Jeremiah 9:12-16

12 Who is the wise man who may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD has spoken, that he may declare it? Why does the land perish and burn up like a wilderness, so that no one can pass through? 13 And the LORD said, “Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it, 14 but they have walked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them,” 15 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. 16 I will scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known. And I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them.”
Jeremiah 9:12-16 NKJV

Why does the land perish? Jeremiah asked that about his land and we can today ask why our land perishes. The LORD gives the answer and the wise will understand it. The LORD says the land perishes because we forsake His law and do not obey His voice. We follow the dictates and desires of our own hearts and worship false gods to our destruction. Worship of false gods and ignoring the law and voice of the true God is like eating and drinking poison. Wormwood and gall were poisonous plants found in Palestine, and eating and drinking them would have been as good for the people as the trusting in the false spiritual hopes of Baal and the other false gods that the people loved. They would be scattered until they were consumed. It is the same for me today. Should I choose to follow the dictates of my own heart and ignore the law and voice of God, I too will be eating and drinking bitter poison that leads to my destruction. Jesus died for my sins, he will heal me of the poison that I have eaten and that I have drunk. If I go and eat more poison and do not accept His healing, then I will die. Jesus wants to feed me the sweet food of His word and remove the bitterness of my selfishness from me, replacing the poison of following my own desires with the joy of following His paths. It is my choice, will I choose as the people did in Jeremiah's day and be scattered to destruction, or will I choose to walk in the healing and love of God, obeying His law and His voice?

Lord,
Help me today to choose to walk in Your law and listen and obey Your voice. Too often I think I can do everything on my own and handle all problems and temptations without You. When I choose to eat the poison of selfishness, I ask for Your healing. Replace the bitterness of the results of my bad decisions with peace and a desire to obey You in whatever path You lead me.

Jeremiah 9:2-11

2 Oh, that I had in the wilderness
A lodging place for travelers;
That I might leave my people,
And go from them!
For they are all adulterers,
An assembly of treacherous men.
3 “And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies.
They are not valiant for the truth on the earth.
For they proceed from evil to evil,
And they do not know Me,” says the LORD.
4 “Everyone take heed to his neighbor,
And do not trust any brother;
For every brother will utterly supplant,
And every neighbor will walk with slanderers.
5 Everyone will deceive his neighbor,
And will not speak the truth;
They have taught their tongue to speak lies;
They weary themselves to commit iniquity.
6 Your dwelling place is in the midst of deceit;
Through deceit they refuse to know Me,” says the LORD.
7 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts:
“Behold, I will refine them and try them;
For how shall I deal with the daughter of My people?
8 Their tongue is an arrow shot out;
It speaks deceit;
One speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth,
But in his heart he lies in wait.
9 Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the LORD.
“Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?”
10 I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains,
And for the dwelling places of the wilderness a lamentation,
Because they are burned up,
So that no one can pass through;
Nor can men hear the voice of the cattle.
Both the birds of the heavens and the beasts have fled;
They are gone.
11 “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a den of jackals.
I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.”
Jeremiah 9:2-11 NKJV

One of the major sins in Jeremiah's day is also one of the main sins we see today. Dishonesty. Sin on this earth began with the serpent lying to Eve in Eden and all sin is abetted and supported by dishonesty. We lie to God and we lie to our families and neighbors and we lie to the authorities and to strangers. We even lie to ourselves, or perhaps we lie the most to ourselves. It is not hard to imagine that if everyone tells the truth then trustful relationships would be possible and preferred to the distrust that most operate under today. Honesty and integrity in all aspects of ones life are to be desired, and when it is trusted that someone else has these qualities, then it is possible to can rely on them in all circumstances. Unfortunately, we have learned that most people are willing to lie when they think it is in their best interests to do so, and they often think a lie is best for them. Therefore we do not trust each other. Many even seem to take pride in their ability to deceive others and trick and scam to get the things they want or to avoid the consequences of the mistakes they make. Jesus said "I am the truth" and Deuteronomy 32:4 says that God is "A God of truth and without injustice". When we choose to be dishonest and deceitful and walk among slanderers and dwell in the midst of deceit, we cut ourselves off from God. In God is truth, away from God are lies. Lies are not acceptable in God's presence, His glory will burn the lies and that which embraces them. Jeremiah warned that no one could trust their brother or their neighbor, because they only spoke lies and deceit. The Lord said He would try them and refine them, their lies would be consumed by the truth in His judgment, and they would be punished for their lies. So too will all men be accountable for their dishonesty. I can be honest and speak truth as I wish others would speak truth to me, or I can walk in the tangled webs of deceit and lies as far too many do with eternal destruction as my reward. God makes it clear that only those who are in the truth and who speak truth will be able to accept His salvation. In Jeremiah's day everyone spoke lies and lived in deceit, I can today choose to walk in truth and speak truth.

Lord,
Help me today to be honest in all my words and actions. Help me to speak truth and help me to listen and understand the truth You speak to me. Lies seem to come naturally to my mind as I think I will gain something from them. Take these lies away from my thoughts and replace them with the truth and give me integrity to follow your example in being honest in all things.

Jeremiah 9:1

1 Oh, that my head were waters,
And my eyes a fountain of tears,
That I might weep day and night
For the slain of the daughter of my people!
Jeremiah 9:1 NKJV

One can certainly relate to the feeling Jeremiah had as he saw the fate of his people in Judah. As Jeremiah makes clear in the next few verses, he knew that the fate of the Jews was fair and deserved. Yet, he could mourn for the suffering he knew was coming upon the people. We too can mourn as we see the suffering of humanity today. Suffering is sometimes perpetuated on the innocent and mourning is certainly appropriate for us in those circumstances. Other times suffering is brought about by unwise choices by the recipient of the suffering. How many times do I choose something because it seems good to me or because I am angry or because I convince myself I am tired of doing the 'right' thing and end up suffering through poor health or broken relationships or worse. It is appropriate for us to mourn the suffering for the suffering sake. Many will follow their choice to deny God to their eternal destruction. We can mourn the lost potential of those who for whatever reason make choices to turn away from the Lifegiver and turn to Satan, who desires to destroy them. Jeremiah wished to weep day and night for those who deliberately turned their backs on the God who worked tirelessly to save them. How God must weep at the choices we make. And how He rejoices when we allow Him to come into our hearts and wash us clean. How we also can weep as loved ones turn away from God, and how we also can rejoice when they come back to His family. Jeremiah would weep a fountain of tears, but still he would do the task of warning that God set before him. The mourning for the future destruction of his people would not prevent Jeremiah from being faithful to the job given him to spread God's true message.

Lord,
Help me today to be faithful to You in all that I do. Help me to recognize the and mourn the suffering of those around me. Help me to comfort those who need to be comforted and help me to interact with all using Your Spirit of compassion and wisdom. Thank You for the wisdom and strength You give me today, please give me a heart willing to serve You.

Jeremiah 8:18-22

18 I would comfort myself in sorrow;
My heart is faint in me.
19 Listen! The voice,
The cry of the daughter of my people
From a far country:
“Is not the LORD in Zion?
Is not her King in her?”
“Why have they provoked Me to anger
With their carved images—
With foreign idols?”
20 “The harvest is past,
The summer is ended,
And we are not saved!”
21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt.
I am mourning;
Astonishment has taken hold of me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead,
Is there no physician there?
Why then is there no recovery
For the health of the daughter of my people?
Jeremiah 8:18-22 NKJV

People often try to make others think that they 'can feel your pain'. While this seems to usually be a ploy of pretended sympathy, it is clear that Jeremiah suffers for the sake of the nation of Judah and it's people. He sees their future and he hears their cries of distress from their future captivity. He asks, 'Is not the Lord in Zion? Is not her King in her?' Where is God while the people suffer? God answers Jeremiah with a defense. The people have chosen. They decided to rely on false gods, carved images made with their own hands, for their salvation. They have chosen to rely upon themselves and their own strength and ignore the words spoken to them by the Lord through His prophets. They refuse to repent, they refuse to obey He who they claim is their God.
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. A sad lament of despair. Jeremiah sees that the doom of Judah is sealed, there is no hope. The time when the people would have been able to reap the harvest of faithfulness to God in peace and prosperity are gone. They have wasted the period of time where repentance and a turning of their hearts to serve God would have allowed the nation of Judah to be saved from the armies coming upon them to destroy and enslave. Now winter is setting in, there will be no reprieve from the fate they have chosen for themselves. Jeremiah hurts for them, he mourns for what could have been and is astonished at their path they have chosen.
Jeremiah asks if a means of healing was available to them. Was there not a physician and medicine to heal them? Yes, healing was available to them, God wanted to heal and to save them. God wanted to reach out and turn back the invading enemies and draw His people close to Himself. God wanted to rub the balm of forgiveness on their wounds for their healing, to refresh their spirit with His peace. They refused His healing touch, choosing instead to attempt to heal themselves and to rely on sticks and stones to strengthen them. Why was there no recovery of health for Judah? They had turned their backs on the Physician and refused His medicine.

