Week 31 - Day 4

Jeremiah 32-33; Psalm 119:129-136

*Click here to read these passages:

Jeremiah 32-33 YouVersion(NIV)

Psalm 119:129-136 YouVersion(NIV)

Today was one of those days that after I read these passages from the Bible, I just kind of sat in awe of God, thinking – that’s so cool how God handled this whole thing.

First of all, God told Jeremiah to buy a field in Judah when it was being completely destroyed and taken over by the Babylonians.  It was worthless at that time.  But God knew He would restore it and His people would once again live and prosper there.  Jeremiah trusted God and through this act demonstrated his hope and faith in God’s promise. 

I also think it is crazy and awesome that in the midst of this horrible tragedy of their home being destroyed and being taken captive to another place, a tragedy they brought on themselves by not listening to God, God keeps pouring out His promises.  He didn’t have to do that.  He was angry with them, and they deserved the punishment they were receiving.  They had done such detestable things - things that God said had never entered His mind that they would do, like sacrificing their own children to false gods.  But God didn’t leave it at that.  He wanted them to know that He was going to restore them.

“As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them.”

“I will bring health and healing … I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.”

“I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them.”

In the midst of the darkness, God wanted them to look toward His light.  It seemed hopeless at the time.  But nothing is too hard for God. 

There are places in this world today that are overcome with darkness, much like the time of Jeremiah; cities in our nation with crime, drug, or poverty rates through the roof, nations in the world that have only about a 1% population of people who believe in Jesus.  It seems hopeless.  But nothing is too hard for God.  We as believers, like Jeremiah, are called to invest in those places and share the hope we have in Him.    

Week 31 - Day 3

Jeremiah 30-31

*Click here to read this passage:

Jeremiah 30-31 YouVersion(NIV)

“This is what the Lord says:

‘Your wound is incurable, your injury beyond healing.  There is no one to plead your cause, no remedy for your sore, no healing for you’ (30:12-13)

‘But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the Lord (30:17a)

God has made clear his plans of discipline for his children, and now He is shedding light on the hope and future that is to come after that.  They needed the time of exile to start depending on God again and to turn away from the sinful ways by which they had been living.  

Much like the 40 years the Israelites spent wandering in the desert before God delivered them to the Promised Land, this remnant of the Israelites needed time to learn all over again about just who their Father was and how to trust Him wholeheartedly. 

“So you will be my people, and I will be your God.” (30:22) – This is what God wanted. 

Some of the words from these two chapters reminded me of how parents talk to their children after they have had to discipline them.  As a parent you have to discipline your children, but when you do, you want them to learn from it.  So you talk with them and try to help them understand first, that you love them, then why they are being punished, and what to learn from the experience so they will make better choices in the future.  As a child it is hard to understand why there are so many boundaries and punishments for breaking those boundaries.  But one day they’ll understand.

“The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart.  In days to come you will understand this.” (30:24)

Week 31 - Day 2

Jeremiah 27-29; Psalm 119:121-128

*Click here to read these passages:

Jeremiah 27-29 YouVersion(NIV)

Psalm 119:121-128 YouVersion(NIV)

Jeremiah chapter 29 has one of the most quoted verses in the Bible: “For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11

In fact, this was a favorite verse of mine when I was a younger, but I never really knew the context the verse was in.  First of all, in this verse God is speaking to the Israelite nation.  And there are two words from Jeremiah 29:10 that throw an interesting perspective to Jeremiah 29:11 – “seventy years.”  God said, “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.”

Verses 12 and 13 are important as well.  “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Don’t get me wrong – Jeremiah 29:11 contains a great promise.  It shows of God’s love and mercy, and it reminds us that God is in control and has a plan for us.  But knowing the context now, I can see that it is so much more than that.  I think it is important to realize that this promise was coming before 70 years of captivity in a foreign land.  God promises hope, but doesn’t promise that it will be easy and doesn’t promise that it will happen right away.  I think it is also important to realize that the “hope” and “prosper” part God promised came about when they started seeking Him with their whole heart.

