Jeremiah 18:7-10 – “If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I intended to do to it.” In the first six verses of Jeremiah 18, God sends Jeremiah to the potter’s house. Jeremiah watches as the potter works the clay on his wheel. But the vessel doesn’t turn out the way the potter intended, so the potter reshapes the clay into another vessel. Then God gives Jeremiah the lesson. Israel had rejected God, ... Read More about You’re Choosing Your Future Right Now
What Are You Really Living For
Jeremiah 9:23-24 – “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.’” What if everything you have spent your life trying to achieve isn’t nearly as valuable as you think? That is a sobering thought, isn’t it? Our ways are not God’s ways. Neither are our thoughts like God’s thoughts. We naturally look at life from a human, earthly perspective. God sees it from an eternal one. We think being wise is something to boast about. And wisdom certainly is valuable. Life can be much harder ... Read More about What Are You Really Living For
Before We Ask God to Change America, Ask Him to Change Us
Jeremiah 7: 23-24 – “But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ But they did not obey or incline their ear. The heartbreaking part of the Old Testament is how hard God worked to draw the hearts of His people to Himself and how that over the generations they continued to reject Him. All God wanted was a people who would genuinely love Him. I think most of us can relate to that. What most of us don’t understand and what the Jews didn’t understand was that God’s love language is obedience. That’s true for Jesus as well. Jesus said in John 14:21 “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I ... Read More about Before We Ask God to Change America, Ask Him to Change Us
What If Your Weakness Is Exactly What God Wants?
Jeremiah 1:6-8 – “Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.’ But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say “I am only a youth.” For to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.’” In the previous verse God informed Jeremiah that before Jeremiah was even conceived, He had consecrated him as His prophet. In other words, Jeremiah was born with everything he needed to be the prophet God wanted him to be. But Jeremiah didn’t see that. As soon as God called him, Jeremiah looked at how young he was and said that he was not capable of being a prophet. God then informed Jeremiah that he was not looking at this thing correctly. Jeremiah may ... Read More about What If Your Weakness Is Exactly What God Wants?
What if God Showed Up?
Isaiah 64: 1-5 – “Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence—as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil—to make your name known to your adversaries, that the nations might tremble at your presence! When you did awesome things that we did not look for, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him. You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways.” Isaiah is sick and tired of the same old hypocrisy and fake religion he sees in God’s people, so he cries out to God to manifest a special revelation of Himself to the people. Isaiah doesn’t think that ... Read More about What if God Showed Up?
If God Loved You Then, He Loves You Now
Romans 5: 9-10 – “Since we have now been justified by His (Christ’s) blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His (Christ’s) life. Wow! What an amazing passage! Human nature stinks. We live selfish, terrible lives and then, by God’s grace, we find salvation by trusting in Jesus Christ’s death on the cross for us. That’s awesome! Simply by trusting in Jesus to be our savior and Lord, letting Him rule over our lives, we are washed clean of our sins and made righteous before God! That’s when our fleshly human nature sticks its ugly head into our lives. Frustratingly, we discover that even though we are ... Read More about If God Loved You Then, He Loves You Now