7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
And whose hope is the LORD.
8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 NKJV
In contrast with the person who trusts in flesh in verses 5-6 and who is a shrub who dwells in the dry uninhabitable places; the person who trusts in the Lord is pictured as being a tree with deep roots planted by the river. When the heat of oppression and tribulation comes this person will not fear, because they trust in the Lord. They will continue to bear fruit, even in the periods of drought when the rains cease. Their leaf remains green because they have a continuous source of life giving moisture. The contrast between those who trust in flesh as opposed to those who trust in the Lord cannot be be more stark. Death opposed to life. A dry empty life as opposed to a sparkling joyous life. Dry twigs opposed to luscious fruit.
Lord,
Help me today to trust in You. Help me to ignore the temptation to trust in myself or some other human for my hope and happiness. Let me put my roots into the ground by the river so I can always tap into the life giving waters that will help me to bear fruit even in times of drought.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Jeremiah 17:5-6
5 Thus says the LORD:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes flesh his strength,
Whose heart departs from the LORD.
6 For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,
And shall not see when good comes,
But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
In a salt land which is not inhabited.
Jeremiah 17:5-6 NKJV
Verses 5 and 6 contrast with verses 7 and 8. Trusting in man is contrasted with trusting in God. Our fellow humans disappoint us time after time. We place faith in a politician or a family member or our employer to do something for us. Sometimes they seem to come through, more often they don't. Our expectations and our emotional needs are too high for a person to fulfill them. We rely on others to do what we have to do for ourselves or we rely on others to do things that only God can do for us. Too often we rely on ourselves to do things that only God can do for us. We can't save ourselves any more than our significant other can make us happy or someone can gives us enough money to make us content. We are cursed because we wait for good things to happen to us, trusting in someone or something to make things work out for us. Time after time we seek an easy way to reach the success we are sure we deserve, not caring to trust in God to lead us along a path which seems to be difficult and hard from the view we have. God knows what we see is not the reality of what we will experience on the journey if we trust in Him and allow Him to walk with us to guide us and help us. We want to stay in the dry waterless place we are used to and comfortable with in our misery, all the while searching for the water of life in the desert of our own minds. We close our hearts to God as He tries to direct us to take a path that will lead to the life giving water we crave. We may say we trust Him, but we refuse to follow Him to the place we want to go. We desperately need the water of life and we know we need the water to live, but instead of letting God take us to the water, we stay in the desert. We trust in people to give us the water we crave, but seem only to get a putrid sip every now and again while our spirit slowly withers within us. Instead of trusting in God and letting Him show us the path on which we need to walk, our eyes are closed so that we do not see when good comes to us. Those who are sent by God to help us we reject,while being drawn by the arid hope of many who do not love us and who desire to see us fail. If only we will let God into our hearts and let Him open our eyes to see the truth He wants to share with us. He stands beside us with life-giving cool water, waiting to lead us to a place where we will forever have all the water we can possibly need and use. Water that is bubbling up out of Jesus and flowing to us with its life giving properties. Let us drink from that water and not continue to inhabit the parched places in the uninhabitable salt lands of reliance on ourselves and the sinful flesh of those around us.
Lord,
Help me today to drink of Your water. Lead me from the parched dry land of self reliance to the river of Your love and life. Open my eyes that I might see what You know I need to see. Open my heart that I might accept the truth You know I need to have.
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes flesh his strength,
Whose heart departs from the LORD.
6 For he shall be like a shrub in the desert,
And shall not see when good comes,
But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
In a salt land which is not inhabited.
