I would not have wanted God to call me to do the work that he called Jeremiah to do. It must have been an extraordinarily difficult life. God gave Jeremiah a word to say to the rulers of his nation in his day and that word was that God was going to punish them, that their nation would be subjugated, that the people would suffer great defeat, great devastation and that many would be carried away from their homes and exiled to a foreign land. Imagine what that would be like in America. You start talking like that in public you are quickly known as a quack, a nutcase, someone who has gone off the deep end. It is all right to express that you are a spiritual person, that you pray and go to church, but begin to say that God has given you a message and that message is that he is about to rain hard times on you because of your sinful ways and folks move away from you pretty quickly.
Could this happen to us today? Could God remove his hand from us? Do we believe God to be omnipotent? Omnipresent? Omniscient? Do we believe that he is active in the affairs of man? Do we believe that his commandments are true? Not just on a personal level, but in national affairs as well? If your answer is yes and it surely is if you consider yourself to be Christian then what are we to make of the current state of the world? Is God pleased with what we have done? With how we have responded to the poor and the powerless? Who will he hold responsible for the genocides that have occurred in our lifetime? Who will answer for Darfur?
Are the words of Jeremiah true for us in 2011 as they were for the Kings of Judah in his day? "This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place." I suspect that God is still watching. I suspect that those things that God condemned in that day are true as well for us.
How can we, as the Body of Christ, make our place of birth a place that cares for the least and the lost? Or do we wait to see what God thinks about it on the day when we stand assembled with the sheep and the goats to see which way we counts us?
Monday, August 29, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Why me Lord?....Jeremiah 16
Jeremiah continues to rail against Judah and its leadership. He tells them of unspeakable horror that will be theirs. Babylonia will descend upon them out of the north and devastate their land. There will be famine and pestilence such that even those who are living will wish to die. It is a scenario that sounds like a Stephen King horror novel and this one will come true. Jeremiah's prophesies come true within just a few years.
God tells Jeremiah that as these things begin to happen the people will ask, "why has the Lord decreed such a great disaster against us?" Have you ever heard someone say something similar? How could a good God allow such evil to happen? Sometimes evil sweeps up the good and the bad, but remember that our good is only relative to the good of some other mortal. When our good is compared to the standard of God's good it is as filthy rags. And it is true as the Bible as state often, the sins of the father is often visited upon subsequent generations. A corrupt leader will take a state to a place where even the inhabitants of the state will suffer for the evil of the leader. Legalizing gambling, juice bars, nude dancing, legalizing the use of drugs may decriminalize, but God will still call sin a sin and the wages of sin, no matter what human society calls it, is still death.
Judah has been on a slippery slope for generations. the people have allowed corrupt leaders to lead them in false directions. The church is prophesying falsely and failing to speak against injustice and violence. The failure of these systems desensitize the populace to to God's calling for righteousness. The end comes and the cry goes up, "why me?" The why is found in the corruption of the nation and we suffer societally for the failure.
But even in pronouncing the sentence, God offers grace. (16:14-15) "However, the days are coming declares the Lord, when men will not longer say, As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt, but they will say, As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them. For I will restore them to the land I gave their forefathers."
As vile as Judah has become, God will not withhold his grace forever. He tells Jeremiah that the exile will not be forever and in fact in 60 or so years Judah will return from exile and be lead by Ezra in the restoration of the temple.
We must be the yeast of righteousness in our culture. We must overcome evil with our love. We must be the light that pushes the darkness away. We must be the church that holds the gates of hell at bay. We can, with the grace of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. But we cannot know the way without consulting with the one who is the way, the truth and the life. We must acknowledge our sin, accept God's ways as our ways and work unceasingly to encourage our families, communities and nations to do the right, work against injustice, tear down the idols that keep us from worshipping in Spirit and in Truth.
Have a great Sabbath!!
God tells Jeremiah that as these things begin to happen the people will ask, "why has the Lord decreed such a great disaster against us?" Have you ever heard someone say something similar? How could a good God allow such evil to happen? Sometimes evil sweeps up the good and the bad, but remember that our good is only relative to the good of some other mortal. When our good is compared to the standard of God's good it is as filthy rags. And it is true as the Bible as state often, the sins of the father is often visited upon subsequent generations. A corrupt leader will take a state to a place where even the inhabitants of the state will suffer for the evil of the leader. Legalizing gambling, juice bars, nude dancing, legalizing the use of drugs may decriminalize, but God will still call sin a sin and the wages of sin, no matter what human society calls it, is still death.
