Have you ever denied the Lord?
Denied Him with your silence?
Denied Him with your behavior?
Denied Him by calling yourself a Christian yet not acting like one?
Denied Him by the priorities and plans and people and places in your life that are Christ-less?
If you have denied Jesus – and surely all of us have in some way – then you know something of the price Peter paid in shame and humiliation for his denial. Instead of repressing your shame and guilt, will you confess it to the Lord so that you can experience the same forgiveness and restoration that Peter did? When you do, you can share the testimony with Peter and the saints down through the ages who know from their own experience that He is precious! “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Sam 3:9, NIV).
The cross is not just a symbol of love or a fashion statement. The cross is your daily decision to deny yourself,
your rights,
your wants,
your dreams,
your plans,
your goals,
and deliberately, wholeheartedly, unreservedly live out your commitment to His will and His way and His Word and His wisdom. The cross is your decision to live for Jesus. Period. No “ifs,” “ands,” “buts,” or “maybes.”
Would you take up your cross . . . every day . . . and follow Him?
The Bible says that one day, “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow . . . in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10-11, nasb). Whether we want to or not, one day we will all bow before God’s only Son.
Who do you know who has set him- or herself against Christ?
A school administrator?
A business employer?
A secular corporation?
A religious institution?
A political agenda?
A government policy?
An entire culture?
Whoever, or whatever, sets themselves against Christ will find themselves sooner or later on their faces before Him! So . . . bow down now!
The old clay pot was cracked, shattered, and broken. So the man took it to the Potter, Who broke it down even further, moistening the clay with water, making it soft and pliable before He put it on His wheel. Then He began to remake it into a vessel pleasing to Himself. He firmly applied pressure on some areas, touched lightly on other areas, added more clay to a specific spot that needed filling, and removed clay that hindered and marred the shape He had in mind. As He turned the wheel, His loving, gentle hands never left the clay as He molded and made it after His will.
Finally, the Potter was finished. He took what had once been a broken clay pot off the wheel, but now it was unrecognizable. It had been transformed into a vessel of beauty. The Potter put it in His showcase that others might see the revelation of His glory in the work that He does.
God is the Potter. You are His clay. How pliable are you to the soft, firm pressure of His touch?
At times our understanding is limited. We simply have to trust our heavenly Father to know best. We have to trust God’s silences and respect God’s mysteries and wait for God’s answers.
When we pray for the healing of a loved one, and he dies . . .
When we pray for release from a financial burden, and we go bankrupt . . .
When we pray for reconciliation, and we are handed divorce papers . . .
When we pray for our career, and we get laid off . . .
When we pray for protection, and we are robbed . . .
We just have to trust Him. Trust Him. Trust Him!
