This week, we also have a special addition. I received this very fitting subject and had to reprint it here for you. It was written by Todd Chobotar and is reprinted with his permission:
The Firing of Pots and People
Have you ever admired the simple beauty of a piece of pottery? The effortless curve of cup handle. The easy arch of a teapot spout. The elegant grace of a ceramic vase. For thousands of years craftsmen have created pottery. It's an art form known for both its practicality and pleasure.
Steve Hansen knows a great deal about the pleasures of pottery. He is a master potter and professor of ceramics at Andrews University. Every year Steve guides scores of students through the difficulties and delights of making earthen vessels. The process sounds simple enough. You mix clay, form a pot, and let it air dry. Then bake the pot once, glaze the surface and bake it again.
Voilą, you have a pot. But the steps are deceptively simple. Perfecting the skill can take a lifetime. There are numerous nuances unknown to the novice.
For example, one of the basic rules Steve teaches his students is the vital importance of preparing the pot for the fire. Pottery is not functional until the clay is permanently hardened in a baking oven. The process of exposing the pot to the heat of a fire is called "firing". And it is fraught with danger. Temperatures in the kiln (or oven) rise to over 2,300 degrees. At this heat level, the stress on the pot is tremendous-but necessary in order to make the pot useful. One of the key instructions Steve gives his students is about shape. A pot must be the same shape on the inside as it is on the outside. Otherwise the pot will explode in the fire.
Let's say you create a square pot, but give it a round interior. The difference in shape between the outside and inside makes some parts of the pot thicker than others. The thick parts trap moisture. When a pot is placed in the fire, the trapped moisture turns into steam. The steam must find a way to escape the clay. So it blows a hole in the side of the pot leaving it shattered and broken. The bottom line-Steve tells his students-is that a pot may look beautiful on the outside, but if it is shaped differently on the inside the stress of the fire will destroy it. In Isaiah 64:8 it states, "O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." (NIV) Philosophers and prophets have long compared the creation of a pot to the formation of a person. And the application is sound. For what applies to pots applies to life. A person must be the same on the inside as they are on the outside. For a poorly formed person won't survive the heat of a fiery trial anymore than a pot will.
Christ the great teacher once said, "In this world you will have trouble." This is a remarkable statement. He didn't say you might have some trouble, or you may have some problems. He declared you will have trouble. For you live in a furnace called earth. And sooner or later the heat of that furnace will reach you. Severe tests, trials or torments will come. It is not a matter if, but when. The question to ask is how will your time in the furnace affect you? Will it shatter you and leave you broken? Or will it strengthen you and prepare you for greater things? Like beginning potters we all work hard to make our pots beautiful on the outside. We spend plenty of time creating an attractive exterior to pump up our public image. Yet rarely is the same care taken in shaping the inner life. Perhaps there is a good reason. It is only the Master Potter who can smooth the inner curves of the soul. Here is his promise: "I will give you a new heart with new and right desires, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony heart of sin and give you a new, obedient heart." When a conflict occurs, when a crisis arises, when the furnace flares, it is the inner life that determines the final outcome. Has the heat of the furnace hit you? Are there tests, trials or torments threatening to tear your life apart? Then accept the invitation of the Master Potter and place your heart in his skillful hands. He may have to reshape some of your uneven edges. He may have to bring harmony to your inner and outer world. He may have to mold your life into something new. But the end result will be extraordinary. For the life shaped by God is a masterpiece of beauty and grace far beyond the skill of human hands.
"Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17
Copyright (c) 2003 Todd Chobotar
Todd Chobotar serves on the Mission Development team at Florida Hospital in Orlando, Florida. The focus of his ministry is on helping over 14,000 employees understand, experience and share God's gift of Whole Person Health. Body. Mind. Spirit.