One more interesting thing from Jeremiah chapter 29 is that God told them to really do life in Babylon – to settle down, build houses, work, marry, have kids.  He said, “Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile.  Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

Some false prophets had told them they would get out in a couple years, but God said, no – you’re going to be there for a while.  And although it was not their “home” and would even be considered enemy territory, God said to pray for the city and its peace and prosperity.  Would we do that if we were sent to another city in another nation?  Do we do that in our own city and in our own nation? 

Week 31 - Day 1

Jeremiah 24-26; Psalm 119:113-120

*Click here to read these passages:
Jeremiah 24-26 YouVersion(NIV)

Psalm 119:113-120 YouVersion(NIV)

In Jeremiah chapter 24 God uses the picture of good and bad fruit to show Jeremiah what will happen to God’s people.  God said that there was a group that were exiled (they were being punished by God for not following His ways) that He was going to bring back.  “They’ll be my people, and I’ll be their God, for they’ll have returned to me with all their hearts.”

He knew they were going to turn back to Him, so even though they were being punished, it wasn’t going to last forever.  The ones who were not ever going to turn to Him, however, would not get to go back home.

 

Jeremiah 25:30 says, “God roars like a lion from high heaven; thunder rolls out from his holy dwelling – Ear-splitting bellows against His people…”

I love The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and I love when Lucy first learns of Aslan, the lion. 

“Then, he isn’t safe?” asked Lucy.

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver.  “Who said anything about safe?  ‘Course he isn’t safe.  But he’s good.  He’s the King, I tell you.”

God is to be feared.  He is strong and powerful and just.  But He’s good.  He’s the King, I tell you.

Week 30 - Day 6

Jeremiah 22-23

*Click here to read this passage:

Jeremiah 22-23 YouVersion(NIV)

In Jeremiah 23 God said this about the false prophets:

“Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes.  They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.  They keep saying to those who despise me, ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’  And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’  But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or to hear his word?”

This section made me think of all the different messages that are being thrown at people in our society today, especially young people.  Messages and beliefs of thought that are not from God, that may look and sound good but are ultimately empty -- Such as:

-New age thinking that no matter what you believe and choose it is fine and is all up to you

-Scientology belief that “Man is basically good, and that his spiritual salvation depends upon himself, his fellows, and his attainment of brotherhood with the universe” (Scientology.org)

-Atheism and the belief that there is no God

-Pantheism and the belief that everything is God

-Agnosticism and the belief that there is no way to know what to believe

In Jeremiah’s time there were many people who claimed to have all the answers and were speaking for God.  They promised peace and that everything would be fine no matter how they were living.  God said, “They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them.  They do not benefit these people in the least.” 

God also said, “Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully … Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?”

The things Jeremiah said actually came true as opposed to the false prophets.  He spoke the word of God, and the word of God is and always will be powerful and truthful.

Week 30 - Day 5

Jeremiah 18-21

*Click here to read this passage:

Jeremiah 18-21 YouVersion(NIV)

Once again we’re seeing what a tough calling Jeremiah had been given by God.  By spreading God’s message, He got beat and ridiculed.  He received no recognition, no honor for what he was doing.  He struggled.  Yet, at the same time, he knew of God’s faithfulness.

He said things like, “Cursed be the day I was born!”  But in the same breath he said, “Give praise to the Lord!  He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked.”  He said, “Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow…?”  But he also said, “Because of the Lord’s great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23) 

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my experiences attending the Global Leadership Summit because I just signed up to attend again this year.  It was my first year attending in 2011 when Bill Hybels spoke about tough callings and used Jeremiah chapters 19-20 as his text.  He spoke of how there were serious conditions in the world of Jeremiah’s time, and how God called him, prepared him, and used him in a specific way.  He challenged us to listen for God’s calling on our lives and how He wants to use us for the serious conditions that our world is in today. 

In his session notes Hybels wrote, “I wonder if people understand how precious callings really are.  How much thought God goes through before He taps a person on the shoulder and says, ‘Here’s an assignment.  I’ve crafted it for you.  It might be a difficult one but I want you to do it.  I’m going to grow you up through it and I want you to be faithful to it.’  I fear that people take these callings far too lightly, and they bail far too quickly.”