Judah has been on a slippery slope for generations. the people have allowed corrupt leaders to lead them in false directions. The church is prophesying falsely and failing to speak against injustice and violence. The failure of these systems desensitize the populace to to God's calling for righteousness. The end comes and the cry goes up, "why me?" The why is found in the corruption of the nation and we suffer societally for the failure.
But even in pronouncing the sentence, God offers grace. (16:14-15) "However, the days are coming declares the Lord, when men will not longer say, As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt, but they will say, As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them. For I will restore them to the land I gave their forefathers."
As vile as Judah has become, God will not withhold his grace forever. He tells Jeremiah that the exile will not be forever and in fact in 60 or so years Judah will return from exile and be lead by Ezra in the restoration of the temple.
We must be the yeast of righteousness in our culture. We must overcome evil with our love. We must be the light that pushes the darkness away. We must be the church that holds the gates of hell at bay. We can, with the grace of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. But we cannot know the way without consulting with the one who is the way, the truth and the life. We must acknowledge our sin, accept God's ways as our ways and work unceasingly to encourage our families, communities and nations to do the right, work against injustice, tear down the idols that keep us from worshipping in Spirit and in Truth.
Have a great Sabbath!!
Friday, August 26, 2011
The Lord is the true God....Jeremiah 10
There is war and rumor of war. An earthquake in Colorado, another on the east coast cracking the Washington Monument. Today another in the middle east. Hurricane Irene heads toward the Carolinas and points north. None can stop the destruction that nature can cause.
We build giant skyscrapers. We fell the ancient forests. We mine the oceans floor and remove the minerals from the earth. We think we are conquerors and perhaps the might of men may inflict damage upon the flora and fauna. weaker nations may cower before stronger ones. But history tells us that nations rise and fall and given enough time, nature will heal herself (unless we discover some way to destroy all of humanity). Only God is eternal. Only God exists beyond the limits of time.
Jeremiah 10:10-13, "But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. When he is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath. Tell them this: These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens. But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
Men may conquer for the moment, but God reigns forever. Jeremiah warns the rulers of his time of the coming judgment that God is bringing to bear on Judah. He warns us as well that we should not but our trust in the things that mortals make, but lean on the strong arm of God; trust in his mercy and seek his favor.
We build giant skyscrapers. We fell the ancient forests. We mine the oceans floor and remove the minerals from the earth. We think we are conquerors and perhaps the might of men may inflict damage upon the flora and fauna. weaker nations may cower before stronger ones. But history tells us that nations rise and fall and given enough time, nature will heal herself (unless we discover some way to destroy all of humanity). Only God is eternal. Only God exists beyond the limits of time.
Jeremiah 10:10-13, "But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. When he is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath. Tell them this: These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens. But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding. When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
Men may conquer for the moment, but God reigns forever. Jeremiah warns the rulers of his time of the coming judgment that God is bringing to bear on Judah. He warns us as well that we should not but our trust in the things that mortals make, but lean on the strong arm of God; trust in his mercy and seek his favor.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
as it was so it is....Jeremiah 8
If you don't learn from history, you are likely to repeat it. So said some of my early instructors in history as they implored their students to learn their lessons well. Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, speaks to the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem and reminds them that what has befallen there brothers and sisters in the Northern Kingdom of Israel will soon be their fate as well as well. Death, destruction, exile, humiliation and loss of sovereignty are just around the corner. God will not allow sin to go unpunished forever. Though his nature is mercy and love, still justice will be done. We ignore the lessons of Jeremiah at our own risk and peril. What are the lessons?
"From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain." (8:15b) Doesn't that remind you of the world around us? We worry about the stock market, the Dow Jones averages, what is happening to our 401k. Have we amassed enough, wouldn't a little more be better? One multi-millionare was asked by another, "how much is enough?" and the response was "always one dollar more." there is no satisfying the lust for wealth when we measure our status by wealth. Greed and avarice are fueled by covetousness and that my friend is sin. How can we repent of such a sin when we refuse to acknowledge it as sin. When is enough enough? If we cannot find the answer, God will.
