THE POTTER

            Ancient fingers move through piles of dust as water fills each molecule solidifying the parts. The mass begins to form, yet not fully. What did not exist now takes shape as His hands knead the ruddy clay. No words are spoken as the thickening silt emerges as the Master’s piece.  All at once the sound of the potter’s wheel begins to spin from out of the silence. Such magnificence, such brilliance by the One whose hands flung a million stars and spun the universe into place; for as He knows Himself so shall He be known, for what He creates that day He makes in the image of IAM.  After all, He is the Potter.

            He pulls the mud now brim with life and holds it in His hands. He stops the wheel placing the thickening mass gently upon the stone from which the perfection of His love shall rise. A billion eyes watch in awe. And though they have seen Him work a trillion times before, this time would be like no other that has ever been or any that would follow. They are His witnesses, nothing more, nothing less, for they too were formed from His boundless mind, though not the same, yet His nonetheless. His hands are old yet young, with no beginning and no end, perfect yet worn they are His tools and He is their guide. For He is the Potter!

            Slowly the wheel picks up speed; not too fast, not too slow, and as only it should be, the Potter becomes one with the clay as His masterpiece takes form from the shapeless mass. The speed of His wheel intensifies as does the precision of each touch; pushing here, pulling there, His Divine mind creating eternal lines. With just enough pressure the image emerges from that which was formless and void. As His fingers are all covered with the excess of His brilliance, definition becomes life and that life will become hope. His furrowed brow studies each detail, those hidden and those not; line upon line until with each line He is satisfied. For it pleases Him fully to be fully known as He infuses Himself within the marrow of the form. He is the Potter!

            All stood in silence and watched as He looked upon what He had made and declared, "It is good!" Then with the greatest pleasure and purest joy He inhaled the wind and breathed out into that which had no breath the Breath of Life as all He made in wonder gazed, knowing what He had done. In that moment of awakening, as the clay began to rise, the Potter leaned forward and looked deep into its eyes... and as the mirror reflects like, what happened next was known long ago as He saw Himself and called him, "son!” All creation bowed before the One Who formed from the dust of the ground the one He now calls His own; and it was known in an instant what had finally begun. For He is the Potter and we are the clay that He formed with His hands in His image that day. He is the Potter and we are the clay!

© 2015 Steven Bliss

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MOMENTS

            There is nothing like "the moment". Those nano-seconds that hold our attention and cause us to feel something we don’t always feel. Those explosions in time that invade our hearts with hope, joy and appreciation and value. The only thing about those precious moments is they go as fast as they come and we lose sight of them as quickly as we behold them. They get pushed down into our bag of memories and stay there only to be brought out from time to time when something triggers the memory and causes us to savor what we no longer can taste.

            Moments!

            The saddest thing about this experience we all are in called life is that we cherish very little, forget more than we remember, value what we don’t have and spend way too much time thinking about a future that none of us are guaranteed. Why is that? Why do we put so much value in the worthless?

            As you grow older you realize how much time you have wasted wasting time on unnecessary drama and the absolutely unimportant. How many precious seconds do we lose valuing what ultimately to us become meaningless. Looking back, if you are blessed enough to get the opportunity to, is a very sobering thing for the one who is willing to be honest and admit their own foolishness having ignored what mattered most for what in hindsight only came and went and more often than not took way more than it gave.

            Christmas is an emotional hodgepodge created by men to cash in on the very thing it hits, emotions. If the Apostles didn't keep it, why do we? An interesting thing. No, I'm not Scrooge, but it creates the idea that at this one single time of year we are to suddenly get it right and think of others as more important that ourselves. We watch movies and listen to songs in order to get us “in the spirit” of emptying our wallets as if to somehow to identify with God who gave us His Son as the gift of redemption to us all. As unimpressive as trying to match that ultimately is in the human realm, how much more unimpressive do you think it is to the Divine? We get so lost in the "spirit" that we lose perspective of the point completely. But if there is a point, then what is that point? It’s a simple one... moments, not stuff, not things, not all the chaos and despair the season brings with it… those itty bitty seemingly insignificant moments that are taking place second by second that have nothing to do with presents or parties or "things" are the most significant and valuable things of all.

