1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying: 2 “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. 4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.
5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the LORD. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel! 7 The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, 8 if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. 9 And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, 10 if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.
Jeremiah 18:1-10 NKJV
In the illustration of the potter and the clay God makes clear that a nation’s fate depends on the choices of that nation. It seems logical that the same principal would also apply to an individual. This story of the potter remaking the marred vessel into something different does not diminish the power of God to work in our lives, but shows that we have control through our choices as to what happens to us. This control is not necessarily the things that happen to us and for us from moment to moment, but the fate of our salvation. While God wants good to happen to us in that we will accept His gift of life and allow Him to save us, the final result of good versus evil and eternal life versus eternal death rests with us and the choices we make. When we choose to obey and trust God to the best of our ability, we allow Him to work the good in our life that He desires for us. When we turn our back on God and choose to live our lives outside His plan, we place ourselves outside the salvation He desires for us and bring upon ourselves the death we deserve. We are the clay and God works to make us into a beautiful vessel that is useful to Himself and helpful to our fellow men. Our sinful natures and Satan work to mar us with selfishness so that we are useless to God and harmful to our fellow men. God is willing to remake us when we become marred. Second chances and third chances and more chances are common as we struggle with the choices we make from day to day. God wants to build us and plant us so that we will be a vine connected to Him that produces good fruit. When we refuse His love we disconnect ourselves from His sin covering righteousness and are left destitute and naked with only our filthy selves to claim the reward we deserve. When we accept God’s love, we are covered with His clean robe of righteousness and stand clean and whole. The potter can mold us into something that is beautiful.
Lord,
Help me today to allow You to mold my heart into something that will obey and trust You. Help me to choose to follow Your will for my life each moment today. Help me to trust You and allow You to reshape me into the vessel that You know in Your wisdom I can be, to best serve You and help those around me. Forgive me when I refuse You and turn again to follow Your plan for my life. Take away my selfish weakness and give me the strength and courage to stand with You and to walk with You in Your plan for me.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Jeremiah 17:19-27
19 Thus the LORD said to me: “Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, by which the kings of Judah come in and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; 20 and say to them, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. 21 Thus says the LORD: “Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; 22 nor carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work, but hallow the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. 23 But they did not obey nor incline their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear nor receive instruction.
24 “And it shall be, if you heed Me carefully,” says the LORD, “to bring no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work in it, 25 then shall enter the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, accompanied by the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall remain forever. 26 And they shall come from the cities of Judah and from the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from the lowland, from the mountains and from the South, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, bringing sacrifices of praise to the house of the LORD.
27 “But if you will not heed Me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.”’”
Jeremiah 17:19-27 NKJV
The importance of the Sabbath as a sign between God and His people is expressed in this passage. The fathers of the Jews of Jeremiah’s day had refused to listen to God and had not obeyed His voice in matters of the law. They did not want to receive instruction and had closed their ears to the words God spoke to them. The Lord through Jeremiah now renews the promise of national sovereignty if Judah keeps the Sabbath. The keeping of the Sabbath would show where the hearts of the people were. If they were willing to obey God in the Sabbath then god would be able to bless them with blessings of prosperity and peace. The prosperity would be shown by the offerings that the people would willingly bring to show God their love at His temple. The peace would be shown by the rulers who lead the people in worship and praise of God’s love and goodness from day to day. By keeping the Sabbath the people would show that they were keeping the covenant established between themselves and the Lord. They would obey the Lord’s instructions not only because of the blessings they gained by obeying, but also because of their love of God and their desire to please Him and recognize His rulership.
Should the people not desire to keep the covenant that God had made with them, then this would also be shown by their failure to honor the Sabbath Day. Instead of blessings, they would receive curses and instead of peace they would have war leading to slavery. This would be the inevitable result of the Jews cutting off the relationship with the God who wanted to bring goodness into their lives instead of evil. As always, the Lord gave them a choice and made the results of the choice plain to all. The choices made by their fathers would not determine their fate, but they could choose for themselves that they would love and serve God. Today we have the same choices. What do we want to be important in our lives and what do we choose to do about the things we consider important?