At the end of that session each person was given a broken piece of a clay pot (like the clay pot God had Jeremiah break to send a message to His people) and we were asked to be silent before God and to write down on that broken piece what we were hearing from the Lord.  At first I didn’t feel like I had anything to write down – I wasn’t really hearing anything from the Lord.  But then as time was coming to an end, I knew what I was supposed to write, and I knew what God was calling me to.  I had felt this certain calling before but had ignored it, pushed it aside, questioned it, etc.  The words on my broken piece of clay pot were: No more excuses.  I had a feeling that God was probably speaking to my husband too, and later I found out that written on his was: Stop Running. 

There are still questions as to the exact ‘when’ and ‘how’ to the big picture of God’s calling for our family.  And that can be scary.  But that was the day when I said, okay, I’m in – no matter what. 

And Great is His faithfulness.

Week 30 - Day 4

Jeremiah 15-17

*Click here to read this passage:

Jeremiah 15-17 YouVersion(NIV)

Jeremiah had a tough calling.  He had to be the bearer of bad news, and no one wanted to hear it.  All the other prophets from that time were falsely prophesying that everything was going to be fine, but Jeremiah spoke the truth. 

Because of this he lived a pretty lonely life.  He said, “I sat alone because your hand was on me.”  God told him not to marry, not to go to feasts or funerals.  It was painful and hard for Jeremiah at times. 

In his loneliness Jeremiah asked God this question: “Will you be to me like a deceptive brook, like a spring that fails?”  A deceptive brook is a stream that flows during the rainy season but quickly runs dry when the rain stops.  Jeremiah is afraid that God will abandon him. 

I love God’s answer!  Well, first He basically tells Jeremiah not to say stuff like that and to stop whining.  But then, He uses the same words He told Jeremiah when He first called him: “I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to rescue and save you.”

Sometimes what God calls us to do is tough, and sometimes it can cause us to be a little bit alone – but just as He promised Jeremiah, He is not only with us to rescue and save us, He will make us a wall that cannot be overcome! 

Looking to anyone or anything other than God will cause you to be like a plant in the desert that shrivels up in the heat.  “But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.  He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

Week 30 - Day 3

Jeremiah 13-14; Psalm 119:105-112

*Click here to read these passages:

Jeremiah 13-14 YouVersion(NIV)

Psalm 119:105-112 YouVersion(NIV)

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” (Psalm 119:105 NIV)

“Let your lives glow bright before God before He turns out the lights, before you trip and fall on the dark mountain paths.  The light you always took for granted will go out and the world will turn black.” (Jeremiah 13:16 The Message)

Darkness breeds fear and doubt; light breeds hope.  God and His Word were the light for His people, the hope, but they took it for granted and didn’t follow His way, so the darkness was taking over. 

This reminded me of a movie my family watched recently, and since we have kids ages 6, 4, and 2, it was of course a kids’ movie.  It probably sounds ridiculous to experience God through a children’s movie, but I truly did!  

The Rise of the Guardians was a bit strange, and I didn’t really expect to like it, but I ended up loving it because of the images of light and darkness within it.  Call me crazy, but it made me think of the goodness and light of God verses the evil and darkness of Satan and sin.  In the movie the character Pitch Black, takes over the good dreams from the character Sandy, the sand man, and turns them into nightmares.  The more the children stop believing, the more Pitch’s darkness takes over.  It is when the children trust in goodness and stop fearing the dark that the light starts winning.  The darkness is pushed away and the light and the good dreams return. 

Darkness is powerful.  It is scary.  You can’t see what lies ahead.  But light is more powerful - it only takes a little light to break through the darkness.

God’s light for the Israelites kept getting dimmer and dimmer because they kept turning toward and embracing the darkness.  God is warning them that His light is about to go out completely if they don’t turn back to Him.

When the darkness starts taking over, turn to His Word – His light will break through. 

Week 30 - Day 2

Jeremiah 10-12; Psalm 119:97-104

*Click here to read these passages:
Jeremiah 10-12 YouVersion(NIV)

Psalm 119:97-104 YouVersion(NIV)

“Their images are a fraud; they have no breath in them.”

