Jeremiah 13 Devotions by Stephen Taylor

Jeremiah 13:23

“Can an Ethiopian change his skin or a leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.”

No, an Ethiopian cannot change his skin, a leopard can’t change it’s spots, and neither can we change our hearts. But what is impossible for man to do alone is possible with God leading the way! It happens when we step off the throne of our hearts and humble ourselves before the One it was made for. Each one of us was created in His image, for His glory and His purposes and pleasure.

Think about what a great honor that truly is. To be made in the image of the only God, for the only God, and to be used by the only God! It truly is staggering when we stop and think about the great blessing it is.

Yet most of us fight against this? Why? We fight to get away from the One who can make us whole. We fight to go left when He calls us in love to go right. We wear ourselves out fighting against His will, when His plan and purposes are for our good and not our harm. It’s amazing that we fight so hard against His peace, love, and freedom. This shows us just how deceived we are and how strong our sin nature truly is. Each one of us is born with a God sized hole in our hearts and yet we fight tooth and nail to fill it with anything but Him. I know I did for years. I shoved all kinds of empty and worthless things in that hole, leaving me worse and worse each time.

But glory to God who didn’t leave me in that place! It took One more powerful than myself, my sin, and my enemy to set me free and fill that hole; His name is Jesus Christ! Christ came and set me free, and in that freedom, He showed me His love, His mercy, His grace, and His truth! He also showed and is showing me my desperate need for Him each day. What, or better yet, who is filling the hole in your heart today?

Galatians 5:1- It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Romans 8:15- The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

God bless! I love you all but His love fills the hole in our hearts! Glory, honor and praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King and the Holy Spirit!