Jeremiah 15:1-21

👉 Because of the sinful ways of the people, the Lord promised four possible outcomes (v 2). Spoiler alert: none of them are pleasant.

Pestilence

Sword

Famine

Captivity

👉 The Issue (v 6)

The issue with the people is the same that we have seen for 15 chapters now.

“You have rejected me.”

“You keep going backward.”

👉 The Result (v 6-9)

• the Lord stretched out his hand against them
• anguish and terror
• shame and disgrace

👉 Jeremiah’s faithfulness in proclaiming God’s Word brought him (v 10-18):

• persecution
• reproach
• isolation
• loneliness
• pain

👉 God’s promise to Jeremiah bc of his faithfulness (v 19-21):

• restoration
• His presence
• deliverance
• redemption

Just like every believer before and after him, Jeremiah had to know and believe the promises of God in order to face the persecution and pain of the world.

👉 Whatever you are enduring today – whatever pain you are facing – whatever trial you are dealing with – God’s promises are the same.

RESTORATION

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10

HIS PRESENCE

“…And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20

DELIVERANCE

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Psalm 32:7

REDEMPTION

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace. Ephesians 1:7

Have a great Monday, friends. Go out there today and live like you’re loved – because you are. ♥️

Jeremiah 14:1-22

👉 The situation isn’t great for the people (v 2-6). There is:

• mourning
• lamenting
• no water or rain
• no grass or vegetation

👉 So, Jeremiah pleads on behalf of the people (v 7-9). He confesses to:

• iniquities
• backslidings
• sins

And he asks the Lord to:

• please act
• save
• do not leave

But the Lord knows that, while the people may be hating their current situation, their hearts had not changed (v 10).

👉 As frustrated as I get reading these passages, I can only imagine how frustrating it was for Jeremiah to live it.

“Why,” we might ask. Why didn’t the people just straighten up, listen to the Lord, and do the right things?

And the answer is right there in verse 13.

The people listened to false prophets who promised peace.

The false prophets guaranteed them safety and peace. But – here’s the thing about false prophets – they’re false. They lie. They offer things that they do not have the ability to deliver.

Think of all the places you’ve gone – things you’ve tried – people you’ve chased – trying to find peace. And you didn’t find it because those people, places and things did not have the ability to give it.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.” John 16:33

Only Jesus brings true peace. Only Jesus.

Jeremiah 13:1-27

👉 The people of Judah and Jerusalem (v 8-10):

• were evil
• refused to hear God’s words
• stubbornly followed their own hearts
• had gone after other gods
• chose things that were good for nothing

But that was not God’s plan for his people. Not at all.

👉 God’s plan (v 11) was:

• that his people would cling to him
• that his people would be for him a people, a name, a praise, and a glory.

But the people would not listen to him.

Do you see it?

They were created for glory but chose good for nothing.

So much of our angst and unsettledness is that we make the wrong choices.

We choose worry over worship.

We choose distraction over devotion.

We choose grudges over grace.

We choose panic over prayer.

We choose good for nothing over glory.

It’s Mary and Martha. Martha scurrying instead of sitting and becoming anxious and troubled and Jesus flat out telling her, “You made the wrong choice.”

I don’t know what this day holds. None of us do. But what if, in this moment, we asked God to help us make good choices. glory choices. choices that line up with who God created us to be.

In the words of Paul, “live like citizens worthy of the gospel of Christ.”

Or, in the words of Andy Taylor, “Go on out there and act like somebody.”

I love you. Yes, you. 😉

Message me if you ever need someone to listen.

Happy Friday.

Jeremiah 12:1-17

👉 The Question (v 1-4)

It’s the age old question, isn’t it?

“Why do the wicked prosper and thrive?”

It seems to me as if Jeremiah was pleading with the Lord at this point.

“They don’t know you,” he prayed.

“But you, o Lord, know me.”

I don’t know about you, but there is a place in me that feels that deeply.

Jeremiah believed that the Lord knew him and saw him and that his heart was right before the Lord. And yet, those who claimed to know the Lord but did not, were thriving all around him.

And Jeremiah asked, “Why?”

👉 The Answer (v 5-13)

The Lord answered Jeremiah and essentially told him that it was too soon to be weary because things would get worse.

Have you ever gotten an answer and regretted ever asking the question?

Jeremiah was told that the safe land in which he resided would become a thicket and even those closest to him would betray him.

The Lord had:

• forsaken his house
• abandoned his heritage
• given the people over to their enemies
• devoured them

👉 And Yet… (v 16-17)

The final word with God is not condemnation but compassion.

If – the people (both God’s people and their neighbors) would learn the ways of God and swear by his name…

Then – they would again be built up.

Hope. Right there in the middle of “it’s going to get worse before it gets better”.

God doesn’t sugarcoat the reality – the consequences of the people’s behavior. But he never leaves them hopeless.

Whatever is weighing heavy on you today. Whatever burden you bear. Whatever pain has wedged itself into your heart.

It’s too soon to grow weary.

And it may very well get worse before it gets better.

But – if you are faithful to the end – the Lord is building something beautiful in you and through you.

In the words of Paul, “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

You are very loved.

Jeremiah 11:1-23

👉 The Previous Generation

God had made a covenant with the people of Israel as he delivered them from Egypt (v 4).

The people were to listen and do all that God commanded. And, in return, they would be his people and he would be their God.

But the people did not listen or obey (v 8 ). Everyone walked in the stubbornness of their hearts.

👉 The Present Generation (v 10)

• turned back to the iniquities of their fathers
• they broke the covenant
• they went after and served other gods

Because of these things, disaster is going to come upon this generation and they will not be able to escape it (v 11).

👉 The Pain of False Gods

The people – when they see the trouble coming – will go to and cry out to the gods that they had been serving. They will discover that these false gods can do nothing to save them.

What are we chasing, friends? What false gods are we serving?

When trouble comes – and we all know it will – have we spent our days seeking and serving things that can do nothing to save us?

You are so loved.