Lord,
Help me today to allow You to heal my broken life. I am tempted to rely upon myself and elevate people or things to an position of prominence above You. Help me to consider Your love and mercy and saving grace for me each moment of today. Help me to accept Your medicine to mend my wounds and Your Spirit to renew me in Your love. Help me to allow You to use me in whatever small way You think is best to tend to those around me who are hurting and sick. Give me sympathy for my fellow travelers in their distress. Thank You for Your healing hands and Your gift of life.

Jeremiah 8:11-17

11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’
When there is no peace.
12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination?
No! They were not at all ashamed,
Nor did they know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
In the time of their punishment
They shall be cast down,” says the LORD.
13 “I will surely consume them,” says the LORD.
“No grapes shall be on the vine,
Nor figs on the fig tree,
And the leaf shall fade;
And the things I have given them shall pass away from them.”’”
14 “Why do we sit still?
Assemble yourselves,
And let us enter the fortified cities,
And let us be silent there.
For the LORD our God has put us to silence
And given us water of gall to drink,
Because we have sinned against the LORD.
15 “We looked for peace, but no good came;
And for a time of health, and there was trouble!
16 The snorting of His horses was heard from Dan.
The whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of His strong ones;
For they have come and devoured the land and all that is in it,
The city and those who dwell in it.”
17 “For behold, I will send serpents among you,
Vipers which cannot be charmed,
And they shall bite you,” says the LORD.
Jeremiah 8:11-17 NKJV

When their sin is pointed out to them, the Jews were not ashamed. They were not ashamed at all. Too often today that is the case with this world. People are not ashamed at the wicked things they say and do, but seem to be proud that they are wicked. While shame itself does not guarantee repentance, there will be shame and guilt when I recognize that I have failed. David expressed his guilt when he committed adultery and murder and begged God to remove his guilt from Him. David recognized his sin and admitted it and begged the forgiveness of God (Psalm 51.) So should the Jews of Jeremiah's day have admitted their sins and sought God's forgiveness. Then they could have like David called to God for a clean heart and a renewed spirit that they would be in harmony with God's way. (Psalm 51:10) Instead the Jews were unashamed of their evil and continued to walk in the path of their own choosing, doing the things their wicked hearts desired. They were a fruitless people, barren of grape or fig, withering leaves without life. God desired that they would forgo their wickedness, accept His forgiveness and healing, and speak words of hope to the nations around. Instead they proudly matched the evil of the pagan nations with the evil of their own hearts. As the destruction of their choices comes upon them from the north, they look for peace and health. They desire God's gifts to keep them safe from their enemies, but have rejected God and thus rejected His gifts of peace and healing. God is letting their enemies come upon them to destroy them. They have chosen between God and false gods, putting their trust in the false gods. Now their healing will have to be provided from the false gods. I too am tempted to rely upon the false gods of the world in which I live. Instead of trusting in earthly relationships or trusting in men to save me, I need to rely upon the God of heaven to forgive and cleanse me and save me. Jesus offers me every good thing, I must accept Him and His rule in my heart.

Lord,
Help me to truly repent of my wickedness and allow you to cleanse me and create a new heart within me. Wash my life of all sin and free me from the wicked desires of my nature, so that I can walk in harmony with Your love on the path You set before me. Guide my desires so that I will forever choose to act and talk and think as You would have me. I know You force nothing upon me, but there will be a result for each choice I make that will be in harmony with the choice. Help me to chose You and help me to obey Your word, so that my character will become like Your character.

Jeremiah 8:10

10 Therefore I will give their wives to others,
And their fields to those who will inherit them;
Because from the least even to the greatest
Everyone is given to covetousness;
From the prophet even to the priest
Everyone deals falsely.
Jeremiah 8:10 NKJV

Another look at the spiritual condition of Judah in the days of Jeremiah is given in this text. God justifies His punishment of the people because of their basic dishonesty and covetousness. This is not the only reason God will give through His prophets as justification for the fate of His people, but it is a basic sign of their character and way of life that shows their utter lack of desire to do what is right. Covetousness is a foundation of much evil. I desire the things that someone else has and I kill, lie, cheat, and do anything to acquire them from that person instead of earning them on my own. In the culture of Judah, family and land were two of the things held in highest regard by the people both common and great. God warned that because of their dishonesty in dealings for both their wives and their fields, He would take both away and give them to others. How often do I think I need something that someone else has and plot and scheme and maybe even lie or cheat to try and attain them, only to lose not only the thing I work to get by dishonest means, but also lose things I had before I started. For a time perhaps it will appear that I am getting ahead, then caught by my own traps, I lose all that I hold dear. Truth is God's ideal for me, truth in the things I do and say and even in the things I think. Lies are like the sand of Jesus' story, not a foundation worth building a life on. Lies are always shifting and moving and are unsteady. Often lies only serve to fool oneself more than they fool others around you. It is better to build ones character on the truth of Jesus, rock solid without worries about remembering the last thing you said or did and trying to come up with yet another explanation to avoid the troubles falling on you. God wanted His people to live their lives based on truth and contentment with His blessings, and desires the same for me today.

Lord,
Help me to allow You to take away my covetousness. Help me to have your truth rule my life, to forgo the temptations to lie or deal falsely with others. Give me the integrity of Your law and way, so that I may deal honestly with myself, those around me, and You.

Jeremiah 8:7-9

7 “Even the stork in the heavens
Knows her appointed times;
And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow
Observe the time of their coming.
But My people do not know the judgment of the LORD.
8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise,
And the law of the LORD is with us’?
Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood.
9 The wise men are ashamed,
They are dismayed and taken.
Behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD;
So what wisdom do they have?
Jeremiah 8:7-9 NKJV

The created migrants know when to make their trips from one area of living to the next. When the correct time comes, they leave their home and go to their other home. Then, when the correct time rolls back around, they switch homes again. God compares us to these creatures. The time of God's judgment is here, but we do not know it. We continue to live our lives the way we want, doing what seems good to ourselves and thinking only of ourselves and how things affect us. We think we are wise and we say that we obey the law of God. Yet, like the young man of Matthew 19:16-22, we hold back the things of ourselves that are most important to us. We refuse to let God have all of us, we put something else before Him, and that becomes our god. When we are clearly presented through God's word that we are putting something in place of God and we refuse to surrender that thing to the control of God, then we, like Judah in the days of Jeremiah, are worshipping false gods. I can think I am so much better than the sinners of Jeremiah's day, but when I cherish something more than I love God, then I am doing exactly as they did and I will fall the same as they fell. I am so thankful that Jesus will release me from this bondage of perverse desires. Freedom is offered to me, I must accept it and glory in His love and forgiveness or my fate will be destruction in separation from God.
Wise men are ashamed in their wisdom, because despite how smart a person is, without the wisdom of God in our hearts, we are foolish. God gives us wisdom in His word, in His written word and in His natural word. The Spirit speaks His word to our hearts. If we reject His word, then what wisdom do we have? It is clear that we have no wisdom. We give up all that is good so that we can wallow in the filth of things that destroy us, all the while telling ourselves we are happy or that we cannot help doing things our own way. We turn to others to give us validation that the wickedness that we love so much is really goodness. God's word gives us the truth and shows us what true goodness and true love are. If we prefer to read the works of the false pens of scribes that write things that sooth our ears and justify our wrongness, then we have fallen for the falsehood that these agents of Satan create. God has given us His word to show us the correct way. We need Him to impart His word to us, and we need to open our hearts to accept His word, repent of our wrongness, and begin to walk on God's path that will lead to our happiness.

Lord,
Help me today to give up my foolishness and take the wisdom You offer to me. Help me to listen to Your words, and help me to look only to You for the knowledge of what is right. There are many things to distract me, help me to absorb the truth that You shower upon me today.

