIFE OR DEATH
Haifa Israel
Sunday Morning Local Time
The bagel was tasty enough. Not much else about the place gave ease to Moishe, although Tasha acted as if she were perfectly at home. He had never in his life set foot in a church, but the bagel was quality.
At first, the hotel seemed a strange place to be conducting a religious service. There was no resemblance to a synagogue, elaborate furnishings or customary trappings as he had erroneously assumed. It was simply a group of people using a conference area for hospitality and meeting rooms.
What stood out to Moishe was the friendliness of the people. They treated him as a person worthy of being called a member of the family, giving enough but not too much attention. Tasha, on the other hand, was everyone’s friend. He put the last bite into his mouth and remained quietly amazed at the activity going on around him. Who would have thought that one of the fearless Lightning drivers of the Israeli Air Force could be found in church on a Sunday morning? It went against every ounce of his own secularism, but here he was.
When Moishe had rolled himself out of his bed that morning, his wildest imaginations could not have suggested that he would find himself attending a session featuring a Christian preacher from America. That activity wouldn’t have registered on any of his to-do-lists, but his wife certainly had it on hers. Tasha had been sweet and adamant at the same time.
“Sweetheart, with everything that is happening, wouldn’t you like to get a good perspective of the bigger picture?” she reasoned, not backing down from his initial decline of an invitation.
“I’ve said it over and over Tasha, I don’t see how all that stuff about God is going to help me much when I’m flying inverted at mach two and dodging missiles,” Moishe responded. There was a hint frustration in his voice.
“I’m not asking you to swallow anything. Just come with me and listen. I think you might be surprised, maybe even shocked,” she said, trying to keep from being pushy. She understood how far she could go before he shut his inner, stubborn door.
Well, she had won despite his objections. All it took was for her to wrap her arms around his waist and look up at him with those big, brown, beautiful eyes, and say ‘please.’ She didn’t pull that weapon out of her arsenal very often, but when she did, Moishe stood no chance. Tasha could turn him into a wet puddle of melted man whenever she chose, and he knew it. So here he was, munching on a bagel and drinking a cup of regular, caffeinated coffee. He might be a puddle of mush, but he was sufficiently adept at getting at least some concessions when needed. Small consolation!
Everyone began moving toward the large meeting room, so Moishe made an attempt to down his hot coffee a bit faster. Tasha saw him from across the room and headed over to join him.
“Honey, its okay, you can take your coffee in with you,” she said while placing her hand inside his arm and gently directing him to go with the flow.
“Really, to church?” he asked.
“I said you’d be surprised,” said Tasha. She was beaming that contented smile that Moishe loved to see.
“I am. What exactly is about to happen?” he asked.
“Compare this to one of your briefings. Of course, you probably don’t do much singing, gallant men that you are,” she said in jest.
“No, that kinda destroys the mood,” he smiled. “How does all this work?”
“Like I said, we’ll do a little singing. After that the speaker will get up and start teaching. I brought my Bible so we can share. You really don’t have to do anything at all. You don’t even have to sing. Just sit back and drink your coffee,” she said. She thought if she could just keep him from feeling too uncomfortable, he would be able to move beyond all of his misconceptions about religion and hear something that might soften him up.
“Sounds easy enough,” he said as they filtered into the room.
“Now, you might see some things that are different for you, like people quietly lifting up a hand in worship,” she suggested.
“What’s up with that?”
“It’s a sign of praise and surrender to God, like a salute, I guess,” she said.
“Hmm,” he replied.
They found a couple of seats a few rows back from the podium. There were some musicians tuning up their instruments in the front, a guy sitting behind a set of drums, and another lady held a tambourine at her side. Then the music began.
Moishe was impressed by how happy these people were. It wasn’t a sappy kind of thing. They were genuinely happy to be together and to be worshiping their Jesus. He’d never seen or felt anything like it. There was electricity passing between them as they sang and it unnerved him. He was used to the rush of flying like his hair was on fire, but never before had the hair on the back of his neck stood upright and marched when someone started singing.
