The Master Potter

I love pottery!  I just love the look and feel of it!  I enjoy making beautiful pots for people and using them myself in my own home.  In my travels, my favorite souvenir is a piece of pottery.  When I see an exquisitely designed pot, I know that its creation was not an accident.  Someone put a lot of thought into its design and a lot of effort into throwing, trimming, and finishing the piece.  Such a person is a master potter!

In the same way, looking at the beauty of nature, the intricacy of a flower, the human body, or even a "simple" single-celled organism, we see incredible evidence of a Designer.  (By the way, a simple one-celled organism is anything but simple!)  In the Bible, Psalms tells us that the moon, stars, and heavens are the work of God's fingers and that these same heavens declare His glory.  Have you ever looked up at the starry sky on a summer night?  What an awesome sight!

The Designer of the heavens is also the Master Potter who created you and me.  He could have been satisfied with simply making us, sending us on our way, and letting it go at that.  However, He desires to have a relationship with each of us and provided a way for this to take place.   

 
The Relationship 

The Master Potter, the one who created us, tells us His story in the Bible.  In fact, the Bible tells our story, too.  It speaks of our deliverance from the unspeakable consequences of our wrongdoing into a close friendship with our Creator, the one who truly loves us.

God designed us for close companionship with Him, a relationship that is similar to the intimate friendship of a husband and wife.  However, because God is holy, sinless, and pure, and we are just the opposite, our wrongdoing stands between us and God, preventing this relationship from ever happening. 

God requires that the blood of a perfect sacrifice be shed to pay for that wrongdoing (He calls it sin).  Before Christ, animals were slain and the blood was presented at the altar to cover the sins of the person bringing the sacrifice to the priest.  In this way, sin was only covered, but not taken away.    

In order to completely take care of the sin problem, a sacrifice had to be found which was both human and perfect, that is, sinless.  At the right time, Jesus Christ was born.  The Bible tells us that although He was fully human, He also was fully God.  If He had been only human like you and me, He would have sinned (just as every person who has ever lived) and disqualified Himself as the perfect sacrifice.  Because He was fully human and without sin, when His blood was shed on the cross, God accepted His blood as the payment and penalty we deserved for our sin.  He died in my place and yours, once and for all.

With our wrongdoing taken care of, what stands in the way of a relationship with our Creator?  Nothing!  All that we must do is ask!   

Asking

When you come to God to ask for this relationship, you must come on His terms.  This means that...

1.  You must acknowledge that you have done wrong (sinned).
2.  You must confess your wrongdoing to God and ask Him forgive you. 
3.  You must repent, that is, be sorry for and stop doing the wrong things you have done in the past.  (God will help you!)
4.  You must believe in Jesus, that His death paid for your sins, and accept Him as your Savior and Lord.  (He's the boss!!)
5.  You must tell these things to God.

Click here to see some verses from the Bible that help explain this.

If you agree with what is outlined above, the verses explaining it, and believe this in your heart, you still must talk to God to establish the relationship.  You could say something like this: 

God, I have done many wrong things and I ask you to forgive me for each one.  I repent of these and I ask you to help me not do them any more.  I believe that Jesus died for my sins and that You raised Him from the dead.  I ask You Jesus to be my Savior and my Lord.  Thank You for hearing me.  Amen. 

If you just talked to God in this way and believed in your heart, you have become a Christ follower and God has made you His child.  He promises that He will always be with you.

What's Next?

Did you pray this prayer?  Welcome to the family of God!  God has a special plan for your life, that you become more and more like Him.  Here are some things to help you grow strong in your faith, just like a tree with very deep roots.

1.  Talk to your heavenly Father every day, many times a day.  You can tell Him anything and ask for help with everything.

2.  Read the Bible every day.  God's Word is His love letter to you.  Start in the beautiful gospel of John.

3.  Tell others about this new relationship between you and your heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.  Share with them how they can have that same relationship.

4.  Spend time with others who also have trusted in Jesus Christ as their Savior.  You can encourage them and they can encourage you.

5.  Be baptized in water.

6.  Seek the Holy Spirit to guide and lead you in all you do.  He knows the way.

If you just received Jesus Christ as your Savior, please email me at info@wildwoodpottery.com.  I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.  If all I do is sell you a pot, I have done you a great disservice!  Life consists of so much more than the things we own, no matter how lovely they may be.  Truly, the best things in life are free:  relationships with God and those He gives us to love and be loved by.  God bless you abundantly!  

Click here to see some of life's lessons I have learned in my studio.