Transform ordinary, dust-clay people

"The spirtual principle is that in some way God uses suffering to transform ordinary, dust clay people into...
      






      vessels that are strong in faith...
    vessels that are fit for His use...
 vessels that display His glory to the watching world. "

When I don't understand why, I trust Him because...
 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” (John 11:21-22)

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:  “Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words.”  So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel.  And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.

^{Then the word of the Lord came to me: ......" can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand," (Jeremiah 18:1-6)}



Why and What Did Jesus Write in the Dust?

 Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.
(John 8:6)

This is the only passage where Jesus is said to write. Nothing is said about what He wrote.

“The cross of Christ is the great leveler of human beings, not only because it shows that we are all desperate sinners, and not just because it can only be received by faith, but also because it is such a full and effective ransom for the elect that no child of God dare ever think that we made any contribution to the purchase.”

Justification is what a judge does in a courtroom. It is a declaration that a defendant is found innocent. And the declaration is made because the judge (or jury) presumes there is real innocence—real righteousness. So for an infallible judge, there are no mistakes. No innocent people are punished. And no guilty go free. In the courtroom of an infallible judge, the only time there is justification is when there is real innocence—real righteousness. The defendant is declared to be just, because he is found to be just. 

Bloodlines Book by John Piper
(pages 139,143)

"When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." (Matthew 9:36)

"And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
 There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. (Mark 15: 39-40)

Grand Canyon- Rock layers, Uplift,and Erosion sculpts

I saw the Grand Canyon's visible layers of rock cause by uplift and the river's erosion. The varying, colorful, layers of the awesome canyon were created many years ago and were not visible to our eyes.The carving of the Grand Canyon took many years. Each layer eventually was revealed as the Colorado river cuts down, and the canyon deepens by erosion.The strata revealed preserve a lengthy record of history. 

Glimpse

Many times we only see the surface, small parts of the plan.

"God may be doing a thousand things in every one thing that we can see or think we know anything about."

The layers of rock of the canyon far beneath the earth would not have been visible without the erosion and sculpting. We encounter trials, detours, and change in our lives thinking they are surprises when all along God had a Sovereign plan for our good. He often reveals one season or layer at a time of our lives and uses our lives for his glory.

Each deeper layer reveals more of  the preservation and displays a history of careful design.

When  I stood at the rim of the canyon with my son i felt the same flood of grace i have felt with each of you through our lives together. Hiking at Ohiopyle, or the Capital in DC, or skiing Jay for the first time, or dinner at Alexandria Bay or welcome home, or the day you have child... you each through the glorious Gospel are trophies of regenerating grace.

I stand with you, a raven turned to a dove. An amazing process of this life, far more a mystery than the creation of the Grand Canyon, making us trophies of Grace.

"The glory of the gospel is not that it paints ravens white, and whitewashes blackbirds, but that it turns them into doves. it is the glory of our religion not that it makes a man seem what he is not, but that it makes him something else. It takes the raven and turns him into a dove; his ravenish heart becomes a dove's heart. It is not the feathers that are changed, but the man himself.(CHS)
http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0063.htm

You will someday stand with your loved ones and experience this glimpse, realizing the passage of time, and you will fill the joy, the peace, and delight in seeing the carving of lives, the revealing of God's plan amidst the turns of life's journey, and the preservation, and will then know the plans he had for you and those you love.

Psalm 102

25 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
27 but you are the same, and your years have no end.
28 The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you.(ESV)

Glimpse of crags and clay

"You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it." (Ps 139 4-5 ESV)

crags and clay by gungor
Lyrics

Standing up from crags and clay
The peaks of earth
In full display
They break the lines
That break the sky
That's full of life
Full of life

The chaos of creation's dance
A tapestry, a symphony
Of life himself
Of love herself
It's written in our very skin

All praises to the one who made it all
Who made it all
All praises to the one who made it all
And finds it beautiful

Soil is spilling life to life
Stars are born
To fill the night
The ocean's score
The majesty
Of sculpted shore
Mystery

All praises to the one who made it all
Who made it all
All praises to the one who made it all
And finds it beautiful
[x2]

Fearfully and wonderfully and beautifully made [x4]