Re: Verse reading – Jeremiah 29:1-14 (Day Three)
“Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile.” If it’s good, it’s from God. If it’s bad, it’s from…God? Can it be? It’s not uncommon to call things bad if they cause us discomfort. But our comfort has never been the gauge that God uses to determine whether or not something will benefit us. When things go bad, it’s often for our good, and this cannot be overstated. God has not lost track of you, even in the deepest recesses of difficulty. It is often God who in fact carried you there. And because he has not abandoned you, hope lies ahead.
Author: Bryan Richardson
Bryan Richardson is the Associate Pastor for Counseling and Pastoral Ministries at FBCSA.
Say
Re: Verse reading – Jeremiah 11:18-23; 12:1-6; 17:14-18; 20:7-18 (day three)
“Do not trust them,
though they speak well of you.” Who could blame Jeremiah for wanting a little positive feedback? But God knew that if Jeremiah found contentment in the praise of others, he would use them for his own comfort instead of loving them and speaking honestly to them. There is a difference between receiving encouragement from people, and becoming addicted to the words people say. As Jeremiah withdrew from people from time to time to hear hard words from God, he regained his ability to stand and speak to people in hard, severe, yet merciful ways.
Alarm
Re: Verse reading – Jeremiah 18:1-17; 19:1-20:6 (Day Three)
“Does the snow of Lebanon
ever vanish from its rocky slopes?” When streams dry up, life suffers. What is true of the physical realm is true first of the spiritual realm—not because the physical realm is merely an inferior copy of the spiritual realm. It isn’t. But before the material universe came to be, God existed. He created the universe—everything that is—to function in a certain way—and only in that way. When streams dry up, people become alarmed, because they know the hardship that’s coming. Their physical well being is in danger. What is true of the physical is true first of the spiritual. Has righteousness ceased to flow in our lives? Should we be concerned?
Ears
Re: Verse reading – Jeremiah 7:1-16 (Day Three)
“Hear the word of the Lord.” God does not waste his words. If he knows that people are still capable of turning theirs ears to him and hearing him and heeding his word, he will speak. Therefore, no matter how harsh the message, if we will hear, we have not passed beyond hope. When the scriptures speak, what kind of reception do your ears give it? Do your ears signal the need to yawn? Do your ears notify your mind to start wandering? Do your ears tell you that somebody else ought to hear this? Or do your ears tell you that you need to change course? What happens to you when the Bible says to you, “Hear the word of the Lord”?
Safekeeping
Re: Verse reading–Jeremiah 1 (Day Three)
“Today I have made you a fortified city…” God called Jeremiah to a hard life, but he did not place him at the mercy of hostile forces. God kept Jeremiah at the mercy of himself, which was the only safe place for Jeremiah to stand. Will we believe that God will do the same for us if we heed his call? Will we believe that a yes to God will only give us deeper assurance of his safekeeping? Hardships will come—and suffering, and death, perhaps. But we must decide whether we will actually believe that no matter what may befall us, God will keep us from ultimate harm. This is God’s protection, this is God’s mercy, this is God’s love—against which nothing can prevail.
What
Re: Verse reading – Luke 24:13-35 (Day Three)
“What things?” [Jesus] asked. Even after his resurrection, our Savior was the same Jesus, the same teacher who patiently walked alongside anyone who would engage him, engrossed in conversation, shepherding the curious to clarity, leading the acquiescent to alarm, bringing the sorrowful to surprise. Jesus wasn’t playing dumb when he asked the Emmaus-bound travelers to explain their dejected state. He well knew that when we tell him what is on our minds, when we converse with him, we begin to think more deeply. He leads us into the light. Jesus knew “what things.” The question is, do we?
Sign
Re: Verse reading– Luke 22:66-23:25 (Day Three)
“[Herod] hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort.” We’re all Herod now. To the extent that we want adventure, amazement, or a break from the wearying business of living with people, we want exactly what Herod wanted. It’s easier if we get a “sign” to reveal what we should do than it is actually to make a decision. It’s more affirming to our sense of self to receive a dramatic divine affirmation that we’re right instead of figuring out how to live in peace with someone we don’t like. We serve ourselves. Herod was stricken dead because he served himself rather than God. Therefore, if indeed this Savior has the power to give the sign that we seek, should we not rather fall at his feet like a dead man until we hear him say, “Do not be afraid?”
Way
Re: Verse reading – Luke 21:5-38 (day three)
“Not one stone will be left on another…” Everything that comes from the way of men will be overturned. The way of men is a way of impossibility, a way of limited resources, a way of temporary life, a way of fading riches. As a building is demolished, so the way of man will meet the wrecking ball. But we are not doomed: “I will give you words and wisdom; stand firm, and you will win life,” our Lord says (Luke 21:15, 19). Nothing outside of that way of Jesus will survive. Nothing. But within that way, nothing will perish.
Answer
Re: Verse reading – Luke 20:1-8, 20-26 (day three)
“Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” Jesus refused to answer the question, but not because he was attempting to avoid a trap. He refused to answer the question because it was not his question to answer. It was the interrogator’s question to answer. It’s your question to answer. It’s my question to answer. And therein lies the reason for astonishment at the statement Jesus made: God allows you to have say over resources. Therefore, he will not answer your question, but there’s coming a day when you will answer his.
Road
Re: Verse reading – Luke 19:1-10 (Day Three)
“Look, Lord! Here and now I give….” The road not taken by the rich young ruler is the road we find Zacchaeus beginning to travel. The former wandered down his road sad and still lost; the latter traveled the road to eternal life. Which road have you refused to walk?