Lord,
Help me today to choose to obey You because I love You. Help me to open my ears and my heart to Your voice and to Your words. Take away the stiff necked attitude I sometimes have and replace it with a wise attitude of willingness to listen, learn, and obey Your leading.
24 “And it shall be, if you heed Me carefully,” says the LORD, “to bring no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work in it, 25 then shall enter the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, accompanied by the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall remain forever. 26 And they shall come from the cities of Judah and from the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from the lowland, from the mountains and from the South, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, bringing sacrifices of praise to the house of the LORD.
27 “But if you will not heed Me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.”’”
Jeremiah 17:19-27 NKJV
The importance of the Sabbath as a sign between God and His people is expressed in this passage. The fathers of the Jews of Jeremiah’s day had refused to listen to God and had not obeyed His voice in matters of the law. They did not want to receive instruction and had closed their ears to the words God spoke to them. The Lord through Jeremiah now renews the promise of national sovereignty if Judah keeps the Sabbath. The keeping of the Sabbath would show where the hearts of the people were. If they were willing to obey God in the Sabbath then god would be able to bless them with blessings of prosperity and peace. The prosperity would be shown by the offerings that the people would willingly bring to show God their love at His temple. The peace would be shown by the rulers who lead the people in worship and praise of God’s love and goodness from day to day. By keeping the Sabbath the people would show that they were keeping the covenant established between themselves and the Lord. They would obey the Lord’s instructions not only because of the blessings they gained by obeying, but also because of their love of God and their desire to please Him and recognize His rulership.
Should the people not desire to keep the covenant that God had made with them, then this would also be shown by their failure to honor the Sabbath Day. Instead of blessings, they would receive curses and instead of peace they would have war leading to slavery. This would be the inevitable result of the Jews cutting off the relationship with the God who wanted to bring goodness into their lives instead of evil. As always, the Lord gave them a choice and made the results of the choice plain to all. The choices made by their fathers would not determine their fate, but they could choose for themselves that they would love and serve God. Today we have the same choices. What do we want to be important in our lives and what do we choose to do about the things we consider important?
Lord,
Help me today to choose to obey You because I love You. Help me to open my ears and my heart to Your voice and to Your words. Take away the stiff necked attitude I sometimes have and replace it with a wise attitude of willingness to listen, learn, and obey Your leading.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Jeremiah 17:14-18
14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed;
Save me, and I shall be saved,
For You are my praise.
15 Indeed they say to me,
“Where is the word of the LORD?
Let it come now!”
16 As for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd who follows You,
Nor have I desired the woeful day;
You know what came out of my lips;
It was right there before You.
17 Do not be a terror to me;
You are my hope in the day of doom.
18 Let them be ashamed who persecute me,
But do not let me be put to shame;
Let them be dismayed,
But do not let me be dismayed.
Bring on them the day of doom,
And destroy them with double destruction!
Jeremiah 17:14-18 NKJV
“Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me and I shall be saved.” With these words Jeremiah expresses his ultimate trust in God. He does not deny his need for healing or his need for saving. It can even be implied that he recognizes that he cannot heal or save himself. It is the Lord to whom he turns to for the healing he so desperately craves. It is God who can and will save him and upon whom Jeremiah bestows his praise. Jeremiah is challenged by the scoffers. “Where is the word of the Lord?” What proof does Jeremiah have that the words he speaks in the name of God are really God’s words? There are lots of other prophets claiming to speak in God’s name, and they speak smoother, more hopeful, words that the people like to hear. Jeremiah defends his mission, not to those who question it, but he defends it to God. Jeremiah has done his best to be a faithful shepherd, following God as he attempts to lead the sheep of Judah toward the truth. Some may think Jeremiah looks forward to the destruction he speaks of so often. Jeremiah does not desire the doom that he prophecies of, he wants to avoid the darkness and that is why he warns the heedless of what is coming from the north upon them. Has not Jeremiah spoken the words of God faithfully? Has not every word from his mouth been right before God? Jeremiah asks the Lord to take away his fear of the day of doom and to give him renewed hope. As Jeremiah is shown the future, he realizes the hopelessness of the end of Judah if his family, friends, and countrymen do not allow the Lord to heal them and save them.
