Re: Verse reading – Jeremiah 29:1-14 (day seven)
“It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of a living God.” (Hebrews 10:3) It is not a place I want to be–led by my own stubbornness into a time of God’s discipline. Read Hebrews 12:5-11. Once begun, the discipline of God will run its course. Short or long, the Lord will decide the duration and I will have no other choice but to endure. 40 years in the wilderness for the Exodus people. (Numbers 14:34) 70 years in exile for the unrepentant people of Judah. (Jeremiah 29:10) 3 days of pestilence for the nation because of David’s sin. (2 Samuel 24:13) The anger of God is nothing to trifled with. Even this “opposition” to us (Numbers 14:34) is an expression of His loving desire for us to share His holiness. (Hebrews 12:10) It is, however, very painful and costly for those who experience it. “Do not be DECEIVED, God is not mocked; whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” (Galatians 6:7)
Tag: God
God’s welfare program
Re: Verse reading – Jeremiah 29:1-14 (day six)
“Build houses. . .plant gardens. . .take wives and become fathers. . .pray to the Lord (for the city). . .for I know the plans that I have for you, plans for (your) welfare.” (v 5-7, 11) We tend, I fear, to separate God’s ultimate plan for our good from the intermediate steps. God has a plan for our welfare. Hurray! It is, however, a bit more demanding than we sometimes imagine. His plan includes industry. Building houses and families. Planting gardens. As the people of Judah did this work, God promised to bless and protect them. His welfare program also includes industry of a spiritual kind. Prayer for their captors. Patience. Carefully cultivated hope. Seeking God with whole hearts. (v 12) Who knew? God’s welfare program assumes as a condition the presence of ACTIVE FAITH. Belief in God is not an excuse for inaction. It is our motivation for active obedience and our assurance of His help when we do.
Family
Re: Verse reading – Jeremiah 29:1-14 (day five)
It’s worth noting that God’s hope-filled Word of encouragement and challenge to His people in the midst of exile in Jeremiah 29 has great regard for the family. “5Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. 6Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease.” He points to family life and the hope and mission that can be in operation in each home. Seems to reverberate the command given in Deuteronomy 6. So… Fathers, mothers, sons and daughters- is there hope (The love, goodness, strength, and power of The Living God) being taught, talked, and celebrated in your home? It is the task of each family to lead out in worship and discipleship. It is the task of the church to partner with moms, dads, kids, and grandparents to equip and encourage.
With All Your Heart
Re: Verse reading – Jeremiah 29:1-14 (day four)
Verse 29:13 says, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” The key word in this verse is ‘when’…when you search for Me with all your heart. God will not accept halfhearted attempts at prayer. He will not accept less than our all. Often, people are told that all they have to do to be saved is to accept Jesus…one prayer and we are saved for life and eternity. Not so. Jesus expects not only our repentance from sin, but He wants our life! Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Our life is not our own…when Christ comes into our heart, we are completely His!
Track
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.
The Welfare of the City
Re: Verse reading – Jeremiah 29:1-14 (day two)
But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. (Jeremiah 29:7 ESV) This passage has brought me much strength as I have studied it. We often quote 29:11, and most of us truly believe that God has hope for those who trust in him. Isn’t this commission a wonderful challenge? We may be walking in exile; deliverance may be years off; the world around us may be very dark indeed. Fear not! God has an assignment while we wait. Plug in. Get involved. Make a difference where you are. Stop waiting for that “someday” to arrive and get on mission now. What a great passage for us as we consider how to minister to this community. As we seek to go and foster healthy relationships with our city, we are helping to create the foothold that the Lord will use. What a privilege to serve, even in the midst of an exile.
Perhaps
Re: Verse reading – Jeremiah 36 (Day Seven)
“PERHAPS when the people of Judah hear about the disaster I plan to inflict on them, each of them will turn from his wicked way; then I will forgive their wickedness.” (v 3) A very hopeful word. Hope full. Made possible by the mind and mercy of God. Even when judgment is decided, even when past experience suggests futility, God allows the possibility that people will turn away from sin. Perhaps if Jeremiah wrote the prophesies on a scroll, if the people could be reminded again by the rereading. We see the same patience of God in our day. “The Lord is not slow about His promise. . .but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) So, no guarantee that your friend would listen if you tried again to talk of faith. No certainty that he would accept an invitation to Bible study. But, perhaps!
The Word of the Lord
Re: Verse reading – Jeremiah 36 (Day Five)
How many times have we read “The Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah (me)” so far in this book of the bible? My calculations are 26. What great comfort it must have been to Jeremiah for the Lord to continually guide and shape His thoughts, ministry, and message. How clearly, during these moments of chapter 36, he must have understood where the real strength and power of “The Word of the Lord” resides.
“The Bible is the written word of God, and because it is written it is confined and limited by the necessities of ink and paper and leather. The Voice of God, however, is alive and free as the sovereign God is free. ‘The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.’ The life is in the speaking words. God’s word in the Bible can have power only because it corresponds to God’s word in the universe. It is the present Voice which makes the written Word all-powerful.- A.W. Tozer
The Word
Re: Verse reading – Jeremiah 36 (Day Four)
Even in today’s world, the thought is often the same…if we just take away the Bible, the people will not hear about Jesus. Jeremiah was obedient to write down every word that God had told him concerning Judah. He dictated the Word to Baruch who faithfully wrote them on the scroll. The hope was that when the people of Judah heard the words, they would repent and turn from their sinful ways. When the words were read, there were some that were moved by them…they were in fear (v. 16). It was the leader, the King, who must respond in repentance in order to lead the nation. King Jehoiakim thought he could eliminate the message of the scroll by just destroying the scroll. What he would learn was that the Word of God is not dependent upon the paper it is written on. The power is in the Word itself. The places in today’s world where the Word is spreading quickest are the places where it is illegal to own a Bible. The power is in the Word!
Fear
Re: Verse reading – Jeremiah 36 (Day Three)
“When they heard all these words, they looked at each other in fear.” When people do not fear God, there is no terror that cannot be carried out by the mind of man. Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, someone who knew a thing or two about terror, said, “Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.” The fear of God is not a life lived in terror of the Deity. Rather, it is a life lived under the righteous frown of the One who will call us to account for every terror that comes from within us. If we will fear God, we will be careful with those whom he has created.