Jeremiah 8:4-6

4 “Moreover you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD:
“Will they fall and not rise?
Will one turn away and not return?
5 Why has this people slidden back,
Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding?
They hold fast to deceit,
They refuse to return.
6 I listened and heard,
But they do not speak aright.
No man repented of his wickedness,
Saying, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone turned to his own course,
As the horse rushes into the battle.
Jeremiah 8:4-6 NKJV

God's people have fallen, but they do not try to get up. They have turned away from God, but they do not try to turn back to Him. God asks why they are in a perpetual backsliding. The lies that the people want to believe, they hold fast to. They choose to stay away from God, refusing the call of the Lord to come to Him and be healed. God says He listens, but they do not speak rightly. They do not repent of their sins and wickedness, but each continues on his own course, letting nothing stop them as they rush to their destruction. God continuously warns them and calls them, and He likewise calls me and warns me. When I stubbornly hold onto my sin, I am also like the horse rushing to battle. My fate is certain unless I return and repent and follow the way the Lord sets before me. I cannot hold onto my sin and have the relationship with God that will allow me to accept the gifts that Jesus wants to give me. I cannot turn my back on Him and walk with Him. When I fall, I need to get up. Like the young one learning to walk, I have to struggle to my feet when I find I have lost my balance and fallen. If I am content to lay on the ground, I will never be able to walk or run. I have to get up. It is the same in my spiritual life. When I fall, I have to get up. I can put my hand in the hand of Jesus and steady myself as I walk along with Him, using His strength to balance myself as temptations and trials push and buffet me. When I think I am strong and let go of His hand, I fall. Jesus holds His hand down towards me. He will not force me to take His hand, but His voice encourages me. If I like being on the ground or if I get discouraged and refuse His help, I struggle to get up, but I fail. When I take His hand again in mine and use His strength, I struggle and pull and I am on my feet again. I am growing and getting stronger. I learn to walk and perhaps I learn to run. Yet I always need to hold your hand, for the winds of temptation are strong and the obstacles in my path seem to be many. I seem to be continuously wanting to go my own way, and end up falling or being knocked down. Jesus is always there, hand held towards me and with an encouraging word for me. I take His hand and I can stand again and once more walk with Him.

Lord,
Help me today to take Your hand and struggle to my feet whenever I fall. I am weak and unsteady. I need You to be with me so I can hold onto you. Help me to accept Your forgiveness and help me to not allow discouragement to cause me to stay down and not try to get up. You promise me growth when I trust in You to walk with You. Help me today to walk with You as You lead me in the paths before me. Help me to allow Your peace to come into my heart and drive away the discouragement. I can stand with You, help me to hold onto You.

Jeremiah 8:1-3

1 “At that time,” says the LORD, “they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves. 2 They shall spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served and after which they have walked, which they have sought and which they have worshiped. They shall not be gathered nor buried; they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. 3 Then death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of those who remain of this evil family, who remain in all the places where I have driven them,” says the LORD of hosts.
Jeremiah 8:1-3 NKJV

Why would anyone take the bones of the people out of their graves? It is perhaps symbolic of the futility of the false worship of nature. Worship of the sun, moon, and other heavenly objects was evidently widespread and engaged in by the leaders, both national and religious. By desecrating the remains of those who worshipped these natural objects, the inability of the sun or moon or planets or stars to offer any help or saving would be shown. The people of Judah served and walked after and sought after and worshipped these natural objects, things made by God for their blessing and enjoyment. Instead of thanking their God for His creation, they thanked the creation and worshipped it. How often do I look to the blessings that God gives me and hold the blessing in higher esteem than my God who gives it to me? Do I look at my wife and her beauty and do things to win her favor and neglect to serve God? Do I look at my nice home and acreage and think about and plan and pour in all my resources to improve it for my honor, or do I look for ways to honor God and things I can do to serve Him? God gives me many blessings, do I accept them as somehow something I deserve and bring about through my intelligence and wisdom, or do I thank God and serve Him in love for what He does for me?
There is a choice before each of us. Death or life, which will we choose? God said that the residue of those taken captive would chose death over life. Literally we know that those who remained in the land chose death over life when God presents them with a clear choice in Chapters 42 and 43. I am also given a clear choice. I can look back through history and see the choices others have made and know that God offers us all the choice of life or death. I can read His word and it tells me clearly that we have a choice between life in Jesus and death in my sins. This is more than just a physical death, we are choosing between eternal life and eternal death. How often do we think we will compromise God's will so that we can save our physical life, but take a step toward eternal death by rejecting God's love and salvation?

Lord,
Help me today to chose life over death. You have not promised me ease or comfort or constant happiness in this life. You have offered me peace in my heart in this life and eternal joy in Your love. Help me to see past the desires of my sinfulness to the gift of life You offer me. Help me to chose Your life and to walk with You in the path You have set me on.

Jeremiah 7:28-34

28 “So you shall say to them, ‘This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the LORD their God nor receive correction. Truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth. 29 Cut off your hair and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the desolate heights; for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.’ 30 For the children of Judah have done evil in My sight,” says the LORD. “They have set their abominations in the house which is called by My name, to pollute it. 31 And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into My heart. 32 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “when it will no more be called Tophet, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter; for they will bury in Tophet until there is no room. 33 The corpses of this people will be food for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth. And no one will frighten them away. 34 Then I will cause to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. For the land shall be desolate.
Jeremiah 7:28-34 NKJV

Sorrow was to come upon the nation of Judah. The people refused to obey the voice of God and they refused to receive correction. God wanted them to have truth and to live in His truth. Truth, however, was not part of their lives. They would rather live a lie and speak a lie than to accept the truth of reality. They thought that they could have religion on their terms and God would accept them and their worship. They claimed they worshipped the true God, but they set up abominations in the very house of the Lord and worshipped false gods there. They built high places in Tophet and burned their sons and daughters as sacrifices. God not only had not commanded the abhorrent practice of child sacrifice, He had put the penalty of death upon anyone who committed such a crime. (Leviticus 20:1-5) When His people became so depraved and wicked that they offered their own children to the gods of Molech and Baal, God considered that it was time to end their relationship as his protected people. They refused His gentle corrections, now their correction would be more severe. Many were to die in the invasion of the Babylonians and the happiness of all would be removed as the majority of those left alive were to be taken into captivity. The land of promise would have rest as it is left desolate, just as the world will have rest after Jesus comes again and the wicked are dead and the righteous are in heaven with Him. I can learn from the history of the last days before the destruction of Jerusalem and Judah. I can embrace the truth and accept the life Jesus offers me, or I can choose to live my life according to my desires. I can let Jesus rule my heart, or I can give myself over to the rule of Satan. One choice leads to life, the other to eternal death.

Lord,
Help me today to choose to have You rule in my life. Help me to accept the truth and to search for the truth. Forgive my sin, cleanse me, and restore me to a right relationship with You. I am weak, You promise strength. Help me to walk with You this day, serving You in love for You.

Jeremiah 7:21-27

21 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat meat. 22 For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. 23 But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’ 24 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but followed the counsels and the dictates of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. 25 Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have even sent to you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them. 26 Yet they did not obey Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers. 27 “Therefore you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not obey you. You shall also call to them, but they will not answer you.
Jeremiah 7:21-27 NKJV

Verses 21 and 22 are hard to understand. The Lord seems to be saying that He did not instruct their fathers concerning the sacrificial system, when Exodus makes it clear He very specifically did. According to the SDA Bible Commentary this is a literary device that is used elsewhere (such as Genesis 45:8 or Luke 14:26) where two opposing ideas are presented with one being shown its importance with the denial of the other. In other words, compared to the sacrificial system, the idea of God requiring obedience and requiring them to walk in the ways put before them is more important the mere offering of sacrifices. This is what Samuel told Saul in 1 Samuel 15:22 when Saul did not obey God but offered sacrifices. It seems that verses 21 and 22 could also mean that while God told them about the offerings and sacrifices of the sacrificial system, those were to be used to lead the people to true worship in their hearts and to point them to the salvation they were to get when Jesus died for them. In that sense, the offerings and sacrifices were not what would save them or even mark them as His people. By obeying the Lord and walking in the ways He set before them, they would show that He was their God and they were His people. Their days would be well with them, not because they kept the rules of the sacrificial system, but because the meaning of the system would become part of them and they would walk with their God and learn from Him. At the time Jeremiah was telling the people what God wanted them to do, they thought that by keeping the rules would be what saved them. Just as by offering offerings to the rocks and sticks that they liked to worship, they expected god to save them based on the offerings they made to Him. They would not listen as God called them to true repentance. God made it as clear as possible that it was not following the rules and making offerings that made them His people, but obedience to Him through a relationship with Him. God had been telling them since He brought them from the land of Egypt through His prophets and messengers that obedience to Him through love was what saved them. Jeremiah was to speak God's words to them, but God warned that they would not listen and warned that the people would not answer when called. Their sin had closed their eyes to seeing the truth and blocked their ears from hearing God's messages.Their hearts were hardened to God's voice and to His love. They could not see or hear God because they chose not to.