Jeremiah 17:5-6 NKJV
Verses 5 and 6 contrast with verses 7 and 8. Trusting in man is contrasted with trusting in God. Our fellow humans disappoint us time after time. We place faith in a politician or a family member or our employer to do something for us. Sometimes they seem to come through, more often they don't. Our expectations and our emotional needs are too high for a person to fulfill them. We rely on others to do what we have to do for ourselves or we rely on others to do things that only God can do for us. Too often we rely on ourselves to do things that only God can do for us. We can't save ourselves any more than our significant other can make us happy or someone can gives us enough money to make us content. We are cursed because we wait for good things to happen to us, trusting in someone or something to make things work out for us. Time after time we seek an easy way to reach the success we are sure we deserve, not caring to trust in God to lead us along a path which seems to be difficult and hard from the view we have. God knows what we see is not the reality of what we will experience on the journey if we trust in Him and allow Him to walk with us to guide us and help us. We want to stay in the dry waterless place we are used to and comfortable with in our misery, all the while searching for the water of life in the desert of our own minds. We close our hearts to God as He tries to direct us to take a path that will lead to the life giving water we crave. We may say we trust Him, but we refuse to follow Him to the place we want to go. We desperately need the water of life and we know we need the water to live, but instead of letting God take us to the water, we stay in the desert. We trust in people to give us the water we crave, but seem only to get a putrid sip every now and again while our spirit slowly withers within us. Instead of trusting in God and letting Him show us the path on which we need to walk, our eyes are closed so that we do not see when good comes to us. Those who are sent by God to help us we reject,while being drawn by the arid hope of many who do not love us and who desire to see us fail. If only we will let God into our hearts and let Him open our eyes to see the truth He wants to share with us. He stands beside us with life-giving cool water, waiting to lead us to a place where we will forever have all the water we can possibly need and use. Water that is bubbling up out of Jesus and flowing to us with its life giving properties. Let us drink from that water and not continue to inhabit the parched places in the uninhabitable salt lands of reliance on ourselves and the sinful flesh of those around us.
Lord,
Help me today to drink of Your water. Lead me from the parched dry land of self reliance to the river of Your love and life. Open my eyes that I might see what You know I need to see. Open my heart that I might accept the truth You know I need to have.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Jeremiah 17:1-4
1 “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron;
With the point of a diamond it is engraved
On the tablet of their heart,
And on the horns of your altars,
2 While their children remember
Their altars and their wooden images[a]
By the green trees on the high hills.
3 O My mountain in the field,
I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures,
And your high places of sin within all your borders.
4 And you, even yourself,
Shall let go of your heritage which I gave you;
And I will cause you to serve your enemies
In the land which you do not know;
For you have kindled a fire in My anger which shall burn forever.”
Jeremiah 17:1-4 NKJV
Their sin written with a pen of iron and engraved with the point of a diamond on the tablet of their heart. A sad commentary on what the people of Judah had done to themselves. God wanted to write His words on their hearts and in their minds. Instead they chose to allow their sins to become engraved on their characters, replacing a love and obedience to God with worship of worthless stones and sticks. Instead of teaching their children to revere God and serve Him, they teach their children to think that rocks and wood will somehow have an impact on them. The children remember the false gods and the false worship and teach their children the same fruitless beliefs, as Judah moves farther from God with each bad decision they make. The peace and prosperity of His people is gone because of the choices made by the Jews. Now death, destruction, and calamity is coming upon them. The fire of God's anger will cleanse the land and hardship in a land that they do not know will strengthen them and teach them lessons of God's love and hope. They had chosen to not serve the God who loved and cared for them, now they would serve cruel enemies who would use and abuse them.
Lord,
Help me today to allow You to write Your words on my heart. With Your finger inscribe on me the love and hope and blessings that will be to my good. Help me to give of myself to share your love with others whose needs You show me. Guide me and strengthen me.
With the point of a diamond it is engraved
On the tablet of their heart,
And on the horns of your altars,
2 While their children remember
Their altars and their wooden images[a]
By the green trees on the high hills.
3 O My mountain in the field,
I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures,
And your high places of sin within all your borders.
4 And you, even yourself,
Shall let go of your heritage which I gave you;
And I will cause you to serve your enemies
In the land which you do not know;
For you have kindled a fire in My anger which shall burn forever.”
