The Fallen Son

You once spoke the Word with anointing, power, and authority in prayer. Your gift to do battle in the spirit was given by His Spirit. Your heart was tender, your mind renewed, you walked adorned with the full armor, a shining warrior not knowing defeat! Your gift(s) filled you above your boundaries. Hearts were moved minds renewed by His Word passing through your lips. You kissed His feet He renewed your strength. Your love for Him was likened to David’s you danced before the Lord, your heart, your lips filled with praise!

Where is His shining warrior now? As in the garden He seeks you early in the cool of the morning and you are not to be found. He longs to empower your prayers. He looks for your tender humble heart. You are not to be found like the prodigal son you have embraced your inheritance to throw before the dogs. Your gift given to the swine, your heart is hardened and grows cold. Jezebel seduces you Pride embraces you. You rise up the standard of new gods and your actions reject Him. His heart is broken. Is it your hands that thrust the spear into His side? Why do you now reject Him?

Your breastplate pierced in battle, your helmet dashed to the ground. Where is the shining Sword you wield? Who shoe’s your feet now? You the beloved son defeated in battle. You run to the hills hidden in a cave to lick your wounds as a dog. Pride fills the temple. Humility has hidden its face from you. Eyes blind, ears cut away, once a warrior sounding the battle cry, now given to the depths of the earth, hidden to pine away. How His heart cries out to you! How He longs to embrace you once again! Beyond despair you must go, deep into the sea of despond you are.

Fall upon your knees, lay prostrate before Him. He longs to be glorified in your restoration. His heart pangs are felt throughout His body. All of its members weep. Travail they do in mourning they are. Return, return, return is their cry! Restore the priesthood of the home. Teach your children of His loving mercies that they may know His abounding grace! Look no more into yourself. Deny your fleshly desires. Humility, humility, humility brings you again to His feet. A time of restoration fill His hands showing before your face.

Your steed has thrown you now captured by the enemy. Grab your bridle, regain your mount. Lay you armor before the Smith, plunge the Sword into the Fire. Temper and polish shall restore your armor; humility will restore your gift. Increased, increased, increased your gift shall be. Throw your saddle across his back, bridled in full armor, nostrils flaring, pawing at the earth waiting for your leg to throw over his spine. Don your armor in His glory you will shine once more. Sound the shofar let the enemy tremble. His son has returned. The barley abib, ripe for the taking. Now, now, now is the time speak the Word of the Lord ever watchful of the enemy’s campaigns. Wielding His Sword once more proclaim there is no defeat. Early you will seek Him, daily He will renew you, ever guarding the precious gifts in your home.

You kiss her head she blesses you. Place your hands upon your children’s heads teach them the ways of the Lord, He will never depart from them. In this your battle begins. In this He shall strengthen you. He longs for His warrior to be restored. Do not proclaim defeat. Not every battle is won. Perfection is not wrought in the battle, but rather claimed in victory at the End of the war. He is the Alpha and Omega the Beginning and the End!

You are a beloved son! Warrior son rise up!

Return, return, return!

In Christ Jesus name return.

~ Pastor Dan Goddard ~

We have to redefine what we mean by the sovereignty of God… There’s a difference between being in charge and being in control. God is in charge, but to think He’s in charge of everything is sad because that means He sponsored Hitler… God is not willing that any should perish, yet people are perishing. That means not everything is His will.

From David R. Bauer's Article "God Is Responsive"

The Bible does not consider that God’s practice of sometimes changing his mind in response to human initiative suggests a limitation of God’s sovereignty. The Bible indicates that God’s sovereignty is large enough to include a measure of human freedom and initiative. God sovereignly wills the divine-human relationship as described in the Bible, and has thus constituted his human creatures as true persons who possess the capacity for moral freedom.

I do not believe that the doctrine of the sovereignty of God means that God has predestined everything, in the sense that God absolutely and directly causes it to happen. Rather, God’s sovereignty means that the universe has meaning and order. There are some things that must happen, such as the fulfillment of prophecy in accordance with God’s purposes. There are many things that may happen, given the freedom God has bestowed upon humanity. But God is sovereignly at work in all these things, so that each in its own way contributes to the realization of God’s good purposes (Romans 8:28). The responsiveness of God, then, expresses God’s sovereignty and serves the purposes of God’s love. 

For those of you who feel closest to God in less conventional ways or situations, be encouraged. Be thankful you see and experience a part of God when you are running or playing sports or painting or serving – whatever your expression of intimacy. And don't try to fit into someone else's way of connecting, even if you admire them.

