I have no idea what God is doing…

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them. Say to the Ammonites, Hear the word of the Lord God: Thus says the Lord God, Because you said, ‘Aha!’ over my sanctuary when it was profaned, and over the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and over the house of Judah when they went into exile, therefore behold, I am handing you over to the people of the East for a possession, and they shall set their encampments among you and make their dwellings in your midst. They shall eat your fruit, and they shall drink your milk. I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon a fold for flocks. Then you will know that I am the Lord. . . .   
“Thus says the Lord God: Because Moab and Seir said, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,’ therefore I will lay open the flank of Moab. . . . I will give it along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession. . . . and I will execute judgments upon Moab. Then they will know that I am the Lord. 
“Thus says the Lord God: Because Edom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended in taking vengeance on them, therefore thus says the Lord God, I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it man and beast. And I will make it desolate. . . . and they shall know my vengeance, declares the Lord God. 
“Thus says the Lord God: Because the Philistines acted revengefully and took vengeance with malice of soul to destroy in never-ending enmity, therefore thus says the Lord God, Behold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines. . . . Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon them.” 
In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,’ therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers, and I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock. She shall be in the midst of the sea a place for the spreading of nets, for I have spoken, declares the Lord God. . . . Then they will know that I am the Lord. (Ezekiel 25:1–26:6)

While the history of these nations is varied and complicated, this section of the OT minor prophets tells me that I have no clue what God is doing when cultures and nations fall or go to war and are destroyed. Nor does His wrath (if that is being expressed) give me an excuse to hold animosity against those nations or be prejudiced against their people. It just shows me that I haven’t a clue what is behind the events in this world. 

What does it mean when thousands die in earthquakes? I’ve no idea, only that a friend lost many family members in the rubble and needs comforting. What does it mean when two nations go to war and some from both are slaughtered? I don’t know if God's wrath has anything to do with it, or if this is a result of human sin and desire for power.
I do know this. When God says:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (1 Timothy 2:1–2)

He is not telling me to pray for change in their lives, but peace in mine. That is, when I pray for those in political leadership, I will not worry about what they do or be angry. Instead, I will be trusting God for their actions because I really have no idea how He might be expressing His wrath or using what they do in some way to make people know that He is the Lord. I cannot be angry against people I pray for.

Lord Jesus, this is certainly practical faith. When I am trusting You, I can watch the news, pray and care for for needy and hurting people, and for wisdom in the hearts of those is high positions with joy in my heart that You are in control and that I’ve no clue what You are doing, but You are wise and wonderful. I can rest in that.

Mercy needed…

You shall say, Thus says the Lord God: A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself! You have become guilty by the blood that you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made, and you have brought your days near, the appointed time of your years has come. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all the countries. (Ezekiel 22:3–4)

While I’m not really enjoying reading these OT prophets, it is important to be reminded of how much God hates sin. Because of Jesus, I am not under condemnation. He bore my guilt and paid the penalty for me. He lives in me and intercedes for me. He also changes my life. Yet I realize the importance of obedience, not out of duty or even gratitude, but to demonstrate His grace and power in this world that is caught up in sin.

After these verses, Ezekiel describes the sin of the people so openly that I can hardly read it. Yet I know that without the grace of God and His mercy, I could be with them instead of being disgusted by their sin and deeply saddened. He adds what God is going to do, describing how the dross is removed from precious metals…

“Behold, I strike my hand at the dishonest gain that you have made, and at the blood that has been in your midst. Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it. I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your uncleanness out of you. And you shall be profaned by your own doing in the sight of the nations, and you shall know that I am the Lord.” 
And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are dross of silver. Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. As one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you. I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it. As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord; I have poured out my wrath upon you.” (Ezekiel 22:13–22)

Yet this was not done as revenge or punishment but as His way of showing to them that He is Lord. 

Jesus, I need to view the heat and fire in life as Your way of removing my sin and purifying my life. Instead of trying to pray away the tough times, I need to let them shape me, and let them show me that You are the Lord of life, my life and the lives of every life on this sin-filled planet. Have mercy!

 

Why we need Jesus

“The soul who sins shall die. . . . But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live. Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? 
But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die. 
“Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 
Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.” And you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, (Ezekiel 18:21–19:1)

If salvation depended on doing good things, then everyone is doomed. No unsaved sinner can claim eternal life on a few good deeds. No believing Christian can claim eternal security for a life of many good deeds yet with the occasional sin. 

For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. (Romans 3:22–28)

Being created in His image does not do it. Doing one’s best to follow His laws does not do it. Continually offering sacrifices and confessing sin doesn’t work either. In a sense, having a new heart doesn’t make us sinless. We still fall short. We need Jesus to be our substitute and God to put us ‘in Him’ and see us ‘in Him’ and that happens as we trust Him to have done what we could never do — take our punishment for sin, give us the ability and willingness to obey Him, and intercede for us when we fall short, even when we don’t notice or will not admit that we have.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:44)

We cannot even come to Christ without being drawn there by God, and we cannot respond and come to Him any other way but through Jesus. And we cannot be forgiven, cleansed, made new, and live forever without Jesus. Saying NO to Jesus is saying YES to depending on ourselves, an impossible task and folly.

Jesus, this is why I love and worship You. My life is not perfect. My obedience is iffy at times. I forget You or neglect You at times. But You never fail me. I need You all the time and for all of life… and worship You for being there, always, with me.

Speak Truth

Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, whenever you have said, ‘Declares the Lord,’ although I have not spoken?” Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, I am against you, declares the Lord God. My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord God. Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash, say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the coating with which you smeared it?’ Therefore thus says the Lord God: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end. And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord. Thus will I spend my wrath upon the wall and upon those who have smeared it with whitewash, and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who smeared it, the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, declares the Lord God. (Ezekiel 13:7–16)

This prophet has a way with words. The Holy Spirit reveals the picture Ezekiel paints concerning false teachers. First they say all is well when it isn’t. This tells me to face the reality of a very messy world but not sugarcoat it as if nothing bad is happening or will happen.

Also, if people build a wall to protect themselves and feel safe in whatever is threatening them, or build a wall to repair what has been destroyed, the false prophets will applaud their human efforts. This may not be a wrong action, but if done without the Lord’s direction or in the power of His Spirit, the storm that hits them will reveal that neither the wall or the whitewash will do what was intended.

In our day, to whitewash anything is about disguising it. If I make a mistake and invent an excuse to protect my ego or reputation, I am whitewashing it. Instead of being honest with others and with God, such pride promotes a false teaching. It is never right to lie by whitewashing truth.

