Scripture: Jeremiah 29:4-14
In our last look at God’s word to Judah through Jeremiah, we consider a portion of the letter that the prophet wrote to the exiles in Babylon. The message is quite different from the words he delivered earlier in this book – we no longer see the condemnation and mourning that seemed to dominate the earlier chapters. Now we see words of hope and encouragement. Now we see words of prosperity.
It’s almost as thought the Lord had set all of the sins of Judah behind Him, and was now giving the people a reason to look forward to the day when they would again see Him as their one and only God. He wanted them to know that even in exile, there is hope.
Read Jeremiah 29:4-7
It would seem that the time in exile was intended to be a period of growth and restoration for the people.
Larry Kreider, in his book “Bottom-Line Faith” writes:
God shook Jonah -- the bottom dropped out of his plans.
God shook the apostles -- the vibrations didn't stop until they reached heaven.
An unshaken bottle creates a sour sediment like that at the bottom of a wine vat. This was the picture of Moab in Jeremiah 48:11: Moab had been at rest from youth, like wine left on its dregs, not poured from one jar to another--she had not gone into exile. So she tasted as she did, and her aroma was unchanged. The nation of Moab had become stale, flat and sour because she was sedimentary, calcified, hardened.
God restores people and nations by shaking them up. Where this shaking leads is known only to God .... Shaking, then, is a sign of God's involvement in our lives. If things aren't a little turbulent, we may wonder if God is ignoring us. He doesn't shake just for the sake of shaking. There is a reason. The stuff of life is being rearranged, and people are going to be effected.
--Larry Kreider, Bottom-Line Faith (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House, 1995), 195-96.
Who here has ever poured a glass of juice without shaking the bottle first? I love tomato juice, and have a large glass nearly every morning. But before the cap comes off, I always give the bottle a twist up and down to remix it – and not just the first time I open it, but every time. If you are pouring natural orange juice, you want to remix the pulp and the juice before pouring, so you give it a shake. If we don’t do this, the good stuff remains on the bottom and the stuff you wind up with in your glass is usually a bit thin and nowhere near as good as it could be.
That was the case with the exiles of Judah – they were being remixed. Their faith - that “good stuff” that had sat on the bottom of their lives for so many years - was being reintroduced throughout the fabric of their lives. And the Lord didn’t want them to mourn and lament the loss of their glory days back home. For the next 70 years, Babylon was to be seen as more than just a prison existence, more than a punishment – they were to see this place as their home. They were to help this foreign land to prosper, and if they did, they would, too.
Hardly a conventional approach to exile!
Read Jeremiah 29:8-9
No matter where we are in life, there are always the nay-sayers. We aren’t told exactly what these false prophets and diviners were saying, but we can imagine. They were taking a stand in direct opposition to what God was telling them, so it was probably something like “Don’t help them, don’t cooperate, don’t give any aid to the enemy. If you can, plan an escape and return to our land the best way you possibly can.”
This was the military response to being a POW. Only give your name, rank and serial number, and get out of there if you can. But it wasn’t God’s response. Judah was in this place for a reason, and it wasn’t to be a chastening – it was to be a time of renewal. Jeremiah was telling them to stop listening to those who are saying things that were in total opposition to what God was telling them!
But how do we know which is which? The truth is that it can only come through prayer and personal discernment. All too often, we listen to what others think we should do, and never take the time to pray about our own situation. Judah had just begun their time away – their “retreat of renewal”, if you will – and the Lord had to get them on the right track right from the start. “Don’t cause trouble – live as if this were your own home. Marry, have children, build homes, make a life for yourself and your family right where you are!”
Where has our lives taken us? Do we feel as though we are in a foreign land, a waste land, some place we didn’t want to go to and want to get out of in the worst way? It may not be an especially pleasant place, but maybe it is offering us the opportunity for renewal. Maybe this is a time to step back and reflect on why we are here, and what we need to change if we are ever to get out! Maybe it’s a time for growth, and not for self sacrifice. Maybe it’s a time to stop our head long rush in life, and begin to spend a little more time with the Lord.
Read Jeremiah 29:10-14
“You’re going to go home, but until that time comes, I want you to live your life as though you already are home!”
Judah was to spend 70 years as a divided nation. Some were still in the land, continuing to work the fields and vineyards, providing tribute to the conquerors and gaining very little for themselves. But those who were taken to Babylon were to grow and prosper in their banishment. This would be the time when the concept of the synagogue would come into its own and the people would begin to discover that study and worship could occur even when they were absent from the temple.
The Northern Kingdom of Israel would not fare as well. Some would return, but most would be assimilated into Assyrian society, and would be lost. Even some in Babylon would choose to remain behind in the new life that they had made for themselves. Regardless, the time in captivity would turn out to be one in which the people would have to make many decisions and choices. Some would be good, some would not, but it would certainly be a time of discovering just who they were.
Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation, asking yourself the question “Why has God allowed this to happen to me?” Remember that sometimes it is just our “free will”, or the free will of others, that has caused us so many trials, but sometimes it is the Lord giving us the opportunity to get back in touch with Him. But how do we know which is which? Through prayer, reflection, meditation, discernment. And when our time in “exile” is over, He will welcome us back into His glorious plan, showering us with blessings and hope and His divine promise. And what will come of it?
Let me read vs. 12-14 again.
v.12 – “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” Two way communications between the people and their Jehovah would be restored. No longer would God be offering warnings, with the people ignoring them all.
v.13 –“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Faith could no longer be skin deep – it had to be heartfelt, it had to be honest, it had to be intentional.
v. 14 – “I will be found by you, and will bring you back from captivity.” The “finding” is up to the people, not God! He already knows where we are! But when we do find Him, when we finally know and accept His will for our lives, it is then that we will find ourselves on the road that leads us home.
Even when we are in that proverbial “far country”, God is with us. He has a plan for our lives that will never be taken away. It is a plan of glory, it is a plan of prosperity, it is a plan that offers incredible hope for our lives. And we will discover it when we pray to Him, when we seek Him with our whole heart, when we finally find that He has been with us throughout our entire ordeal. And what a glorious discovery that will be.
Are you on your way home yet?
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
“Unlike Any Other!”