Thanks for allowing us to reprint your devotional, Todd! Also be sure to tune in to WTLN 950am if you're in the Orlando area for coverage of Ocoee Oaks United Methodist Church at 2:00pm Sunday afternoons starting this week!!! If you have access to the web, check out their site at www.wtln.com
Monday, March 10th
This week, we explored the times Jesus prayed as I sculpted the knees of the statue. This was an interesting scripture sermon because it looked not at only how He prayed, but also what He prayed for. Jesus prayed continuously as evidenced by the bible throughout numerous texts. We looked at such an account in the book of John, chapter 17 prior to the betrayal in chapter 18.
This probably took place immediately after the last supper in the upper room. The text in John tells us he got up and went out and prayed to His Father. As He lifted His eyes toward Heaven and prayed, the first thing He prayed for was that He would be glorified on earth so that He may glorify His Father in Heaven. Verse 8 sees that He also testified that He had shared God's intent with the disciples as God had instructed and had given them the words that God had given Him. He also prayed for the disciples on the path that was set out for them. In verse 9, He made a point that He was not yet praying for the world, but "for them which thou hast given me" that He is glorified in them and by them.
Then in verse 11, we see that Jesus prays that God will keep them that come to Him and make them one in unity and have the joy of Christ fulfilled in their lives! He also prayed that His followers would not be kept out of the world, but that we would be kept from evil, and asks God to sanctify them even as Christ is sanctified.
Verse 24 of chapter 17 should grab your heart when you read that Jesus said, "Father, I will... that they be with me where I am and that they might behold my glory which thou hast given me." It wasn't enough for Christ to show His love here only, but He longs for us to be with Him in heaven that we might see His glory in full form! What a prayer that He would desire this for His flock! He then closes the prayer with the truth that His disciples know God because they know Him and with the same love God loved Christ, He loves us.
Christ knew at this time that His life was fast coming to an end on earth and this makes even more important the fact that He chose to pray this way for His disciples and future generations of believers. How much Jesus loved us even before we knew Him!
There are other instances where prayer is discussed in the bible. Paul tells in the letter to the Roman church in Romans 8:26, that we do not know what to pray for but the Holy Spirit itself makes intercession for us in ways that can't even be expressed! Many of us can't comprehend that the Holy Spirit prays for us even when we don't know what to say. When we recount some of the hardest times we have gone through, imagine that the Holy Spirit within us prayed continuously for you during that time.
It is a fact that even now, Jesus is praying for us as our intersession and advocate. It is a very personal excercise, but I would implore you to examine your heart and ponder what Jesus might be praying for in your life even now. It might be for your spiritual strength. It might by for calm and quiet in your life that you might know His voice. It may be that you learn to release all to His loving kindness.
Whatever we might learn about from the bible, one of the most important things is prayer! With it, we are never alone in the game of life. With Jesus actively praying for us even now and the Holy Spirit within us praying on our hearts' behalf, we should know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are loved by our Father in heaven more than we could ever imagine! Our active and continuous prayer is the greatest reciprocation of this love and in prayer, we can hear His voice, feel His will, and make decisions with discernment all for the Glory of His kingdom.
Here are a couple of photos taken during the live sculpting of the statue at the Monday night worship service at the Ocoee Oaks United Methodist Church. With the sculpting done that night, 120 lbs of clay are now on the wood and metal armature with another 40 to 60 lbs coming this and next week!!!
Here is a close up study of the under cloak and the beginnings of the outer robe we see so often in illustrations and sculpture. When closer to completion, you will see very classic folds and creases that will add depth and fulness to the garments Christ might have worn.
Next week, we'll be looking at the hands of Christ and some the people He touched in His ministry! See you Monday!
Monday, March 17th
This weeks sermon revolved around the things Jesus did with His hands. We all do things with our hands, but are they things we can (a) be proud of, (b) serve the Lord with, or (c) be ashamed of? I ask this at this point because we will be looking at it in a little more detail a little later on and I wanted to get you thinking.
When we first start with a study of Jesus' hands, we have got to recognize that some of the first things He did with His hands were to build. Christ, like His father Joseph, was a carpenter and probably created things with His hands. The bible does not tell of any of His creations, but we can only imagine all the things He made with those hands. It is because of this early career we can infer that His hands were strong and powerful. These were not the hands of a weak man. They were of a worker and a builder.