            This morning I learned of the passing of a dear friend's wife after her long battle with cancer. She was in her early 50’s. Last night I went the funeral of a friend whose husband suffered a massive stroke two days ago and died at 66. And just now I have learned that another of my dear friends sister in-law’s battle with cancer is about to come to an end. She is 38 with 4 children.

Death comes to us all. It doesn’t knock, it just opens the door and ushers us out of this world and into the next. It makes me think deep and hard about the brevity of life and the fact that there are no guarantees. What we have in front of us, right this very second… is all we have. It’s what we get. Tomorrow is not what we think it is. It’s an illusion. All we have is right now. Do you realize that? Perhaps it’s time to consider what it means?

I am not the grim reaper, only the bearer of the truth which is the truth. If you learn the value of moments now you will enjoy the moments that are right in front of you rather than thinking about the ones that have yet to come. Moments matter! It may also cause you to consider how you impact the lives of others rather than thinking only about yourself. Life is not about what's out there somewhere… it's about what is right here, right now. That is the joy of living in the here and now and the true reward that giving gives. That’s what love is… mastering moments that matter. It is, after all, the Christmas Carol that Dickens wanted to convey when he created the story of Scrooge.

© 2014 Steven Bliss

a special thanks to Elena Shumilova for her beautiful and poignant photographs. 

ALTARS

            Paul McCartney wrote in his brilliant Beatles song “In My Life”, “There are places I remember all my life though some have changed… some have gone and some remain.” We all have places in our lives that will forever remain meaningful. They remind us of who we are, our journey and how far we have come as they take us back to moments and memories that ultimately define who we are and who we are to become in time. Those specific signposts along the way that, when reencountered no matter how long it’s been, trigger all that once happened as though time itself stood still.

            In the times of the ancient Hebrews there were specific places that held intense spiritual meaning to the individual who encountered God there. Each place was marked by some sort of stone piling or carved structure, even a water well, so as to remember the exact spot God met with them that neither time nor weather could erase it from the earth so that not only they themselves would remember, but their descendants that followed long after they were gone. They would see the marker and be reminded that God not only exists, but had a powerful interaction with a man at that specific spot in the earth. They are called ALTARS.

            For almost 30 years I have gone to a place that was my “place of meeting” with God on the cliffs of Palos Verdes southwest of Los Angeles. Though I had not been there in too many years for me to remember, I recently went to LA on business and felt compelled to go up there seeking an encounter with God and to be reminded of my life with Him, and all He has spoken and done to me personally these many years.

            As I drove up the winding road that took me to that place, I felt the presence of God in a very tangible way in my rental car. I was so overwhelmed with “the Presence” that I began to sob as I drove. In my mind I saw pictures that reminded of all the things that had happened to me in the area I was now driving in. I began to hear His voice in my head telling me specific events as I drove as He urged me to repeat out loud everything He said as I drove to a place of destiny… my altar. “This is the place I told you you would live”, the Voice said. “Yes Abba, this is the place I heard You say I would live so long ago” I responded. “This is where I revealed Myself to you…” “Yes this is where I came to know You!” “This is where you were immersed into Me.” “Yes… I was baptized right here Lord.” This went on for over twenty minutes as I made my way up Palos Verdes Drive. In almost uncontrollable emotion, mile after mile I was reminded of every detail of my experiences with Him over 14 years from 1979 until I moved in 1993.