Jesus, more and more I realize the power of truth. If spoken, people listen. Your Spirit often is also speaking, backing up what I say with His own way to telling people to listen. Keep me from whitewashing anything, even embellishing anything to make me look better than I am, or to make anything look more glorious than it really is. 

 
 

My heart rests on His promises

And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, your brothers, even your brothers, your kinsmen, the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those of whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far from the Lord; to us this land is given for a possession.’ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.’ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ And when they come there, they will remove from it all its detestable things and all its abominations. And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But as for those whose heart goes after their detestable things and their abominations, I will bring their deeds upon their own heads, declares the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 11:14–21)

This happened, at least in part. After the 70 A.D. Diaspora when many were exiled, the Jewish people abandoned idols. They scattered again, then went to war with five Arab states and in 1948 won even more territory than the UN supported for their national home. In 1967, they captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria.

The “new heart” may have meant new hope rather than a spiritual transformation. A new heart only happens with faith in their Messiah, but most of the people did not accept Jesus as such. Yet the promise still stands and God keeps His promises.

At the moment, the population of Israel is close to ten million with a high-tech economy, but involved in many complex conflicts and that enduring dispute with Palestine. Those who know the promise look for God to bring unity. Only He can deal with those who reject Him so they can chase after life in their own way.

Christians look for the same fulfillment of God's promise. We want the people of Israel to be united under one faith in one Lord God, recognizing that it is Jesus Christ who will rescue them and enable them to live as intended. This is happening in part. Organizations like Jews for Jesus and others estimate that hundreds of thousands of individuals of Jewish descent identify as Christians. A portion of these practice as Messianic Jews, retaining their Jewish cultural identity while accepting Jesus as their Messiah.

This demonstrates that God is keeping His promise. It may not be as fast or as we hope it will happen, but who can guess how He will do it. Even the 1967 war has been considered a surprise in how He works.

The very next passage after the one above says this:

And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, what is this proverb that you have about the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days grow long, and every vision comes to nothing’? Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, The days are near, and the fulfillment of every vision. For there shall be no more any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I am the Lord; I will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord God.” 
And the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God: None of my words will be delayed any longer, but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 12:21–28)

I can hear Him say “Amen” and I must say it too. God keeps His word.

Lord, Your promises are fodder for my faith. Seeing them fulfilled is a reward for hope, but also a great assurance that none of them will fail. When I pray in Your will, You say You will answer, and when I ask for a surprise, You do what is the best thing, and it is also always a surprise. Trusting You is truly a great adventure.

The prophets feel God's pain

The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of the Lord, which faces east. And behold, at the entrance of the gateway there were twenty-five men. And I saw among them Jaazaniah the son of Azzur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. And he said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who devise iniquity and who give wicked counsel in this city; who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. This city is the cauldron, and we are the meat.’ Therefore prophesy against them; prophesy, O son of man.” 
And the Spirit of the Lord fell upon me, and he said to me, “Say, Thus says the Lord: So you think, O house of Israel. For I know the things that come into your mind. You have multiplied your slain in this city and have filled its streets with the slain. Therefore thus says the Lord God: Your slain whom you have laid in the midst of it, they are the meat, and this city is the cauldron, but you shall be brought out of the midst of it. You have feared the sword, and I will bring the sword upon you, declares the Lord God. And I will bring you out of the midst of it, and give you into the hands of foreigners, and execute judgments upon you. You shall fall by the sword. I will judge you at the border of Israel, and you shall know that I am the Lord. This city shall not be your cauldron, nor shall you be the meat in the midst of it. I will judge you at the border of Israel, and you shall know that I am the Lord. For you have not walked in my statutes, nor obeyed my rules, but have acted according to the rules of the nations that are around you.” 
And it came to pass, while I was prophesying, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then I fell down on my face and cried out with a loud voice and said, “Ah, Lord God! Will you make a full end of the remnant of Israel?” (Ezekiel 11:1–13)

Being called as a prophet to warn God's people of judgement must have been a most difficult assignment. This man was told by God what to say and it was not good news. They were out of fellowship in their disobedience with Him to the point that He would do drastic things to bring them back. It was for their good but such treatment does not feel good. In a small way, it could be compared to what goes through the mind of a rebellious child when a parent restrains them for their behavior. This should never be because the child is annoying, but to turn them from an attitude and actions that would ruin their lives. 

But as many parents say, discipline for a child is just as painful for the parent. That child is loved so much that hurting them to help them hurts those who do it. Ezekiel felt that pain as God did His work. 

Such is Your love for all Your people. Jesus You died for all that sin and mine too, yet we still need Your discipline. I will walk with You for eternity, but realize I’m not ready for that. I can be self-centered, annoyed with people, unwilling to sacrifice my time and efforts to meet the needs of others. Your Word tells me I will be like You only when I see You face to face, but also the more I gaze into Your glory, the more You can work that transformation. What a marvel You are to grant such a miracle to sinners such as I.

 

Stubborn Human Hearts

“They have blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but none goes to battle, for my wrath is upon all their multitude. The sword is without; pestilence and famine are within. He who is in the field dies by the sword, and him who is in the city famine and pestilence devour. And if any survivors escape, they will be on the mountains, like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, each one over his iniquity. All hands are feeble, and all knees turn to water. They put on sackcloth, and horror covers them. Shame is on all faces, and baldness on all their heads. They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing. Their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it. For it was the stumbling block of their iniquity. His beautiful ornament they used for pride, and they made their abominable images and their detestable things of it. Therefore I make it an unclean thing to them. And I will give it into the hands of foreigners for prey, and to the wicked of the earth for spoil, and they shall profane it. I will turn my face from them, and they shall profane my treasured place. Robbers shall enter and profane it.” (Ezekiel 7:14–22)

God planned severe treatment for His people who had turned from Him to worship idols made of metal. Besides physical hunger and famine, and other horrors, their precious jewels of silver and gold became mere plunder in the minds of their invaders.

I’ve no idols in my home; certainly not enough precious metal that anyone would consider stealing, but how would I feel if the things I value (like photos, gifts from my children, etc.) were considered mere junk by others? Would this make me rethink my priorities? Would it mean a deeper dependance on the One who governs my life and whatever I possess? 

In the past couple of weeks, two small paring knives have disappeared from our home. However, this week my hubby found a valued item that he thought may be lost forever. And just now we got a call that something I made is being returned to me. Another unexpected surprise from God. 