When Jesus' ministry began we saw a new side of those hands. In the bible we see story after story of times when Jesus gestured and called to man with those hands. For example, it was with those hands he motioned for Peter and Andrew to, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men!" You can almost picture Him beckoning the fishermen very much like the sculpture I'm doing. That was the true inspiration behind the pose of the statue. Similarly, Jesus called many to Him that way. He may have gestured that very same way to call Lazarus out of the grave or to the tax collector out of the tree during His entrance to Jerusalem. He definitely gestured to people to follow Him, but what were some other things Jesus did with His hands during His ministry?
We see in the bible that He healed people hundreds of times, many even at the same time. There were the lepers that no one would even go near...Jesus touched them and healed their skin completely! There was the blind man. Jesus took sand and with His spit, he rubbed the blind man's eyes. When the man rinsed his eyes, he was amazed that he could see! It was with those same hands Jesus drew demons out of the posessed and even restored a slashed ear to a soldier in the Garden at the time of His own betrayal! Surely this was a lot for one man to do with His hands, no?
There was at least one time Chirst used His hands in righteous indignation. Remember the story of Jesus walking into the Temple and instead of finding prayer and worship, He found bartering and money lending? It was with those same hands Jesus threw over the tables and baskets! But what was the most important thing Jesus did with those hands?
Some would say (and I would agree) that Christ's tenderest moment came when he reached for the children and held them to His bosom. He stressed the importance that the children are what His love is all about! When the disciples got so sidetracked and wanted the children to just be kept away, Jesus explained that the children were the greatest of all and then blessed them!!! Was this THE most important thing He did?
All the previous examples were definite insights into who this man was and all are examples we should follow as His modern-day disciples. But if you ask me, the single most important thing He did for us was when He took those loving, praying, healing, holding, and touching hands and voluntarily stretched them out and allowed them to be nailed to the rugged cross of Calvary! It was in that moment His promise was fulfilled and even in fear and physical torment He loved us that much that He would put Himself through a world of pain and separation from His Father in heaven for all generations past and future! Even after the resurrection, Jesus continued using His hands first showing the disciples and especially Thomas, the wounds where they were pierced by the nails, and then lastly to bless his believers at His accension.
What a wonderful and fantastic example He has set for us! Now I ask again...What are you doing with your hands?
Here are pictures from this week's services...
You can see in addition to the hands, a lot of work was done to flesh out the robe as well.
See you next week for the heart of Jesus!
Monday, March 24th
Have you ever wondered what the heart of Christ might be like? Not the physical flesh-and-blood organ, but the capacity for love or passion He might have possessed. When we explored this facet of our Lord this past week, we were surprised at what a concept we were undertaking. It wasn't so much a body part as it was an element that He reveals to us through scripture.
There are many stories in the bible that outline how much Jesus loved us, but many times we forget that He was a mortal man with real feelings. He loved, longed for, missed, feared, and mourned. One such situation comes to mind in particular.
We know that someone in Jesus's family was also called to Christian service and loved the Lord with all his might. The bond he felt with his cousin, Jesus, went very deep. The bible even tells us that when their mothers were visiting together, the two boys leaped in their mothers' wombs. Of course, I'm refering to John the Baptist. They no doubt knew each other very well and since the family knew who Jesus was to become, we can infer John's trepidation to the thought of baptising his cousin in the Jordan River. It makes it an even more revealing point into Jesus's character when we see what happens when the news comes that His cousin has been beheaded.
Jesus's heart broke with the news that John the Baptist was dead. His disciples told Him and asked what they should do, but Jesus could only think of the loss of this man He loved deeply. Jesus decided to steal away and be alone with His thoughts as He often did before, but God had a different idea. God would bless Jesus in this time of mourning, but not like anyone would expect!
