Today, in worship, I ran across a song I had not heard for a while.  While I have heard the song before (as it is in my library from a CD I bought many years ago called "20 Contemporary Songs Of Worship Volume 2"), it was only today did I really allow the words to move beyond my mind and into my heart.  I wanted the lyrics so I did a quick search and finally found them along with some further quotes by the artist, Craig Smith.

Here are a few other offerings from Craig Smith that I have been able to find:

http://www.kardiamedia.com/shop/?shop=1&cat=2&cart=32437

Craig Smith has been Pastoring City Christian Fellowship in Fort Smith AR.  Here is the church's site. 

http://www.citychristianfellowship.org/?q=node/33

You might give ear to some of the audio sermons such as "Living Like Jesus".

http://www.citychristianfellowship.org/?q=audio/sermons

The song I enjoyed so much today is "Sculptor of My Heart".  This should be the cry of our heart!!!

Here are the lyrics and the quote from the author:

Craig Smith
Psalm 25:4

Search with holy eyes
This vessel in Your hands
Sift and purify
By the standards You demand
Sculptor of my heart

Cast and forge my mind
With a quest for purity
And as the poet weaves his line
Compose You melody

Chorus

Please make of me
Your Kingdom's art
May You be pleased
Sculptor of my heart

You have fashioned perfectly
Your image in the Son
Shape and pattern within me
To be the paragon
Sculptor of my heart
Hew away those places
Which cause blemish to the whole
As the only skillful Master
Engrave Your name upon my soul

Chorus

You create from a heart of stone
A vessel of honor that You call
Your own, Your own

Chorus

Quote from Author:

The desire of the Father is that we be conformed to the image of His Son. May we have the boldness and wisdom to come before the Lord and prayfully request He mold us into that which is pleasing and productive to His Kingdom, at whatever the cost to us personally.

There are at least two qualities found in a master-craftsman in relation to his work. One is the constant striving for perfection in his art. Patiently exerting all his abilities to create a beautiful, expressive, and seemingly flawless place. Secondly, being able to apply his entire imagination to
visualizing the completed art form, even prior to picking up his first sculpting tool.

After mentally fixing what the completed form will look like, he then begins to hammer and chisel away those unsightly chunks and pieces which would distort the final image. He will labor diligently until that which was once only a mental image cast upon formless material, has been transformed into a timeless work of art.

Through the laborious and skillful process of the artist, material which once had little worth is converted into an object of great value. In similar manner, we come to Christ as objects of little value, and certainly no value when considered in relation to the Kingdom of God. As we are convicted of our sin, ask forgiveness and repent of our sin, He becomes our Saviour and His Lordship then moves into every aspect of our life. As we stand before Him, in His grace, as mere babes in Christ, He not only sees our present immature state, but He also supernaturally sees the finished
products.

Because of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, we have moved from a position of worthlessness to God, to a secured position of great potential and eternal value to God. He takes "...from a heart of stone," and through the work of the Holy Spirit makes "a vessel of honor."

The gift of salvation is made available to each of us only to the extent that we each are willing to respond in obedience to His invitation. Upon accepting His terms to that free gift, we then become a child of the King. This is the foundation we are established on, and can reason from God's Word, that we should continue to build on. It is the process of tearing down the fleshly man, and building up the spiritual man "...put on the new self (man) who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him." (Col. 3:10) The Lord did not intend for us to remain as "babes," in fact we are instructed to "long for the pure milk of the Word, that by it (we) may grow in respect to salvation." (I Peter 2:2) "...grow (increase) in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." (II Peter 3:18) It should be our desire, goal, and prayer that the Father
would remove, hammer and chisel, away any material which does not conform to the image of His Son.

He reveals those thing in our live which are unpleasing in His sight, and we respond in obedience so they do not hinder the final result.

We submit to Him because He has loved us enough to give us life through His Son. We were created to bring glory to God, to be pleasing in His sight. That is our destiny. We are the clay in the potter's hand. We are material being constructed into living objects which are pleasing and bring
satisfaction to the Father. God is not just wise, He is the source of true "Wisdom." As vessels, then, let us not worry but have complete trust in Him and His wisdom that He will chip away only those unnecessary and unsightly pieces.

As we are in submission and obedience to Him, the end result will be a living work of art, worthy of the King's chambers.--Craig Smith

We Praise Thee, O God, Our Redeemer
Craig Smith

We praise Thee, O God our Redeemer, Creator
In grateful devotion our tribute we bring
We lay it before Thee
We kneel and adore Thee
We bless Thy Holy Name, glad praises we sing