For his faithfulness, Jeremiah’s countrymen persecute and torment him. His townspeople seek his death. They attempt to shame him and make his mission to be seen as lies and self aggrandizement. Jeremiah’s humanity is shown in his call for vindication and destruction of those who speak against himself and his God. Whether his spirit is totally right in this call for the shaming of his enemies, he remains faithful to the mission of warning and repentance that God has given him. Jeremiah will continue to speak God's words to his fellowmen even if they refuse to listen.
Lord,
Help me today to be faithful to You and the mission You are giving me. Help me to not be dissuaded by those who fight against me and who fight against You. Dismay any who lead Your children in doing wrong, encourage all who lead Your children to right. Help me to stand with You for Your truth. Remove my fear of the day of doom and replace it with Your peace promises.
Save me, and I shall be saved,
For You are my praise.
15 Indeed they say to me,
“Where is the word of the LORD?
Let it come now!”
16 As for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd who follows You,
Nor have I desired the woeful day;
You know what came out of my lips;
It was right there before You.
17 Do not be a terror to me;
You are my hope in the day of doom.
18 Let them be ashamed who persecute me,
But do not let me be put to shame;
Let them be dismayed,
But do not let me be dismayed.
Bring on them the day of doom,
And destroy them with double destruction!
Jeremiah 17:14-18 NKJV
“Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me and I shall be saved.” With these words Jeremiah expresses his ultimate trust in God. He does not deny his need for healing or his need for saving. It can even be implied that he recognizes that he cannot heal or save himself. It is the Lord to whom he turns to for the healing he so desperately craves. It is God who can and will save him and upon whom Jeremiah bestows his praise. Jeremiah is challenged by the scoffers. “Where is the word of the Lord?” What proof does Jeremiah have that the words he speaks in the name of God are really God’s words? There are lots of other prophets claiming to speak in God’s name, and they speak smoother, more hopeful, words that the people like to hear. Jeremiah defends his mission, not to those who question it, but he defends it to God. Jeremiah has done his best to be a faithful shepherd, following God as he attempts to lead the sheep of Judah toward the truth. Some may think Jeremiah looks forward to the destruction he speaks of so often. Jeremiah does not desire the doom that he prophecies of, he wants to avoid the darkness and that is why he warns the heedless of what is coming from the north upon them. Has not Jeremiah spoken the words of God faithfully? Has not every word from his mouth been right before God? Jeremiah asks the Lord to take away his fear of the day of doom and to give him renewed hope. As Jeremiah is shown the future, he realizes the hopelessness of the end of Judah if his family, friends, and countrymen do not allow the Lord to heal them and save them.
For his faithfulness, Jeremiah’s countrymen persecute and torment him. His townspeople seek his death. They attempt to shame him and make his mission to be seen as lies and self aggrandizement. Jeremiah’s humanity is shown in his call for vindication and destruction of those who speak against himself and his God. Whether his spirit is totally right in this call for the shaming of his enemies, he remains faithful to the mission of warning and repentance that God has given him. Jeremiah will continue to speak God's words to his fellowmen even if they refuse to listen.
Lord,
Help me today to be faithful to You and the mission You are giving me. Help me to not be dissuaded by those who fight against me and who fight against You. Dismay any who lead Your children in doing wrong, encourage all who lead Your children to right. Help me to stand with You for Your truth. Remove my fear of the day of doom and replace it with Your peace promises.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Jeremiah 17:12-13
A glorious high throne from the begining
Is the place of our sanctuary.
O LORD, the hope of Israel,
All who forsake You shall be ashamed.
"Those who depart from Me
Shall be written in the earth,
Because they have forsaken the LORD,
The fountain of living waters."
Jeremiah 17:12-13 NKJV
God is our hope. He is the fountain of living waters, giving life to those who accept it. We are like the woman at the well in John 4, living our lives away from God's grace and contemplating the ordinary needs and desires of our lives. We worry about having a drink of water and quenching our physical thirst and Jesus is beside us offering us the living water of salvation that will quench our spiritual thirst for eternal life. The creator God who has reigned over the earth since the beginning and who loves each of His created beings awaits us, to give each the life giving water of His love and peace. Should we forsake Him we will cut ourselves off from life and be left in the despair of our sins. The LORD is our hope, offering us the water from the fountain of life, let us not depart from Him and be ashamed when destruction overtakes us.
