Lamentations 3:19-24 – “Remember my afflictions and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. 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.’” Jeremiah spent his entire adult life being used by God to attempt to get the people in Judea and particularly living in Jerusalem to repent of their idolatry and wickedness and turn back to God. Though they rebelled against Him, God still loved Israel and tried every way possible to reach their hearts and save them from the horrible punishment that awaited them. But their ... Read More about Hope Begins When You Remember
They Walked Away. God Stayed.
Jeremiah 44:1a – “The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who lived in the land of Egypt…” For me, Jeremiah chapter 44 has to be one of the saddest chapters in the Bible. God called Jeremiah, as a young man, to dedicate his life to speaking the word of God to the people of Israel, and after all these years and God’s faithful pleading, the people have rejected God. It’s horrible where that rejection has brought them. Their entire country is destroyed and is basically rubble. Their kings and all the royals and nobles are either dead or slaves in a foreign land. Their homes, farms, livestock, vineyards, and orchards are destroyed and given to others. The Great Temple of God is destroyed and burned. And these last remaining Jews have rejected God’s will and run ... Read More about They Walked Away. God Stayed.
Buy the Field
Jeremiah 32:15 – “For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.” This odd prophecy comes in the middle of an extremely stressful time for Jeremiah and the remaining kingdom of Judah. The most powerful army in the world is surrounding and besieging Jerusalem and the situation is getting desperate. Jeremiah himself is imprisoned in the guard house of the palace because he dared to tell the king and the people that their sins had brought all of this death and destruction on them, and that it was going to get worse. In the middle of this apocalyptic scenario God sends word to Jeremiah in jail that his nephew is coming to the prison to ask Jeremiah to buy his field, which even if he could get out of jail, he couldn’t ... Read More about Buy the Field
When God Tests You, What Will He Find?
Jeremiah 20: 12a - ”O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind…” Jeremiah is having a hard day. Actually, he is having a hard life. God has called him to prophecy to his wicked nation, and they not only have rejected the word of the Lord, but they are ready to kill God’s messenger as well. As Jeremiah is about to ask God to bring vengeance on those who have made Jeremiah’s life so miserable, he begins by reminding himself of a pertinent truth about God’s nature. First, God is the Lord. He rules over all people and all circumstances. Next, He is the Lord of hosts, i.e. the commander of heavens armies. God has the power to do whatever He wants. Thirdly, it is God’s nature to test the righteous. God wants to know if the people who claim to serve and ... Read More about When God Tests You, What Will He Find?
You’re Choosing Your Future Right Now
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