These insignificant events make me wonder at the hardness of heart of God's OT people to the point that He had to send them into exile, famine, danger, and loss to wake them up to their idolatry. Their wealth would not feed them, or save them, or bring them home. They cast their silver and gold into the streets as unclean and not able to deliver them from God's wrath. 

Jesus, I am aware that wealth and art could minister to a person’s pride and ego. However, they can become a pollution, or even taken by others who do not really appreciate them. Guard my heart against the worship of possessions. Do not allow anything rob me of my love and worship for You.

 

Why reject His gift?

“Thus says the Lord God: This is Jerusalem. I have set her in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. And she has rebelled against my rules by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries all around her; for they have rejected my rules and have not walked in my statutes. Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you are more turbulent than the nations that are all around you, and have not walked in my statutes or obeyed my rules, and have not even acted according to the rules of the nations that are all around you, therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, even I, am against you. And I will execute judgments in your midst in the sight of the nations. And because of all your abominations I will do with you what I have never yet done, and the like of which I will never do again. Therefore fathers shall eat their sons in your midst, and sons shall eat their fathers. And I will execute judgments on you, and any of you who survive I will scatter to all the winds. Therefore, as I live, declares the Lord God, surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will withdraw. My eye will not spare, and I will have no pity. A third part of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed with famine in your midst; a third part shall fall by the sword all around you; and a third part I will scatter to all the winds and will unsheathe the sword after them. (Ezekiel 5:5–12)

In those days the wrath of God on idolatry was expressed in pestilence and famine, war and death, and being displaced — also with death. The news these days tells of famine, wars, and God's people fleeing to safer places as immigrants. Is the reason for these events rooted in God's anger with human idolatry?

It could be. However, His wrath on sin was borne by Jesus Christ. No one has to experience these horrors, or at least not as judgement for sin because the Lamb of God suffered and died for all of it. “No condemnation” is fully available to those who put their faith in Him.
Therein is the issue — lack of faith in the One who said:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

To reject freely offered pardon makes no sense. Why say NO to the grace of God? Why face judgement without mercy? Why risk the horror of famine so severe that people eat people? Or go to war that slays those who say NO? Why be scattered from home and safety just for the desire to worship self and money and whatever else but the Lord who loved us enough to become one of us and take our place on the judgement seat?

The Bible calls the fruit of such a choice “hell” because there is no God, no grace, no peace or joy in such a destiny. While the modern church does not usually preach a ‘turn or burn’ message, maybe we should. Telling people that God loves them seems to have made far too many decide that such love gives license to do whatever they desire rather than worship the only One who can free them from the bondage of such an attitude.

Jesus, in the past two weeks You have put me among hundreds of people. I can say most of them are ‘nice’ and friendly, but only a handful declare and demonstrate faith in You. The future looks scary for a world so full of people who ignore or reject Your offer of forgiveness and freedom by faith. May Your Spirit keep working to convince them otherwise.

Does hope come and go?

“For these things I weep; my eyes flow with tears; for a comforter is far from me, one to revive my spirit; my children are desolate, for the enemy has prevailed.” (Lamentations 1:16) 

The prophet hears the words of God. He also feels the heart of God: 

The Lord determined to lay in ruins the wall of the daughter of Zion; he stretched out the measuring line; he did not restrain his hand from destroying; he caused rampart and wall to lament; they languished together. Her gates have sunk into the ground; he has ruined and broken her bars; her king and princes are among the nations; the law is no more, and her prophets find no vision from the Lord. The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence; they have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth; the young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground. My eyes are spent with weeping; my stomach churns; my bile is poured out to the ground because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because infants and babies faint in the streets of the city. (Lamentations 2:8–11) 

Despite the hope passage I read yesterday, the scenes before Jeremiah are too much for him. He wants a visible solution:

He has walled me about so that I cannot escape; he has made my chains heavy; though I call and cry for help, he shuts out my prayer; he has blocked my ways with blocks of stones; he has made my paths crooked. (Lamentations 3:7–9)

I can relate to this. The Lord encourages me that He will answer my prayer, but He does not say when, and like most people, NOW is the time I have in mind. The NT describes it: “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (Romans 8:24–25)

Jeremiah must have had similar thoughts too, for he says the same thing:

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. (Lamentations 3:21–26)

The prophet is strong in knowing the will of God but just like most of us, hope wavers now and then into “I want to see it now” and our trust begins to waver. I need to remember my hope is based on God's promises, not on what I can see.

For the Lord will not cast off forever, for, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men. (Lamentations 3:31–33)

Jeremiah wrote Lamentations, maybe to express his grief and impatience as his hope ebbs and dwindles. He asks big questions about the way God’s people have been left in captivity, yet he clings to the only One who can do anything about it. I feel like this at times too, wondering if my hope is only my hope and not from Him. Yet I can pray as he does:

But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations. Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsake us for so many days? Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old— unless you have utterly rejected us, and you remain exceedingly angry with us. (Lamentations 5:19–22)

I need to always remember what God has done about my sin and lack of faith. He poured out His punishment on You, Jesus. For that, my hope is secure until I am face to face with You.

Nothing is too hard for God

You brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and outstretched arm, and with great terror. And you gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. And they entered and took possession of it. But they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them. 

Jeremiah said this to God about His OT people. I could say it to at least one person I know who declared faith as a young teen, then did not go very far with obedience. The actions are supposed to come from the heart, but a heart can be soured by selfish and disobedient actions. 
This is God's reply to the prophet and it speaks to me too. Those who profess faith are in trouble when their walk and talk begin to deny what God has done.

The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me? Therefore, thus says the Lord: Behold, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall capture it. The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city shall come and set this city on fire and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, to provoke me to anger. For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth. The children of Israel have done nothing but provoke me to anger by the work of their hands, declares the Lord. This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, so that I will remove it from my sight because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah that they did to provoke me to anger. . . . They have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them persistently, they have not listened to receive instruction. 

One would expect God to walk away but that is not the way He works. If anyone’s initial declaration of faith is the work of God, then He is not finished yet. This is what He answered to Jeremiah’s cries and to my prayers for such severe back-sliding:

“Now therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul. “For thus says the Lord: Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them. (Jeremiah 32:21–42)

He will bring them back. He will make them safe. He will rejoice in doing them good. Nothing is too hard for Him.

Jesus, You died for sinners, even those who started out okay and are in deep denial of who they really belong to. I’ve learned how easily we sinners slide away from You, You never give up on us. That reality is incredible. How can I say thanks for Your amazing grace!