8:12 "Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush." Don't you see that in our own society as we continue to push the boundaries of decency? Our language grows more coarse, our dress becomes more transparent, our music, movies and other publications grows more adult (?) in its content. Last night I watched on the 10 o'clock news a story about a group of psychologists who were calling for the destigmatization of sexual relations between adults and children. Will there be no end to the perversion of humanity??? Jeremiah says to Judah and to us in 2011, there will be an end to perversion. God will not avert his face forever. One day judgment will come. Who will we save from that judgment? How will you love the fallen back from the precipice that awaits those who cannot or will not acknowledge God as God?
Those who do not learn the lessons of history are destined to repeat them.
"From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain." (8:15b) Doesn't that remind you of the world around us? We worry about the stock market, the Dow Jones averages, what is happening to our 401k. Have we amassed enough, wouldn't a little more be better? One multi-millionare was asked by another, "how much is enough?" and the response was "always one dollar more." there is no satisfying the lust for wealth when we measure our status by wealth. Greed and avarice are fueled by covetousness and that my friend is sin. How can we repent of such a sin when we refuse to acknowledge it as sin. When is enough enough? If we cannot find the answer, God will.
8:12 "Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush." Don't you see that in our own society as we continue to push the boundaries of decency? Our language grows more coarse, our dress becomes more transparent, our music, movies and other publications grows more adult (?) in its content. Last night I watched on the 10 o'clock news a story about a group of psychologists who were calling for the destigmatization of sexual relations between adults and children. Will there be no end to the perversion of humanity??? Jeremiah says to Judah and to us in 2011, there will be an end to perversion. God will not avert his face forever. One day judgment will come. Who will we save from that judgment? How will you love the fallen back from the precipice that awaits those who cannot or will not acknowledge God as God?
Those who do not learn the lessons of history are destined to repeat them.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Jeremiah, the weeping prophet
How do we measure success? Is it measured by personal wealth, the size of your house, the number of automobiles? Perhaps early retirement or a fat bank account or a big pleasure boat are measures of success. success might be measured by the accomplishment of life goals or by achieving some measure of fame or fortune. None of these measure the success of Jeremiah. He spent 40 years trying to convince the kings of Judah to be obedient to God, but none of them were. He told them that death, destruction, exile and hardship would come if they failed to hear and obey; but they didn't. It seemed that no one listened to him and certainly, it seemed that no one changed their behaviors because of his preaching; but he preached on anyway. He was threatened, bullied, imprisoned, cursed and criticized; but he preached on.
Jeremiah was successful as a faithful follower of God and is often spoken of by those who understand that faith has rewards that may not be easily recognized by human eyes and ears. Jeremiah was faithful and courageous in proclaiming God's word. He was faithful to the call that God had put on his life....to be a prophet. Jeremiah calls a sinful people to repentance. When they refuse to hear and obey he tells them that the wages of sin will be high. He predicts the destruction of Jerusalem. How do we know if a prophet speaks the truth? If that which he prophesies comes true. And Jerusalem falls.
Jeremiah weeps over the coming judgement and so should we. The knowledge that we have that one day God will separate the sheep from the goats should drive us relentlessly to the same kind of faithful action. We should speak the truth in love. Shape in ways that will be an encouragement, but speak it. Jesus is coming again and our time is limited. Will you hear? Will you obey? Will some be saved because of your faithfulness?
Jeremiah served faithfully when it seemed that all the world was in decay. Does that remind you a little of the world that we are in today? I do not pretend to be a prophet. I do not know the day or hour in which Jesus will return to claim his bride, but I know that he is coming and for some it could be this very hour. Will we be found speaking the good news when he comes for us?
Jeremiah is a great story of faithfulness in the midst of difficulty. I hope that you find it to be an encouragement to you to live faithfully.