Soon, he found his insides filled with fluttering butterflies as the American began to walk them through the predictions made in the ancient scriptures. The man offered a quick review of the week’s themes then launched into his final teaching. Tasha had attempted to relay to her husband the gist of what the man had been revealing to the conference attendees, so he’d gotten a little taste. However, hearing it in person offered a certain level of exhilaration that Tasha had been unable to convey!
“It has been interesting for me to see God patiently working out the details of his plan. In the Ezekiel prophecies, the culmination of his judgment against the nations will take the form of a coming antagonism of Israel. This is revealed as a ‘get the ball rolling’ scenario. Again, the players listed are Russia, Iran, Libya, the Sudan, Turkey, and several of the Islamic Republics that broke away from the old Soviet Union. For millennia, these nations have been at the forefront of the persecution of God’s people at best, and the near extermination of the Jews at worst. God promised, through prophetic utterance, to pour out vengeance upon them. There will be no escape. “
“Oddly enough, the ancient empire that exacted the most horrendous treatment upon Israel is excluded in the Ezekiel prophecy. That of course is Babylon, better known as modern day Iraq. That exclusion baffled me for many years. How could you have the remnants of Old Testament Babylon excluded when it was obvious that Saddam Hussein openly advocated the destruction of Israel and aided those with the same goal? Then, it all began to clear when “Operation Iraqi Freedom” was initiated by former American President, Johnson Brown.”
“Many Americans disagreed with that war, and for some time I was at odds with it on the grounds that Islam could not co-exist with democracy. However, Jehovah had a different angle to his purpose. Although the given reasons for the pre-emptive attack were two-pronged, namely to prevent Saddam from having the opportunity to amass weapons of mass destruction and combat terrorism, the real reason has to do both with God’s mercy as well as his vengeance.”
“You see, I believe Babylon was not listed as a participant in Ezekiel’s prophecy because it is Persia’s time to reap the recompense of its behavior over the centuries. Historically, Arab countries have jockeyed for position to control the Muslim world. In recent decades, the two powers that have battled it out have been Iraq and Iran. Remember, these are the remnants of Babylon and Persia. Enter the United States. The violent balance of power has been eliminated leaving Persia standing after the dust has cleared. I don’t think you need to be persuaded that Iran desires to lead the Islamic world with two major objectives on its mind. One is oil. Control oil and you control the world. The other is Israel and its annihilation.”
“You can sit back and look at the other countries in the region and have a nominal ability to calculate which side they will fall upon. The Saudis never take the lead role in world affairs. They follow. Syria sits in the perpetually frightened state of wondering who is going to be the boss. It desires violence but not toward itself. Syria always feared Saddam for his unpredictable behavior. They were never sure if they would be his next conquest or not. Enter the USA, and Syria’s direction was sealed. It is, and will continue to be led by Iran.”
“On the other hand is a conquered Babylon. Listen carefully. I believe it is being given one last opportunity to repent, that God is showing his final mercy to its people by allowing a fresh wave of the gospel to wash over the land. The good news is we are hearing constant reports if many people coming to the knowledge of Y’shua. I’ve been there and witnessed that very fact.”
“Now, it is possible that he has determined to delay his judgment due to a change-of-heart by king Nebuchadnezzar. If you read carefully the Book of Daniel, you will see that he repented and claimed Jehovah as his God. For that reason, God will withhold his hand for a period. But, God’s vengeance is hovering on the horizon. In the final analysis, Babylon will eventually turn its face in full opposition to God because it is listed in another cataclysmic event known as Armageddon from John’s Revelation of Jesus Christ. The horror of that judgment will be many times the severity of what is about to happen.” Moishe didn’t realize that his mouth was maintaining a half-opened position, or that he was leaning noticeably forward in his chair trying to grasp every word. He had, since the first ‘Shock and Awe’ attack made by the Americans, been a cheerleader for the beleaguered president. To hear someone declare it was all God-planned was a completely new aspect. It was rattling around inside his head with some pretty hefty impact. Was the ancient God of Israel something more than a myth?