 

Hope for the lost

I have heard Ephraim grieving, ‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like an untrained calf; bring me back that I may be restored, for you are the Lord my God. For after I had turned away, I relented, and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh; I was ashamed, and I was confounded, because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’ 
Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he my darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I do remember him still. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 31:18–20)

God hears His OT people pleading for mercy and restoration. They are ashamed and aware of their sin. He then says how He thinks of them with a loving heart and a promise of mercy.

I have a relative whose birth parent remarried a Jewish woman. This person has had a great influence on my relative to the point she now thinks she is Jewish. Research says you do not need to practice the religion to be Jewish, nor do you need to be born Jewish to practice the religion. 

Huh? This makes no sense to someone reading the OT, yet it does when considering verses like these:

That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (Romans 4:16)
Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (Galatians 3:7-9)

In the mind of God, those who believe in Him like Abraham believed and lived are His children. It is not those who culturally decide to join Judaism, but those who humble themselves, are ashamed of their sin, and put their faith in the mercy of God. 

This is completely foreign to my relative. Going along with religious festivities like Passover without understanding their meaning is like celebrating Santa Claus at Christmas instead of the birth of Christ.

Yet there is hope. Should this person be convicted by the Holy Spirit and grieve their sin and plead for mercy, God is willing to call her His child and reveal to her His grace through faith. While people share their faith and speak of sin and its power, unless the Spirit does it, reasoning and excuses keep her from becoming a true Jew who embraces the wonder of God being born in a manger and becoming our Messiah.

Jesus, You encourage me by Your ability to hear the cries of a human heart, even to discipline anyone enslaved by sin. An even greater blessing is to know that You love us and are willing to have mercy on all who ask You for it. May Your Spirit be at work in the lives of all — those who are near and those who are far away.

The Sword that gives life…

Thus says the Lord: “The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness; when Israel sought for rest, the Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel! Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers. Again you shall plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant and shall enjoy the fruit. For there shall be a day when watchmen will call in the hill country of Ephraim: ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.’ ” (Jeremiah 31:2–6)

The OT uses symbols and foreshadowing to tell the plan of God. While it could be my vivid imagination, this passage defines how God can drastically change the lives of those who have “survived the sword.” 

The NT uses this term sword to describe the Word of God and tells of its power to change lives. Some who read it do not survive it. They say NO to it and miss out on the rest they seek. Those who survive are those who read it and respond to the life-giving power of God. 

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)

The result is discovery of God's everlasting love and faithfulness, deep joy, well fed spiritually and even physically, and entering into a worship that brings us closer to God.

How delightful to read this and realize the truth of it. Thank You Jesus for giving me the sharp thrust of Your life-giving sword and the bountiful gifts of knowing and walking with You. 

Attitude of Gratitude

I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps. Correct me, O Lord, but in justice; not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing. Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not, and on the peoples that call not on your name, for they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation. (Jeremiah 10:23–25)

It takes time and many experiences to realize that I cannot direct my steps. It takes faith to realize that God corrects a sinful heart by grace and justice — grace to me and Jesus to bear my punishment. As I plow through Jeremiah, the seriousness of sin in the human heart is overwhelming — unless my focus goes to Jesus Christ and that He bore my guilt.

Why do you cry out over your hurt? Your pain is incurable. Because your guilt is great, because your sins are flagrant, I have done these things to you. Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured, and all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity; those who plunder you shall be plundered, and all who prey on you I will make a prey. For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord, because they have called you an outcast: ‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’ “Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob and have compassion on his dwellings; the city shall be rebuilt on its mound, and the palace shall stand where it used to be. Out of them shall come songs of thanksgiving, and the voices of those who celebrate. I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will make them honored, and they shall not be small. Their children shall be as they were of old, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all who oppress them. Their prince shall be one of themselves; their ruler shall come out from their midst; I will make him draw near, and he shall approach me, for who would dare of himself to approach me? declares the Lord. And you shall be my people, and I will be your God.” (Jeremiah 30:15–22)

Because the prophet keeps doing as God desires and keeps warning His people, I can lose my focus — except for passages like this one. I am beginning to skip some of the “therefore” warnings and looking for the promises rather than studying the threats and letting them depress me. Jeremiah is part of the history of redemption, yet the disobedience of God's people is not the end of the story.

Lord, I am thankful to be born this side of the cross. Even though knowing the faith needed to believe You will do what You say is a challenge now, I can imagine how it was a difficulty back then — before You came and lived here, died here, and rose from the dead. I am grateful for my place on Your timeline, and even more so that You kept Your promises to Israel and sent a Savior for not only them, but for me and for all humanity.

 

Releasing heavy loads…

“Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord. I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ How long shall there be lies in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart, who think to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, even as their fathers forgot my name for Baal? Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? declares the Lord. Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? 
Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who steal my words from one another. Behold, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who use their tongues and declare, ‘declares the Lord.’ Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the Lord, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the Lord. “When one of this people, or a prophet or a priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the Lord?’ you shall say to them, ‘You are the burden, and I will cast you off, declares the Lord.’ And as for the prophet, priest, or one of the people who says, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ I will punish that man and his household. Thus shall you say, every one to his neighbor and every one to his brother, ‘What has the Lord answered?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ But ‘the burden of the Lord’ you shall mention no more, for the burden is every man’s own word, and you pervert the words of the living God, the Lord of hosts, our God. Thus you shall say to the prophet, ‘What has the Lord answered you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ But if you say, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have said these words, “The burden of the Lord,” when I sent to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The burden of the Lord,’ ” therefore, behold, I will surely lift you up and cast you away from my presence, you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers. And I will bring upon you everlasting reproach and perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.’ ” (Jeremiah 23:23–40)

This passage offers a puzzle. Why interpret a word that is normally used for an oracle from God as a burden? With a bit of searching, I found that the Hebrew word for oracle is the same word used for a burden, in the sense that this is the weighty responsibility the the Lord gives. However, it can also refer to false teaching that puts a heavy weight on people, a burden that they cannot carry.

This sheds light on what Jesus said in the NT. Could it be that He was talking about the burden of trying to sort out truth and the burden of all the false ideas floating around?

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30)

One reason to connect His statement with the OT prophet’s words is that the words Jesus says are a similar expression of comparing heavy with light, such as a heavy crate with the invoice on the top.

Jesus, I’ve tried and preferred the rest You give, even when life loads me down. How wonderful to see Your remedy ‘suggested’ by Jeremiah and later made clear and fulfilled by You.

