Day 235: Jer 38:28 - 43:4

I know there's alot going on in these verses, but I want to focus on Jeremiah and his ministry in this passage. I would venture to say that the average Christian would probably just give up and find something else to do once his nation was destroyed and picked apart by its enemies. But we see here that Jeremiah never once stopped doing what God called him to do. Even in the midst of all of the turmoil and upheaval of his homeland being destroyed, he remained faithful to do all that God was calling him to do. And it's so awesome to see the outcome of his faithfulness. When you think of the Babylonians attacking the nation of Israel and taking everyone captive, you normally would expect to read about the concepts of mercy and kindness and yet we see just that being shown to Jeremiah not because he was a fast talker or managed to trick the enemy. God allowed Jeremiah to blessed in the midst of curses simply because he remained faithful to everything the God told him to do.

- Lord, help me to not lose faith even when everything around me is falling apart. I know that the call that You've placed on my life is dependent upon how everything around me is going. As long as there is breath in my lungs, I will serve You! -

Day 234: Jer 35:9 - 38:27

You know, reading passages like this one really makes me feel for Jeremiah. I mean, serving God can prove to be difficult enough, but reading about the trials and pains that He went through just to be obedient is incredible. So many times, we find ourselves being willing to serve the Lord as long as it fits into our agenda and as long as what we have to say makes people happy. I would venture to say that probably 75% of the things Jeremiah had to say didn't make anyone happy, and yet he will still faithful to do what God told him to do. The church today needs to stop worrying about what people will say about and do to them and it needs to start focusing on the fact that God has given us a job to do and we are responsible to carry out that job no matter what. God's Word is not always the most popular or the most comfortable thing for people to hear, but if we will open our hearts and accept what He has to say to our generation, only then will we truly be set free.

- Lord, help me to be more like Jeremiah. Help me to go out and say whatever You want me to say regardless of how nice or popular it might be. I know that Your Word is sharper than any 2-edged sword and it will cut through any opposition that might be standing in Your way. -

Day 233: Jer 32:16 - 35:8

It's funny how it seems that no matter how bad the punishment is, God is always ready to promise His children recompense and redemption. I wonder how many of His children gave up too early though? I know that there are alot of Christians today who end up giving up right in the middle of some sort of trial or "valley." Usually we end up finding ourselves in some sort of mess that we made, and we end up blaming God. It's interesting because so often people blame the bad things that they did to themselves on God and then selfishly take all of the credit for the wonderful blessings that God gave them. We need to take a step back and realize that if something isn't going right in our lives right now, instead of panicking and blaming God for everything that has happened, we should set our eyes on Him and know that if we will remain faithful even in the valley, God will eventually bring us out of the mess that we go ourselves into and He will bring us back into the promise that He has for our lives.

- Lord, help me to hold one even when I don't exactly see the point. Help me to call to memory the Children of Israel and remember that You blessed them when they trusted in You and I know that You will do the same for me. -

Day 232: Jer 29:32 - 32:15

It's so fascinating to read these passages and see how seamlessly God transitions from talking about disciplining His children to loving His children. The worldly way to look at discipline is to believe that discipline is something that a mean parent or master does to someone or something that he doesn't like, but wants to teach it a lesson. Our society has turned something as important and Scriptural as discipline into something that is more synonymous with abuse and pain. The truth is, God is our Father and He loves us so so much. And one of the aspects of loving your children is ensuring that they are properly disciplined when they need it. God wasn't simply punishing His children because He was ticked off and wanted to teach them a lesson, He had to allow them to be disciplined because true love sees beyond the here and now and God knew that if He didn't allow something to happen, His children would never fully understand the importance of abandoning everything they have to follow Him.

- Lord, help me to learn from the lives of others in the Bible and throughout my life so I can develop discipline with You. Help me not to fret or panic when I feel the pressure because I know that You truly love me and as long as I turn my eyes upon You, I will be delivered from anything that comes my way. -

Day 231: Jer 26:1 - 29:31

Once again, we see alot of warning regarding false prophets and teachers. Previously, there was more of a warning against what would happen to the people who listened to the false prophets, but in this passage, we see a warning issued to the false prophet himself. So often in this world, we see people who think that they have something good to say and they just automatically assume that what they have to say is from God. This is such a dangerous attitude to have because just like anyone else, God doesn't like it when people try to speak on His behalf. As believers we must always be careful not to market our thoughts and opinions as God's Word. It may make people feel good, but that doesn't always mean that it's from God. and just as we saw with the prophet in these verses, when we attempt to make a liar out of God, whether or not it was intentional, things normally won't turn out well for us.

- Lord, help me to always be sure that it really is You talking before I start telling people that I have a Word from You. I know my opinions can sometimes cloud my thoughts, but help me to always have a clear heart so that I may be able to clearly and concisely communicate Your words to Your people. -

Day 230: Jer 23:1 - 25:38

In these verses, we read about Jeremiah warning the people about listening to preachers claiming to have been sent from God. It's funny how thousands of years later, people are still falling into the same traps. There are so many people in the world who find themselves basing their entire existence on some idiot's opinion of what God meant in the Bible. We need to always understand that God does speak through people, but everything He says will always agree with His Word. Of course, there are plenty of "inspirational speakers" out there who have some great things to say, but that doesn't mean that their words come from God. It's OK to tell people that everything will be OK, but telling them that they can live in the nasty rotten sin-hole that they formed for themselves isn't OK. The irresponsible Christian will always follow anything they hear that makes them feel better, so we have to be careful and weigh everything we hear with the Word of God.

- Lord, help me to not be enticed my smooth-talking preachers who think they know all of the answers. Help me to be a responsible Christian and base what I hear and believe on the truth found in Your Word and not on the lies found in this world. -

Day 229: Jer 18:23 - 22:30

So reading this passage makes me consider the fact that so many of the things we hold so dear mean absolutely nothing to God. So many of us spend our entire lives trying to get more money, more friends, more power, more influence, more this and more that and yet none of that even matters in the long run. We see in these passages that God is threatening to wipe out everything that His people hold oh so dear to themselves - even to the point on wiping out their lives altogether. To be honest, I never actually understood until this moment as I was writing, and I may never understand it completely, but the reason God had to wipe them out wasn't just because he was ticked off and wanted to show them a thing or two. God demands that we show Him the respect and honor that He deserves. The people of Israel were His chosen people and when they decided to put everything in life above God - including life itself - God had no choice but to allow everything they held dear to fall apart. God didn't allow the fall of Israel because He was ticked off, He allowed it because His people put their faith in something corruptible and corruptive. He stepped back and let them see firsthand what everything they held dear was really worth.

- Father, Help me to keep my eyes on that which is incorruptible. And give me the knowledge and wisdom to help others turn their eyes from the very thing that will kill them and put their faith in You, the only One who can save them. -