Jeremiah 17:1-4 NKJV
Their sin written with a pen of iron and engraved with the point of a diamond on the tablet of their heart. A sad commentary on what the people of Judah had done to themselves. God wanted to write His words on their hearts and in their minds. Instead they chose to allow their sins to become engraved on their characters, replacing a love and obedience to God with worship of worthless stones and sticks. Instead of teaching their children to revere God and serve Him, they teach their children to think that rocks and wood will somehow have an impact on them. The children remember the false gods and the false worship and teach their children the same fruitless beliefs, as Judah moves farther from God with each bad decision they make. The peace and prosperity of His people is gone because of the choices made by the Jews. Now death, destruction, and calamity is coming upon them. The fire of God's anger will cleanse the land and hardship in a land that they do not know will strengthen them and teach them lessons of God's love and hope. They had chosen to not serve the God who loved and cared for them, now they would serve cruel enemies who would use and abuse them.
Lord,
Help me today to allow You to write Your words on my heart. With Your finger inscribe on me the love and hope and blessings that will be to my good. Help me to give of myself to share your love with others whose needs You show me. Guide me and strengthen me.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Jeremiah 16:14-21
14 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ 15 but, ‘The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.
16 “Behold, I will send for many fishermen,” says the LORD, “and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. 17 For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes. 18 And first I will repay double for their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols.”
19 O LORD, my strength and my fortress,
My refuge in the day of affliction,
The Gentiles shall come to You
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”
20 Will a man make gods for himself,
Which are not gods?
21 “ Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know,
I will cause them to know
My hand and My might;
And they shall know that My name is the LORD.
Jeremiah 16:14-21 NKJV
The greatest event in the history of God's people so far was God's bringing them out of slavery in Egypt under Moses. Now God promises that He will bring them back from captivity in Babylon and the other lands where they had been driven. They will speak with awe that God has brought them back from their captivity and once more set them up in the land He had given their fathers. God is pictured as sending hunters and fishermen to search out His people from every hill and mountain and hole in the rock. God will search for them wherever they have gone, to restore them to the land of promise and to restore them to a right relationship with Him. Their restoration will be so complete and so noticeable by the nations around that the Gentiles will be drawn to the restored nation of Israel. When Israel trusts in the Lord and allows God's blessings to strengthen and protect them, then people from all around would be attracted to God and realize that the false religions and false gods they had relied on were worthless and lies. Those honest souls among the enemies of God would recognize the power and goodness of God and be drawn to worship and serve Him.
Lord,
Help me to live my life today so that others may see Your love and grace and mercy. Help me to allow You to shine through me so that Your goodness and love may be seen by all who are in my vicinity. When others see me, have them see You and Your love for them. I am a poor mirror, dark and dirty. Clean me and buff me into a mirror that reflects Your character.
16 “Behold, I will send for many fishermen,” says the LORD, “and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. 17 For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes. 18 And first I will repay double for their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols.”
19 O LORD, my strength and my fortress,
My refuge in the day of affliction,
The Gentiles shall come to You
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”
20 Will a man make gods for himself,
Which are not gods?
21 “ Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know,
I will cause them to know
My hand and My might;
And they shall know that My name is the LORD.
Jeremiah 16:14-21 NKJV
The greatest event in the history of God's people so far was God's bringing them out of slavery in Egypt under Moses. Now God promises that He will bring them back from captivity in Babylon and the other lands where they had been driven. They will speak with awe that God has brought them back from their captivity and once more set them up in the land He had given their fathers. God is pictured as sending hunters and fishermen to search out His people from every hill and mountain and hole in the rock. God will search for them wherever they have gone, to restore them to the land of promise and to restore them to a right relationship with Him. Their restoration will be so complete and so noticeable by the nations around that the Gentiles will be drawn to the restored nation of Israel. When Israel trusts in the Lord and allows God's blessings to strengthen and protect them, then people from all around would be attracted to God and realize that the false religions and false gods they had relied on were worthless and lies. Those honest souls among the enemies of God would recognize the power and goodness of God and be drawn to worship and serve Him.
