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
We are not God’s Stepchildren
Isaiah 63:16 – “For you are our father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not recognize us. You, O Lord, are our father, our redeemer from of old is your name.” God stopped me as I read this verse. I’m not Jewish, and I don’t know about the rest of you non-Jewish believers but sometimes as I read the Bible I feel like I’m on the outside looking in. The stories of the patriarchs, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David and his mighty men, Daniel, and so many others that I read about and heard about in Bible classes are thrilling and exciting but it sometimes seems like God’s doing stuff for a whole different class of people than me. I didn’t see the Red Sea split, or the pillar of fire, or God appear on Mt. Sinai. I didn’t see David kill Goliath or witness what happened in the ... Read More about We are not God’s Stepchildren
When You Feel Forgotten, Remember Whose You Are
Isaiah 51:15-16 – “I am the Lord your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the Lord of hosts is his name. I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, establishing the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.’ A lot of the book of Isaiah is taken up with God exposing the wickedness of Israel and promising wrath and punishment. Chapter 51 is God’s future response to His people when they have finally turned back to Him (See Isaiah 51:1). God reminds them that He never left them. He’s still there…the same God. He reminds them of Abraham and Sarah, He reminds them of the Law He gave specifically to them, He reminds them of how He delivered them from slavery in Egypt. If you read the chapter carefully ... Read More about When You Feel Forgotten, Remember Whose You Are