Scripture: Jeremiah 10:1-16
American Idol has nearly become a standard for our country’s TV viewing audience. If you don’t watch the show, you are out of touch! People at work talk about it, they review and rate the performances with great enthusiasm, and folks talk about the contestants as though they were important members of their family.
Reality shows are another standard of American life, and the people on those shows have gained the status of folk heroes. Of course, there is little that is “real” about these shows, and yet people flock to them in droves. Fans faithfully follow the antics of their favorites as though they are actually seeing life rolled out in front of them. One day at lunch, I half jokingly described these shows as voyeurism, and one of the women at our table wasn’t too happy about the comparison.
We have sacrificed our own life’s joy in order to live a better life through these “TV Heroes”. Even in their imperfections and foibles, they have become the standard bearers for “the better way”. After all, it’s easier to live their fantasy life than trying to make our own true way.
Remember the comic strip “Broom Hilda”? She’s that ugly, yet lovable little witch, and she has a troll for a “sidekick” by the name of Irwin.
In one strip, Broom Hilda asks, Irwin, “What would be the best way to make the world better?”
Irwin thinks for a moment and replies, “Start with yourself! Give up your bad habits and evil pleasures. Then when you're good, when you're perfect, you'll stand as a shining example to others!”
Broom Hilda swiftly responds, “What's the second best way?”
- Homeletics OnLine
What? Make a change in my own life? There has to be a better way than that!
Read Jeremiah 10:1-5
“Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them. For the customs of the peoples are worthless;”
The “ways of the nations” and the “customs of the peoples” are simply feeble human attempts to find a new, more acceptable meaning for life, but they always turn out to be inadequate and dangerous. Think about the drive to gain more in business careers. We put the desire for greater authority, power and money ahead of the truly important things of life. We put all of our energy and time into “getting ahead”, and where do we actually wind up? Further behind!
And what are these things that we place all our hopes and dreams in? They become nothing less than burdens. They consume our time through long hours at the office, and then even more time with the reports and projects that we take home with us. We rise in the chain of command and receive more compensation and prestige, but to what gain? So we can buy a bigger house, along with the bigger mortgage and higher taxes, and what do we wind up with in the long run? Earthly baggage that has no heavenly good.
Oh, the neighbors may be impressed, our college buddies may envy us, our family can brag to their friends – at least for a while. The problem is that we have less and less time for any of those who had brought us such joy during our “less than impressive” days.
“All that glitters is not gold” – a slightly misquoted line from Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” – reminds us that the things that seem to be the most mundane in the world’s view are usually not.
- The child who jumps in your lap while you are trying to read the paper, and gives you a great big hug – and when you ask why, you are told “I thought you needed it!”
- The friend who drives for 3 hours to visit you in the hospital, and you fall asleep after 15 minutes of conversation, and your friend considers it time well spent.
- Fixing dinner for your wife, or mother, or sister, when you know she’s had a particularly difficult day.
These are the “glitters” that bring real joy into our lives.
Read Jeremiah 10:6-10
And then there is our Lord! His gifts are not the glories of earth – they are the simple daily blessings that we remember for years to come.
I remember a particular gift from years ago when we lived in Western NY. I had gone out to mow the lawn, and very soon, I realized that our oldest son Chris, who was probably 5-6 at the time, was following a few steps behind. I wondered just how long he would keep up, as we had a fairly large lot, but as I continued to mow, first the front yard, then the side, and finally the large back yard, Chris never missed a step. Once when I was mowing around a bush, I met him on the back side before he had caught up to me. He was surprised and jumped back as he was obviously thinking about something else, but he never stopped following. When we were nearly finished, which was about 2 hours of mowing, Diane came out of the house with some cold drinks for both of us. She took a picture of us standing, holding our glasses of water and leaning on a fence post, with Chris standing with the same pose as I had. I have to look that picture up in the albums, and scan it for my computer screen saver. It’s a keeper.
I’ve never forgotten that day – that memory of mowing the lawn with my son, for they – the memory and my son - are two of the greatest “glitters” that God has given me. There is no one like our God!
How can people put so much store in the things that they have made, and yet fail to show any appreciation whatsoever for all that the Lord has given them? As Jeremiah wrote, the idols of the world are useless, and are only one more load that we have to carry. What good is that? But our God is a different story. He is of infinite value to us – He gives us gifts that go on without end, and when our life’s burdens begin to grow, he helps us to carry them.
“he is the living God, the eternal King.” "There is no one like you.” Where is our faith?
Stephen Carter, in his book “The Culture of Disbelief”, writes “A religion is, at its heart, a way of denying the authority of the rest of the world; it's a way of saying to fellow human beings and to the state those fellow humans have erected, ‘No, I will not accede to your will.’”
--Stephen Carter, The Culture of Disbelief (New York: Basic Books, 1993), 41
This is not intended to deny Christ’s admonition to “give to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21) It means that we will not worship the things of this world, even though we see God’s beauty in them. Carter’s point is this - the things that are temporary are never worthy of our praise - the eternal God alone is worthy.
Read Jeremiah 10:11-16
And he is our portion, too – not just of Jacob, but of all who believe. The idols that come from the world are false and fruitless, but our God is glorious and vigorous and infinitely gracious. The gods made by human hands are silent and dead, but our great God Jehovah lives, and he speaks to us, and walks with us, and guides us, and gives us incredible and blessed gifts.
He created all that there is, and we are to worship the Creator, not the created.
The things of earth are plentiful, but in the long run, they will be worthless and all are going to pass away. But the Lord God is eternal – before all time and beyond all time. He is unlike any other. Praise be to our One and Only and Living God.
American Idol has nearly become a standard for our country’s TV viewing audience. If you don’t watch the show, you are out of touch! People at work talk about it, they review and rate the performances with great enthusiasm, and folks talk about the contestants as though they were important members of their family.
Reality shows are another standard of American life, and the people on those shows have gained the status of folk heroes. Of course, there is little that is “real” about these shows, and yet people flock to them in droves. Fans faithfully follow the antics of their favorites as though they are actually seeing life rolled out in front of them. One day at lunch, I half jokingly described these shows as voyeurism, and one of the women at our table wasn’t too happy about the comparison.
We have sacrificed our own life’s joy in order to live a better life through these “TV Heroes”. Even in their imperfections and foibles, they have become the standard bearers for “the better way”. After all, it’s easier to live their fantasy life than trying to make our own true way.