His Glory takes priority over my comfort…

Concerning the prophets: My heart is broken within me; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, like a man overcome by wine, because of the Lord and because of his holy words. For the land is full of adulterers; because of the curse the land mourns, and the pastures of the wilderness are dried up. Their course is evil, and their might is not right. “Both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in my house I have found their evil, declares the Lord. Therefore their way shall be to them like slippery paths in the darkness, into which they shall be driven and fall, for I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their punishment, declares the Lord. 
In the prophets of Samaria I saw an unsavory thing: they prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray. But in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his evil; all of them have become like Sodom to me, and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.” 
Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets: “Behold, I will feed them with bitter food and give them poisoned water to drink, for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has gone out into all the land.” Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They say continually to those who despise the word of the Lord, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’ ” (Jeremiah 23:9–17)

It is one thing that cults and all sorts of isms preach and teach things contrary to the will and Word of God. He calls them slippery and unsavory, words that refer to folly and foolishness. But He says it is far worse when people whom He calls His people do it. He calls that horrible and adultery, words that mean fearful resulting in an ungodliness that fills the land.

How confusing this must be to those who earnestly want to know the truths of God. If they are told it is found in the “prosperity gospel” or in the “name it and claim it” or any other group, eventually truth and experience show them this is “visions from the mind” of people who follow their own heart and are not speaking for God.

I’ve noticed a current trend of teaching that our God is good and wants good for us, which is true, but He also uses trials to mature us or show us our sinful tendencies. However, I rarely hear Christians speak of learning in trials. Most of the time they are asking God to remove them, or fix the problems rather than use them for good, to teach and make them more like Jesus. The goal is personal comfort instead of faith, patience, maturity, all of which will glorify Him.

Jesus, we are on top of the world with rarefied air, pure water, amazing food, much to comfort and give us pleasure, and yet I’m finding myself wanting to be with You. You do give a deep-down joy, but You also make sense of uncomfortable situations and even stress. Without You, much of what I see and hear is meaningless or ‘no fun at all’ without Your wise and helpful input. Thank You for truth that makes sense rather than lies that stroke my ego or that confuse my selfish I-wants with the perfections of Your will. 

God wants to bless us…

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord. 
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ 
“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ Then they shall dwell in their own land.” (Jeremiah 23:1–8)

Before this trip I prayed for the usual: good weather, safety, health, etc. but I also prayed for a clear view of Mount Denali. It is the highest mountain in North America and creates its own weather clouds. Many come to Alaska and cannot see it at all. On the train ride we were told only 1% get to see the top of it out of the 30% who get to see it at all. So I asked God to give us a 1% view, and He did! All that came after that was lovely but that answer to prayer was spectacular.

Devotions came later as we got on the train very early for this eleven hour trip and God makes another move that blesses me. His people had been led astray, but He promised to bring them back, give them a perfect Shepherd, who became their righteousness and mine too, and give them a forever home.

Jesus, You are incredibly good and perfectly able to do what is best for Your people. However, it is those often daily surprises that put great joy and increased love for You in my heart. I’ve been filled all day with praise for You, Your creation, and Your kindness. Thank You so much.

Speaking for God?

. . . . I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me. For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, “Violence and destruction!” For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. For I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! “Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” say all my close friends, watching for my fall. “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we can overcome him and take our revenge on him.” But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten. O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you have I committed my cause. Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers. (Jeremiah 20:7–13)

Those who heard this prophet speak tried to shut him down, even kill him, yet he could not hold in the word from the Lord even when he tried to stop. Those who persecuted him were not stronger than the God who delivered him. 

A few days ago we landed in an Alaska city and took an Uber to a glacier about twenty minutes away. We arranged with the driver to pick us up in an hour and take us back to the docks. On the way, we discovered he is a Christian pastor serving in the same denomination that we do. The conversation was delightful as he had no fear of an argument or resistance from us. His transparent sharing made me wonder if I would be like that if I was the driver. Not only did he share his heart, he would not let us pay for the return trip.

This man was like Jeremiah, bold — and also like Jesus, loving and generous. His way of treating us encourages me to be like that, and that is what Christian fellowship and spiritual communion should do.

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 4:29–5:2)

Christian squabbles dishonor God and what should be a fragrant offering and a sacrifice turns faith into a smelly selfishness that God will not bless. 

Jesus, this is a good reminder to me. Complaining about other Christians has a similar effect. It does not build up anyone, neither believers or those without faith who hear it. Jeremiah was given a task by You that put him in a difficult place where he must rebuke sin but not use words that would further corrupt his listeners. The only way he could do it was because You promised to protect him and You put out Your hand and touched his mouth.

God’s unexpected cure

“And when you tell this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? What is our iniquity? What is the sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ then you shall say to them: ‘Because your fathers have forsaken me, declares the Lord, and have gone after other gods and have served and worshiped them, and have forsaken me and have not kept my law, and because you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, every one of you follows his stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to me. Therefore I will hurl you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.’ 
“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers. (Jeremiah 16:10–15)

This study using “therefore” is about cause and effect, not according to my feeble and usually missed by a mile guesses but according to the way God works out His will. The above passage tells His OT people that because they have turned to other gods He is going to send them to a northern land where those other gods are served exclusively. It was an odd punishment, but history says that ended idol worship for the people of Israel. The prophet goes on to say:

For my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from me, nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes. But first I will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and have filled my inheritance with their abominations.” O Lord, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: “Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit. Can man make for himself gods? Such are not gods!” “Therefore, behold, I will make them know, this once I will make them know my power and my might, and they shall know that my name is the Lord.” (Jeremiah 16:17–21)

Think of this odd cure this way. If my child was addicted to video games, would I even suppose the making him play them all day long for weeks on end would sicken him to the point that he never wanted to do it again? Likely not. God’s ways are not our ways!

If I have a bad habit, does repeating it make me sick of it? Most are not as God-dishonoring as idolatry. Suppose I was a smoker (not true but for example) His cure might be making me smoke a carton of cigarettes in one day making me totally sick of it. 

Jesus, this “therefore” is making me think. I expect an interesting day! Besides that, we are in Glacier Bay in Alaska and told to expect all sorts of wonderful sights — and I’m thinking it unlikely that this over-exposure to them will make me want to return to my plain life!

 

No false teaching

Then I said: “Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’ ” And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds. Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although I did not send them, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come upon this land’: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed. And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword, with none to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their evil upon them. (Jeremiah 14:13–16)

I’ve already realized that the power of positive thinking is over-rated. However, it does not seem to motivate false prophets. I know a few of them and they are self-appointed rather than divinely called. One in particular seems driven by personal pride. Others have their own ideologies or visions, perhaps driven by the Liar whose goal is to prevent truth from changing lives. Most of them form their belief systems on fragments of Scripture rather than the whole context. 