Relationships are established by learning about each other, and how to trust and be trusted. We do this as we spend time together. Relationship with God is the same, but here is the kicker: He is always trustworthy. He is also consistently available, no matter what. As you get to know God and learn who He is and who you are, embrace the moments you hear Him, sense Him, just plain know He's there – and enjoy Him.

From Dr Michael Brown's "The Jesus Manifesto"

This is our sacred moment, our solemn time for action. If we will unshackle ourselves from the love of this world – from our lusts, our addictions, our obsessions – and give ourselves wholly to the purposes of God, we can shake this nation. If we learn the principle that to save our lives is to lose our lives, while to lose our lives for the Lord is to save our lives, then we can really live. As Martin Luther King declared in 1965, “A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right; a man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice; a man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true.” It’s time we take our stand!

Food For Thought

Pastor Dan

Haughty Eyes

Question: "What does the Bible mean when it speaks against haughty eyes?"

Answer: The word haughty is defined by Merriam-Webster as “blatantly and disdainfully proud.” The word is always used in the Bible in the evil sense of “arrogant, disdainful and setting oneself above others”; it is often set in contrast to being humble.

In Proverbs 6:16-19 is a list of “six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to Him.” The first one listed is “haughty eyes,” followed by such things as a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a false witness, and feet quick to run to evil. Haughty eyes are said to be sin in Proverbs 21:4, along with a proud heart. To have haughty eyes is to have an arrogant demeanor; it’s an overall attitude of one’s heart that causes one to scorn or “look down on” others. The haughty person sets himself above others, and ultimately above God.

When we are haughty, we become the center of our universe; everything revolves around us. There is little, if any, concern for what others think and no consideration of the will of God. Pride, haughtiness, is the trunk of the tree from which all other sins sprout. When we are at the center of our world, then nothing that we want is unlawful to us.

God is resistant to haughtiness. Over and over in Scripture, we read that God brings down the haughty and the proud (2 Samuel 2:28; Psalm 18:27; Isaiah 2:11, 5:15; Ezekiel 16:50). Twice in Proverbs, we read that haughtiness precedes destruction (16:18, 18:12). The New Testament is clear on the dangers of arrogance, warning repeatedly against it. Both James and Peter warn that God actively opposes the proud (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5).

None of us are immune to pride. The Bible tells us of otherwise good people who were brought down in one way or another by pride. The godly king Uzziah was struck with leprosy because, in arrogance, he tried to take the place of the priest and burn incense before the Lord (2 Chronicles 26:16). Similarly, Hezekiah’s pride in his possessions eventually brought the discipline of God on him (2 Chronicles 32:25). Peter’s prideful statement that he would never forsake Jesus (Matthew 26:33-35) was found to be false when he denied Him (Matthew 26:69-75).

The danger of pride is the reason for the many exhortations to humility in Scripture. Meditation on some key passages can fight the tendency we all have toward pride. First Corinthians 4:7 tells us that all we have is a gift, for which we should be thankful. Both 1 Peter 5:6 and James 4:6 encourage humility by saying that God gives grace to the humble. Isaiah 66:2 goes so far as to say that humility in the heart of a person actually draws God’s attention. Humility of heart gives us a proper perspective. A proud heart – haughty eyes, if you will – renders a person intractable. Such a person is resisted by God.

Recommended Resource: Landmines in the Path of the Believer: Avoiding the Hidden Dangers by Charles F. Stanley.

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ABOUT THE SCHOOL OF POTTERY 

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The School of Pottery is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, teens, families, and their communities through the language of the arts enabling them to reach their full potential. Through the financial support of others the School of Pottery is able to offer classes to those who would otherwise be unable to attend.  Our operational structure consists of the outreach art school, an artist studio, gallery, store, ecommerce store, and a church chapel. Chapel services take place in the schools studio space much like many modern celebratory contemporary interdenominational Christian services. 

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We work in Austin, Texas and the surrounding area serving all people, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, gender, or economics.  

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We provide arts in education assistance to children, teens, families, and their communities affected by financial and educational challenges. We work with communities to develop artistic skills, art appreciation, arts in education regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, gender, or economics in a model consistent with the true character and nature of Jesus Christ.  

Why We Serve  

Motivated by our faith in Jesus Christ, we serve alongside  the poor, oppressed, and less fortunate as a demonstration of God’s unconditional love for all people.

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