Lord,
Help me to live my life today so that others may see Your love and grace and mercy. Help me to allow You to shine through me so that Your goodness and love may be seen by all who are in my vicinity. When others see me, have them see You and Your love for them. I am a poor mirror, dark and dirty. Clean me and buff me into a mirror that reflects Your character.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Jeremiah 16:1-13
1 The word of the LORD also came to me, saying, 2 “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place.” 3 For thus says the LORD concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them and their fathers who begot them in this land: 4 “They shall die gruesome deaths; they shall not be lamented nor shall they be buried, but they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.”
5 For thus says the LORD: “Do not enter the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan them; for I have taken away My peace from this people,” says the LORD, “lovingkindness and mercies. 6 Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried; neither shall men lament for them, cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them. 7 Nor shall men break bread in mourning for them, to comfort them for the dead; nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or their mother. 8 Also you shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink.”
9 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will cause to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.
10 “And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has the LORD pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?’ 11 then you shall say to them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ says the LORD; ‘they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law. 12 And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me. 13 Therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.’
Jeremiah 16:1-13 NKJV
Jeremiah is told that he is not to have a family. There will be terrible things that will happen in Judah when the nation pays for their sins, including slaughter by the hands of Chaldean's, pestilence, disease, and famine. Jeremiah is to show by his life that the seriousness of what is to come calls for sacrifice in his personal life. The horrors of war would cause many to die gruesome deaths. The fruit of Judah's choice to abandon the Lord and serve other gods will cause the normal process of grief and burial for lost family and friends to be ignored. Happiness will disappear from the lives of all the people as the siege of the Babylonians squeezes Jerusalem into the despair of hopelessness. So Jeremiah is told by God to live his life as an object lesson of prudence against the coming calamity.
When the people ask why the trouble has come upon them, Jeremiah is to tell them the truth. Judah has chosen to forsake God and has put their trust in themselves. The false gods with the rites of works is what Judah wants to serve. Instead of following God's law, with the resulting peace and prosperity for the nation, they have each decided to follow the dictates of their own evil hearts. Instead of sharing God's love with each other, the strong abuse the weak and each person struggles for supremacy without regard to what is right or just. The nation makes their choices, and the result will be the inevitable.
5 For thus says the LORD: “Do not enter the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan them; for I have taken away My peace from this people,” says the LORD, “lovingkindness and mercies. 6 Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried; neither shall men lament for them, cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them. 7 Nor shall men break bread in mourning for them, to comfort them for the dead; nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or their mother. 8 Also you shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink.”
9 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will cause to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.
10 “And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has the LORD pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?’ 11 then you shall say to them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ says the LORD; ‘they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law. 12 And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me. 13 Therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.’
Jeremiah 16:1-13 NKJV
Jeremiah is told that he is not to have a family. There will be terrible things that will happen in Judah when the nation pays for their sins, including slaughter by the hands of Chaldean's, pestilence, disease, and famine. Jeremiah is to show by his life that the seriousness of what is to come calls for sacrifice in his personal life. The horrors of war would cause many to die gruesome deaths. The fruit of Judah's choice to abandon the Lord and serve other gods will cause the normal process of grief and burial for lost family and friends to be ignored. Happiness will disappear from the lives of all the people as the siege of the Babylonians squeezes Jerusalem into the despair of hopelessness. So Jeremiah is told by God to live his life as an object lesson of prudence against the coming calamity.
When the people ask why the trouble has come upon them, Jeremiah is to tell them the truth. Judah has chosen to forsake God and has put their trust in themselves. The false gods with the rites of works is what Judah wants to serve. Instead of following God's law, with the resulting peace and prosperity for the nation, they have each decided to follow the dictates of their own evil hearts. Instead of sharing God's love with each other, the strong abuse the weak and each person struggles for supremacy without regard to what is right or just. The nation makes their choices, and the result will be the inevitable.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Jeremiah 15:19-21
19 Therefore thus says the LORD:
“If you return,
Then I will bring you back;
You shall stand before Me;
If you take out the precious from the vile,
You shall be as My mouth.