Remember the comic strip “Broom Hilda”? She’s that ugly, yet lovable little witch, and she has a troll for a “sidekick” by the name of Irwin.
In one strip, Broom Hilda asks, Irwin, “What would be the best way to make the world better?”
Irwin thinks for a moment and replies, “Start with yourself! Give up your bad habits and evil pleasures. Then when you're good, when you're perfect, you'll stand as a shining example to others!”
Broom Hilda swiftly responds, “What's the second best way?”
- Homeletics OnLine
What? Make a change in my own life? There has to be a better way than that!
Read Jeremiah 10:1-5
“Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them. For the customs of the peoples are worthless;”
The “ways of the nations” and the “customs of the peoples” are simply feeble human attempts to find a new, more acceptable meaning for life, but they always turn out to be inadequate and dangerous. Think about the drive to gain more in business careers. We put the desire for greater authority, power and money ahead of the truly important things of life. We put all of our energy and time into “getting ahead”, and where do we actually wind up? Further behind!
And what are these things that we place all our hopes and dreams in? They become nothing less than burdens. They consume our time through long hours at the office, and then even more time with the reports and projects that we take home with us. We rise in the chain of command and receive more compensation and prestige, but to what gain? So we can buy a bigger house, along with the bigger mortgage and higher taxes, and what do we wind up with in the long run? Earthly baggage that has no heavenly good.
Oh, the neighbors may be impressed, our college buddies may envy us, our family can brag to their friends – at least for a while. The problem is that we have less and less time for any of those who had brought us such joy during our “less than impressive” days.
“All that glitters is not gold” – a slightly misquoted line from Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” – reminds us that the things that seem to be the most mundane in the world’s view are usually not.
- The child who jumps in your lap while you are trying to read the paper, and gives you a great big hug – and when you ask why, you are told “I thought you needed it!”
- The friend who drives for 3 hours to visit you in the hospital, and you fall asleep after 15 minutes of conversation, and your friend considers it time well spent.
- Fixing dinner for your wife, or mother, or sister, when you know she’s had a particularly difficult day.
These are the “glitters” that bring real joy into our lives.
Read Jeremiah 10:6-10
And then there is our Lord! His gifts are not the glories of earth – they are the simple daily blessings that we remember for years to come.
I remember a particular gift from years ago when we lived in Western NY. I had gone out to mow the lawn, and very soon, I realized that our oldest son Chris, who was probably 5-6 at the time, was following a few steps behind. I wondered just how long he would keep up, as we had a fairly large lot, but as I continued to mow, first the front yard, then the side, and finally the large back yard, Chris never missed a step. Once when I was mowing around a bush, I met him on the back side before he had caught up to me. He was surprised and jumped back as he was obviously thinking about something else, but he never stopped following. When we were nearly finished, which was about 2 hours of mowing, Diane came out of the house with some cold drinks for both of us. She took a picture of us standing, holding our glasses of water and leaning on a fence post, with Chris standing with the same pose as I had. I have to look that picture up in the albums, and scan it for my computer screen saver. It’s a keeper.
I’ve never forgotten that day – that memory of mowing the lawn with my son, for they – the memory and my son - are two of the greatest “glitters” that God has given me. There is no one like our God!
How can people put so much store in the things that they have made, and yet fail to show any appreciation whatsoever for all that the Lord has given them? As Jeremiah wrote, the idols of the world are useless, and are only one more load that we have to carry. What good is that? But our God is a different story. He is of infinite value to us – He gives us gifts that go on without end, and when our life’s burdens begin to grow, he helps us to carry them.
“he is the living God, the eternal King.” "There is no one like you.” Where is our faith?
Stephen Carter, in his book “The Culture of Disbelief”, writes “A religion is, at its heart, a way of denying the authority of the rest of the world; it's a way of saying to fellow human beings and to the state those fellow humans have erected, ‘No, I will not accede to your will.’”
--Stephen Carter, The Culture of Disbelief (New York: Basic Books, 1993), 41
This is not intended to deny Christ’s admonition to “give to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21) It means that we will not worship the things of this world, even though we see God’s beauty in them. Carter’s point is this - the things that are temporary are never worthy of our praise - the eternal God alone is worthy.
Read Jeremiah 10:11-16
And he is our portion, too – not just of Jacob, but of all who believe. The idols that come from the world are false and fruitless, but our God is glorious and vigorous and infinitely gracious. The gods made by human hands are silent and dead, but our great God Jehovah lives, and he speaks to us, and walks with us, and guides us, and gives us incredible and blessed gifts.
He created all that there is, and we are to worship the Creator, not the created.
The things of earth are plentiful, but in the long run, they will be worthless and all are going to pass away. But the Lord God is eternal – before all time and beyond all time. He is unlike any other. Praise be to our One and Only and Living God.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
“Who Are We Trying to Kid?”
Scripture: Jeremiah 7:1-11
For the past 2 weeks, we’ve been following some of the advice that Jeremiah offered to the people of Judah. Even while the Babylonian army was pounding on the gates of Jerusalem, the people were still trying to do things all by themselves. Today, we look at the cavalier approach that the people showed toward their worship of the great Jehovah, as well as the opportunity for a second chance in faithfulness that they would be given.
All too often, we see the Old Testament as God’s heavy handed attitude toward His creation. We see destruction in the form of the Flood, when only 8 people and the animals under their care would survive. We see laws that were so demanding that even a judge might shake his head in dismay. We see a brutal march that took the people through 40 years in the desert before they were allowed to enter the Land they had been promised. We see God stepping away from the people, allowing conquering armies to defeat the quarreling kingdoms, and carrying the best of the survivors off into 70 years of exile.
But in this passage, we also see the Lord as One who offers His people a second chance to act like His people for a change.
Read Jeremiah 7:1-7
The problem is that the people don’t seem to think that they need another chance – they don’t have the slightest clue that they have done wrong in God’s sight! “Why are you so angry at us? We still come to worship, we still sacrifice - can’t you see that we’re doing the best we can!”
And Jeremiah wasn’t the only voice crying out in the wilderness of the two kingdoms. Isaiah, Hosea, Joel, Amos, and many others carried the message that God was distressed over the wayward actions of His people, and that they had to return to His side before their idolatry claimed their lives!