They might be ‘nice’ people, not coming across as raving lunatics. They may also be very sincere and believable, but when it comes to spiritual truth or speaking for God, the only way to know that they are not what they claim is to know the Word of God.

The NT says we are in a battle for truth, and since lies come from the devil, it is his schemes that are designed to deceive. To counter that, we need the whole armor of God as we wrestle against his rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers — the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. The whole armor of God means knowing what is true and standing firm in it, including declaring it boldly. (Ephesians 6:10–20)

Spotting false teachers is not difficult for those who know the Word of God well. Not only that, God will eventually deal with them. It might be harsh judgment, yet if those who are caught in lies and try to teach them to others realize their error and repent, He will forgive and restore them:

Therefore thus says the Lord: “If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them. And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, declares the Lord. I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.” (Jeremiah 15:19–21)

Those who fit this category can be Christians already, just misled. Galatians 6 tells us to restore them. Conviction and correction are not the same as condemnation. We are in this battle together against falsehood, not against each other.

Jesus, grant me discernment and the ability to spot false teaching and loving ways to correct it. Also keep me from listening to lies and spot any false ideas I might have. I want You to be glorified, not spoken about in any sort of error.

No hangover

“Though our iniquities testify against us, act, O Lord, for your name’s sake; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against you. O you hope of Israel, its savior in time of trouble, why should you be like a stranger in the land, like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night? Why should you be like a man confused, like a mighty warrior who cannot save? Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name; do not leave us.” Thus says the Lord concerning this people: “They have loved to wander thus; they have not restrained their feet; therefore the Lord does not accept them; now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.” (Jeremiah 14:7–10)

In these NT years where God's people know total forgiveness, taking it for granted happens. If I drift into a laxidaisical attitude toward even small sin with no concern for my selfish behavior, I know that Jesus died for me and that I’ve already been forgiven. Had He not done so, I could expect the wrath of God and His action against me.

Has God changed because of the Cross? What am I supposed to think about my sinfulness now that Jesus died for all of it? Take forgiveness for granted? Or act according to gratitude? Being so thankful that I don’t want to add another painful sin to the load that He bore for the entire world?

An “I’m okay” attitude happens. Or my I-wants can become so important to me that I forget the cost to Him by insisting, forgetting, taking forgiveness as a right rather than a gracious gift. This is what was happening in the days of the prophets. The people who heard Jeremiah would not listen. God said not to pray for them; they would not listen so He would not listen either. They wondered why He would not rescue them or spare them from the consequences of their folly of this “Your help is my right” attitude.

Some might say I am being too serious about this, yet better that than being not serious enough. Jesus died for me. Should I not live for Him? Jesus lives in me. Should I not shut down all that keeps His life from being in charge of everything I do?

Jesus, I am looking out a stateroom window of a large ship at the beauty of Juno, Alaska. Some people on this ship will go ashore and hit the bars. Others will marvel at the beauty of what You have done here and find joy in that. I want my ‘hangover’ from this trip to last forever, just like I want the attitudes and actions of my life to survive the tests to come at the judgement seat of Christ. If what I do will only last for this life, nothing is gained for me, nor will there be glory for You. Fill me up today as we walk through it so that  forget about me and focus on You — that You may be glorified.

 

Boasting that He is all I need…

And the Lord says: “Because they have forsaken my law that I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice or walked in accord with it, but have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them. Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed this people with bitter food, and give them poisonous water to drink. I will scatter them among the nations whom neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them.” (Jeremiah 9:13–16)

This OT prophet has very little positive declarations. He was speaking to stubborn people who did their own thing and were being warned of the consequences of a life that ignores the Lord. Repetition of this theme can be helpful, but I want something more positive. However, there is one passage after this one that touched my heart as a new Christian. In plain language, it tells me what to do and how to think:

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 9:23–24)

I’ve often boasted in being smart, as in knowing lots, but not in being wise. Wisdom is knowing how to live according to what I know. I’ve never felt wise, but rather confused and uncertain. Many times, I’ve not known what to do even though I know many facts. 

I’m certainly not mighty in any sense of the word. I’ve had congestive heart failure for years, affecting physical might. Anything like mighty in influence, or other abilities eludes me. The older I get, the weaker and more unable I feel. I can only boast in that I sleep well, yet know that is God's doing.

As for riches, I’ve been both poor and with money, surviving poverty and gaining wealth with none of it by my efforts. God takes care of me in that department, often with amazing surprises. 

So Jeremiah’s words about boasting struck me. Boasting that I know the Lord and understand His ways (even partly) is something I can do. He has shown me that He “practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth” becomes an easy boast, one that makes sense to me. I need His wisdom and power, and He takes care of my finances in ways that I cannot do or even imagine. 

The best part is that when I boast in Him, He takes delight in that, not that He needs that sort of affirmation, but He is joyful that I know this is truth — truth that He has made known to me.

Jesus, You are the power and wisdom I need. Not only that, You supply the material resources I need also. I’ve been poor and rich, yet You have taken care of me in both extremes. I am so grateful that knowing You and understanding You means being rich and wise and even mighty in You, and keeps me from that stubborn stupidity that prevents me from the consequences that otherwise I would experience if left to my own useless and even deadly devices. Bless You, my wonderful Savior.

Marks of no faith or true faith…

Oh that I had in the desert a travelers’ lodging place, that I might leave my people and go away from them! For they are all adulterers, a company of treacherous men. They bend their tongue like a bow; falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, declares the Lord. Let everyone beware of his neighbor, and put no trust in any brother, for every brother is a deceiver, and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer. Everyone deceives his neighbor, and no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves committing iniquity. Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit, they refuse to know me, declares the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will refine them and test them, for what else can I do, because of my people? Their tongue is a deadly arrow; it speaks deceitfully; with his mouth each speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he plans an ambush for him. Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this? (Jeremiah 9:2–9)

Some of our friends have been violently persecuted by family members when they left family tradition and became Christians. Imagine what anguish this would cause. Imagine the way they would feel had they not changed faith but were treated like that anyway.

This passage describes God's response to those who claim to know Him but do not. They show their lack of faith by the way they treat others who make the same claim. From this, the simple application is “examine the way I treat other Christians.”