Lord,
Help me today to drink of the water that quenches my spiritual thirst. Help me to take the life You offer and allow You to direct my paths. Help me to trust in You and allow Your words to teach me.
Is the place of our sanctuary.
O LORD, the hope of Israel,
All who forsake You shall be ashamed.
"Those who depart from Me
Shall be written in the earth,
Because they have forsaken the LORD,
The fountain of living waters."
Jeremiah 17:12-13 NKJV
God is our hope. He is the fountain of living waters, giving life to those who accept it. We are like the woman at the well in John 4, living our lives away from God's grace and contemplating the ordinary needs and desires of our lives. We worry about having a drink of water and quenching our physical thirst and Jesus is beside us offering us the living water of salvation that will quench our spiritual thirst for eternal life. The creator God who has reigned over the earth since the beginning and who loves each of His created beings awaits us, to give each the life giving water of His love and peace. Should we forsake Him we will cut ourselves off from life and be left in the despair of our sins. The LORD is our hope, offering us the water from the fountain of life, let us not depart from Him and be ashamed when destruction overtakes us.
Lord,
Help me today to drink of the water that quenches my spiritual thirst. Help me to take the life You offer and allow You to direct my paths. Help me to trust in You and allow Your words to teach me.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Jeremiah 17:11
"As a partridge that broods but does not hatch,
So is he who gets riches, but not by right;
It will leave him in the midst of his days,
And at his end he will be a fool."
Jeremiah 17:11 NKJV
This text does not say there is anything wrong with riches, but there can certainly be something wrong with the way the riches are acquired. So often we think our happiness will be complete if we have wealth and riches. We can buy the stuff we crave and have the power and prestige that will cause others to envy and respect us. And it seems that no matter how these riches are acquired, the world looks favorably upon those who have them. When wealth is ill gained through dishonest or disreputable means, the end result is disillusionment at best. At the end of life it truly will not matter how big a pile one has accumulated, but what will matter is the integrity of the life lived. In Luke 12:16-21 Jesus tells of the end of a man who thought that riches were valuable.
16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Whether or not the wealth of a person is honestly gained, in the end reliance on the riches makes one a fool. So one who gains riches without integrity has nothing, and is despised by all who know the truth. All the pretend respect from those who feared them and connived for gain is gone, and all that remains is sadness at what should have been from those who should have been loved and a desire to supplant by those whose greed will cause the same fate. The partridge expects the reward of chicks and the rich expect happiness, and neither will come to fruition with God.
Lord,
Help me today to live my life with integrity so that I may have a reward worthy of You and so that I may serve You in such a way that others can see Your glory.
So is he who gets riches, but not by right;
It will leave him in the midst of his days,
And at his end he will be a fool."
Jeremiah 17:11 NKJV
This text does not say there is anything wrong with riches, but there can certainly be something wrong with the way the riches are acquired. So often we think our happiness will be complete if we have wealth and riches. We can buy the stuff we crave and have the power and prestige that will cause others to envy and respect us. And it seems that no matter how these riches are acquired, the world looks favorably upon those who have them. When wealth is ill gained through dishonest or disreputable means, the end result is disillusionment at best. At the end of life it truly will not matter how big a pile one has accumulated, but what will matter is the integrity of the life lived. In Luke 12:16-21 Jesus tells of the end of a man who thought that riches were valuable.
16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Whether or not the wealth of a person is honestly gained, in the end reliance on the riches makes one a fool. So one who gains riches without integrity has nothing, and is despised by all who know the truth. All the pretend respect from those who feared them and connived for gain is gone, and all that remains is sadness at what should have been from those who should have been loved and a desire to supplant by those whose greed will cause the same fate. The partridge expects the reward of chicks and the rich expect happiness, and neither will come to fruition with God.
