The Potter's Plan: God's Vision Is Always Perfect.

"I'll create a man with my very own hands!" So He grabbed some clay began to knead and mold, soon a form took shape that was beautiful to behold.

Then, the Master Potter made this decision. " My design's I created with detail and precision, I'll put in the world, and soon there shall be, generation's of like creation's to glorify me!"

So He put His masterpiece on display, after bidding farewell He went away. When He returned tears fell from His eyes; some creations were broken and tossed aside.

So He gathered the pieces in His loving arms and began to...

Reshape...

Rebuild...

And reform...

When He was done, an angel heard Him say: "My creations are still priceless in every way"...

Only a creator could feel this way. The refurbished creations appeared perfect in every way. But the truth of it is, though the words are not spoken. A vessel that's been broke, will forever be broken.

In the beginning God had a perfect plan; a plan to create a beautiful world and fill it with all that His heart desired. One of those desires was to create a mankind in His very own image that would populate the earth and glorify Him. Then, sin entered the world, and into the hearts of man and because of this the world became broken.

Some of God's creation's "appeared" to thrive in the broken world, unfortunately, other's were broken due to poverty, cruelty, injustice, and bad choices, so some of God's creation's ended up on the wayside.

Usually, broken vessels are seen as trash or no longer useful, however, they are always priceless in the eyes of their creator. Though God's plan had been foiled, His vision was still perfect. A true visionary sees things through different eyes. A true creator always has a backup plan.

The Potter in His infinite wisdom didn't throw the broken pieces away. Instead, He renewed, refurbished and restored them like new; and though they were not the same as before, they possessed something different that made them unique- they had character.

It would be wonderful if the broken vessel's were made whole; but in order to be whole, their experiences that broke them in the first place would need to be erased. God, in His wisdom, realized the broken vessels He saved were still valuable. He could take the broken pieces, and form one body; and through this temple He could reach out to His other precious creations.

Some of these vessels have become pastors, evangelists, teachers and disciples. All are recipients of God's mercy and grace. All can testify that He is a healer, deliverer, and a restorer.

Have you ever tried to give someone advice, and their response to you was " Walk a mile in my shoes!" Many people have wondered why so many ministries are necessary. One reason may be, that although many have gone through the same trials, people handle them differently. For example:

• I know of an evangelist who once tried to counsel to a homeless person. The evangelist and homeless person had similar trials and hurts. The difference was the evangelist had friends, family and other resource's that cushioned their fall. In other words, the evangelist's testimony was not very effective. The homeless person's response was:
• "That's all well and fine for you; the Lord saved you but as you can see He didn't save me!"
• I'm guessing the homeless person felt more lost, confused and angry at a God they perceive shows favoritism. Another evangelist came along with the same testimony. The difference was this evangelist had not been "saved." She had however, refused to allow her circumstances to become permanent. She prayed, stayed hopeful and, used the many resources that are available for the homeless. Through love, patience, and self-effort, the evangelist pulled herself out of her circumstances. She was able to recognize God's grace through the many people who cared to help, and therefore God received all the glory.

Another example:

• A good friend of mine had become very bitter behind a relationship she was in that failed. Although she never voiced these words, I understood she felt used, unappreciated, and that her time had been wasted. After allowing her to vent, I gave her my testimony of why I decided to apply God's word of celibacy (no fornication) to my life.
• When we first fall in love it's a euphoric feeling, and it feels natural to want to give ourselves, body, mind, and soul to our partner. When that beautiful feeling wears off, we may find ourselves seeing things about this person we can't tolerate. Because we became one with this person, our feelings have gone to another level, sometimes a toxic level, and we're no longer able to make sound decisions.
• We may find ourselves putting up with things we normally wouldn't because now we are ruled by our emotions; this occurs when love and lust becomes blurred. God has given us our own free will but if we give that power to another person we now have to depend on them to treat us right in order to feel happy and whole. I was not going "religion" on her I was giving her woman to woman- real talk.

The bible is more than just a book of prosperity; more than just a book of rules and laws; If you apply the scriptures to your life, and then pray for wisdom and understanding; you will find yourself making wiser choices that will help you avoid the many pitfalls in life. It was not my desire to suggest to my friend to abstain from relations. I was only giving her my testimony on why I decided to apply God's word to my life; and practice it. I have grown in the area of understanding the importance of taking responsibility and being accountable. So therefore, it's imperative that I make sound decisions that will keep me from being angry, hurt, bitter and full of resentment. There's a scripture in proverbs that articulates this perfectly.

Proverbs 4:23-26) Guard your heart with all diligence for out of it springs the issues of life.

God created the world in seven days. On the sixth day He created man in His own image and gave him dominion over everything He had made. Because of sin God's plan was foiled but a true Creator always has a backup plan. He took the creations He saved, and filled them with His spirit in order to reach out to His other creation's. And through this new body (church) He is able to spread the good news of His new covenant in which all can be saved; and through this body He is able to provide hope, love, encouragement and restoration. Unlike man God will never give up on us. As apostle Paul so elegantly phrase's it:

"I am absolutely convinced there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God!"

The devil's desire is to keep us in discord so; we will never be on one accord. His battle is not with us but with God. He hates us because we have been offered salvation and he hasn't. He has a short time to wreak havoc, and then he's doomed. In the beginning his desire was to foil God's plan, and it's still his agenda to this day.

God, in His infinite wisdom took what the devil meant for harm and turned it around for His good, and through His body (disciple's) He is still able to receive His glory.

1. Every creation is valuable in His sight.
2. He will salvage the broken and restore.
3. He will refurbish and renew.
4. He is awesome!
5. He is perfect!
6. And He is love.

And that my friend's is the portrait of a true Master Potter.