MUDtoGLASS - GOD "TREATS ME LIKE DIRT" Handmade Pottery

FROM MUD TO GLASS

(1) FROM THE EARTH ("from dust I came, and to dust I shall return"). Clay has two basic elements, dust and water. Man is the same, made of the "terracotta" or clay of the earth. God breathed into His ball of dust and water and man became a living soul. The best clay in Israel was in SW Jerusalem; here, the potters lived, in the valley of hinnom. God, the master potter came down and found man next door to "hell." He inclined to me and heard my cry and He brought me up out of the miry clay pit (Psalm 40).

(2) THROWN DOWN ("He set my foot upon a rock"). Clay is at first hard and stubborn and it must be pressed, squeezed, kneaded to make the clay homogenous, to eliminate air bubbles, and to make the clay pliable in my hands. The clay is THROWN down ("throwing clay") on the wheel. This wakes up the clay!

(3) CENTERED ("He established my goings"). The clay is going about its own way having nothing to do with me. I must come into the clay and center it so that the clay can go on with me and become the vessel it is intended to be.

(4) GIVEN A HEART ("Lo, I have given thee a heart"). I pierce through the clay to establish a heart so that many great things can come forth; I pierce deep, beyond even the core (not a shallow heart). This hurts the vessel doesn't it? And, only the potter sees the heart looking directly down into the vessel. Let us not judge what we cannot see!

(5) DISCIPLINED ("Be merciful, O Lord and raise me up"). "Pulling" the clay I communicate with the clay using my hands. Inside and out, I pull [up] or discipline the clay. Clay is a dirty business; I get up to my elbows working in the mud! God has come down to be near us, up to His elbows in our fall.

(6) ENLARGED ("He put a new song in my heart and praise in my mouth"); back into the heart I go to enlarge it and also to give it a mouth; I want it to hold great things; I want it to serve great occasions.

(7) CUT AWAY ("You only, O Lord, are my Refuge"). I cut away lots of burdensome clay; I cut the vessel completely from the wheel, its secure anchor. The clay now goes through a drying process before it is to be fired in the kiln.

(8) TO THE FIRE ("think it not strange when you encounter fiery trials"). The vessel first goes through its bisque firing so that it can receive glaze. It is transitioned from mere clay, to the image of glass, made beautiful though by heat. The clay encounters the fire from low to medium, then up to near 2300 degrees F. for more than six hours. All impurities are burned away, the particles fuse together. The vessel almost 'gives up,' yet, what was once clay has now become beautiful glass. It is the fire that purifies, solidifies, and transforms the vessel from one image to another. Beloved, Yeshua/Jesus said, "in this world you will have tribulation, but do not fear, I have overcome the world." Satan desires to sift you as wheat, but the Lord has prayed for you. He will bring you through! This I know!

FINISHED ("we know when He shall appear, we shall be like Him. [we are God's sons"]); Clay, dust, and water has been transformed into the image of the potter. He is the author of our faith. What the master potter saw initially has become a reality, but only through the process of "throwing clay." How lovely has the dust and water become. And, to think, it did not wish to be pressed, squeezed, thrown down, centered, pierced, pulled, cut, left alone, glazed and fired. But my, how it catches the eyes of those who pass by, for it bears the image of its author, the potter!

Why did God wrestle all night with Yacov/Jacob? To make him a prince! Why was God so hard on David? To make him a king. Why did the master not take Shaul/Paul's thorn in the flesh away? To make him a vessel of honor. Through tribulation we inherit the kingdom and our position in it. Beloved, you are precious to God! Do not give up. DO NOT GIVE UP! Why is God treating you like dirt? Wow! Just wait and see, dear beloved!

On the next page you can see pictures of some of my vessels.They have endured to become beautiful vessels, and each one completely unique. They bear the image of their author, Reggie Lisemby, a potter at His wheel, a vessel in His kiln.

Reggie Lisemby A Potter at His Wheel, A Vessel in His Kiln

God Treats Me Like Dirt Handmade Pottery, 1454 Marijon Drive, Chattanooga, TN 37421 (423) 240-6317; (423) 855-4818; email: ministrytoisrael@aol.com