Lord,

Help me today to open my heart to you. Help me to allow You to come into my heart and rule there, so that I will walk in the paths You set before me. Help me to not think that by merely keeping the rules I decide to keep in the way that I am willing to keep them that I will be saved. Help me to understand that by obeying You in all that I do and by allowing You to cleanse the sin from my heart is what will save me.

Jeremiah 7:12-20

12 “But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. 13 And now, because you have done all these works,” says the LORD, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you, but you did not answer, 14 therefore I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. 15 And I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brethren—the whole posterity of Ephraim. 16 “Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you. 17 Do you not see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger. 19 Do they provoke Me to anger?” says the LORD. “Do they not provoke themselves, to the shame of their own faces?” 20 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place—on man and on beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground. And it will burn and not be quenched.”

Jeremiah 7:12-20 NKJV

Shiloh was the original home of the sanctuary after Israel settled the promised land. The people became corrupt and the sons of Eli, who were responsible as priests to help them learn to follow God, lead the people in rebellion against God while pretending to serve Him. According to the SDA Bible commentary, the town of Shiloh was most likely burned and destroyed when the Philistines were allowed to capture the Ark of the Covenant because of Israel's sin. In the last days of Judah the people were as corrupt as their ancestors had been in the days of Eli, yet they pretended to honor God again. They trusted in the protection of themselves and their nation due to the location of God's temple in their midst. Just as the ark had become a mystical protector, really just an idol in their minds, so the temple in Jerusalem had become a mystical protector for the people of Jeremiah's day. They expected that the building itself would cause God to not allow Jerusalem and Judah to be destroyed. Instead of allowing God to enter their hearts and guide them to the safe paths of peace and prosperity, they thought they could act in ways that were contrary to God's revealed word and still be protected because the temple was in Jerusalem. The temple and its services were to point them to a closer relationship with God, they chose to ignore what the temple meant. The temple was ordained by God to lead them to an understanding of God's cleansing power in Jesus. Instead, they turned the temple into a permission to do whatever evil they desired, with no worry of the consequences because the temple would protect them. I today can choose to think that God will protect and save me because of some blessing He has given me. I will be making the same mistake as the Jews of Jeremiah's time if I 'keep' the Sabbath but allow corruption and wickedness to control my life in other areas, expecting my 'keeping' of the Sabbath to cause me to be saved.
While the people of Judah pretended to serve God, many openly worshiped the queen of heaven and other gods, with the entire family joining together and playing their roles in the false worship. According to the SDA Bible Commentary on Jeremiah 44:17, the queen of heaven was usually identified with the Assyro-Babylonian Ishtar, which had grossly immoral and debasing rites associated with its worship. So the Hebrews claimed to worship God, yet were also either openly or in secret giving worship to gods that destroyed their character and turned them against the true God. Their actions provoked the righteous God to anger and He promises that justice will come upon them. He says that he rose early to speak to them, warning and wooing them to a heart relationship with Him, but they refused to listen. They would not answer His calling. So Jesus calls me today. He starts early and continuously calls my heart to love Him, will I listen and open my heart to Him?

Lord,
Help me today to listen when you call me. Please help me to not think that by merely doing what I think You want in one area of my life, however good those thing or things may be, allows me to ignore You in the rest of my life. My culture and my sinful nature calls me to corruption, please give me the strength and wisdom to serve You with my whole life today, honoring You in all that I do.

Jeremiah 7:1-11

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 “Stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the LORD!’” 3 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4 Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD are these.’5 “For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, 6 if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, 7 then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. 8 “Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. 9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know, 10 and then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’? 11 Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” says the LORD.
Jeremiah 7:1-11 NKJV

God sent Jeremiah to His house to say His words to those who came to worship. According to the SDA Bible Commentary chapter 7 is the beginning of one of Jeremiah's most striking prophetic sermons and chapters 7-10 is often called the Temple Discourse since Jeremiah spoke it at the gate of the temple. Because of similarities to chapter 26 some believe this sermon was given in the early years of the reign of Jehoiakim.
The people evidently made a pretense of following God. Josiah's reforms had caused many to at least outwardly pretend to follow Him. The temple had been restored and temple services evidently had become a ritual that caused the people to think that they were doing what God wanted. The words spoken by the people must have been the 'right' words, but God wanted Jeremiah to call them to a real relationship with Him that went beyond just speaking the correct things. Their pride in the temple and in their religion caused them to speak glowingly of the temple, but the meaning of the services was ignored. They could make the sacrifices for the forgiveness of their sins without being repentant or forsaking their sins. They did the 'right' things to satisfy the requirements of their religion, then left the temple and acted in ways and did things that went against the law of God. It is like I do the things that I think mean I am a good Seventh-day Adventist; go to church on Sabbath, pay tithe, don't eat unclean foods, avoid going to movies, don't drink alcohol or smoke, etc.; then do what I want in the other areas of my life. I can still be angry with my family and be a gossip and be dishonest in my business dealings and hate my brother because of a wrong he has done me. As long as I keep the rules I think God has given me, and I get to pick which rules I think God has made important, I can act in any way I want in the rest of my life. God told Jeremiah to stand in the gate of the temple and tell the people of Judah that it wasn't good enough to have pride in the Lord's house, they needed to have the Lord take control of their lives and reign in their hearts.
God gave examples of what this heart religion would entail, how they would act if they actually changed their doings and truly did things the way God wanted them to. They would execute fair judgment between a man and his neighbor, bringing peace amongst the people. They would not oppress the weak, there would be no persecuting of strangers or neglect of orphans and widows. They would take care of those who were without the means to care for themselves. They would respect the life that God gave and there would be no killing of the innocent. They would worship and honor God above all and they would not give allegiance to other gods.
God pointed out that they were putting their trust in lying words that would not help them. Instead of allowing the love God showed them fill their hearts and spill out in love for those around them, they went to the house of the Lord, spoke the 'right' words' and went out and broke God's law with stealing, murder, adultery, false swearing, and worship of Baal and other gods. They acted as if God's forgiveness gave them license to do any wicked thing they wanted. God pictures His house having become a den of thieves to them. They were not going to the temple to be forgiven and cleansed from their sins. They expected that by going to the temple they could say the correct words of appeasement to God and then be free to act out whatever wicked desire they had and God would not hold them accountable.
I see that it is my tendency to act as the people of Judah did in the days of Jeremiah. The 'goodness' of anything I do is determined by the motive I have when I do it. Do I worship on Sabbath out of love for God, or do I worship on Sabbath because I want others to see how good I am and because that is what I have become accustomed to do? Do I pay tithe because I want to recognize that everything I have comes from God and I want to keep my heart from becoming selfish, or do I begrudgingly give God His required due, all the while thinking of how I would rather do something else with the resources. Do I follow the health requirements because I want to honor God by taking care of the body He has given me, or do I avoid eating and drinking and smoking the 'bad' things because I want others to see how good I am at keeping the rules? My relationship with God is not determined by how many rules I keep or often I go to church or how often I say the 'right' religious words. My relationship with Jesus is determined by my allowing Him to come into my life and speak to me and how I listen to Him. I have so many faults and commit so many sins. I have no power to change the things I do and no self strength to pick the right paths to walk. Jesus has the power and offers it freely to me, God is ready to wrap His coat of strength around me. I must choose today whether I will allow His power and strength to be a part of me, whether I will allow Him to rule me.

Lord,
Help me today to accept Your love and power and strength for me. Help me to serve You from love and not from a self righteous desire to have others see me as religious. Thank You for Your forgiveness of my sin, help me today to repent and confess. Help me to walk in the paths you lay before me today, that I may be Your hands and feet and speak Your words.