Jeremiah chapter 10 talks about the idols that people were worshiping and how they were worthless.  These images were made by human hands.  They were wooden objects that could not walk, could not talk, could do no harm, and could do no good.  These words from verse 14 particularly stood out to me: “They have no breath in them.”

“But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God…”  God is the one who breathes life into our existence.  When God created Adam,  “the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7)  

He alone brings life and breath!  I love these verses:

“When He thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;

He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.

He sends lightening with the rain…”
“He is the Maker of all things…”
“The Lord Almighty is His name.”

I experienced the breath of God in a time of worship yesterday.  I had for a few days been feeling … for lack of better words … blah.  I felt tired, down and discouraged for no real reason, and frustrated and annoyed by just ‘stuff.’  But He breathed new life in me, and I spent the rest of the day enjoying my family and the scenery of God’s creation around me.  Beautiful God-breathed life everywhere!

So thankful for the living God who breathes life into my soul, and praying that He would in turn use me to breathe life into someone else’s soul today.   

Week 30 - Day 1

Jeremiah 7-9

*Click here to read this passage:

Jeremiah 7-9 YouVersion(NIV)

These are some pretty tough chapters on sin and God’s punishment.  Sometimes when I read the Bible I hear something from God or learn something right away.   Then there are times I have to kind of sit on a scripture for a bit … let it sink in, think on it throughout the day, pray for God’s revelation for what He wants me to gain from it.  What does it mean?  What does it say about who God is?  What does God want to show me about my life?

As I was doing this for these chapters over the weekend I was once again thinking about the state of sin the Israelites were in and about the balance of God being both a God of justice and a God of mercy.  I read from The Message translation, and I admit, had a hard time at first with these words from chapter 8: “There’s no hope for them.  They’ve hit bottom and there’s no getting up.  As far as I’m concerned, they’re finished.”  I struggled with that because I know people who have lived a life full of sin, hit rock bottom, turned to God, and He set them free!  There is always hope in turning to God.

The problem was God knew they were not going to turn to Him.  He was giving them chance after chance.  He continued to send His prophets to warn them knowing they weren’t going to listen.  He said, “They cling to deceit; they refuse to return … Each pursues his own course like a horse charging into battle” (8:5,6).  It also says that God listened carefully and looked to try to find even one person “who deals honestly and seeks the truth” (5:1).  But found nothing. 

As I was thinking about all this I came across something on Twitter that kind of summed up everything I think God was trying to show me from these chapters.  Ray Hollenbach, an author/teacher/preacher I have great respect for, quoted Psalm 66:18: “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened…”  Then he went on to say this: “There’s a huge difference between stumbling and embracing.  The Lord rescues the captive—including we who are captive to sin.  But should we expect him to rescue us when we have chosen to embrace sin?”

I also appreciated this image that Ray gave as well - that God hates sin the way a parent hates cancer.

*By the way, Ray Hollenbach is the author of The Impossible Mentor as well as the blog StudentsofJesus.com , both of which I highly recommend!*

Week 29 - Day 6

Jeremiah 5-6; Psalm 119:89-96

*Click here to read these passages:

Jeremiah 5-6 YouVersion(NIV)

Psalm 119:89-96 (YouVersion(NIV)

“If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.  I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life.” (Psalm 119:92-93)

The people in Jeremiah’s time did not think like this.  They did not delight in God’s law.  Even though God warned them over and over they did not listen and were in denial that they were going to perish in their afflictions. 

In Jeremiah 6:14-15 God says, “My people are broken - shattered! - And they put on Band-Aids saying, ‘It’s not so bad.  You’ll be just fine.’  But things are not ‘just fine’!  Do you suppose they are embarrassed by this outrage?  No, they have no shame.  They don’t even know how to blush.”

Sin, which is basically not doing things God’s way, will eventually, even if not at first, lead to your own destruction … if not on the outside, then on the inside.  God doesn’t want this to happen.  He warns us, He gives us His Word to help guide us away from sin, and He sent His Son to rescue us from it. 