Jeremiah was successful as a faithful follower of God and is often spoken of by those who understand that faith has rewards that may not be easily recognized by human eyes and ears. Jeremiah was faithful and courageous in proclaiming God's word. He was faithful to the call that God had put on his life....to be a prophet. Jeremiah calls a sinful people to repentance. When they refuse to hear and obey he tells them that the wages of sin will be high. He predicts the destruction of Jerusalem. How do we know if a prophet speaks the truth? If that which he prophesies comes true. And Jerusalem falls.
Jeremiah weeps over the coming judgement and so should we. The knowledge that we have that one day God will separate the sheep from the goats should drive us relentlessly to the same kind of faithful action. We should speak the truth in love. Shape in ways that will be an encouragement, but speak it. Jesus is coming again and our time is limited. Will you hear? Will you obey? Will some be saved because of your faithfulness?
Jeremiah served faithfully when it seemed that all the world was in decay. Does that remind you a little of the world that we are in today? I do not pretend to be a prophet. I do not know the day or hour in which Jesus will return to claim his bride, but I know that he is coming and for some it could be this very hour. Will we be found speaking the good news when he comes for us?
Jeremiah is a great story of faithfulness in the midst of difficulty. I hope that you find it to be an encouragement to you to live faithfully.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
A new heaven.....Isaiah 65
I know that you are half way through Jeremiah, but I can't leave Isaiah without speaking to one of my very favorite passages ( I know I have said this dozens of times before and will undoubtedly say it dozens more times as we read on).
Our time away was filled with blessing. The wedding that we were a part of was delightful and filled with the joy that should accompany such an occasion. It was good to see our old friends Sam and Barb Packham and to share in their joy.
As you know on our out to Billings Montana, we spent a couple of days in Yellowstone National Park and on our way home we spent a little time in the Badlands of South Dakota. Both experiences revealed pieces of this great land that were almost other worldly to us. The geography, topography, geology was so unique and nothing like we had ever seen before. We read of volcanic eruptions, geothermal plates, ancient oceans and all of the forces that had a hand in creating this unique places. Patty and I thought how wonderfully marvelous that God had revealed himself in this mysterious places in such a plethora of fantastic views and geologically fascinating ways.
Neither Patty or I could be described as "well-traveled" folks. We are simple country kids who have been blessed in recent years to have opportunities to see things that we had only dreamed of. God has been good to us and he has been revealed to us in many wonderful ways. this trip has revealed new facets of God to us, but they have also reminded us of the wonderful promises that he made to us in Isaiah 65, "behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. the former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create."
Is that a wonderful promise or what!!! I have only seen a little of the marvel of God's creation, but it has been enough for me to be convinced of God's great love for us. I have seen enough to know that we are less than a gnat in the great ecological expanse of the creation, a milli-second in the great expanse of time and yet God felt we were so important that he came to earth in the form of a person to give us an example of righteousness and to make a way for us to experience much, much more than this world can reveal to us or provide to us.
As wonderful as Yellowstone is, as beautiful as the Black Hills, as awesome as the Tetons appear; greater is he who created, who spoke this great earth into being. Not only that, this earth will pale in comparison with the new creation that he has in store for us when he comes again.
Isaiah is about reminding us of our failings. But it is even more about reminding us that God will not leave us to our own evil ways. There will be a time when we are reclaimed to the image of our creator, a time when we will be restored to that which he intended us to be, a time when we will be more than conquerors. Keep the faith, walk in confidence. Our God reigns eternally and he cares for you. Be renewed in his promises. Love wins! Give yourself over to the gentle power of the one who will spare not even his own Son to claim you for himself!
"I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weepng and of crying will be heard in it no more."
Our time away was filled with blessing. The wedding that we were a part of was delightful and filled with the joy that should accompany such an occasion. It was good to see our old friends Sam and Barb Packham and to share in their joy.
As you know on our out to Billings Montana, we spent a couple of days in Yellowstone National Park and on our way home we spent a little time in the Badlands of South Dakota. Both experiences revealed pieces of this great land that were almost other worldly to us. The geography, topography, geology was so unique and nothing like we had ever seen before. We read of volcanic eruptions, geothermal plates, ancient oceans and all of the forces that had a hand in creating this unique places. Patty and I thought how wonderfully marvelous that God had revealed himself in this mysterious places in such a plethora of fantastic views and geologically fascinating ways.