When Jesus was going off to be alone, some of the people in the area realized who He was and decided to follow Him. They brought their sick and their children and their women and just about everyone else that would come. Jesus didn't have time for all this! After all, He was in mourning and didn't want to be bothered, right? WRONG!!! It tells us in the book of Matthew that instead of Jesus ignoring them as we would often do, He felt great compassion for them and blessed them and visited with them healing their sick. In the end, over 5,000 had come to see the savior and this didn't even include the women and children! Jesus even went a step further and when the gathering was going to disperse, He instructed the disciples to prepare food for the group. This is where the story of the loaves and the fishes comes from. He fed all those people with only a few fish and a few loaves of bread and had baskets of leftovers to boot!
The point we have got to notice is that in that instance, even though Jesus himself was in mourning over the death of His cousin, He still had the capacity of love in His heart to have compassion on those that sought Him that night. Not much time passed and Jesus decided He'd try once again to get away for some quiet time alone. It was moment later when He heard Peter screaming about some storm that was coming and how he was scared. Jesus once again broke away from His solitude and offered a hand of comfort to Peter.
This tells us something very clearly about Christ's character: Even when He was under great pain of heart, He still considered us to be His passion. It was for us He lived and it was for us He died. Jesus had a heart for those that believed in Him...I fact for all people!!! More than anything, Jesus has a passion for US!!! I know! It's hard to believe this and many just don't have a concept of love like this, but this was Jesus's whole life... His whole reason for being. The capacity for love in His heart is immeasurable as it occupies each person by name in all of history that call Him "savior"! Even as He hung on the cross, He had compassion on us as illustrated by the thieves next to Him. As one thief taunted Him, the other defended Christ and begged His forgivenes. As distraught as Jesus was, He turned to the man and said, "This day you will be with me in paradise."
Who could have such a concept of the depth of Christ's love for us? It is beyond my understanding, but perhaps it is enough to simply know it is there for us waiting for us to accept it in full!
Here are some pictures from this week's services...
SEE YOU NEXT WEEK as we start work on the likeness of Jesus!
Monday, April 7th
This week, I will be summmarizing the last two services which included the ears of Jesus and the eyes of Jesus. These were both very interesting to delve into simply because of the range of things He might have heard and seen. For ease of reading, let's take a look at each of them separately.
When you think of all the things Jesus heard during His ministry alone, you might remember the stories of the masses begging to be healed or the questions of the disciples. But there is a much earlier thing Jesus probably heard. Though not explored in the New Testament, it is easy to imagine Jesus, probably no more than 10 or 12 years of age, sitting in the temple listening to the Rabbi and other religious teachers. In the New Testament, we are told that He and His family made the annual pilgrimage to Isreal for the Passover feast. What you might not have caught were the little verses that talked about how He got separated from His family because He was in the Temple. He had no doubt heard the Rabbi many times before but in this case we see that even the religious teachers were amazed by His ability to translate and understand scripture! After all, Jesus was only a boy from Nazareth and merely a son of a carpenter! Who was He that He knew so much about the Law?!?
Much is left out of scripture about Jesus' life before His mission began, but in time, we become aware of all the things Jesus heard. He heard so much from so many categories of people; His Father, the disciples, belivers, non-believers, and of course us, all communicated with Jesus. What each group said was very different, though.
For example...We know little of what God actually communicated to Jesus as it is never truly revealed to us by the writers of the New Testament. We do know, however, that God did often communicate things to Jesus both directly and indirectly via angels and saints. Remember the time when Jesus is praying in the garden and an angel came to Him and strengthened Him? How about the time of His baptism when a dove decended upon Him and He heard the voice of God saying, "This is my Son in whom I am pleased.". Perhaps the most amazing time was during what is called the transfiguration on the mount. It was then that the spirits of Elijah and Moses conferred with Jesus. They were all dazzling white and after the spirits faded, the voice of God told the disiples to listen to Christ, the son of God.
One thing Jesus could count on were questions from all He encountered! None had more questions for Him than those disiples! It seemed that for everything Jesus shared with them, they had to ask for more clarity. "Why do you talk in parables? What do you mean when you say the bread of the Pharisees is bad? Why can't we cast out demons like you asked us? Jesus heard all kinds of questions but none more pleasing than the day the disciples asked Him how to pray. It must have filled Jesus' heart to hear those words! It was then He taught the disciples the Lord's prayer: "Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who tresspass against us. Lead us not into temptatioon but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the Kingdon and the glory, forever. Amen" WOW! These words would become the model by which many still pray today over 2000 years later!