“This is what the Lord says:  ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” 

Doing things God’s way does not bind, but instead frees us from the destructive impact of sin and brings us near to the God of peace. 

Week 29 - Day 5

Jeremiah 3-4; Psalm 119:81-88

*Click here to read these passages:

Jeremiah 3-4 YouVersion(NIV)

Psalm 119:81-88 YouVersion(NIV)

“I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me.  But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel” declares the Lord.  (Jeremiah 3:19-20)

An interesting comparison – Israel was to God as an adulterous wife to her husband. 

My heart definitely goes out to anyone who has experienced having an unfaithful spouse.  I can’t even fathom the heartbreak.  This may sound bad, but I would think in some ways it would even be easier to lose a spouse to death than to lose them because they chose another person. 

I think it is important to know that God feels that type of heartbreak when we do not choose Him. 

I think it is also important to know that He is always wanting us to return.  He said, “Return, faithless Israel, I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful.”  He wanted them to return, but He also asked them to acknowledge their guilt and turn away from their idols.  The Israelites asked God if He was going to keep being angry with them nonstop, but He said that meanwhile they were still sinning nonstop. 

It is a wonderful thing for a couple to be reconciled after dealing with infidelity, but the adultery has to come to a stop; it can’t keep happening.  You choose to be faithful to your spouse every day, just as God wants us to choose Him every day. 

Week 29 - Day 4

Jeremiah 1-2; Psalm 119:73-80

*Click here to read these passages:

Jeremiah 1-2 YouVersion(NIV)

Psalm 119:73-80 YouVersion(NIV)

This verse from Jeremiah’s calling says so much, and if you believe it, it will impact how you view everything:  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.”

First I thought about this personally – He made me; He knows everything about me; He has a purpose for me.  Then I thought about my kids – He knew what He was doing when He created each of them so special, and He has a special plan for each of them.  Then I thought about the world – all people, even those in the world you might consider “enemies” – no matter who it is, God created them, loves them, and wants them to follow His plan for their life. 

Jeremiah’s response to God’s calling reminded me of Moses.  He started making excuses.  I’m too young.  I don’t know how to speak.  But God says, “Do not be afraid for I am with you and will rescue you.”  It says God reached out his hand and touched Jeremiah’s mouth saying, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth.”  God told him, “Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land … They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you.”

He gave Jeremiah everything he needed, so there was no room for excuses.  Jeremiah’s age, skills, experience, or position did not matter; what mattered was God’s presence and God’s voice and God’s strength.

No excuses!  He’s got what you need!

Feeling discouraged – He knew you and loved you before you were even born.  He has set you apart!

Feeling scared or anxious – God is with you and will rescue you!

Feeling weak – God will make you a bronze wall to stand and not be overcome!

Yes!  He’s so good!

Week 29 - Day 3

Isaiah 64-66

*Click here to read this passage:

Isaiah 64-66 YouVersion(NIV)

Thinking today about nations in the world that do not know the Lord, that follow other religions full of lies.  Just like Israel angered God because they worshiped false idols and did not live for Him, I know these false religions today anger God.  But I also know that He wants them to come to Him, just as He wanted Israel to return to Him. 

“This is what the Lord says: ‘As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes and men say, ‘Don’t destroy it, there is yet some good in it,’ so will I do in behalf of my servants; I will not destroy them all.” (65:8)

Then in chapter 66 it talks about God sending missionaries to nations that have not heard of His fame to proclaim His glory and bring them to the Lord. 

It seems impossible to think that Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu nations would turn from their religions and to the Lord, but that is His desire, and with God all things are possible.  There is still some juice in the cluster of bad grapes.  He wants us to see that, and He wants to use us to spread His light and Truth. 

This is such a mountain to move that it is easy to not even try.  How could I ever make a difference?  In Isaiah 66:2 God says, “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.”  Or in The Message translation: “But there is something I’m looking for: a person simple and plain, reverently responsive to what I say.”

Simple and plain, reverently responsive … If that is what He’s looking for - I can be that … So maybe He can use me.