Jeremiah 6

1 “O you children of Benjamin,
Gather yourselves to flee from the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow the trumpet in Tekoa,
And set up a signal-fire in Beth Haccerem;
For disaster appears out of the north,
And great destruction.
2 I have likened the daughter of Zion
To a lovely and delicate woman.
3 The shepherds with their flocks shall come to her.
They shall pitch their tents against her all around.
Each one shall pasture in his own place.”
4 “ Prepare war against her;
Arise, and let us go up at noon.
Woe to us, for the day goes away,
For the shadows of the evening are lengthening.
5 Arise, and let us go by night,
And let us destroy her palaces.”
6 For thus has the LORD of hosts said:
“ Cut down trees,
And build a mound against Jerusalem.
This is the city to be punished.
She is full of oppression in her midst.
7 As a fountain wells up with water,
So she wells up with her wickedness.
Violence and plundering are heard in her.
Before Me continually are grief and wounds.
8 Be instructed, O Jerusalem,
Lest My soul depart from you;
Lest I make you desolate,
A land not inhabited.”
9 Thus says the LORD of hosts:
“ They shall thoroughly glean as a vine the remnant of Israel;
As a grape-gatherer, put your hand back into the branches.”
10 To whom shall I speak and give warning,
That they may hear?
Indeed their ear is uncircumcised,
And they cannot give heed.
Behold, the word of the LORD is a reproach to them;
They have no delight in it.
11 Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD.
I am weary of holding it in.
“ I will pour it out on the children outside,
And on the assembly of young men together;
For even the husband shall be taken with the wife,
The aged with him who is full of days.
12 And their houses shall be turned over to others,
Fields and wives together;
For I will stretch out My hand
Against the inhabitants of the land,” says the LORD.
13 “ Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them,
Everyone is given to covetousness;
And from the prophet even to the priest,
Everyone deals falsely.
14 They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’
When there is no peace.
15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination?
No! They were not at all ashamed;
Nor did they know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
At the time I punish them,
They shall be cast down,” says the LORD.
16 Thus says the LORD:
“ Stand in the ways and see,
And ask for the old paths, where the good way is,
And walk in it;
Then you will find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 Also, I set watchmen over you, saying,
‘ Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not listen.’
18 Therefore hear, you nations,
And know, O congregation, what is among them.
19 Hear, O earth!
Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people—
The fruit of their thoughts,
Because they have not heeded My words
Nor My law, but rejected it.
20 For what purpose to Me
Comes frankincense from Sheba,
And sweet cane from a far country?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,
Nor your sacrifices sweet to Me.”
21 Therefore thus says the LORD:
“ Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people,
And the fathers and the sons together shall fall on them.
The neighbor and his friend shall perish.”
22 Thus says the LORD:
“ Behold, a people comes from the north country,
And a great nation will be raised from the farthest parts of the earth.
23 They will lay hold on bow and spear;
They are cruel and have no mercy;
Their voice roars like the sea;
And they ride on horses,
As men of war set in array against you, O daughter of Zion.”
24 We have heard the report of it;
Our hands grow feeble.
Anguish has taken hold of us,
Pain as of a woman in labor.
25 Do not go out into the field,
Nor walk by the way.
Because of the sword of the enemy,
Fear is on every side.
26 O daughter of my people,
Dress in sackcloth
And roll about in ashes!
Make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation;
For the plunderer will suddenly come upon us.
27 “ I have set you as an assayer and a fortress among My people,
That you may know and test their way.
28 They are all stubborn rebels, walking as slanderers.
They are bronze and iron,
They are all corrupters;
29 The bellows blow fiercely,
The lead is consumed by the fire;
The smelter refines in vain,
For the wicked are not drawn off.
30 People will call them rejected silver,
Because the LORD has rejected them.”

Jeremiah 6 NKJV

Sins of Judah and her people -

1. Oppression of the weak (verse 6)
2. Violence (verse 7)
3. Plundering (verse 7)
4. The word of the Lord is a reproach to them (verse 10)
5. Covetousness (verse 13)
6. False dealings (verse 13)
7. False prophesies (verse 14)
8. Refusal to be ashamed for their wickedness (verse 15)
9. Refusal to walk in the paths God set before them (verse 16)
10. Refusal to listen to God's warnings (verse 17)
11. Refusal to heed God's words
12. Rejection of God's law
13. Offering sacrifices with a heart not in tune with God (verse 20)
14. They were rebellious (verse 28)
15. Slander of the righteous (verse 28)
16. Corruption (verse 28)

Chapter six is a message of warnings to God's people. A list of sins of the people of Judah are mentioned as cause for the removal of God's protection. This list is not exhaustive, as many other sins are mentioned in other places in Jeremiah to describe the condition of the people and the wickedness they were prepared to do and did. It is however instructive to us. As we read the list, how many do we recognize as being present in our own lives. In verse eight, God tells them to be instructed lest His soul depart from them. In verse sixteen, God tells them to stand in the old ways and ask for the old paths where the good way is. The old ways were when they were faithful to the true God of heaven and walked after His ways. He told them that by walking in the paths where he directed them, they would have rest for their souls. How many today are searching for rest for their souls. They search in many places, most of which don't even make sense, hoping that they can find something to fill themselves with happiness and peace. God offers them peace in the old ways where they walk in the old paths of faithfulness to Him. There they will have rest in their souls. In our hectic way of living today most could use rest in their souls. Jesus offers us rest and peace. We need to walk in the way God directs us, then we can have the quiet assurance that God gives to His children. God has sent a watchman over us to tell us to listen to the warnings of His word. When we listen we will know when we must be most on guard against the dangers that come upon us, and like Judah in Jeremiah's day we have dangers coming upon us.

Judah and it's people refuse to listen to God and reject His law. They rejected Him and turned away from Him, effectively cutting themselves off from His love and protection. In their desire to be totally independent of God and do the things they wanted without regard to the effect upon themselves and others, they refused to walk in the paths that God directed them to. They refused to follow God's way, insisting on going their own way. I can see the results of their foolishness, but do I do the same thing? I too need to walk in the paths God sets before me. My selfish heart, however, tells me to ignore those paths and go my own way. When I do reject God and His law and do the things that seem good to me, the result is the same as for Judah. Fear, guilt, despair all encompass me. Better for me to trust in Him who can save me and give me the rest and peace I need.

Verses twenty-nine and thirty compares what happens to Judah as to the refining of precious metal. The fire is bellowed so hot the lead is consumed, but it is in vain. The silver is rejected because it refuses to be made pure. Judah had a choice, God or themselves, and they chose themselves. God will burn a fire in our hearts to make them pure. Would that we welcome that fire and allow Him to cleanse us of our wickedness.

Lord,

Help me today to accept Your cleansing of my heart. The impurities that I have chosen to hold onto need to be burned away. Help me to accept Your fires in my life and allow You to cleanse my life of all that would separate me from You. Help me to listen and hear Your words for me. Help me to look and see the path You have for me. Give me today the strength I need to trust You with my whole being. Thank You for Your love for me and Your forgiveness of my sin.

Jeremiah 5:14-31

14 Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts:
“Because you speak this word,
Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire,
And this people wood,
And it shall devour them.
15 Behold, I will bring a nation against you from afar,
O house of Israel,” says the LORD.
“It is a mighty nation,
It is an ancient nation,
A nation whose language you do not know,
Nor can you understand what they say.
16 Their quiver is like an open tomb;
They are all mighty men.
17 And they shall eat up your harvest and your bread,
Which your sons and daughters should eat.
They shall eat up your flocks and your herds;
They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;
They shall destroy your fortified cities,
In which you trust, with the sword.
18 “Nevertheless in those days,” says the LORD, “I will not make a complete end of you.
19 And it will be when you say, ‘Why does the LORD our God do all these things to us?’ then you shall answer them, ‘Just as you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve aliens in a land that is not yours.’
20 “ Declare this in the house of Jacob
And proclaim it in Judah, saying,
21 ‘ Hear this now, O foolish people,
Without understanding,
Who have eyes and see not,
And who have ears and hear not:
22 Do you not fear Me?’ says the LORD.
‘Will you not tremble at My presence,
Who have placed the sand as the bound of the sea,
By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it?
And though its waves toss to and fro,
Yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.
23 But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart;
They have revolted and departed.
24 They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear the LORD our God,
Who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season.
He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.”
25 Your iniquities have turned these things away,
And your sins have withheld good from you.
26 ‘For among My people are found wicked men;
They lie in wait as one who sets snares;
They set a trap;
They catch men.
27 As a cage is full of birds,
So their houses are full of deceit.
Therefore they have become great and grown rich.
28 They have grown fat, they are sleek;
Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the fatherless;
Yet they prosper,
And the right of the needy they do not defend.
29 Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the LORD.
‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’
30 “An astonishing and horrible thing
Has been committed in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule by their own power;
And My people love to have it so.
But what will you do in the end?
Jeremiah 5:14-31 NKJV