From believers, Jesus would hear many wonderful confirmations of His diety. Wherever He went, people would testify to His power and His relation to His Father in Heaven. Many believed in His ultimate dominion and none said it better than the Roman officer who wanted Jesus to heal his friend and servant. When Jesus agreed to see the man's servant, the officer proclaimed that he was not worthy to have Jesus in His house. He said, "I am over many men and they do as I say. If I say, "go", they go. If I say "come" they come. I know that you can heal my servant from where you stand if you wish it." Jesus, the bible tells us, was amazed by this faith and immediately turned to the crowd and said, "truly I say, I have never seen such faith from any in my travels. As he turned back to the Roman officer he said, "I do wish it" and the servant was heald that very same moment!
Jesus, also heard from non-believers to be certain! There were always those who taunted Him and tried to get Him to slip up. Jesus could see through their plots and always turned their tricks back on them! For example, Remember the time when the Pharisees, in an attempt to ensnare Jesus, asked Him if they should pay taxes? Jesus knew if he said no, they would have taken Him away. If he said yes, they would take Him in for not paying taxes. Instead Jesus simply asked for a coin. Then he asked them whose image was printed on the coin. "Caesar's", the crowd proclaimed! "Then rend to Caesar what is Caesar's and give to God what is God's" They knew it all belonged to God, but could say nothing! They were caught in their own trap!!!
Jesus heard the firey words of un-believers even during His trial and crucifixion. Here was a man who did no wrong yet some of the last things He heard were words like, "Crucify Him and release Barrabas to us! Kill Him, Kill Him!!!" and "If you are the son of God, take yourself off the cross and save yourself!". This wasn't what He did... although He could have. Even at the last hour of His life, he had to hear one of the theives next to Him taunt Him saying, "If you're so powerful free yourself and us also!". It was then something surprising happened; the theif hanging beside Jesus rebuked the other saying, "We deserve to die, but this man has done no wrong! Have you no shame even before the Son of God?!?" Then turning to Christ, the man said, "Please remember me in Heaven..." Jesus, even in such pain, comforted the man and said those most touching words, "You are forgiven your sins. This day you will be with me in Paradise."!
So what does Christ hear today from us? He hears our every prayer, wish, dream, and word! He hears our prayers of salvation, our confessions, and our praises. Then, He becomes intersession between us and His Father in Heaven. Our prayers never fall on deaf ears and Jesus, being one of us, knows our heart better than we could imagine. What a friend we have in Jesus!!!
What He saw was a totally different animal! He saw so many things...Even as a youth, He probably saw the sacrifcing of the fatted calf at Passover. He saw the very poor in the streets of Isreal and the very wealthy publicans of the city. As He grew older, He noticed the religious leaders, vainly rubbing their prayer shawls and possibly counted the boxes draped over their shoulders containing the laws and memory verses. He also saw beyond the visible to something more...
When the time was right, Jesus walked the shoreline and almost immediately saw Simon Peter and his brother Andrew fishing. He saw past the salty exterior of the two men of the world and called to the spirits He saw in them. "Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men!" Just a little further up the river, the bible tells us, he saw John and called him to follow as well! Many of the other disciples have similar stories, but it was evident that Jesus saw past who they were to who they could be! I think He does this even today... He looks at us as filthy as we are and sees the beauty within. He accepts our earthly flaws and transforms us into who we were destined to be.
One thing Jesus has the ability to see is how close we are to getting past obstacles that come up in our lives. When all we see is a 500 foot long, 100 foot high stone wall, Jesus sees the door and longs to lead us to it, beckoning us to stay with Him "just a little further".
Paster Post shared the story of his grandson, now almost a year old, taking his first steps... The pre-toddler's father and mother so rejoice as this tiny baby walks four, then five, then six little steps as they anxiously back away, arms stretched toward him. "Just a little further..." they say as he finally reaches their hands in victory! It is much like that that Jesus sees us, capable of so much if only we take a chance, trust Him, and go just a little further!