Lord,
Help me today to live my life with integrity so that I may have a reward worthy of You and so that I may serve You in such a way that others can see Your glory.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Jeremiah 17:9-10
9 “The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
10 I, the LORD, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings.
Jeremiah 17:9-10
It is not particularly comforting to think that I will be rewarded according to the fruit of my doings. I see little good fruit. Perhaps some malformed apples or a squishy pear or maybe a mold covered orange. How does this text fit in with the concepts of righteousness in Christ, legalism, Christ covering me with His robe of righteousness, and gaining salvation through my works? My heart will deceive me, it is desperately wicked, who can understand it. We see this description of our hearts born out in humanity every day. We are often astounded at the things people do to other people. It is hard to grasp just how anyone could think it is OK to do some of the things that are being done around the world every day to our fellow humans. Even a lot of the things that I find myself doing can seem quite surprisingly confused and wrong when studied in my more rational moments. The heart in this passage represents feelings to me, and I cannot deny that my feelings have much more control over me than I know they should. While I know that Christ wants me to react kindly with others when they insult me, loving them, and treating them as I would want to be treated, the reality is my feelings too often lead me to react in a not so Christian way when I am insulted or treated in a way I consider unfair. Even when time has passes and I have cooled off and prayed for those who use me spitefully, I too often find that my feelings of self justification and reproach for the one I view as mistreating me continue to periodically take control of my thoughts and cause me to once again concentrate on me and the wrongs I felt. I could almost understand it if my brain processed things in the ‘right’ way once it got control, but it seems as though my feelings all too often wrests control from the intellect over and over. I can be thankful that verse ten gives the hope that God searches the heart and also tests the mind. He can understand better than even I can what my feelings are and what my mind tells me is right. He understands my will and my desire to serve Him, and He understands the weakness I have in controlling my feelings. God rewards me according to what is in my heart and in my mind. I may do (and I do) many wrong things. The reasons are varied. I am ignorant of what is right, I have an area where my character has not allowed God total control so He can give me the truth in that area, my feelings overwhelm me and I react wrongly. A baby Christian may not have learned enough today to do the right thing in a particular situation, while a future period of time walking with Jesus will allow them to grow enough that they will be able to see God’s truth and make the right decision. The fruit that we are expected to produce is the fruit that God can see as He searches our hearts and tests our minds. It is not necessarily the fruit that we see or the fruit that our neighbor sees. It is the fruit that God sees, taking into account what is in our hearts and in our minds. Our ways may appear to others and even to ourselves as being in the wrong directions, but God can see the totality of our ways and not just the last few steps that are somewhat wayward. This explains why I cannot judge you. I only see that you have taken a few steps in a direction that will lead to your destruction. I cannot see that in your heart you are following God as best you can. I cannot see that in your mind you have determined to search for God’s truth and follow it wherever He leads. I cannot see that tomorrow you will hear God’s voice and immediately turn back onto the path. I cannot see that a month ago you were heading towards a place that would lead to your destruction and you let God lead you back towards His path. You and I are both walking, and while we often stumble and take wrong turns, God is working to lead us correctly and He understands why we are where we are. As we grow in understanding of His truth and learn to hear His voice and as we learn to allow Him to lead us, our ways will become closer to the Way of Jesus.
Lord,
Help me today to listen and learn. Help me to not judge others harshly because of their perceived faults, but help me to encourage all and allow You who knows and understands them to judge them.