How many preachers today, do you suppose, are carrying that message? Some are. The fact is that most people don’t want to hear that they are on the wrong path, and most preachers have enough problems without this one upsetting their congregations! In many services today, people are only hearing about issues related to Social Justice, about the “warm fuzzies” associated with universal salvation, that “God loves you and so do I.”, but only as a half truth.
It would be interesting to know how many people are hearing "either repent and receive an unlimited number of second chances, or continue doing it your own way without a single chance”!
Are the people of today any different than the people of Jeremiah’s time? Hardly!
Vs. 5 – “change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly” – The Triple Cities has been known as the “Home of the Square Deal” for a long time, and it even says so on the Endicott and Johnson City arches. A “square deal” is a very interesting concept. It implies that both the seller and the buyer believe that they both have received a fair exchange.
But God’s justice goes far beyond this concept. We have absolutely no part in this transaction – other than accepting it. And fairness is only by God’s definition, not ours – in His mercy, we receive nothing of the condemnations than we so richly deserve, and in grace, we receive far more of His blessings than we could ever earn. It’s about giving us everything that we need, and nothing of what we truly merit.
And this is how the Lord wants us to treat others – with His brand of justice.
- Love the sinner, even while hating their sin.
- Forgive, not 7 times, but 7 times 70!
- Love your enemies, and pray for God’s blessings to rain down upon them.
That’s the Lord’s version of the Square Deal, and He wants it to be ours, too.
Vs. 6a – “do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow” – this parallels Matthew 25:40 “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these … you did for me.” The list of foreigners, orphans, and widows may be a little different today – today’s list may include such notables as AIDS patients and homosexuals, Muslims, those on the opposite side of the political spectrum, those who perform abortions and those who seek abortions, the 19 men who high jacked 3 planes on September 11, 2001, foreigners who are here illegally - all of this, as well as the orphans and widows.
To put it in slightly different words – “Don’t take advantage of those who you can’t identify with.”
Vs. 6b – “do not shed innocent blood in this place” – This can be taken in a couple of different ways. It could be calling us to abstain from violence against others, and in the context of worship, it could also be referring to the ineffective sacrifice offered to false gods. Either way, the shedding of innocent blood will bring nothing but anguish to us.
Vs. 6c “do not follow other gods to your own harm” – the Baals and Asherah’s of 2010 are still calling God’s people away from Him. These new gods include money, personal power, sports, drugs, sex and all kinds of immoral living, and the list goes on!
The “me first” generation has more gods at their disposal than you can shake a stick at, and the list is getting longer every day. But we can’t start condemning the lives of others until we put the gods of our own making far behind us. It’s about the comparison of the speck of dust in another person’s eye, versus the plank that is in our own.
Do we really think that we can pull the wool over the Lord’s eyes? Do we still think that we are getting away with something? He sees us, He knows us, He fears for us, and still He loves us.
Read Jeremiah 7:8-11
In 1930 William Temple preached at the opening of the seventh Lambeth Conference, a 20 day Anglican gathering that occurs every 10 years. This is part of what he said:
“While we deliberate, God reigns; when we decide wisely, God reigns; when we decide foolishly, God reigns; when we serve God in humble loyalty, God reigns; when we serve God self-assertively, God reigns; when we rebel and seek to withhold our service, God reigns - the Alpha and the Omega, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
Almighty God reigns. We do indeed have an awesome God.
- Homiletics Online
Even while we listen and learn from the lies and deceit of the world, God still loves and remains supreme. The deceit on our lives can never deceive Him – we are the only ones who are fooled! Do we worship false gods all week, and then come to give honor to the true God on Sunday? Do we really think that this is OK with the Lord? Many do! There is no sorrow, no regret, no remorse, no plans to make a change for the better.
The is the day that the Lord has made, specifically for each of us – not so much to enjoy and revel in, but one that brings second chances into our sin racked lives. No more trying to hoodwink God, no more deception, no more playing both sides. Love the one and true Master, and let all of those other gods go their own, misguided, and destructive way. The Lord is watching, you know!
For the past 2 weeks, we’ve been following some of the advice that Jeremiah offered to the people of Judah. Even while the Babylonian army was pounding on the gates of Jerusalem, the people were still trying to do things all by themselves. Today, we look at the cavalier approach that the people showed toward their worship of the great Jehovah, as well as the opportunity for a second chance in faithfulness that they would be given.
All too often, we see the Old Testament as God’s heavy handed attitude toward His creation. We see destruction in the form of the Flood, when only 8 people and the animals under their care would survive. We see laws that were so demanding that even a judge might shake his head in dismay. We see a brutal march that took the people through 40 years in the desert before they were allowed to enter the Land they had been promised. We see God stepping away from the people, allowing conquering armies to defeat the quarreling kingdoms, and carrying the best of the survivors off into 70 years of exile.
But in this passage, we also see the Lord as One who offers His people a second chance to act like His people for a change.
Read Jeremiah 7:1-7
The problem is that the people don’t seem to think that they need another chance – they don’t have the slightest clue that they have done wrong in God’s sight! “Why are you so angry at us? We still come to worship, we still sacrifice - can’t you see that we’re doing the best we can!”
And Jeremiah wasn’t the only voice crying out in the wilderness of the two kingdoms. Isaiah, Hosea, Joel, Amos, and many others carried the message that God was distressed over the wayward actions of His people, and that they had to return to His side before their idolatry claimed their lives!
How many preachers today, do you suppose, are carrying that message? Some are. The fact is that most people don’t want to hear that they are on the wrong path, and most preachers have enough problems without this one upsetting their congregations! In many services today, people are only hearing about issues related to Social Justice, about the “warm fuzzies” associated with universal salvation, that “God loves you and so do I.”, but only as a half truth.
It would be interesting to know how many people are hearing "either repent and receive an unlimited number of second chances, or continue doing it your own way without a single chance”!
Are the people of today any different than the people of Jeremiah’s time? Hardly!
Vs. 5 – “change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly” – The Triple Cities has been known as the “Home of the Square Deal” for a long time, and it even says so on the Endicott and Johnson City arches. A “square deal” is a very interesting concept. It implies that both the seller and the buyer believe that they both have received a fair exchange.
