When I examine my life, I see things that I don’t like. ~ Mark Balmer

Based on “Under HIS Influence – Changed Lives” 

by Pastor Mark Balmer; 9/26-27/09,

Message #MB390; Daily Devotional #3 -  

“Remake Me!”

Preparing the Soil (Introduction): My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.  Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.  

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.  (James 1:19-24)

The Bible says that the Word of God acts like a spiritual mirror.

When I examine my life, I see things that I don’t like.  I know God doesn’t like them because His Word tells me that they are sinful.  This mirror doesn’t compare me to my brother or my wife.  Instead, it compares me to God’s Holy character.  Wow, when you get compared to the One who is holy and pure, you tend to look pretty bad.  This state of sinfulness is where we all find ourselves.  We desperately fall short of His holiness and perfection.

Planting and Watering the Seed (Growth):  Think about the last time you were really convicted about a sinful action.  Your reaction to that conviction is a good indication of where you are spiritually.  If you stopped and pleaded for forgiveness and begged for freedom, then you are on your way to your makeover.  In contrast, if you simply resisted the conviction and moved past it with little thought, then you are in a precarious position.  The Bible says that there is a danger of becoming hardened to God’s conviction over sin.  If you can’t remember the last time you felt sorry for sin, then you need to stop and beg for God’s power to be unleashed in your life.  Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. (2 Corinthians 7:10)  There is a difference between feeling sorry and being broken by God.  He is the One who sees the defects in our heart.  The good news is that God has a plan for all this.

Harvesting the Crop (Action/Response):  

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:  "Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message."  So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel.  

But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.  Then the word of the LORD came to me:  "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand…. (Jeremiah 18:1-6)

  Imagine your life as clay that has been formed through the experiences of your life.  Some of these experiences have been pleasant, and some were not.  God was saying that He could do an extreme makeover on anyone, no matter how bad the person’s spiritual life may be.  He can take something that was marred and re-make it.  Our lives require the work of the Potter in order to become the people who will bless the world.

Cultivating (Additional Reading): Acts 9:1-30