            When I arrived at the place where my altar had been the years of erosion had taken its toll. What used to be immediately recognizable to me no longer was. I had to walk and search as I pulled on the past to find the place I had met with Him so many times. Suddenly I saw the rocks that I knew so well. They were there, right in front of me and my heart leapt within me. I was home! In that moment a flood of understanding filled me and all that I had encountered in that place came rushing into my mind. This was the place He told me He was going to raise me up into ministry. Here was where He showed me I would go to Israel again and again (eight times now and not one did I pay for). Here was where I knew Nashville was my next destination. Here is where I called out, wept and pleaded with God more times than I can count. Here was where I had my mountain top encounters with the Living God, and it was here He would meet me again and speak as He had done so long ago.

            Though my sons have never been there with me and I have kept is a sacred place to myself for all these years, it represents the very same things to me that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had experienced in their encounters with Yahweh. What Moses and Joshua knew… my place of visitation was where the unexplainable and incomprehensible took place between the Creator of all things who is holy met with me, the sinner. A place where nothing is hidden and all is made known. A place marked in stone carved on my soul created especially for me. My Jacob’s ladder, my 12 stones in the Jordon, my altar on the mountain where God sees and is satisfied.

            The biggest issue for anyone who is a believer in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the same today as it was for them thousands of years ago; we forget. There is a reason God had them build altars and repeat the stories over and over again, passing them on to each succeeding generation; to remind them, and ourselves, of the faithfulness and lovingkindness of the One who has redeemed us by the sacrifice of His only Son, Y’shua-Jesus. To never forget that He sees, knows and understands. That He is not a man that He should lie nor the son of man that He should not fulfill what He has promised. To understand that just as He spoke to them, He speaks to us today. That He is God and He is Echad… One! Worthy of all praise and honor and glory. And above all this… He guarantees that if we “draw near to Him, He will draw near to us… and show us great and mighty things that we cannot even begin to comprehend.”

            Where is your special place? Where was that one moment that you know that you know that you know God was there with you? Whether it is on the earth or in the quietness of your heart, go there today and remind yourself of His love and faithfulness in your life. Recover your awe of Him. Remind your heart that He never leaves you nor forsakes you. Then, as you do, reach out and hold fast to the Lover of your soul. He will meet you there… He promises that He will.

© 2014 Steven Bliss

SMALL

         A million drops of rain fall from the sky onto my face as I look up searching for blue amidst the storm. The road I walk has been arduously long; longer still than I ever imagined. Just when I thought I had come to the end, the end becomes a bend that leads to another stretch that seems to have no end. Trees watch over me as I pass by, they have gazed upon the myriads who have tread this path before me, and will spread their arms to greet all those who will march by long after I disappear. I am small.

         My aching feet absorb the earth beneath me as I strive to reach walks end. They remind me of each shift and stone, all those things I never see. They speak to me as they flatten out from all the years that have come and gone, of all the things I have forgotten, things I’ve missed and never known. To often they said go right when I turned left down paths to nowhere, and they carried me back all those times that took so very long. I am small.

         My eyes have watched my choices made; all the right, and ones that went so wrong. They have seen the eagle soar above looking down from peaks so high, and they watched each baby born to me as wonder filled my mind. And they weep for the child who is no longer here after cruel years of despair. They have seen those dreams and visions that filled my restless mind, and pondered how one so brilliant could be deaf and dumb and blind. I am small.

         The sun, the moon and stars, and the earth that seems so large remind I am dust, a tiny speck minute in size. Oh the grandeur and the magnitude of God’s expansive mind, creativity unending who masters space and time. And to think that God who breathed it can hold it in His palm is beyond the scope of reason and baffles my tiny mind. I am small.

As I walk this road so quiet, so peaceful and serene, I listen for His voice to speak and call me my name. He knows my name, it's true, how can it be? How can He know me or even care? I dare to reach for higher, things to marvelous to know. If I could leave here for a moment and bow before His throne, close enough to hear Him remind me that though I may be small, to Him who loves me deeply, My Creator, I am tall!