Neither Patty or I could be described as "well-traveled" folks. We are simple country kids who have been blessed in recent years to have opportunities to see things that we had only dreamed of. God has been good to us and he has been revealed to us in many wonderful ways. this trip has revealed new facets of God to us, but they have also reminded us of the wonderful promises that he made to us in Isaiah 65, "behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. the former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create."
Is that a wonderful promise or what!!! I have only seen a little of the marvel of God's creation, but it has been enough for me to be convinced of God's great love for us. I have seen enough to know that we are less than a gnat in the great ecological expanse of the creation, a milli-second in the great expanse of time and yet God felt we were so important that he came to earth in the form of a person to give us an example of righteousness and to make a way for us to experience much, much more than this world can reveal to us or provide to us.
As wonderful as Yellowstone is, as beautiful as the Black Hills, as awesome as the Tetons appear; greater is he who created, who spoke this great earth into being. Not only that, this earth will pale in comparison with the new creation that he has in store for us when he comes again.
Isaiah is about reminding us of our failings. But it is even more about reminding us that God will not leave us to our own evil ways. There will be a time when we are reclaimed to the image of our creator, a time when we will be restored to that which he intended us to be, a time when we will be more than conquerors. Keep the faith, walk in confidence. Our God reigns eternally and he cares for you. Be renewed in his promises. Love wins! Give yourself over to the gentle power of the one who will spare not even his own Son to claim you for himself!
"I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weepng and of crying will be heard in it no more."
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Beauty for Ashes...Isaiah 61
Doing a wedding in Billings Montana today. Ashley Packham, daughter of good friends Sam and Barbara Packham. This sacred occasion has given Patty and I a great opportunity to see some of this great land that God has blessed and called us to practice Christian dominion in. Part of our trip has allowed us to learn more about the Native American Indian and the American West. Some parts of that story has not been pretty. That is the story of humanity as well. We have sinned and fallen short of the Glory that God has intended. Even when we set out to do and be good our sin nature gets in the way. We take great blessing and selfishly defile the beauty, the innocence, the gift that God has offered. As the Apostle Paul said, "the good that I would do, I do not. The evil that I would not, I do. Who can save me from myself?" The answer, of course, is that God has provided a Savior!
I love the book of Isaiah because God reveals that Savior to us in such marvelous and poetic ways. Part of that revelation is found in the 61st chapter as God reveals what a portion of that blessing of Jesus will be. He will, "bestow a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." How cool is that! Haven't you felt pretty ugly before, pretty unworthy, pretty defiled? God says that those who are found in Christ will be beautiful!!! There will be no sadness, no sorrow, no spirit of defeat. We will be clothed in a spirit of praise and that praise will be aimed at the source of our joy, Jehovah Jireh and Jesus who is the Christ!
Isaiah prophesies that we (God's people) will "recieve a double portion." How sweet is that! We will be treated like the first born of God. We will recieve a double share of the inheritance. and what is the inheritance? It is life eternal. Blessing and goodness, joy and good health, peace and happiness, purposefulness and contentment and much, much more. All of God's goodness will rain eternally on us, the children of God. How good is that? It is very, very good. Thank you Jesus!
Have a great Sabbath. See you soon.
I love the book of Isaiah because God reveals that Savior to us in such marvelous and poetic ways. Part of that revelation is found in the 61st chapter as God reveals what a portion of that blessing of Jesus will be. He will, "bestow a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." How cool is that! Haven't you felt pretty ugly before, pretty unworthy, pretty defiled? God says that those who are found in Christ will be beautiful!!! There will be no sadness, no sorrow, no spirit of defeat. We will be clothed in a spirit of praise and that praise will be aimed at the source of our joy, Jehovah Jireh and Jesus who is the Christ!
Isaiah prophesies that we (God's people) will "recieve a double portion." How sweet is that! We will be treated like the first born of God. We will recieve a double share of the inheritance. and what is the inheritance? It is life eternal. Blessing and goodness, joy and good health, peace and happiness, purposefulness and contentment and much, much more. All of God's goodness will rain eternally on us, the children of God. How good is that? It is very, very good. Thank you Jesus!
Have a great Sabbath. See you soon.
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