God's words were to be like fire coming from Jeremiah and those who heard would be like dry wood. Those who hear the word of the Lord and refuse to listen to it and take it to heart will be devoured by the word. Like dry trees, the fire will burn them up completely. For Judah, the fire that would destroy them was in the form of Babylon. God warns them that everything they need for survival in the land of promise will be destroyed by the coming armies of Babylon. Their food, which should be eaten by their children, will be eaten by the attacking foreigners and they will destroy their fortified cities with the sword. All will be taken from them.
In verse 18, God once again reminds them that He will not make a complete end of them. A word of hope comes in the midst of the words of doom. He will not preserve some for the sake of those He saves, but He will preserve them because He still has a plan for His nation of Israel. The people who rebel against Him deserve only the death that all of us who rebel against God deserve. Just as Jesus has taken on Himself the results of our sins and taken the punishment that we deserve, so God said He would have some to carry on to fulfill His plans for them. While Jeremiah spoke God's words to them they ignored him and denied that Jeremiah spoke the word of the Lord. Later when the things Jeremiah told them came to pass and they asked, "Why does the LORD our God do all these things to us?", Jeremiah was to tell them that they had brought their fate on themselves. Choices have consequences. They foolishly chose to put their trust in rocks and sticks and turn their backs to their God. Fire would now cleanse them. By loving the sins they cherished and by refusing to listen to the words of His prophets, they separated themselves from God and His protections were removed. They had evidence after evidence of God's love and protection for them. They had eyes to see the hand of god on them, but they refused to see it. They had ears to hear of His love and caring for them, yet they refused to hear it. God gives them examples from nature of God's power and caring. The sea is bound by the sand and the roaring waters will not overtake the earth. The rains come when needed for the harvests of the food they need to survive. God has blessed them over and over, they have let the sins of their hearts turn the blessings into despair. They have grown rich and fat. Their wickedness surpasses that of those around. The land of promise should be a shinning light for justice and harmony. Other nations should be able to look at Judah and see where those who are downtrodden and poor are cared for and given the help that they need. The weak should be defended. Instead they prosper at the expense of the poor and needy. God says He must punish them for their neglect of the poor and helpless.
Then God speaks to the false prophets and says that it is an astonishing and horrible thing. The prophets lie, the priests rule by their own power instead of God's power, and worst of all the people want it to be so. They want to be lied to and to be ruled over by the arbitrary whims of man instead of being ruled over by the justice of a righteous God who will protect and save them. They would rather believe lies that they think are pleasant than obey the truth that God gives them. So they believe what their hearts desire, but God asks them, 'what will you do in the end?' The lies are just that, lies. The reality of the truth will happen whether they refuse to believe it or not. So will it be for us today. We can deny the final days of the earth are coming, but what God has spoken will come to pass. Let us believe the truth and obey our God.

Lord,
Help me today to believe the truth You give me. Help me to share Your truth to those to whom You send me. Open my eyes and my ears and my understanding so that I will see and hear and trust and believe the truth as You present it to me. Help me to see You in nature and help me to hear You in Your word.

1 “Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem;
See now and know;
And seek in her open places
If you can find a man,
If there is anyone who executes judgment,
Who seeks the truth,
And I will pardon her.
2 Though they say, ‘As the LORD lives,’
Surely they swear falsely.”
3 O LORD, are not Your eyes on the truth?
You have stricken them,
But they have not grieved;
You have consumed them,
But they have refused to receive correction.
They have made their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to return.
4 Therefore I said, “Surely these are poor.
They are foolish;
For they do not know the way of the LORD,
The judgment of their God.
5 I will go to the great men and speak to them,
For they have known the way of the LORD,
The judgment of their God.”
But these have altogether broken the yoke
And burst the bonds.
6 Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them,
A wolf of the deserts shall destroy them;
A leopard will watch over their cities.
Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces,
Because their transgressions are many;
Their backslidings have increased.
7 “How shall I pardon you for this?
Your children have forsaken Me
And sworn by those that are not gods.
When I had fed them to the full,
Then they committed adultery
And assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.
8 They were like well-fed lusty stallions;
Every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife.
9 Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the LORD.
“And shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?
10 “Go up on her walls and destroy,
But do not make a complete end.
Take away her branches,
For they are not the LORD’s.
11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” says the LORD.
12 They have lied about the LORD,
And said, “It is not He.
Neither will evil come upon us,
Nor shall we see sword or famine.
13 And the prophets become wind,
For the word is not in them.
Thus shall it be done to them.”
Jeremiah 5:1-13 NKJV

The Lord telling Jeremiah to seek out a man that executes judgment and who seeks the truth reminds us of Abraham's negotiations with God to save Sodom and Gomorrah. The Lord says he will pardon Judah if one can be found there who is righteous. While I know that this is not literal since Jeremiah was righteous and there were other true followers of God, it was indicative of how few people in Judah had an honest heart to obey God. Many would say "As the LORD lives", but they swore falsely since they did not truly trust in the Lord or even believe that He would save them. When they were punished for their evil ways they did not grieve the wrongs they had done, they continued in their wickedness. They became more obstinate and hard hearted to pursue evil. No matter what happened, they determined to do things their own way and ignore the word of the Lord.
Jeremiah searches but cannot find honesty while searching for God among the common people. He says that these are poor and foolish people who have not the advantage of education and culture. No one had taught them and in their limited experiences they had not had the opportunity to know God. So Jeremiah determined to go to the great men and speak to them. The educated and traveled and cultured with all of their opportunities in life had seen the workings of the Lord and knew of the ways He had saved Israel in the past. Surely among them Jeremiah could find many who were righteous and who followed the will of God. However, among the princes and priest and rulers, Jeremiah found no more who followed God than he found among the poor and uneducated. Jesus calls all and gives to each of us light so we can see the path He knows is best for us. Some have greater light and thus more responsibility, but all must choose to follow the light they are given. Whether rich and great or humble and poor, all must decide whether to do as they see God has commanded or whether they will walk in the way that seems best to themselves.
Because of the wickedness and refusal of Judah to trust and follow God, the Lord said that punishment was coming upon the land. The people had piled up their iniquities and by their actions put greater and greater distance between God and themselves. They ran after every false god and were led to increase their wickedness through the worship of these idols. Though God detailed the punishments that were to come upon the nation, even now He promised that there would not be a complete end to His people. They lied to each other and themselves about the Lord, saying "It is not He". They denied that the words spoken by God through His true prophets were really God's words. They choose to believe the lie that was more pleasant than the truth. The false prophets told them what they wanted to hear, the things that sounded good to them. False prophets told them they were OK and they didn't need to worry about enemies or the results of their turning away from following God's requirements. Though they believed these lies, it did not change the reality. The false prophets were like the wind blowing, speaking words that moved men to complacency. But God said the word was not in them, so their fate would be the punishment of Judah. Had they listened to the true prophets of God and turned their hearts to follow Him, the Lord promised to take away the fire that was descending upon them. Honest hearts had the evidence all around them to see the truth. The choose to believe a lie.

Lord,
Help me today to see and believe and obey the truth You give me. I often would rather believe a lie that is more pleasant. I want to think that I am misjudged and that I should be accorded respect for my wondrous ideas and thoughts. Help me to recognize the truth you have given me and accept the path You desire me to walk. Please take away my stubborn selfishness and willful disobedience. Make me as a little child who puts my hand in Yours and trusts You to lead me in the best way for me.