Let them return to you,
But you must not return to them.
20 And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall;
And they will fight against you,
But they shall not prevail against you;
For I am with you to save you
And deliver you,” says the LORD.
21 “I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”
Jeremiah 15:19-21 NKJV
Jeremiah has allowed his discouragement to move him away from God. The constant rejection of the people to the messages God has shared through him has evidently affected his relationship to God. God does not reject him and write him off. God reminds Jeremiah that he needs to move back toward God. Perhaps Jeremiah has been tempted to speak words to the people that they want to hear and that will cause them to think better of him and not want to kill him. It is a danger that I'm sure is common among God's spokesmen, to speak words that people want to hear. They then speak nice words back to you and everybody feels good. The only problem is when these smooth, pleasant, words are not the message God wants spoken. The message God wanted Jeremiah to speak were not pleasant for those who were to be the recipients. The sins of Judah were leading them to destruction and most had fallen so far away from God that they didn't even admit that they were sinning. Whether their minds had grown so used to the vile that they could not recognize the precious, or whether they had wholly embraced the vile, they were in need of God to rework their hearts. God had chosen Jeremiah to be the person who pointed out the need for repentance and who told them the way that they needed to go. Jeremiah did not need to get closer to the peoples viewpoint, he needed to stand close to God, speak God's message, and those with honest hearts would come to Jeremiah and embrace God's message. God reminded Jeremiah that Jeremiah needed to stand with God, and God would make him a fortified bronze wall that could not be overcome. God would save Jeremiah from those who attempted to stop the message God wanted shared. Jeremiah would be delivered from the wicked and redeemed from the grip of the terrible. In his discouragement it might seem that the evil was too strong, but God assures Jeremiah that God is stronger than any evil and He will make Jeremiah a bronze wall against the wicked.
I too become discouraged. I am weak and I can allow myself to be diverted from the mission that God has given me. God calls me to return to him. Come, He says, stand with me. Don't allow your mind to become so muddled that you cannot discern between the vile and the precious. Stand with Me and I will show you the precious. Let the true word be your focus and I will make you strong. Those who attempt to destroy you will not prevail against you, for I will save you. Jesus is the cure for discouragement. When my eyes leave myself and behold Him, then my discouragement will fade away in the power of His love. I fail because I care more about myself and what others think about me than I do about the truth that God is sharing with the world. Right thinking will lead me to see the right path that God puts before me. I cannot control what others do, I can only choose to stand with God and follow the path He sets before me.
Lord,
Help me today to return to you. Help me to accept Your love and Your strength in my heart. I am weak, you have promised strength. Put a new heart and a new spirit within me today, with new intentions that will bear fruit of acts of service for You. Help me to keep my eye on the precious and to become like the precious Jesus, standing with You and sharing Your love with those you want. Help me to look at Your life and Your truth and Your message and open my heart to be willing to allow You guide me in all that I do. Thank You for Your message of hope in Jeremiah.
“If you return,
Then I will bring you back;
You shall stand before Me;
If you take out the precious from the vile,
You shall be as My mouth.
Let them return to you,
But you must not return to them.
20 And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall;
And they will fight against you,
But they shall not prevail against you;
For I am with you to save you
And deliver you,” says the LORD.