Haifa Israel
Sunday Morning Local Time
The bagel was tasty enough. Not much else about the place gave ease to Moishe, although Tasha acted as if she were perfectly at home. He had never in his life set foot in a church, but the bagel was quality.
At first, the hotel seemed a strange place to be conducting a religious service. There was no resemblance to a synagogue, elaborate furnishings or customary trappings as he had erroneously assumed. It was simply a group of people using a conference area for hospitality and meeting rooms.
What stood out to Moishe was the friendliness of the people. They treated him as a person worthy of being called a member of the family, giving enough but not too much attention. Tasha, on the other hand, was everyone’s friend. He put the last bite into his mouth and remained quietly amazed at the activity going on around him. Who would have thought that one of the fearless Lightning drivers of the Israeli Air Force could be found in church on a Sunday morning? It went against every ounce of his own secularism, but here he was.
When Moishe had rolled himself out of his bed that morning, his wildest imaginations could not have suggested that he would find himself attending a session featuring a Christian preacher from America. That activity wouldn’t have registered on any of his to-do-lists, but his wife certainly had it on hers. Tasha had been sweet and adamant at the same time.
“Sweetheart, with everything that is happening, wouldn’t you like to get a good perspective of the bigger picture?” she reasoned, not backing down from his initial decline of an invitation.
“I’ve said it over and over Tasha, I don’t see how all that stuff about God is going to help me much when I’m flying inverted at mach two and dodging missiles,” Moishe responded. There was a hint frustration in his voice.
“I’m not asking you to swallow anything. Just come with me and listen. I think you might be surprised, maybe even shocked,” she said, trying to keep from being pushy. She understood how far she could go before he shut his inner, stubborn door.
Well, she had won despite his objections. All it took was for her to wrap her arms around his waist and look up at him with those big, brown, beautiful eyes, and say ‘please.’ She didn’t pull that weapon out of her arsenal very often, but when she did, Moishe stood no chance. Tasha could turn him into a wet puddle of melted man whenever she chose, and he knew it. So here he was, munching on a bagel and drinking a cup of regular, caffeinated coffee. He might be a puddle of mush, but he was sufficiently adept at getting at least some concessions when needed. Small consolation!
Everyone began moving toward the large meeting room, so Moishe made an attempt to down his hot coffee a bit faster. Tasha saw him from across the room and headed over to join him.
“Honey, its okay, you can take your coffee in with you,” she said while placing her hand inside his arm and gently directing him to go with the flow.
“Really, to church?” he asked.
“I said you’d be surprised,” said Tasha. She was beaming that contented smile that Moishe loved to see.
“I am. What exactly is about to happen?” he asked.
“Compare this to one of your briefings. Of course, you probably don’t do much singing, gallant men that you are,” she said in jest.
“No, that kinda destroys the mood,” he smiled. “How does all this work?”
“Like I said, we’ll do a little singing. After that the speaker will get up and start teaching. I brought my Bible so we can share. You really don’t have to do anything at all. You don’t even have to sing. Just sit back and drink your coffee,” she said. She thought if she could just keep him from feeling too uncomfortable, he would be able to move beyond all of his misconceptions about religion and hear something that might soften him up.
“Sounds easy enough,” he said as they filtered into the room.
“Now, you might see some things that are different for you, like people quietly lifting up a hand in worship,” she suggested.
“What’s up with that?”
“It’s a sign of praise and surrender to God, like a salute, I guess,” she said.
“Hmm,” he replied.
They found a couple of seats a few rows back from the podium. There were some musicians tuning up their instruments in the front, a guy sitting behind a set of drums, and another lady held a tambourine at her side. Then the music began.
Moishe was impressed by how happy these people were. It wasn’t a sappy kind of thing. They were genuinely happy to be together and to be worshiping their Jesus. He’d never seen or felt anything like it. There was electricity passing between them as they sang and it unnerved him. He was used to the rush of flying like his hair was on fire, but never before had the hair on the back of his neck stood upright and marched when someone started singing.