Jeremiah 4:19-31

O my soul, my soul! I am pained in my very heart! My heart makes a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, Because you have heard, O my soul, The sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried, For the whole land is plundered. Suddenly my tents are plundered, And my curtains in a moment. How long will I see the standard, And hear the sound of the trumpet? “For My people are foolish, They have not known Me. They are silly children, And they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, But to do good they have no knowledge.” I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void; And the heavens, they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled, And all the hills moved back and forth. I beheld, and indeed there was no man, And all the birds of the heavens had fled. I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness, And all its cities were broken down At the presence of the LORD, By His fierce anger. For thus says the LORD: “The whole land shall be desolate; Yet I will not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, And the heavens above be black, Because I have spoken. I have purposed and will not relent, Nor will I turn back from it. The whole city shall flee from the noise of the horsemen and bowmen. They shall go into thickets and climb up on the rocks. Every city shall be forsaken, And not a man shall dwell in it. “And when you are plundered, What will you do? Though you clothe yourself with crimson, Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, Though you enlarge your eyes with paint, In vain you will make yourself fair; Your lovers will despise you; They will seek your life. “ For I have heard a voice as of a woman in labor, The anguish as of her who brings forth her first child, The voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself; She spreads her hands, saying, ‘Woe is me now, for my soul is weary Because of murderers!’
Jeremiah 4:19-31 NKJV

Jeremiah has been shown the future of his nation and he is pained at what he sees. The terms he uses to describe the result of the land are similar to what the earth looked like before creation. What he describes is what the earth will most likely look like during the 1000 years that the righteous are with God in heaven and all on the earth await the second resurrection. All the cities are broken down, everything is desolate and a wilderness, with no human inhabitants. Jeremiah describes the armies of the north coming and plundering the land. The sounds of war and the scenes of destruction flow through his mind and he hurts in his heart at what is to take place. He is weary through and through, to his very heart, because of the death and woe that is coming upon his people.
The LORD speaks in verse 22, saying "For My people are foolish, They have not known Me. They are silly children, and they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge." We think we are wise, yet we are foolish. We are silly children thinking we have understanding, when our understanding is only on how to do wrong things. The knowledge of doing right is beyond us, we don't know how to good things. I know this is true in my life. I can seemingly mess up in a myriad number of ways, but to do something correct is beyond me. Only through God's grace and love can I learn how to do what is right. Just as He offered to put a new heart into the people of Judah, He offers me a new heart. With a new heart I can abide in Jesus and He will give me a knowledge to do good. Jesus can make me a true man and change me from a fool into someone with the wisdom to trust in Him.
The Lord looks upon their (and our) efforts to make themselves attractive with sadness. By putting on their ornaments of gold and makeup they sought to make themselves fair to look. They are depicted as trying to make themselves physically attractive so that they would be loved by their lovers. I believe this represented their spiritual state. They tried to put on outward righteousness and cover their sins with religious words and acts, while their hearts remained evil and corrupt. The Lord said this outward adorning was in vain. It is the same with me. I can try to fool others with what I say and the outward acts I do, but when I refuse to let Jesus cleanse my heart and refuse to obey His guidance, everything I do is in vain. I must give my heart to Him, let Him give me a new heart, allow Him to cleanse me and wash me clean of the sins that I harbor in my heart. Outwardly I may still appear ugly, but in my heart I will be beautiful because I will reflect Him. I will be clean and I will have peace. Do I want to be like a silly child as the people were in Jeremiah's days, or do I want to be a man who is faithful to God who can stand with Him, through His power, until the end? I choose to let God help me stand with him, and ask Him to make me forever faithful.

Lord,
Help me today to allow You to come into my heart. Wash me, cleanse me, make me anew in Your image, Forgive me for my sins, please giver me a new heart. I need you very moment of every day, help me to call upon You every moment of every day. Thank You for Your promises of healing and peace. Help me to accept Your love for me and share that love with any others with whom I am in contact today.

Jeremiah 4:5-18

Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say: “Blow the trumpet in the land; Cry, ‘Gather together,’ And say, ‘Assemble yourselves, And let us go into the fortified cities.’ Set up the standard toward Zion. Take refuge! Do not delay! For I will bring disaster from the north, And great destruction.” The lion has come up from his thicket, And the destroyer of nations is on his way. He has gone forth from his place To make your land desolate. Your cities will be laid waste, Without inhabitant. For this, clothe yourself with sackcloth, Lament and wail. For the fierce anger of the LORD Has not turned back from us. “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the LORD, “That the heart of the king shall perish, And the heart of the princes; The priests shall be astonished, And the prophets shall wonder.” Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Surely You have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, Saying, ‘You shall have peace,’ Whereas the sword reaches to the heart.” At that time it will be said To this people and to Jerusalem, “A dry wind of the desolate heights blows in the wilderness Toward the daughter of My people— Not to fan or to cleanse— A wind too strong for these will come for Me; Now I will also speak judgment against them.” “ Behold, he shall come up like clouds, And his chariots like a whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are plundered!” O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, That you may be saved. How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you? For a voice declares from Dan And proclaims affliction from Mount Ephraim: “Make mention to the nations, Yes, proclaim against Jerusalem, That watchers come from a far country And raise their voice against the cities of Judah. Like keepers of a field they are against her all around, Because she has been rebellious against Me,” says the LORD. “Your ways and your doings Have procured these things for you. This is your wickedness, Because it is bitter, Because it reaches to your heart.”
Jeremiah 4:5-18 NKJV

The lion has come up from his thicket and the destroyer of nations is on his way. The land of promise, designed to be a light to the world, is about to be laid waste. God is warning His people that the fruit of their rebellion is about to be reaped. Justice is soon going to meet with mercy. It is not too late, but they must repent and turn back to God with a true heart in order to be saved. Judah should mourn it's demise. This is a time when it is appropriate for the people to cry in agony and repentance. The leaders should be afraid, for they will be astonished at what is to come and without understanding as to what they should do. They see the destruction marching towards them and refuse to turn to God for help, yet the rulers have no idea how to save themselves and their nation. Egypt and the false gods that they rely on for safety will fail them, their wisdom will fail them, and the God that they turn away from will allow their enemies to punish them.
The destruction of Judah is the result of the choices the nation made as a people. Their actions and their deeds were wicked, and the evil within them bore the fruit in their lives that led to their destruction. Like a dry wind blowing over them, the Chaldeans will come from the north. The Babylonia chariots will descend upon them like a whirlwind and the horses of Nebuchadnezzar will be swifter than eagles. Nothing will stand in the way of their enemies. From Dan to Mount Ephraim, God's voice rings out through His prophets, warning them and calling them to return to Him. 'O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?' God begs them to let Him remove the vileness and sin from their hearts. It is not too late for them, turn back to God and obey Him and live. They are surrounded on every side with enemies. God wants to save them. Why are they so stubborn and obstinate, why will they not accept the saving grace of their God, instead determining to do things their own way.
The end is coming and it will be bitter for the nation of Judah. Their wickedness reaches to their hearts and leaves them seemingly with no hope. Their hope is God, but they must allow Him to bring this hope into their hearts and cleanse and heal them. We too have the hope of Jesus who also is calling us to return to Him. Just as God knew of the results of Judah's sins and wickedness and just as God knew the salvation that would result in Judah turning to follow Him, so Jesus knows the results of our sin. Jesus has taken our sins and suffered the bitter results of those sins in His death on the cross and in the separation from His Father. He offers us the escape from bearing the destruction of our sins on ourselves. He offers to wash our hearts from wickedness, cleanse us, and restore us to the image of His ideal for us. How much more time until the end is upon us? Jesus is telling us we have little time left before the dry wind will blow its judgment against us. We can be saved, Jesus wants to save us. It is our choice whether or not to accept the salvation He wants for us.

Lord,
Help me today to accept Your salvation today. I am lost without you. I have no hope as long as I stubbornly insist on doing everything my way and insist on following the false gods I think offer me happiness. You desire good things for me, help me to accept those blessings. Place a love for You in my heart. Cleanse me and cover me with Your righteousness. I need You to remake me into Your child. Today.

Jeremiah 4:1-4

“If you will return, O Israel,” says the LORD, “Return to Me; And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight, Then you shall not be moved. And you shall swear, ‘The LORD lives,’ In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; The nations shall bless themselves in Him, And in Him they shall glory.” For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, And take away the foreskins of your hearts, You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Lest My fury come forth like fire, And burn so that no one can quench it, Because of the evil of your doings.”
Jeremiah 4:1-4 NKJV

God calls His people to return to Him. They have done many wicked and evil things. They have been unfaithful and they have refused to do what God has shown them to be the wise things to do. Yet God calls them to return to him and asks them to put their abominations out of His sight. If they will put away their sins and stand with God, they will stand tall and strong. They will not be moved spiritually, they will be faithful and true to their God. They will not be moved physically, God will take away the destruction that awaits the wicked nation of Judah and the carrying away of the people to the captivity of Babylon. God will give them blessings and security in the land of His promise, if they will only turn to Him in repentance.
If they were to follow God's will for them, they could say 'The LORD lives' and they could testify that the LORD lives in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness. The Lord lives in truth because they would experience Him and His power in their own lives for themselves. The Lord lives in judgment because they would experience the forgiveness of their confessed sins and see the results of God's judgments on those who refused to believe. The Lord lives in righteousness because they would experience the happiness that comes from believing and serving God.
Two examples of how the people should relate to God are given. First they are compared to farming. They were to break up the ground and prepare it for the sowing of the seeds of life. They were not to just sow the seeds of God's words amongst hard and weedy ground that had not been plowed. They would prepare their hearts with confession of sin and with repentance. By clinging to sins they would not allow the seeds of God's word any place to sprout in their hearts. Satan would be able to snatch any good intentions and love away from their hearts and the seed of God's word would not be able to sprout or grow when any did sprout. They were also to make sure they didn't sow the seed amongst the thorns. They were not to allow the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke out the word of God in their lives, making them unfruitful. (Matthew 13:18-23.) The second comparison was to circumcision. The were to dedicate their lives to the Lord and push all the wickedness and uncleanness out of their hearts. Cherished sins would have to be cut away and destroyed. God was asking them for a spiritual circumcision with a true dedication to Him, in their hearts, and not just an outward speaking of words without living the words.