But God’s justice goes far beyond this concept. We have absolutely no part in this transaction – other than accepting it. And fairness is only by God’s definition, not ours – in His mercy, we receive nothing of the condemnations than we so richly deserve, and in grace, we receive far more of His blessings than we could ever earn. It’s about giving us everything that we need, and nothing of what we truly merit.
And this is how the Lord wants us to treat others – with His brand of justice.
- Love the sinner, even while hating their sin.
- Forgive, not 7 times, but 7 times 70!
- Love your enemies, and pray for God’s blessings to rain down upon them.
That’s the Lord’s version of the Square Deal, and He wants it to be ours, too.
Vs. 6a – “do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow” – this parallels Matthew 25:40 “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these … you did for me.” The list of foreigners, orphans, and widows may be a little different today – today’s list may include such notables as AIDS patients and homosexuals, Muslims, those on the opposite side of the political spectrum, those who perform abortions and those who seek abortions, the 19 men who high jacked 3 planes on September 11, 2001, foreigners who are here illegally - all of this, as well as the orphans and widows.
To put it in slightly different words – “Don’t take advantage of those who you can’t identify with.”
Vs. 6b – “do not shed innocent blood in this place” – This can be taken in a couple of different ways. It could be calling us to abstain from violence against others, and in the context of worship, it could also be referring to the ineffective sacrifice offered to false gods. Either way, the shedding of innocent blood will bring nothing but anguish to us.
Vs. 6c “do not follow other gods to your own harm” – the Baals and Asherah’s of 2010 are still calling God’s people away from Him. These new gods include money, personal power, sports, drugs, sex and all kinds of immoral living, and the list goes on!
The “me first” generation has more gods at their disposal than you can shake a stick at, and the list is getting longer every day. But we can’t start condemning the lives of others until we put the gods of our own making far behind us. It’s about the comparison of the speck of dust in another person’s eye, versus the plank that is in our own.
Do we really think that we can pull the wool over the Lord’s eyes? Do we still think that we are getting away with something? He sees us, He knows us, He fears for us, and still He loves us.
Read Jeremiah 7:8-11
In 1930 William Temple preached at the opening of the seventh Lambeth Conference, a 20 day Anglican gathering that occurs every 10 years. This is part of what he said:
“While we deliberate, God reigns; when we decide wisely, God reigns; when we decide foolishly, God reigns; when we serve God in humble loyalty, God reigns; when we serve God self-assertively, God reigns; when we rebel and seek to withhold our service, God reigns - the Alpha and the Omega, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
Almighty God reigns. We do indeed have an awesome God.
- Homiletics Online
Even while we listen and learn from the lies and deceit of the world, God still loves and remains supreme. The deceit on our lives can never deceive Him – we are the only ones who are fooled! Do we worship false gods all week, and then come to give honor to the true God on Sunday? Do we really think that this is OK with the Lord? Many do! There is no sorrow, no regret, no remorse, no plans to make a change for the better.
The is the day that the Lord has made, specifically for each of us – not so much to enjoy and revel in, but one that brings second chances into our sin racked lives. No more trying to hoodwink God, no more deception, no more playing both sides. Love the one and true Master, and let all of those other gods go their own, misguided, and destructive way. The Lord is watching, you know!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
“Burn, Baby, Burn!”
Scripture: Jeremiah 4:1-9
When humanity discovered that they could use fire for their own purposes, they also discovered that they didn’t have quite as much control over it as they thought they did. They learned that it could be used for cooking their food, providing heat for their living areas, light to chase away the darkness, and many other good uses. However, it could also cause very serious injuries to their bodies and it could destroy the very things that they were trying to improve with it. They also discovered that it could be used as a weapon against their enemies, to cause them great hardship and to defeat them in battle.
And over the years, we have used it in some strange ways, too.
- In the late 30’s and early 40’s, the Nazi party used fire to destroy anything that they had deemed unsuitable – Bibles, novels, music, art, not to mention human lives – anything that didn’t support their position and purpose. But other than the art and lives, it never caused a single piece to go out of existence, and even the beliefs that were held by the lives that were lost, lives on.
- In the 60’s, flag burning became a popular form of opposition to the Vietnam War, and, of course, there is also the burning of human effigies to express dissatisfaction with governments and practices. Over the years, it has done little to bring about real change, but it’s done a lot in fueling animosity among people.
- I also remember the time when women of all ages began burning certain portions of their undergarments. I guess I never actually understood what that was all about, but I know that a lot of men supported and cheered their actions!
“Burn, baby burn” became a phrase that practically everyone in this country understood. It implied a stand against some ideology, it meant “lets destroy this thing that we don’t like”, and people could stand with it or against it. But little good actually came from the burning itself – it usually only caused conflict and agitation among people who stood on opposite sides of the issue.
Read Jeremiah 4:1-4
But with God, fiery destruction is a good thing. In verse 1, we’re called to set the things that are not of God “out of His sight”. That may sound simple, but how do we hide those “detestable idols” from the Lord? He is all seeing, all present, all knowing! About the only way that I know of is to completely destroy those things – both the physical form as well as our desire for them. “Burning” is finally a good thing! Verse 3 & 4 tell us to bury and kill those things, to cut them out of our lives, to burn them up, and if we don’t do it, the Lord’s all consuming wrath will!
One interesting point to consider – God’s wrath is against those idols that have taken control of our lives, not the people who have embraced them. That Holy Fire is meant to consume evil, not the person who is welcoming the evil. Our judgment is yet to come and certainly will one day, but evil is constantly under God’s scrutiny. And when it comes up against His people, when it creates obstacles in our faith, when it tempts us to take a path that isn’t the Lord’s, the wrath of heaven will come to bear. It will burn with a ferocity that will not be extinguished, if we let it.
Read Jeremiah 4:5-9
But if we won’t let go of our new gods, the Lord will gently step back and let us try to make our own way. For Judah, their steps had finally taken the same path that the Northern Kingdom took – one of idols and false gods. They turned to other nations for military alliances – they had forgotten that the great Jehovah could bring defeat to any enemy all by Himself. They had turned to other gods for blessings and strength – they had forgotten that the first commandment called them to “have no other gods before Me.” They had turned their backs on heaven and looked, instead, to the world for salvation. They had decided to try to destroy Babylon with earthly power – by their own destructive fire – but it would prove to be totally inadequate for the task. A “lion” – the Babylonians - was coming toward them, and they had turned their back on the only tamer who could stop him.