The NT description of measuring true faith is the same:

By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. . . . We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3:10–18)

Love is an action word, not an emotion or mere talk. It is about meeting needs. It is also about loving enemies as well and not taking revenge when mistreated.

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:17–21)

Being this kind of person is a daily challenge. To me it includes the crazy driver who cuts me off in traffic, the clerk who short changes with a smirk, the belittling remark of another Christian about my ministry, and the unkind reception of a relative to gifts. Love all, even enemies.

Jesus, You love like no other and set the high example for me. Bless You for not only showing how but making this amazing love for others possible.

Connecting the Dots…

Therefore I will give their wives to others and their fields to conquerors, because from the least to the greatest everyone is greedy for unjust gain; from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they shall be overthrown, says the Lord. When I would gather them, declares the Lord, there are no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree; even the leaves are withered, and what I gave them has passed away from them.” (Jeremiah 8:10–13)

Consequences. If I do this, what will happen? When the news reports the latest decisions by political or business decision makers, it seems far too many of them guess what will happen next based on their hopes rather than historical evidence or popular thinking. While ‘time while tell’ no one can predict the future.

The OT people who read this warning from God must not have believed Him concerning this as well as concerning obedience. Think of a child whose parent threatens punishment for misbehaving but the child simple keeps on doing what they are doing, or refusing to do what they should be doing. This child is not only willful but does not see the rationale or love in the commandment. “Don’t touch the stove” is heard as “Touch the stove” because of that immature and selfish attitude of “I want what I want when I want it.” 

Not only that, some will connect the consequences to something other than their own actions. The stove was hot because mother left it on, or no one informed them about burns and pain. Multiply this simple example by the complexity of life and no wonder so many folks are surprised and upset with what is happening in our world and in their lives.

Personally, I cannot be responsible for much of it. Even my own live demands decisions with unknown results. What can I do to have assurance the results will be okay? This comes to mind:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5–6)

A small example. Last night we were invited to the home of friends. We had not eaten and thought to grab a hamburger on the way. My hubby decided the Lord was telling him not to do that but stay for a short visit and perhaps eat on the way home. When we arrived, our hostess had prepared a fantastic meal for us — which we would have missed if we had followed our original plan. 

Jesus, if I don’t listen to You, the results may not show up right away. I’ve learned that the hard way. Keep me tuned in to You, trusting You for consequences that are a blessing, or at least a strong lesson in Your power to use my obedience for Your glory.

Bad news yet forgiveness…

Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not pay attention.’ Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O congregation, what will happen to them. Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people, the fruit of their devices, because they have not paid attention to my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it. What use to me is frankincense that comes from Sheba, or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices pleasing to me. Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will lay before this people stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble; fathers and sons together, neighbor and friend shall perish.’ ” Thus says the Lord: “Behold, a people is coming from the north country, a great nation is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth. They lay hold on bow and javelin; they are cruel and have no mercy; the sound of them is like the roaring sea; they ride on horses, set in array as a man for battle, against you, O daughter of Zion!” (Jeremiah 6:16–23)

Is God still like this? Maybe a better question: are people still like this? Last night I was restless and decided to watch a cop show that I usually don’t watch. It was about a woman who worked for a risqué dating service and discovered (for a friend who also worked for that service) the real name of a client who abused her friend. Before she could tell her friend who it was, she was murdered. Eventually the police found out who he was and the other crimes he was guilty of and arrested him. He was a pastor. 

I couldn’t sleep. This was too much, yet this passage from an OT prophet made me wonder if those who consider themselves God's people can be as guilty of hypocrisy as those on fictional television. Do any ‘saints’ refuse to live that way when no one is looking? God knows, and He knows what to do about it.

And now, because you have done all these things, declares the Lord, and when I spoke to you persistently you did not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer, therefore. . . . I will cast you out of my sight, as I cast out all your kinsmen. . . . As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you. (They) make cakes for the queen of heaven. And they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger. Is it I whom they provoke? declares the Lord. Is it not themselves, to their own shame? Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, upon man and beast, upon the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; it will burn and not be quenched.” (Jeremiah 7:13–20)

What does the NT say about all this? It tells of a man similar to the one on the TV show. Paul wrote: “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.” (1 Corinthians 5:1–2) So the guilty one was to be put out rather than instantly pardoned, but after a time, Paul wrote this:

Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. (2 Corinthians 2:5–11)

Lord, I assume the man repented. I also assume this should be the way I respond to others whose sin marked them as ungodly hypocrites — genuine repentance is vital (1 John 1:9) because that is the way back to You, Jesus. People might fool other people but they cannot fool You. And to be like You, I must be as quick to forgive as I am angry over sin.

Transformation can be costly

To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen; behold, the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it. Therefore I am full of the wrath of the Lord; I am weary of holding it in. 
“Pour it out upon the children in the street, and upon the gatherings of young men, also; both husband and wife shall be taken, the elderly and the very aged. Their houses shall be turned over to others, their fields and wives together, for I will stretch out my hand against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord. For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 6:10–15)

While Jeremiah is an OT favorite book, I understand why many Christians do not read it, and many pastors do not preach from it. Why not? Because much of it is strong warnings and rebukes for sin. We know that the Messiah came and died for all of it and offers us forgiveness and a new life, and that is our focus. However, we all know how that victory does not make our battle against sin go away.

Nor does it lessen our responsibility to tell those still caught it its lies the truth of what Jesus has done to defeat death and offer us no condemnation for our guilt. He bore it all. Why then do Christians still get tempted and sometimes fall back into that trap? Didn’t Christ free us from sin?

Yes, the guilt and punishment, even sin’s power has been defeated, but not everyone walks in the truth of that. Our old nature is dead, separated from God, yet it hangs on to us like the dead body of murdered people were one hung on the backs of those who did the deed. The stench is supposed to be a reminder to never yield to sin or pull me back into repeating my old ways, yet that pride of “I’m okay and good” becomes a snare to slide into running my own life.

Not only that, in my new life I am supposed to love others enough to help anyone who gets caught or recaptured by sin:

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. (Galatians 6:1–3)
We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” (Romans 15:1–3)

This is hard work. Those caught in sin have problems with being restored. Pride keeps me from admitting my problems. Selfishness keeps me from wanting to take time and effort to gently restore others. It is less trouble to ignore them, not care, walk the other way, look down my nose, or even pray now and then, than it is to really want or take action to encourage holiness — both in myself and in those around me.

This is reason enough to pray for and support other Christians, especially our pastors, not question or criticize them or their work. God goes to great lengths to transform us into the image of His Son. Should I not be willing to be transformed to that same image? What do I need to give up to be more like Him? Reputation? Friends? Time? Energy? The list can be long.

