Day 228: Jer 15:1 - 18:22

It's always reassuring to get to the part in a group of judgment verses when we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. We see in the middle of this passage that although God will let His children be punished and let them pay for their wrongdoings, He will always keep an eye on the ones who still love Him. It seems to me that perhaps there are alot of believers out there who have seen the filth and trouble that our society has gotten itself into and they've just decided to give up on account that God is going to punish our nation and we'll all have to pay even if we didn't do anything wrong. I completely disagree with that. I don't believe for one second that our God is incapable of distinguishing between His children and those who have turned their backs on Him. We have seen time and time again that we serve a God of redemption and if we will come back to Him, He will welcome us with open arms because whether we realize it or not, He was always right there waiting for us to return.

- Father, help me to be able to communicate Your grace and mercy to those in need. Help me to be able to show others that serving You is not hopeless. You are a merciful God and if we will turn to You, You will turn to us and heal us. -

Day 227: Jer 11:1 - 14:22

If I'm honest, I have to say that reading these passages makes it difficult to consider the fact that we serve a loving merciful God. I suppose reading it from this perspective is alot like seeing a parent spank their child without ever really seeing what the child did wrong or what sort of conversations were had with the child prior. The bottom line though, is that we serve a God of justice, and He can't help but handle things justly. We now live the age of Grace and because God sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins, we have been justified and have covenant right to be forgiven if we will turn from our wicked ways and follow Him. However, grace doesn't apply to those who don't accept it. And just like God didn't have a choice whether or not He wanted to punish the Israelites for what they had become, He doesn't have a choice but to allow the sins of our society to swallow them whole. We must remember that although we are in this world we must never become a part of this world. God wants to separate the grain from the chaff and if we don't distinguish ourselves as grain belonging to Him, we will be in some serious trouble.

- Lord, thank You for offering us Your grace. We don't deserve forgiveness or redemption, but You sent Your one and only Son for that express purpose and as long as we accept that gift that You have so freely given, we can come confidently before You knowing that You will accept our sacrifices of praise. -

Day 226: Jer 7:34 - 10:25

It's so interesting to read these verses and realize that although the problems and punishments seem to be very complicated and involved, the solution is such an easy one. All that God is requiring is that His people turn themselves around and put their eyes upon Him. It's amazing how sinful humans can take such an easy concept and pervert it and destroy it and turn it into such a complicated mess that no man could ever fix. The human condition always seems to push us towards acting like complete idiots when we find ourselves in trouble. It seems idiotic to think that the children of Israel would fall into such trouble with worshiping idols and evil spirits and yet the only solution they could think of was to get deeper and deeper into those addictions. We need to learn now while our feet are still on the ground that the only solution to our problem is our Father in Heaven. When the only thing we can see is the problem in front of us, that's when we need to rely on what God has shown us and let Him take us back to the place where we are fully reliant on Him.

- Lord, I want to get it through my head right now that You will always be the solution to the problem. I know that it's easy to get distracted with the problem and forget to put my focus on You, but I choose to develop those habits now so when the fight comes, I will be ready. -

Day 225: Jer 5:1 - 7:33

It's so terrifying to imagine the idea of God turning His back on His people. And yet, even though we know that God didn't permanently turn His back, there was an obvious result that came about from Him turning His back. I don't know how close He is to turning His back on our society, but I know that I definitely don't want to be around to see it. We have already built such a society of destruction and danger, I can't even imagine what would happen if we were left completely alone. And that idea is the very thing that should fuel us as a body of believers to pray for our nation and for those leading our society. I don't care what time period we're in, there have always been and there will always be corrupt people in charge, but it's our job as Christians to stand firm and seek God's face so that He doesn't turn His back on us. There are plenty of people working very hard to ruin it for us, but we must always remember that "Stronger is He that is in me than he that is in the world!"

- Lord, give me the strength to continue to stay faithful to You. Help me to never stop praying for this nation and the people leading our society. You are a faithful God and I know that with Your help, we can be faithful children. -

Day 224: Jer 2:18 - 4:31

In the book of jeremiah we see the prophet very precisely comparing the nation of Israel to an unfaithful bride. Of course, throughout the Bible, we can see that the people of Israel are a picture of the modern day church. It's sad to say that the church in many ways has turned into a very unfaithful bride. The church has found a new lover and left God in the back room. Many churches have decided that their numbers or money or fame is really what God would want them to have. They try to "reach" as many people as they can by making everything as seeker friendly and convenient as possible. The church has taken the black-and-white, all-or-nothing Gospel and turned it into a much softer, easier group of suggestions that people are welcome to try out if they "feel led." The point is, God is waiting for His unfaithful bride to return. The church needs to quit focusing on itself and turn its eyes towards the Creator - the only One who truly knows and loves His children.

- Lord, help me to be faithful to You. And I pray that you bring the church back to the place where it belongs in Your heart. I know that it's not something that happens instantly with no real effort, but I pray that You give me the know-how to be a part of a ministry that will be an example and show others how to come back to Your arms. -

Day 223: Is 65:1 - Jer 2:17

The beginning of the book of Jeremiah is a very encouraging way to start of a book of the Bible. Jeremiah didn't spend his entire life looking and searching for a purpose. He didn't consult all of the wisest and best spiritual leaders of the town to find out what his purpose was. He was simply faithful to God and God laid it all out right in front of him. It's sad to say that alot of believers today think that it's their job to search out and travel far and wide in order to find out what God has planned for their lives. I think if we will just be faithful to do what God said to do right now, He will show us the next step and He will ultimately show us what He has created us for. I also love the fact that God didn't just tell him what to do and then left him to do it. God explained to him that He would be right by his side all of the time and God reassured him that all he needed to do was trust in God and he would be taken care of.

- Lord, thank You for showing me what You want me to do with my life. I know that You haven't shown me every detail yet, but You have shown me where to start and You've promised me that You'll not only be nearby watching, but You will pick me up when I fall and push me forward when I'm not sure I can go on. -

Day 222: Is 59:21 - 64:12

I love how even a heavy and mostly negative book like Isaiah still shows us that we serve a God of redemption. I think one of the best qualities of this book is the deep contrasts between being under the blessing of God and being under a curse. There are alot of people out there who seem to think that God is the one who makes that determination. If He wants to fight us and make our lives miserable. If He wants to completely bless us and make our lives amazing, He will. And if He wants to just completely ignore us and leave us to fend for ourselves, well then He'll just do that. But the truth is, God wants to shower His blessings on each and every one of us, but we have to understand that it's entirely up to us as to whether or not that will happen. God has given us His Word and in it are thousands of examples of what to do and how to do it. It would be crazy for Him to just blindly bless everyone regardless of whether or not they serve Him. God has a deep desire to bless us and rescue us from the attacks of the enemy, we just have to be faithful first to follow Him and let Him pull us out of the pit that we're in.

- Lord, I know that blessings from You aren't just some random shot in the dark that You give out like You see fit. You honor those who honor Your Word. Help me to be more like on of those people not just so I can be blessed and have alot of stuff, but so that I can be a light and use the blessings that You have given me to bless those around me. -