Jeremiah 18: 1-11
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, O house of Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, “This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.”
A Thought
As long as Israel obeyed God, God had good planned for them and he fought their battles. Now they have turned away from God in stubbornness, to follow their own evil heart. God speaks through his prophet Jeremiah to Israel of disaster if they do not repent. God shows Jeremiah that his people are like clay that has been marred in the potter’s hands. If Israel will repent God will bless them and if they choose evil and do not obey, God will reconsider the blessings he had planned for them.
The same choice is still offered to each of us today: We can choose to repent and obey God’s word or follow the evil of our own heart. One choice is filled with the blessings God has planned and the other offers disaster after disaster of our own making. God offers his love, mercy and forgiveness to all who will receive the righteousness of his son, Jesus Christ. We are like the marred clay in the hands of the potter; God will take us and make something beautiful of our life if we are willing to obey him. It is now time for America to return to One nation under One God through his son, Jesus the Christ.
Our Prayer
Father thank you for the many blessings you have planned for all who will repent and obey you word. Thank you that we are each made righteous by the life, death, and resurrection of your son through repentance regardless of the evil that was in our heart. We desire to grow in your love and mercy. Come, Holy Spirit, come. In Jesus’ name, amen.
