Day 218

As a pastor I have often been reminded of the power and effectiveness of a fitting illustration.  As a student I am reminded of this principle time and again.  My capacity to learn, retain and understand things increases with illustrations.  As you read Scripture it is very apparent that God is aware of that tendency in us.  He is always using illustrations and word pictures, or just simply showing us how to do something.  For example; Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” (Mark 1:17)  
The reading passages this week will each focus on a specific illustration, object lesson or visual aid.

Jeremiah 19-20; Daniel 1.  “Better or Broken”

         Smash!  Bang!  Crack!  No, it’s not the scenes from a Batman series fight.  It’s the sound of a large clay jar being shattered as it’s thrown to the ground. 
         In the preceding chapter Jeremiah is at the pottery shop and a lesson is given concerning the potter and the clay, but now the illustration is made with the finished product, something unable to reshape.  God evidently thought the Israelites were missing some of the seriousness and finality to Jeremiah’s repeated message of coming judgment, so God lays out this outline for him to follow; first, present the peoples sins, next, raise and smash the clay jar you bought, then, inform the people that this will happen to them! 
         It was a powerful message and one would like to think it produced tremendous results.  In reality the result was a beating and prison time for Jeremiah.  The message obviously struck some chord of conviction.  I warned someone about a direction in life they were headed and recently found that they ignored the warning and are suffering the consequences.  Cultivate a soft heart to hear God’s words.

General Questions for each day:
Summarize the day’s Bible passage in your own words.
What thoughts, actions, attitudes or beliefs are addressed in the passage?
How is the Holy Spirit leading you to apply this passage to your life today?