And the only thing left for them to do was to “put on sackcloth and lament and wail”. There could be no hope within themselves.
After all these thousands of years of being taught this lesson over and over, why haven’t we learned it yet? The first section of our passage for today is about repentance, about leaving the things of the past in the past, about letting the Lord deal with those things that aren’t of Him, and not trying to do it ourselves, about understanding that the Lord’s fire truly destroys, and ours only makes a mess!
What keeps us from confessing our sin to God so that He can erase it from our lives?
- Is it embarrassment? The shame that we feel for ever doing this evil in the first place? Have we forgotten that God already knows that we did it? The word is “omniscient” – all knowing, nothing can be hidden!!! All He wants from us to admit that it is not of Him, and that we can’t deal with it on our own, and that we don’t want it in us, or of us, any longer.
- Or is it our doubt? Have we confessed this particular sin so many times that we believe that God is finally fed up with us, and that He has run out of forgiveness? In Matthew 18 (vs. 21-35), Peter asks Christ how many times should he forgive his brother – should I forgive him 7 times? (Peter was trying to be generous!) But Jesus outdid his generosity – He said that it must be seventy times seven, which means alot! And if we are to forgive that much, how much more will God forgive us? And just in case you aren’t sure, He will forgive us an infinite number of times!
- Or is it because we get tired of trying, and just give up on our attempt to end that horrible aspect of our life? Is it really easier to live with the sin, instead of persevering in Christ? God’s love never gives up on us, and we can never give up on Him. Never give up! Never give up!
We can go to the Lord as many times as it takes to finally “let go and let God”! He doesn’t keep count – He only knows if the count is still at zero!
But when we do give up – when we decide that God isn’t working fast enough, or effectively enough, or in the way that we think He should be working, and take our life back to do with as we want to, He lets us do just that. He never interfered with either Israel or Judah’s decision to turn away from Him, but that didn’t mean that His love for them would end, or even there would be no consequences. Israel was overthrown by Assyria, and Judah by Babylon, and they would spend many years in exile. But one day, they would, eventually, be taken home. Remember the story of Hosea and Gomer? Even after Hosea showed his wife unquestionable love, she left to live a life of prostitution. And years later, when he found his wife, he bought her back, took her home, and told her that now she must be faithful to only him – that she must put the past behind, and begin anew.
Until we accept and confess the price that Christ has paid to win us back, we will continue to remain separated from Him. He never forces us to come home, He never demands that we repent, He no longer expects retribution on our part, He no longer forces us into exile. When we repent in a heartfelt way and turn away from our past sins, He forgives and forgets! The slate is wiped clean. It’s truly as simple as that.
Our fire just makes a mess – His makes a new and clear way for us. Have you have ever seen the result of a grass fire? Before the fire, the field is generally overgrown and filled with a tangle of thickets and thorns and weeds. The fire wipes it all away, leaving behind some evidence of the cleansing, but more specifically, it leaves a rich covering of ash, and within a few weeks, fresh shoots begin to push up through the earth, creating a lush, new green carpet that covers the ugliness, and soon, all evidence of the tangle, as well as the fire, are gone.
Jesus is that very kind of cleansing fire for our lives. If you have never given Him the chance to make you new, or if you feel that you need to make a recommitment to His mercy and grace, now is the time. During our last hymn, you are invited to come up, and we will approach His mercy together in prayer. Come alone, or come with a friend. But come.
When humanity discovered that they could use fire for their own purposes, they also discovered that they didn’t have quite as much control over it as they thought they did. They learned that it could be used for cooking their food, providing heat for their living areas, light to chase away the darkness, and many other good uses. However, it could also cause very serious injuries to their bodies and it could destroy the very things that they were trying to improve with it. They also discovered that it could be used as a weapon against their enemies, to cause them great hardship and to defeat them in battle.
And over the years, we have used it in some strange ways, too.
- In the late 30’s and early 40’s, the Nazi party used fire to destroy anything that they had deemed unsuitable – Bibles, novels, music, art, not to mention human lives – anything that didn’t support their position and purpose. But other than the art and lives, it never caused a single piece to go out of existence, and even the beliefs that were held by the lives that were lost, lives on.
- In the 60’s, flag burning became a popular form of opposition to the Vietnam War, and, of course, there is also the burning of human effigies to express dissatisfaction with governments and practices. Over the years, it has done little to bring about real change, but it’s done a lot in fueling animosity among people.
- I also remember the time when women of all ages began burning certain portions of their undergarments. I guess I never actually understood what that was all about, but I know that a lot of men supported and cheered their actions!
“Burn, baby burn” became a phrase that practically everyone in this country understood. It implied a stand against some ideology, it meant “lets destroy this thing that we don’t like”, and people could stand with it or against it. But little good actually came from the burning itself – it usually only caused conflict and agitation among people who stood on opposite sides of the issue.
Read Jeremiah 4:1-4
But with God, fiery destruction is a good thing. In verse 1, we’re called to set the things that are not of God “out of His sight”. That may sound simple, but how do we hide those “detestable idols” from the Lord? He is all seeing, all present, all knowing! About the only way that I know of is to completely destroy those things – both the physical form as well as our desire for them. “Burning” is finally a good thing! Verse 3 & 4 tell us to bury and kill those things, to cut them out of our lives, to burn them up, and if we don’t do it, the Lord’s all consuming wrath will!
One interesting point to consider – God’s wrath is against those idols that have taken control of our lives, not the people who have embraced them. That Holy Fire is meant to consume evil, not the person who is welcoming the evil. Our judgment is yet to come and certainly will one day, but evil is constantly under God’s scrutiny. And when it comes up against His people, when it creates obstacles in our faith, when it tempts us to take a path that isn’t the Lord’s, the wrath of heaven will come to bear. It will burn with a ferocity that will not be extinguished, if we let it.