21 “I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”
Jeremiah 15:19-21 NKJV
Jeremiah has allowed his discouragement to move him away from God. The constant rejection of the people to the messages God has shared through him has evidently affected his relationship to God. God does not reject him and write him off. God reminds Jeremiah that he needs to move back toward God. Perhaps Jeremiah has been tempted to speak words to the people that they want to hear and that will cause them to think better of him and not want to kill him. It is a danger that I'm sure is common among God's spokesmen, to speak words that people want to hear. They then speak nice words back to you and everybody feels good. The only problem is when these smooth, pleasant, words are not the message God wants spoken. The message God wanted Jeremiah to speak were not pleasant for those who were to be the recipients. The sins of Judah were leading them to destruction and most had fallen so far away from God that they didn't even admit that they were sinning. Whether their minds had grown so used to the vile that they could not recognize the precious, or whether they had wholly embraced the vile, they were in need of God to rework their hearts. God had chosen Jeremiah to be the person who pointed out the need for repentance and who told them the way that they needed to go. Jeremiah did not need to get closer to the peoples viewpoint, he needed to stand close to God, speak God's message, and those with honest hearts would come to Jeremiah and embrace God's message. God reminded Jeremiah that Jeremiah needed to stand with God, and God would make him a fortified bronze wall that could not be overcome. God would save Jeremiah from those who attempted to stop the message God wanted shared. Jeremiah would be delivered from the wicked and redeemed from the grip of the terrible. In his discouragement it might seem that the evil was too strong, but God assures Jeremiah that God is stronger than any evil and He will make Jeremiah a bronze wall against the wicked.
I too become discouraged. I am weak and I can allow myself to be diverted from the mission that God has given me. God calls me to return to him. Come, He says, stand with me. Don't allow your mind to become so muddled that you cannot discern between the vile and the precious. Stand with Me and I will show you the precious. Let the true word be your focus and I will make you strong. Those who attempt to destroy you will not prevail against you, for I will save you. Jesus is the cure for discouragement. When my eyes leave myself and behold Him, then my discouragement will fade away in the power of His love. I fail because I care more about myself and what others think about me than I do about the truth that God is sharing with the world. Right thinking will lead me to see the right path that God puts before me. I cannot control what others do, I can only choose to stand with God and follow the path He sets before me.
Lord,
Help me today to return to you. Help me to accept Your love and Your strength in my heart. I am weak, you have promised strength. Put a new heart and a new spirit within me today, with new intentions that will bear fruit of acts of service for You. Help me to keep my eye on the precious and to become like the precious Jesus, standing with You and sharing Your love with those you want. Help me to look at Your life and Your truth and Your message and open my heart to be willing to allow You guide me in all that I do. Thank You for Your message of hope in Jeremiah.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Jeremiah 15:15-18
14 And I will make you cross over with[a] your enemies
Into a land which you do not know;
For a fire is kindled in My anger,
Which shall burn upon you.”
15 O LORD, You know;
Remember me and visit me,
And take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In Your enduring patience, do not take me away.
Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.
16 Your words were found, and I ate them,
And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O LORD God of hosts.
17 I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers,
Nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone because of Your hand,
For You have filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain perpetual
And my wound incurable,
Which refuses to be healed?
Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream,
As waters that fail?
Jeremiah 15:15-18 NKJV
"Your words were found and I ate them. Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart." Despite the negative reactions of others to the word of the Lord, Jeremiah grew to love the word of God. It became his encouragement and hope. While others ignored or laughed at or fought against or reviled the word of God, Jeremiah came to understand and appreciate the love God was showing His people through the messages of reproof and repentance. As he became closer to God, Jeremiah was separated from many of those around him. He did not sit and fellowship with those who made light of God and those who were fighting against God. As he grew in his relationship with God, he became indignant with those who refused to accept God's words and who made light of the warnings that were predicted to come upon Judah. His relationships with men became painful because of the lack of spiritual understanding and acceptance on their part. As Jeremiah stood with God, he became distant from those who stood against God. To Jeremiah it seemed like there was nothing to remove the loneliness except God and God's word. He begged God to remember him and to keep him close. The rebuke he suffered at the hands of men he put in God's hands. God would be responsible for the outcome for what others did to him, Jeremiah clung to God and His word. Trust in God was Jeremiah's defense against the persecution of his fellow Jews. Jeremiah was content to be called by the name of God, as a child of God he stood with God and walked with Him.
Lord,
Help me today to study Your word and allow Your word to become my joy and rejoicing. Give me the strength and wisdom to trust in You. Turn my heart from the things of the world and make me rejoice in my relationship with You. My pain You want turn to joy and my wounds You desire to heal. Help me to accept the love You show me and help me to share Your love with those around me.
