September 8, 2013 - 16th Sunday of Pentecost

Breaking Open the Scriptures Scriptures for September 8th: Jeremiah 18:1-11; Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-33; Song: Change My Heart O God #2152; Theme: God prepares us for our call. Jeremiah: A prophet likes to give people solid examples in order to make sure that his message is understood. God tells Jeremiah to go to the Potter’s house and to watch how pots are made. The potter depends on the movement of the wheel in order to form a perfect pot. But that movement can also produce a bad pot. And then he has to start all over again. Life is the wheel, we are the pot and God is the master potter. God knows what we are supposed to look like, God knows our purpose, and God knows our capacity to fulfill that purpose. It is interesting that God says that he is shaping evil against us, and devising a plan against us? What does that mean? I thought God shaped us with love? It is not the bad things in life that force us to respond? What do we respond to but God’s judgment. In the hands of God, even the bad things in our life turn our good. God’s judgment is intended to make us repent and to become a well shaped pot, not a cracked pot. Psalm: I am wonderfully and fearfully made. God created all of us for a purpose. Our life did not begin at our birth, because God had a plan for us from the beginning of time. God knows all about us, we can’t hide from God. We can have an intimate and open relationship with God, we can share anything, even our deepest thoughts with fear. If we need to understand ourselves, we don’t need to ask ourselves, we can ask God. If we ask, he will tell us all that we need to know. God formed each of us to help with his plan for the salvation of creation. But before we can save the world, we have to save ourselves. We have to make sure that we are in touch with God. It is hard to believe that when we were born God knows the day we will die. But while we are here, we are expected to make the most of it. This is an important Psalm to remember. It tells us where to go for the answers. We can be proud of our purpose, and we know that we have to support to make it so. Questions: How has God shaped your life? When has God had to reform you and start all over again? How do you respond to God’s judgment? What does it mean for you to repent? Do you trust God with all parts of your life? Do you allow access to all parts of your heart? Do you have a complete understanding of God, or is there still more to learn? What does it mean for you to have a relationship with God?