Read Jeremiah 4:5-9
But if we won’t let go of our new gods, the Lord will gently step back and let us try to make our own way. For Judah, their steps had finally taken the same path that the Northern Kingdom took – one of idols and false gods. They turned to other nations for military alliances – they had forgotten that the great Jehovah could bring defeat to any enemy all by Himself. They had turned to other gods for blessings and strength – they had forgotten that the first commandment called them to “have no other gods before Me.” They had turned their backs on heaven and looked, instead, to the world for salvation. They had decided to try to destroy Babylon with earthly power – by their own destructive fire – but it would prove to be totally inadequate for the task. A “lion” – the Babylonians - was coming toward them, and they had turned their back on the only tamer who could stop him.
And the only thing left for them to do was to “put on sackcloth and lament and wail”. There could be no hope within themselves.
After all these thousands of years of being taught this lesson over and over, why haven’t we learned it yet? The first section of our passage for today is about repentance, about leaving the things of the past in the past, about letting the Lord deal with those things that aren’t of Him, and not trying to do it ourselves, about understanding that the Lord’s fire truly destroys, and ours only makes a mess!
What keeps us from confessing our sin to God so that He can erase it from our lives?
- Is it embarrassment? The shame that we feel for ever doing this evil in the first place? Have we forgotten that God already knows that we did it? The word is “omniscient” – all knowing, nothing can be hidden!!! All He wants from us to admit that it is not of Him, and that we can’t deal with it on our own, and that we don’t want it in us, or of us, any longer.
- Or is it our doubt? Have we confessed this particular sin so many times that we believe that God is finally fed up with us, and that He has run out of forgiveness? In Matthew 18 (vs. 21-35), Peter asks Christ how many times should he forgive his brother – should I forgive him 7 times? (Peter was trying to be generous!) But Jesus outdid his generosity – He said that it must be seventy times seven, which means alot! And if we are to forgive that much, how much more will God forgive us? And just in case you aren’t sure, He will forgive us an infinite number of times!
- Or is it because we get tired of trying, and just give up on our attempt to end that horrible aspect of our life? Is it really easier to live with the sin, instead of persevering in Christ? God’s love never gives up on us, and we can never give up on Him. Never give up! Never give up!
We can go to the Lord as many times as it takes to finally “let go and let God”! He doesn’t keep count – He only knows if the count is still at zero!
But when we do give up – when we decide that God isn’t working fast enough, or effectively enough, or in the way that we think He should be working, and take our life back to do with as we want to, He lets us do just that. He never interfered with either Israel or Judah’s decision to turn away from Him, but that didn’t mean that His love for them would end, or even there would be no consequences. Israel was overthrown by Assyria, and Judah by Babylon, and they would spend many years in exile. But one day, they would, eventually, be taken home. Remember the story of Hosea and Gomer? Even after Hosea showed his wife unquestionable love, she left to live a life of prostitution. And years later, when he found his wife, he bought her back, took her home, and told her that now she must be faithful to only him – that she must put the past behind, and begin anew.
Until we accept and confess the price that Christ has paid to win us back, we will continue to remain separated from Him. He never forces us to come home, He never demands that we repent, He no longer expects retribution on our part, He no longer forces us into exile. When we repent in a heartfelt way and turn away from our past sins, He forgives and forgets! The slate is wiped clean. It’s truly as simple as that.
Our fire just makes a mess – His makes a new and clear way for us. Have you have ever seen the result of a grass fire? Before the fire, the field is generally overgrown and filled with a tangle of thickets and thorns and weeds. The fire wipes it all away, leaving behind some evidence of the cleansing, but more specifically, it leaves a rich covering of ash, and within a few weeks, fresh shoots begin to push up through the earth, creating a lush, new green carpet that covers the ugliness, and soon, all evidence of the tangle, as well as the fire, are gone.
Jesus is that very kind of cleansing fire for our lives. If you have never given Him the chance to make you new, or if you feel that you need to make a recommitment to His mercy and grace, now is the time. During our last hymn, you are invited to come up, and we will approach His mercy together in prayer. Come alone, or come with a friend. But come.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
“Trading in Glory for Brokenness”
Scripture: Jeremiah 2:4-13
Throughout our lives, we have to make decisions:
- Which answer do we pick on tests and quizzes in school
- Which clothes did we choose to wear to church today
- Who will I marry?
- Is 7 enough children?
- Which college should I attend?
- Which job offer should I accept?
Sometimes, our decisions are good ones, and other times, not so good.
Companies also struggle to make the same types of choices – product mix, employee qualifications, the details for mergers and acquisitions, which people to promote, and so on.
And decisions in faith are no different – what does God want me to know, and what does He want me to do about it.
In 1994,the humor magazine Funny Times, reported on some very strange decisions that some companies, and their customers, have made:
In January of that year, Israel's national telephone company initiated a fax service that transmited messages to God via the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.
And in May, the Roman Catholic Church unveiled a high-tech confessional at a trade show in Vincenza, Italy, that will accept confessions by fax.
And in December, a sect of the Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn, N. Y., began selling its members special beepers so they would know the instant when the Messiah arrives on Earth.
--Funny Times, January 1994, 3.
There was no indication in the article as to how many people have actually taken advantage of these services, or even if they are still available today. Even if they aren't, there are plenty of replacements on the market!
Read Jeremiah 4:4-8
Israel had been given everything - they lived in a land that they didn’t own, ate from vineyards that they didn’t plant, benefitted from victories that they didn’t win, and had a loving God who they didn’t deserve.
And yet, it was all theirs, and all that they were asked to do in return was to give honor and loyalty to the One who had given them so much. But apparently, it was just too much to ask of the people. Their ancestors had forgotten who the Giver was; the priests – the very ones who were charged with preserving the faith – had forgotten the One whose authority they lived within every day; and the people had obediently followed suit.
No one knew the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob any longer. He had become an unnecessary burden from the past, and they had set Him aside.
And I have to say that many people of this day have done the same thing. We want faith to be convenient; we want it to stay on touch with our earthly lives instead of the other way around; and when Jesus begins to interfere with our plans, we declare Him to be irrelevant and deftly step around Him.
Read Jeremiah 4:9-13
As with every decision, there are always the unknown outcomes that will suddenly take on life. Sometimes, the decision brings about unexpected benefits and rewards, but all too often, it’s just the opposite - they cause us great grief. We go for the brass ring, but instead of winning the prize, we wind up falling off our horse! That’s what happened to Israel, and I believe that it is happening again in our world of 2010. We take the easy way out, and expect our life to be everything we could ever hope for. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.