Lord,
Help me today to truly dedicate my life to You. Help me to prepare my heart for Your word with confession of my sins and true repentance. Teach me to hate sin and help me to love You with my whole being. Help me to love You and trust You with everything in my life.

Jeremiah 3:20-25

Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, So have you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” says the LORD. A voice was heard on the desolate heights, Weeping and supplications of the children of Israel. For they have perverted their way; They have forgotten the LORD their God. “Return, you backsliding children, And I will heal your backslidings.”

"Indeed we do come to You, For You are the LORD our God. Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, And from the multitude of mountains; Truly, in the LORD our God Is the salvation of Israel. For shame has devoured The labor of our fathers from our youth— Their flocks and their herds, Their sons and their daughters. We lie down in our shame, And our reproach covers us. For we have sinned against the LORD our God, We and our fathers, From our youth even to this day, And have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.”
Jeremiah 3:20-25 NKJV

Once again the unfaithfulness of Judah is compared to a wife being unfaithful to her husband. Of all human relationships the marriage relationship is designed to be the most intimate. The two shall become one, and the two people become one in purpose and goals and attitude. God desires His people to become one in character with Him, taking His purpose as their own. When someone in a marriage is unfaithful the pain can be devastating. A good marriage is a blessing to both as two people grow in love and respect for each other, but when one of the two deals treacherously, it hurts so much more because of what is lost. So here God's people are pictured alone, lost, weeping in agony and crying out for relief. It was their decision to forget all that God had done for them and forsake Him. The results of that decision would cause pain and sorrow for the nation of Judah just as it had caused sorrow in Israel. God, however, calls them back to Him. Return to Me, He says, and I will heal you. I will take away Your pain and restore You to the safety of My love. No matter how much I turn My back on God and how often I reject Him, He calls to me with an offer of healing and forgiveness.

The rest of chapter 3 are the words that God desired to hear from His people. Words, had they been spoken in sincerity, that would have lead to God's protection and the people being forgiven and restored. True repentance that would have allowed God to send away the armies coming from the north and have allowed Him to establish His people in peace and prosperity. In vain we can await salvation to come to us from any place other than the Lord. I can look to happiness in things or people. I can think that my spouse or a political figure or an athlete or movie star or a pastor or a musician or the wise janitor can teach me how to be the kind of person I want to be. I can think a special automobile or a fulfilling job or a secure home or the latest and greatest electronic gadget will make me the complete man I want to be. In truth, it is only God who can take my sinful heart and give me a new heart. It is only God who can take me away from my self assurance to see the reality of His truth and the needs I actually have. Judah looked to the hills and mountains where their idols were for their salvation. They reaped only heartache. Their shame devoured their labor and they lost everything that they held dear. Had they called out to the God of heaven instead of the gods of the high places, they would have been saved. Obedience to God was the answer to their supplications and their weepings. God was willing to heal them, and God is willing to heal me.

Lord,
Help me today to accept Your healing. Help me to trust in You and look to You for my salvation.

Jeremiah 3:14-19

“Return, O backsliding children,” says the LORD; “for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. “Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days,” says the LORD, “that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the LORD.’ It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore. “At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the LORD, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts. “In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers. “But I said: ‘How can I put you among the children And give you a pleasant land, A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations?’ “And I said: ‘You shall call Me, “My Father,” And not turn away from Me.’

Jeremiah 3:14-19 NKJV

This passage seems to be a prophecy of the new earth as well as a prophecy for Israel after the captivity. God promises to bring them to Zion and to give them shepherds that would feed them knowledge and understanding. This prophecy can be fulfilled today for those who accept God's will for them. He wants to teach us and give us knowledge and understanding. This prophecy was also fulfilled in Jesus. There was never a better shepherd for us than Jesus when He came to earth and walked among men, teaching us with the knowledge of God for us and providing an understanding of the what God wants for His faithful followers.

The only way I can see verses 16-17 being fulfilled is in the new earth after the world is cleansed. Perhaps had Israel and Judah returned to the the land of promise and had let God lead them in the paths He desired and fully given God control of their lives it could have been fulfilled in the days of Jesus. Because they failed at that time to live up to the ideal God had for them, this prophecy has yet to be completed. It is a glorious picture of what God desires for His people. No more will we need the symbol of the Ark of the Covenant for the presence of God, God will set His throne on the earth and every nation will be gathered before Him to praise and worship Him. We will no longer have wicked hearts, we will allow God to cleanse us and remake us into His image. Truly those who choose to follow God instead of following their own sinful desires will have a future that will be glorious.

God promises to heal the rifts between His people. No longer will anger and bitterness with each other keep us apart. Together His children will come as one people and inherit the land He has prepared for us. We should let God even now prepare our hearts by taking away the animosities and grudges with each other and replace the evil feelings that lead us to hate instead of love, with the love that God has for each of us and the love that God wants us to share with each other. When each of us will call God 'My father' and not turn away from Him, then true happiness will fill each of our lives.

Lord,

Help me today to allow You to guide me with Your shepherds. As I look forward to the fulfilling of Your promise of a glorious future, help me to allow You to prepare my heart so that I can share Your love and Your vision with those around me.

Jeremiah 3:6-13

The LORD said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: “Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot. And I said, after she had done all these things, ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense,” says the LORD. Then the LORD said to me, “Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: ‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the LORD; ‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I am merciful,’ says the LORD; ‘I will not remain angry forever. Only acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against the LORD your God, And have scattered your charms To alien deities under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the LORD.
Jeremiah 3:6-13 NKJV

God points Judah towards Israel. The northern kingdom had been destroyed and taken away by Assyria. Israel had followed after false gods throughout her existence. God had sent His prophets to call them to Him and had worked miracles for them to show His love for them, but they had remained stubborn in their unfaithfulness. When God had finally let them reap the results of their rebellion and be carried away into their captivity, God spoke of it as a divorce. Israel was no longer His bride, they had chosen the idols as their gods.
Now Judah seems determined to follow the same path. From time to time Judah had repented and been forgiven. They have spent times when they turned back to follow God. Reforms have taken place when the nation of Judah trusted in God and did His will and many individuals let God control the path they took. Now, even though Josiah had turned to follow the LORD and was leading the nation to be faithful to God, the majority of the people were only pretending to follow God. With their mouths they said they trusted God, but in their hearts they still yearned after and trusted in the false gods. They were not quite willing to truly let God have control of their lives. For saying one thing and actually doing the opposite, God called them treacherous. Israel never pretended to turn back and follow God, they fell farther and farther into sin. Here is an important illustration of the importance of being honest to yourself as well as to God. Whatever your spiritual state is, you cannot fool God. When we say we love God and are thankful for all that He does for us, yet we continue to do all our sinful hearts desire, God knows the real us. We would be better off to admit to God and ourselves what the true state of our relationship with God is. When we are honest, God can help us move towards truth. When we lie to ourselves and convince ourselves we are following God when we are not, we often unfortunately come to believe the lie and think we are righteous when we are in fact wicked sinners with no hope. Jesus calls us, 'Return backsliding children, I am merciful, I will not cause My anger to fall on you. I will forgive you. Come to Me and I will give you life.' God wants to forgive us and establish us in His truth. We must choose between Him and ourselves. When we have lied to ourselves and convinced ourselves that we are following Him when we actually do not have a love relationship with Him, then we do not see a need to change, so we don't allow the Spirit of God to work in our hearts to bring us into a true understanding and a true repentance. We need to put aside the lies and see ourselves for the way we are, then God can fulfill His glory in us and we can be made clean. No time to pretend anymore, let's be honest and really search for the truth.

Lord,
Help me today to be honest with You and with myself. Lying to You doesn't fool you, and when I fool myself I just lock myself into the slavery of service to Satan. I need Your mercy and Your forgiveness. Help me to give up the lies that keep me from accepting both.