Into a land which you do not know;
For a fire is kindled in My anger,
Which shall burn upon you.”
15 O LORD, You know;
Remember me and visit me,
And take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In Your enduring patience, do not take me away.
Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.
16 Your words were found, and I ate them,
And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O LORD God of hosts.
17 I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers,
Nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone because of Your hand,
For You have filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain perpetual
And my wound incurable,
Which refuses to be healed?
Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream,
As waters that fail?
Jeremiah 15:15-18 NKJV
"Your words were found and I ate them. Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart." Despite the negative reactions of others to the word of the Lord, Jeremiah grew to love the word of God. It became his encouragement and hope. While others ignored or laughed at or fought against or reviled the word of God, Jeremiah came to understand and appreciate the love God was showing His people through the messages of reproof and repentance. As he became closer to God, Jeremiah was separated from many of those around him. He did not sit and fellowship with those who made light of God and those who were fighting against God. As he grew in his relationship with God, he became indignant with those who refused to accept God's words and who made light of the warnings that were predicted to come upon Judah. His relationships with men became painful because of the lack of spiritual understanding and acceptance on their part. As Jeremiah stood with God, he became distant from those who stood against God. To Jeremiah it seemed like there was nothing to remove the loneliness except God and God's word. He begged God to remember him and to keep him close. The rebuke he suffered at the hands of men he put in God's hands. God would be responsible for the outcome for what others did to him, Jeremiah clung to God and His word. Trust in God was Jeremiah's defense against the persecution of his fellow Jews. Jeremiah was content to be called by the name of God, as a child of God he stood with God and walked with Him.
Lord,
Help me today to study Your word and allow Your word to become my joy and rejoicing. Give me the strength and wisdom to trust in You. Turn my heart from the things of the world and make me rejoice in my relationship with You. My pain You want turn to joy and my wounds You desire to heal. Help me to accept the love You show me and help me to share Your love with those around me.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Jeremiah 15:10-14
10 Woe is me, my mother,
That you have borne me,
A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth!
I have neither lent for interest,
Nor have men lent to me for interest.
Every one of them curses me.
11 The LORD said:
“ Surely it will be well with your remnant;
Surely I will cause the enemy to intercede with you
In the time of adversity and in the time of affliction.
12 Can anyone break iron,
The northern iron and the bronze?
13 Your wealth and your treasures
I will give as plunder without price,
Because of all your sins,
Throughout your territories.
14 And I will make you cross over with[a] your enemies
Into a land which you do not know;
For a fire is kindled in My anger,
Which shall burn upon you.”
Jeremiah 15:10-14 NKJV
In verse 10 Jeremiah seems to be discouraged. The messages from the Lord telling of the sad things that are coming has made him unpopular. While he is faithful to pass the messages along from the Lord, he is not appreciated by the recipients of the messages of warning. The people curse him and plot to kill him. He is held in the same contempt as if he were either a loan shark or a deadbeat who refuses to pay legitimate debts. When we are faithful in obeying and following the Lord, it is natural that those opposed to God will be opposed to us. Discouragement at being unfairly reviled by others is also natural. Those who seem to most hate us are those to whom we are trying the most to help and to whom we are called upon to pass along God's words for their betterment. We are faithful in our duty, yet it seems the only reward we get are attacks upon us and our character. Jeremiah was hated for the messages he spoke. The leaders of Judah and the common people alike grew to hate him. He called for repentance, and most did not want to repent. He pointed out that the end of God's patience was coming with disastrous results for Judah, but everyone preferred to think that peace would be upon them despite their wickedness.