Cal Thomas believes that C.S. Lewis had it right: Lewis wrote - If you read history you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The apostles themselves, who set out to convert the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English evangelicals who abolished the slave trade, all left their mark on earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with heaven.
It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this one.
Aim at heaven and you will get earth 'thrown in.' Aim at earth and you will get neither.
--Cal Thomas, Not of this world, Newsweek, March 29, 1999, 60.
Lewis seems to think that our tendency to place our hopes and dreams in this world is a relatively new concept, but Jeremiah is telling us something totally different. Our reading for today reveals that Israel had been doing the very same thing over 2,500 years ago. The “Easy Way Out” has never been a good choice, and even the “Easy” button in the Staples’ ads doesn’t work as well as we are lead to believe.
Verses 11 & 12 – “But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols. Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror.” We all should be shuddering at this worthless trade, and yet, at times, even the church tends to turn a deaf ear to the clamor.
We don’t want to hear it.
We don’t want to deal with it.
We don’t want the risk of saying anything about it.
But if the faithful don’t, who will? The faithful of Israel didn’t want to confront the hierarchy of their day- whether out of fear or complacency, I don’t know which – but it was allowed to continue unabated until the great Jehovah took matters into His own hands.
And that may not be the best solution for the church of today! It’s time that the Church took a stand, and revealed the truth about trading glory for brokenness, a Redeemer for worthless idols. How do we here in this little country church go about doing that? I don’t know, but maybe we should start talking about it.
Jeremiah leaves us with one final thought – vs. 13 – “They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
The spring of living water is flowing right past every door, but the world is choosing the barren existence of their own leaky pits. We may have chosen the gift of eternity for ourselves, but until we have lead the world to that great and never ending flow, our job will not be complete. We are being called this very day to show others how to reverse their bad deal, and to trade in their brokenness for the glory of Jesus Christ. Will you join me?
Throughout our lives, we have to make decisions:
- Which answer do we pick on tests and quizzes in school
- Which clothes did we choose to wear to church today
- Who will I marry?
- Is 7 enough children?
- Which college should I attend?
- Which job offer should I accept?
Sometimes, our decisions are good ones, and other times, not so good.
Companies also struggle to make the same types of choices – product mix, employee qualifications, the details for mergers and acquisitions, which people to promote, and so on.
And decisions in faith are no different – what does God want me to know, and what does He want me to do about it.
In 1994,the humor magazine Funny Times, reported on some very strange decisions that some companies, and their customers, have made:
In January of that year, Israel's national telephone company initiated a fax service that transmited messages to God via the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.
And in May, the Roman Catholic Church unveiled a high-tech confessional at a trade show in Vincenza, Italy, that will accept confessions by fax.
And in December, a sect of the Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn, N. Y., began selling its members special beepers so they would know the instant when the Messiah arrives on Earth.
--Funny Times, January 1994, 3.
There was no indication in the article as to how many people have actually taken advantage of these services, or even if they are still available today. Even if they aren't, there are plenty of replacements on the market!
Read Jeremiah 4:4-8
Israel had been given everything - they lived in a land that they didn’t own, ate from vineyards that they didn’t plant, benefitted from victories that they didn’t win, and had a loving God who they didn’t deserve.
And yet, it was all theirs, and all that they were asked to do in return was to give honor and loyalty to the One who had given them so much. But apparently, it was just too much to ask of the people. Their ancestors had forgotten who the Giver was; the priests – the very ones who were charged with preserving the faith – had forgotten the One whose authority they lived within every day; and the people had obediently followed suit.
No one knew the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob any longer. He had become an unnecessary burden from the past, and they had set Him aside.
And I have to say that many people of this day have done the same thing. We want faith to be convenient; we want it to stay on touch with our earthly lives instead of the other way around; and when Jesus begins to interfere with our plans, we declare Him to be irrelevant and deftly step around Him.
Read Jeremiah 4:9-13
As with every decision, there are always the unknown outcomes that will suddenly take on life. Sometimes, the decision brings about unexpected benefits and rewards, but all too often, it’s just the opposite - they cause us great grief. We go for the brass ring, but instead of winning the prize, we wind up falling off our horse! That’s what happened to Israel, and I believe that it is happening again in our world of 2010. We take the easy way out, and expect our life to be everything we could ever hope for. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.
Cal Thomas believes that C.S. Lewis had it right: Lewis wrote - If you read history you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The apostles themselves, who set out to convert the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English evangelicals who abolished the slave trade, all left their mark on earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with heaven.
It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this one.
Aim at heaven and you will get earth 'thrown in.' Aim at earth and you will get neither.
--Cal Thomas, Not of this world, Newsweek, March 29, 1999, 60.
Lewis seems to think that our tendency to place our hopes and dreams in this world is a relatively new concept, but Jeremiah is telling us something totally different. Our reading for today reveals that Israel had been doing the very same thing over 2,500 years ago. The “Easy Way Out” has never been a good choice, and even the “Easy” button in the Staples’ ads doesn’t work as well as we are lead to believe.
Verses 11 & 12 – “But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols. Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror.” We all should be shuddering at this worthless trade, and yet, at times, even the church tends to turn a deaf ear to the clamor.
We don’t want to hear it.
We don’t want to deal with it.
We don’t want the risk of saying anything about it.
But if the faithful don’t, who will? The faithful of Israel didn’t want to confront the hierarchy of their day- whether out of fear or complacency, I don’t know which – but it was allowed to continue unabated until the great Jehovah took matters into His own hands.
And that may not be the best solution for the church of today! It’s time that the Church took a stand, and revealed the truth about trading glory for brokenness, a Redeemer for worthless idols. How do we here in this little country church go about doing that? I don’t know, but maybe we should start talking about it.
Jeremiah leaves us with one final thought – vs. 13 – “They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
The spring of living water is flowing right past every door, but the world is choosing the barren existence of their own leaky pits. We may have chosen the gift of eternity for ourselves, but until we have lead the world to that great and never ending flow, our job will not be complete. We are being called this very day to show others how to reverse their bad deal, and to trade in their brokenness for the glory of Jesus Christ. Will you join me?
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