Here are a few pictures from the last two installments of the "Come, Follow Me" series!
This image comes courtesy of special guest artist, Brandon Stark, age 10. This is his interpretation of what Jesus might have looked like. This is what it is all about! Thanks you, Brandon, for sharing this with us!!! Keep 'em coming!
See you next week for the lips of Jesus in a spiritual search into the words of our savior!
Monday, April 21st
This installment will focus on the brow of Christ; More effectively, what Jesus thought. No doubt His thoughts were many, but to be truly Christian, we should want to know His mind and try to mimic His ways as closely as possible.
But what were His thoughts? What might His mind have been on those final days especially? I think His thoughts might have been focussed on what was at hand. We know that He was very scared about what was to happen and this might seem strange. Christ was so afraid at what was to come that He prayed constantly about it, but what was He actually afraid of? He was the Son of God and surely knew that His death would be only for a short while and then prophesy would be fulfilled and He would once again be at the right hand of His Father. He couldn't have been afraid of that!
The fundamental thing was that Jesus was perfect in every way and totally without sin. He had never even felt sin or its effects. At the time of the crucifixion, two things would happen besides the obvious pain He would face after the trial and subsequent punishment Jesus would face: First, He would feel the effects of sin for the first time. Not just any sin, but our sin. This would be thrust upon Him and He would have to feel all sin through eternity as a final atonement and payment for us before God. By being bathed in His "blood", we would be washed clean before His Father in Heaven. All we have to do is accept it and believe He is sent from Heaven for our sins.
The other painful element for Jesus was that during this time, He would for the first time be separated from His Father in Heaven. Because God found sin an abomination, He could not look upon it even while His Son was the very embodyment of our sin. This is why during those final moments on the cross Jesus cried out, "Father, Father, why have you forsken Me?" It wasn't that His Father had left Him, He just could not see His son with the mark of our sin upon his spirit.
Even though this had to happen to cleanse future generations from thier sins, we can see that Jesus's mind was fixed on something of much more importance: US! He could tolerate all that pain and separation from God and the taunts of the croud and death on the cross for us alone! He knew it was all for us and that He would not die in death alone but would rise from that borrowed tomb only three days later. He would see all our faces again and that is exactly why He did what He did.
In our final week in this series, we will look into the very culmination of our eight-week journey: The risen body of Christ!
Monday, April 28th
This marks the last installment in the eight-week series "Come, Follow Me!". This series has looked at many of the qualities of Christ in verbal message and physical sculpture, but if it were not for this aspect of His life, all would be without purpose!
In the days immediately preceeding Christ's death many events took place including the betrayal by one of His own, Peter's denial, and the trials before Pontious Pilate. Ultimately, even the prisoner, Barabas, was released to the crowd as Christ was condemned to death in our stead.
As He hung on the cross and drew His last breath uttering the words, "It is finished...", prophesy was fulfilled! The curtain in the Temple was torn in two from bottom to top and the heavens darkened as those present finally realized as one Roman guard that, "...surely, this Man was the Son of God!"
As Jesus was removed from the cross at Golgotha, His death was already being mourned. Family and followers dressed His body and enterred His remains into a borrowed grave as a giant stone was rolled over the doorway. His disciples were nowhere around and only the night would see what truly happened next, for by morning, His body was gone and the truth was made clear!
Jesus was risen from the dead! Even when the women went to the grave, they couldn't grasp the true depth of what had occured. The angels comforted them telling them not to mourn and cry, for Jesus had defeated even the grasp of death's cold hand to rise and save His children!
The final promise for us was that we, too, would be miraculously resurrected in glory to follow Jesus back home to Heaven. Who knows what glory we will witness that day, but it is certain we will be awestruck to once again be in the presence of the Creator and His holy Son. To look full in the face of Christ and finally feel His love for us unincumbered by the eyes of this world. Please take a moment to think about this wonderful moment and all Christ did to take us there. Remember to thank Him for that willing sacrifice as we celebrate this Easter Sunday with family and friends. God bless you!
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