In verse 11 the Lord gives Jeremiah a word of encouragement. God tells Jeremiah that while those who should have been his friends curse him, those who are considered his enemies will help him. It is a prophecy to him of the treatment of the Babylonians after the capture of Jerusalem when Jeremiah was given his freedom while the people were taken away to their captivity. While the rest of the people lose everything they consider worthwhile at the hand of the Chaldeans, Jeremiah is allowed to choose for himself where he will go and is treated with respect. I understand Jeremiah's discouragement, as such feelings come upon me when I try to do good and am rewarded with what seems to me to be unfair resentment or mistreatment by others. It is a common theme in the stories that God has given us. Noah, Joseph, Moses, Elijah, and most of all Jesus, were all rewarded for their goodness with evil, often by those whom should have been most grateful. When I look upon their lives and the struggles and the faithfulness that they demonstrated I can be encouraged. The final reward of those faithful to God will be glorious. Sometimes we are rewarded on this earth and sometimes we are only rewarded in the next life. Hope is expressed to Jeremiah of better treatment ahead, and I can also have hope that God will be with me and reward me.
Lord,
Help me to trust in You when things seem dark and hopeless. Help me to know that just as You were with those in times past, so You will be with me. I know I need to be faithful to You, give me the strength and the courage to obey You in all that I do. Give me the strength and wisdom to walk with You through any troubles that come upon me. Give me the character that Jesus had, so that I may be a faithful child to You.
That you have borne me,
A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth!
I have neither lent for interest,
Nor have men lent to me for interest.
Every one of them curses me.
11 The LORD said:
“ Surely it will be well with your remnant;
Surely I will cause the enemy to intercede with you
In the time of adversity and in the time of affliction.
12 Can anyone break iron,
The northern iron and the bronze?
13 Your wealth and your treasures
I will give as plunder without price,
Because of all your sins,
Throughout your territories.
14 And I will make you cross over with[a] your enemies
Into a land which you do not know;
For a fire is kindled in My anger,
Which shall burn upon you.”
Jeremiah 15:10-14 NKJV
In verse 10 Jeremiah seems to be discouraged. The messages from the Lord telling of the sad things that are coming has made him unpopular. While he is faithful to pass the messages along from the Lord, he is not appreciated by the recipients of the messages of warning. The people curse him and plot to kill him. He is held in the same contempt as if he were either a loan shark or a deadbeat who refuses to pay legitimate debts. When we are faithful in obeying and following the Lord, it is natural that those opposed to God will be opposed to us. Discouragement at being unfairly reviled by others is also natural. Those who seem to most hate us are those to whom we are trying the most to help and to whom we are called upon to pass along God's words for their betterment. We are faithful in our duty, yet it seems the only reward we get are attacks upon us and our character. Jeremiah was hated for the messages he spoke. The leaders of Judah and the common people alike grew to hate him. He called for repentance, and most did not want to repent. He pointed out that the end of God's patience was coming with disastrous results for Judah, but everyone preferred to think that peace would be upon them despite their wickedness.
In verse 11 the Lord gives Jeremiah a word of encouragement. God tells Jeremiah that while those who should have been his friends curse him, those who are considered his enemies will help him. It is a prophecy to him of the treatment of the Babylonians after the capture of Jerusalem when Jeremiah was given his freedom while the people were taken away to their captivity. While the rest of the people lose everything they consider worthwhile at the hand of the Chaldeans, Jeremiah is allowed to choose for himself where he will go and is treated with respect. I understand Jeremiah's discouragement, as such feelings come upon me when I try to do good and am rewarded with what seems to me to be unfair resentment or mistreatment by others. It is a common theme in the stories that God has given us. Noah, Joseph, Moses, Elijah, and most of all Jesus, were all rewarded for their goodness with evil, often by those whom should have been most grateful. When I look upon their lives and the struggles and the faithfulness that they demonstrated I can be encouraged. The final reward of those faithful to God will be glorious. Sometimes we are rewarded on this earth and sometimes we are only rewarded in the next life. Hope is expressed to Jeremiah of better treatment ahead, and I can also have hope that God will be with me and reward me.
Lord,
Help me to trust in You when things seem dark and hopeless. Help me to know that just as You were with those in times past, so You will be with me. I know I need to be faithful to You, give me the strength and the courage to obey You in all that I do. Give me the strength and wisdom to walk with You through any troubles that come upon me. Give me the character that Jesus had, so that I may be a faithful child to You.
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