Soon, he found his insides filled with fluttering butterflies as the American began to walk them through the predictions made in the ancient scriptures. The man offered a quick review of the week’s themes then launched into his final teaching. Tasha had attempted to relay to her husband the gist of what the man had been revealing to the conference attendees, so he’d gotten a little taste. However, hearing it in person offered a certain level of exhilaration that Tasha had been unable to convey!
“It has been interesting for me to see God patiently working out the details of his plan. In the Ezekiel prophecies, the culmination of his judgment against the nations will take the form of a coming antagonism of Israel. This is revealed as a ‘get the ball rolling’ scenario. Again, the players listed are Russia, Iran, Libya, the Sudan, Turkey, and several of the Islamic Republics that broke away from the old Soviet Union. For millennia, these nations have been at the forefront of the persecution of God’s people at best, and the near extermination of the Jews at worst. God promised, through prophetic utterance, to pour out vengeance upon them. There will be no escape. “
“Oddly enough, the ancient empire that exacted the most horrendous treatment upon Israel is excluded in the Ezekiel prophecy. That of course is Babylon, better known as modern day Iraq. That exclusion baffled me for many years. How could you have the remnants of Old Testament Babylon excluded when it was obvious that Saddam Hussein openly advocated the destruction of Israel and aided those with the same goal? Then, it all began to clear when “Operation Iraqi Freedom” was initiated by former American President, Johnson Brown.”
“Many Americans disagreed with that war, and for some time I was at odds with it on the grounds that Islam could not co-exist with democracy. However, Jehovah had a different angle to his purpose. Although the given reasons for the pre-emptive attack were two-pronged, namely to prevent Saddam from having the opportunity to amass weapons of mass destruction and combat terrorism, the real reason has to do both with God’s mercy as well as his vengeance.”
“You see, I believe Babylon was not listed as a participant in Ezekiel’s prophecy because it is Persia’s time to reap the recompense of its behavior over the centuries. Historically, Arab countries have jockeyed for position to control the Muslim world. In recent decades, the two powers that have battled it out have been Iraq and Iran. Remember, these are the remnants of Babylon and Persia. Enter the United States. The violent balance of power has been eliminated leaving Persia standing after the dust has cleared. I don’t think you need to be persuaded that Iran desires to lead the Islamic world with two major objectives on its mind. One is oil. Control oil and you control the world. The other is Israel and its annihilation.”
“You can sit back and look at the other countries in the region and have a nominal ability to calculate which side they will fall upon. The Saudis never take the lead role in world affairs. They follow. Syria sits in the perpetually frightened state of wondering who is going to be the boss. It desires violence but not toward itself. Syria always feared Saddam for his unpredictable behavior. They were never sure if they would be his next conquest or not. Enter the USA, and Syria’s direction was sealed. It is, and will continue to be led by Iran.”
“On the other hand is a conquered Babylon. Listen carefully. I believe it is being given one last opportunity to repent, that God is showing his final mercy to its people by allowing a fresh wave of the gospel to wash over the land. The good news is we are hearing constant reports if many people coming to the knowledge of Y’shua. I’ve been there and witnessed that very fact.”
“Now, it is possible that he has determined to delay his judgment due to a change-of-heart by king Nebuchadnezzar. If you read carefully the Book of Daniel, you will see that he repented and claimed Jehovah as his God. For that reason, God will withhold his hand for a period. But, God’s vengeance is hovering on the horizon. In the final analysis, Babylon will eventually turn its face in full opposition to God because it is listed in another cataclysmic event known as Armageddon from John’s Revelation of Jesus Christ. The horror of that judgment will be many times the severity of what is about to happen.” Moishe didn’t realize that his mouth was maintaining a half-opened position, or that he was leaning noticeably forward in his chair trying to grasp every word. He had, since the first ‘Shock and Awe’ attack made by the Americans, been a cheerleader for the beleaguered president. To hear someone declare it was all God-planned was a completely new aspect. It was rattling around inside his head with some pretty hefty impact. Was the ancient God of Israel something more than a myth?
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