Jeremiah 18 Devotions by Stephen Taylor

Jeremiah 18:3-6

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. He said, "Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?" declares the Lord. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel."

I would rather be clay in the hands of my God than to be meat in the enemy’s grinder! You see, regardless of how we feel or what we want, change is gonna happen. Whether we are hardened by this world or softened by the Lord, change is a-coming. Only Christ began and ended the same way, perfect. The rest of us are born into fallen flesh, and that's why the only hope of salvation is found in Jesus Christ. But that requires change. Changing from serving our flesh to serving the Lord. We can't stay the same and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus tells us plainly in:

Matthew 18:3- And He said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven.

This isn't a physical transformation but a spiritual one. One where our hearts are made pure and righteous through His precious blood. We either get harder or softer in this life. The world will tell you to toughen up and take it like a man, but Christ calls us to humble ourselves and respond like a child to His call upon our lives! Let's trust and believe that the One who created us and then died for us knows us better than anyone and can take care of us both in this life and the next!

Matthew 18:4- Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven.

God bless! I love you all, but His love saves! Glory, Honor, and Praise both now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!

 

Jeremiah 18:6

He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.”

How grateful I am for this truth! The truth that God wants to shape and mold us. The fact that He is willing to shape and mold us and has the power and pureness to do it for His glory and our good! When the Lord rescued me, I was lost, empty, and broken. My life lay in shambles around me; darkness enveloped me, and there was no sign of hope to be found. My life was not only unmanageable but a burden on those around me. Yet God, in His infinite wisdom, mercy, grace, and love reached down from Heaven and took hold of me. I was not deserving of this mighty act of love, nor was I as grateful as I should have been, but God was and is patient with me, leading me by the hand as He shapes me more and more.

It amazes me that our God takes the time to hand-craft us and is patient in developing us into living examples of who He is. How I fall short of that call each and every day, but God, who is rich in mercy, does not give up or cast me out but lovingly and righteously takes me back to the potter’s wheel to continue to shape and to mold.

I am by no means perfectly sinless, yet I’m not who I used to be either. It’s an amazing journey with ups and downs, mountains and valleys, and a closeness to Christ that I yearn for this day. Do you want that? Then cry out to Christ today! I will be honest, there are painful parts of this process, but trust me, the benefits and blessings far outweigh the cost. God didn’t redeem and restore us to Himself so that we could flounder and struggle in sin but that we may have life and have it to the full! His abundant life is not set by the world’s standards but the Word’s, and trust me, it’s so much better!

John 10:10- “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.”

God bless! I love you all, but His love lights up the darkness! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!