© 2014 Steven Bliss

* A special thanks to Elena Shumilova for her brilliant photograph that brings these words to life! 

DEAD MEANS DEAD?

      The idea of something being without life for us who live on this planet speaks to us a permanent finality. It announces the end of something and its inability to ever live again. We pass graveyards everyday that abound with what once was and no longer shall be. Death is something every human being must come to grips with, yet every human being, whether openly or secretly, fears nor wants to imagine for themselves, much less anyone or thing they love, dead.
      Permanency to us does not have the same meaning to God who created all things. After all, if you believe the Bible’s version of creation and its fall, it was man who brought the curse of death upon himself, not God. On the contrary, God created within the secure borders of the Garden of Eden a tree that’s sole purpose was to give life to all who would eat of it. Unfortunately for all of us that choice was not the one made and from the moment of that choice until now we are under the terrible consequence of that decision. But death is not always death, and final is not always the conclusion of all things.
      There is something profound that belongs to the Author and Creator of all things. It is called resurrection; life from the dead, a strange and surreal occurrence where something that once existed and now is without breath is brought back fully to life; maybe even better than it was before it died. It is what most would consider the ultimate unbelievable miracle, but to others who understand the love, power and sovereignty of God: just one of the many amazing things He does!
      I say all that to hopefully convey something that will speak to you as it just did to me. Death doesn’t just mean the end of a life, it is something that speaks to a lot of things, in this case I’m talking about the feeling of purpose and usefulness. The idea that I have no more life or meaning in regards to the purposes for which I was created is to be dead; though I may be alive I have no hope of ever being used by God or valuable to His purposes in this world. I know many can relate to what I’m saying. You feel you have failed one too many times or you struggle with the idea that God even hears you anymore. Maybe all the things you have dreamed of or hoped for have all crashed and burned. Maybe you have sinned, maybe way too many times in your mind and feel it impossible to ever be forgiven or the condemnation you or others have places upon yourself has paralyzed you and you no longer feel like you can go on. Whatever it may be, all amounts to the same thing, dead! But I want to remind you that as long as you are still breathing, there is hope and forgiveness. God is the Author of LIFE.
      There is something that has been said at funerals forever, that being “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away”. Not necessarily the most encouraging thing to hear in a state of grief, right? But I believe God wants you to know something right now... He is the One who resurrects that which was dead back to life. He says to us all that though you “were dead in your transgressions and sins… God, being outrageously rich in mercy, and because of His great love with which He loves you, even though you were dead, He has and will continue to, resurrect you; not only back to life, but eternal life as well and placed upon you the highest esteem one could have bestowed upon them… SONSHIP with His Son!” He says in the very same breath, “not because of your works or your own doing, so that you will never be able to boast and say look at what I did.”
      When God was going to reveal His choice as to who would be High Priest out of all the families of Israel He had one from each tribe who thought they should be priest bring a rod with their name on it and lay it before the alter of God. He showed His choice by causing Aaron's dead rod from an almond tree to not only produce flowers, but almonds as well.
      At times in my thirty plus years of being a believer and follower of God I have become by my own hand a dry branch, brittle and without life. But each time I have humbled myself and cried out for mercy and forgiveness He has caused my dried up and seemingly useless branch to not only come back to life, but produce fruit. No matter how anyone judges you, no matter how useless and worthless you may feel; no matter how great your sin, the love and mercy of God will never, and I mean EVER, turn its back on you.
      Death has its permanency, but in the hands of God who is abounding in mercy and lovingkindness, taking great pleasure in those who will humble themselves before Him, resurrection is a constant reality. As long as we have breath in our lungs and hearts that are willing to acknowledge our desperate need for forgiveness from Him, and we lay ourselves before Him like Aaron laid his dead branch before the Mercy Seat of God; though we appear to be dead, dried up and no longer of any use, God will cause us to not only live, but bear fruit once again.


© 2014 Steven Bliss