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
10 I, the LORD, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings.
Jeremiah 17:9-10
It is not particularly comforting to think that I will be rewarded according to the fruit of my doings. I see little good fruit. Perhaps some malformed apples or a squishy pear or maybe a mold covered orange. How does this text fit in with the concepts of righteousness in Christ, legalism, Christ covering me with His robe of righteousness, and gaining salvation through my works? My heart will deceive me, it is desperately wicked, who can understand it. We see this description of our hearts born out in humanity every day. We are often astounded at the things people do to other people. It is hard to grasp just how anyone could think it is OK to do some of the things that are being done around the world every day to our fellow humans. Even a lot of the things that I find myself doing can seem quite surprisingly confused and wrong when studied in my more rational moments. The heart in this passage represents feelings to me, and I cannot deny that my feelings have much more control over me than I know they should. While I know that Christ wants me to react kindly with others when they insult me, loving them, and treating them as I would want to be treated, the reality is my feelings too often lead me to react in a not so Christian way when I am insulted or treated in a way I consider unfair. Even when time has passes and I have cooled off and prayed for those who use me spitefully, I too often find that my feelings of self justification and reproach for the one I view as mistreating me continue to periodically take control of my thoughts and cause me to once again concentrate on me and the wrongs I felt. I could almost understand it if my brain processed things in the ‘right’ way once it got control, but it seems as though my feelings all too often wrests control from the intellect over and over. I can be thankful that verse ten gives the hope that God searches the heart and also tests the mind. He can understand better than even I can what my feelings are and what my mind tells me is right. He understands my will and my desire to serve Him, and He understands the weakness I have in controlling my feelings. God rewards me according to what is in my heart and in my mind. I may do (and I do) many wrong things. The reasons are varied. I am ignorant of what is right, I have an area where my character has not allowed God total control so He can give me the truth in that area, my feelings overwhelm me and I react wrongly. A baby Christian may not have learned enough today to do the right thing in a particular situation, while a future period of time walking with Jesus will allow them to grow enough that they will be able to see God’s truth and make the right decision. The fruit that we are expected to produce is the fruit that God can see as He searches our hearts and tests our minds. It is not necessarily the fruit that we see or the fruit that our neighbor sees. It is the fruit that God sees, taking into account what is in our hearts and in our minds. Our ways may appear to others and even to ourselves as being in the wrong directions, but God can see the totality of our ways and not just the last few steps that are somewhat wayward. This explains why I cannot judge you. I only see that you have taken a few steps in a direction that will lead to your destruction. I cannot see that in your heart you are following God as best you can. I cannot see that in your mind you have determined to search for God’s truth and follow it wherever He leads. I cannot see that tomorrow you will hear God’s voice and immediately turn back onto the path. I cannot see that a month ago you were heading towards a place that would lead to your destruction and you let God lead you back towards His path. You and I are both walking, and while we often stumble and take wrong turns, God is working to lead us correctly and He understands why we are where we are. As we grow in understanding of His truth and learn to hear His voice and as we learn to allow Him to lead us, our ways will become closer to the Way of Jesus.
Lord,
Help me today to listen and learn. Help me to not judge others harshly because of their perceived faults, but help me to encourage all and allow You who knows and understands them to judge them.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Jeremiah 17:7-8
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
And whose hope is the LORD.
8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 NKJV
In contrast with the person who trusts in flesh in verses 5-6 and who is a shrub who dwells in the dry uninhabitable places; the person who trusts in the Lord is pictured as being a tree with deep roots planted by the river. When the heat of oppression and tribulation comes this person will not fear, because they trust in the Lord. They will continue to bear fruit, even in the periods of drought when the rains cease. Their leaf remains green because they have a continuous source of life giving moisture. The contrast between those who trust in flesh as opposed to those who trust in the Lord cannot be be more stark. Death opposed to life. A dry empty life as opposed to a sparkling joyous life. Dry twigs opposed to luscious fruit.
Lord,
Help me today to trust in You. Help me to ignore the temptation to trust in myself or some other human for my hope and happiness. Let me put my roots into the ground by the river so I can always tap into the life giving waters that will help me to bear fruit even in times of drought.
And whose hope is the LORD.
8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 NKJV
In contrast with the person who trusts in flesh in verses 5-6 and who is a shrub who dwells in the dry uninhabitable places; the person who trusts in the Lord is pictured as being a tree with deep roots planted by the river. When the heat of oppression and tribulation comes this person will not fear, because they trust in the Lord. They will continue to bear fruit, even in the periods of drought when the rains cease. Their leaf remains green because they have a continuous source of life giving moisture. The contrast between those who trust in flesh as opposed to those who trust in the Lord cannot be be more stark. Death opposed to life. A dry empty life as opposed to a sparkling joyous life. Dry twigs opposed to luscious fruit.
Lord,
Help me today to trust in You. Help me to ignore the temptation to trust in myself or some other human for my hope and happiness. Let me put my roots into the ground by the river so I can always tap into the life giving waters that will help me to bear fruit even in times of drought.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)