Jesus, I’m not thrilled to read all these OT rebukes and warnings, but they do apply to the transformation You intend in my salvation. Work Your will into my heart and increase my desire to do and be whatever You spell out for me.

Saved from…

But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and gone away. They do not say in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.’ Your iniquities have turned these away, and your sins have kept good from you. For wicked men are found among my people; they lurk like fowlers lying in wait. They set a trap; they catch men. Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; therefore they have become great and rich; they have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy. Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?” An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes? Flee for safety, O people of Benjamin, from the midst of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise a signal on Beth-haccherem, for disaster looms out of the north, and great destruction. (Jeremiah 5:23–6:1)

A pastor says we can choose whatever we want, but we cannot choose the consequences. This remark was made to encourage listeners to choose faith in Jesus Christ because sitting on the fence is the same as saying NO to Him and the consequences for doing that are eternal condemnation.

The OT prophets wrote the same message to those with that same attitude and God said, “Shall I not punish them for these things?” He had every right to do so because His law says, “The soul that sins shall die” with death meaning separation from God forever. Very likely this is the consequence referred to by His statement, “But what will you do when the end comes?” Yet the above passage speaks of other consequences, such as withholding rain and other disasters in their lives.

Not all current affairs are the result of the sins of those who suffer in this life, but that final separation from God is certain for those who say NO to Jesus Christ. That is the bad news. The good news is:

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

And for those who take that seriously, the Word of God says: 

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

And this is very good news!

Jesus, You don’t promise comfort and a perfect life here as a consequence, but You do promise an abundant life, and the peace that passes understanding, and the assurance of eternal life. You walk with me and hear my prayers. Death is no longer a dreaded separation but a changed life now and assurance of eternity with You. 

The Best Place to be…

O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You have struck them down, but they felt no anguish; you have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent. Then I said, “These are only the poor; they have no sense; for they do not know the way of the Lord, the justice of their God. I will go to the great and will speak to them, for they know the way of the Lord, the justice of their God.” But they all alike had broken the yoke; they had burst the bonds. Therefore a lion from the forest shall strike them down; a wolf from the desert shall devastate them. A leopard is watching their cities; everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, their apostasies are great. 
“How can I pardon you? Your children have forsaken me and have sworn by those who are no gods. When I fed them to the full, they committed adultery and trooped to the houses of whores. (Jeremiah 5:1-7)

Jeremiah uses colorful but crude words to describe the condition of God's people who were worshiping other gods. They were like men who lusted after women other than their wives. He tells them what will happen to them because they refused to listen to and obey Him:

Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord; and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this? “Go up through her vine rows and destroy, but make not a full end; strip away her branches, for they are not the Lord’s. For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly treacherous to me, declares the Lord. They have spoken falsely of the Lord and have said, ‘He will do nothing; no disaster will come upon us, nor shall we see sword or famine. The prophets will become wind; the word is not in them. Thus shall it be done to them!’ ” 
Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts: “Because you have spoken this word, behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire, and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them. Behold, I am bringing against you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, declares the Lord. It is an enduring nation; it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know, nor can you understand what they say. Their quiver is like an open tomb; they are all mighty warriors. They shall eat up your harvest and your food; they shall eat up your sons and your daughters; they shall eat up your flocks and your herds; they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; your fortified cities in which you trust they shall beat down with the sword.” 
“But even in those days, declares the Lord, I will not make a full end of you. And when your people say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.’ ” (Jeremiah 5:8–19)

Even though obedience to God does not earn salvation or His mercy, when God freely offers it and we refuse it, there are consequences for our rejection. Like this OT description, I can expect that ignoring God to do my own thing (sin) things will happen that could have been avoided, or at least I will remove my ability to remain joyful in trials — because God will not bless my disobedience.

I could be wrong, but in my observations, obedience does not make for a prosperous life (it could) but it can make for peace and joy in trials. If I am disobedient, trials are designed to pull me to the faith God wants for me. He may still answer prayer if I am being a brat, but I will not have that same sense of security that comes when I know I am doing what He tells me to do. In other words, my salvation does not depend on what I do, but He blesses those who listen and obey and He disciplines those who do not.

Jesus, I know it is easy to fall into thinking I can earn anything from You by obedience but that twists the purpose of Your blessings. You bless me so I can rejoice in and praise You, not so I can boast that I earned it. You want the best for me and sin cannot deliver that. Obedience can feel like being between a rock and a hard place, but You are my Rock and I know the best place to be.

What is God really like?

But you who forsake the Lord, who forget my holy mountain, who set a table for Fortune and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny, I will destine you to the sword, and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter, because, when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not listen, but you did what was evil in my eyes and chose what I did not delight in.” Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame; behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart, but you shall cry out for pain of heart and shall wail for breaking of spirit. You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse, and the Lord God will put you to death, but his servants he will call by another name, so that he who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth, and he who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my eyes. “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. (Isaiah 65:11–17)

Hell and judgment are not popular topics. But what would I think of a God who claims to be holy yet puts up with persistent sin? Could I worship a God who mercifully offers forgiveness and freedom from sin and then looks the other way when sinners prefer their choices over such grace? Does not God have the right to withhold blessing or eternal life from the people who defy Him or just ignore Him?

We get upset with the police who ignore crime or even speedsters who break the law plainly written on road signs. We get upset with doctors who ignore symptoms and tell sick people to take two aspirins and go home. It bothers many to see children abandoned by their parents or teachers who ignore their class. Yet God is criticized for letting the consequences of sin take down those who will not listen to Him and insist on sin?

It should break my heart to see the rich abuse the poor, and political leaders use their power for personal gain. I should also be glad to hear the prophets make declarations such as these:

“Therefore I still contend with you, declares the Lord, and with your children’s children I will contend. For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see, or send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has been such a thing. Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:9–13)

How sad to see the ‘wealthy and wise’ of this world value their gods that cannot see or talk and will not last, nor go to the grave with them, and to watch them live as if they are gods themselves, ruining lives until they themselves also become terminal.

And yet the love of God remains. No one is beyond repentance and redemption. How different He is from the gods of this world who entrap and bind people in sin and selfishness that ruins their destiny and harms so many along the way.

Jesus, no wonder You tell us to pray for those leaders. Not for our comfort but for their souls and for us to be at peace even if they keep on resisting You. Grant me the patience that trusts You with those who say no. You might lead them to repentance, but like the prophets say, You may also leave them to eternal punishment.