<\/p>\n
Jeremiah 8:4-11:23<\/strong><\/span> Jeremiah chapter 9 verses 23 & 24 definitely stood out to me today: \u201cThis is what the LORD says: \u201cLet not the wise man gloat in his wisdom, or the mighty man in his might, or the rich man in his riches. Let them boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORD who is just and righteous, whose love is unfailing, and that I delight in these things. I, the LORD, have spoken!\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Think God is serious when he follows something he says with \u201cI, the LORD, have spoken!\u201d?\u00a0 Do we ever gloat in our wisdom?\u00a0 Gloat in our might?\u00a0 Gloat in our riches?\u00a0 Instead, have you ever boasted that you truly know God and understand that God is just and righteous?\u00a0 Do you believe that God\u2019s love is unfailing?<\/span><\/p>\n I am enjoying watching for the interplay between when God is speaking and when Jeremiah is speaking in our readings.\u00a0 Basically you typically just have to watch for quotation marks at the beginning of a paragraph to see that God is speaking.\u00a0 If there are not quotation marks, it is likely Jeremiah speaking.\u00a0 At the end of chapter 8 and in the beginning of chapter 9 we read these words of Jeremiah\u2019s as he weeps for Jerusalem \u2013 and we hear from the people and God briefly too.\u00a0 It is a poetic interplay of dialogue between all three in chapter 8 verse 18 through chapter 9 verse 2 \u2013 starting with words from Jeremiah: \u201cMy grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken. Listen to the weeping of my people; it can be heard all across the land. \u201cHas the LORD abandoned Jerusalem?\u201d the people ask. \u201cIs her King no longer there?\u201d \u201cOh, why have they angered me with their carved idols and worthless gods?\u201d asks the LORD. \u201cThe harvest is finished, and the summer is gone,\u201d the people cry, \u201cyet we are not saved!\u201d\u00a0 I weep for the hurt of my people. I am stunned and silent, mute with grief. Is there no medicine in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why is there no healing for the wounds of my people? Oh, that my eyes were a fountain of tears; I would weep forever! I would sob day and night for all my people who have been slaughtered. Oh, that I could go away and forget them and live in a shack in the desert, for they are all adulterous and treacherous.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Jeremiah chapter 10 today is a powerful look at \u201cidols.\u201d Back in Jeremiah\u2019s days we\u2019re talking about little chiseled \u201cgods\u201d made out of wood & stone. But today? What are our idols?\u00a0 Perhaps our money, our jobs, our status, our relationships, our technology :), our lust \u2013 or perhaps even ourselves?\u00a0 Jeremiah 10:10 reminds us: \u201cBut the Lord is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 All of our idols are not True, though we often hope they will be.\u00a0 Our idols will deliver us nothing.\u00a0 God and His Son will deliver life to the fullest!<\/span><\/p>\n Jeremiah\u2019s Prayer is 10:23-24 is such a beautiful prayer :<\/span> Today at the end of Jeremiah chapter 11 we read about the plot to take Jeremiah\u2019s life.\u00a0 Every time I read the prophets, I am reminded of how hard it was to be a prophet.\u00a0 Talk about a thankless, high-risk job\u2026\u00a0 Fortunately Jeremiah is on God\u2019s side.\u00a0 The only side to be on.\u00a0 In verses 21 through 23 Jeremiah says: \u201cThe men of Anathoth wanted me dead. They said they would kill me if I did not stop speaking in the LORD\u2019s name. So this is what the LORD Almighty says about them: \u201cI will punish them! Their young men will die in battle, and their little boys and girls will starve. Not one of these plotters from Anathoth will survive, for I will bring disaster upon them when their time of punishment comes.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Worship Video: <\/strong>Today\u2019s readings remind me of Rachael Lampa\u2019s song \u201cPerfectly Loved:\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \n
~ Click here to read today\u2019s Scripture on Bible Gateway ~<\/span><\/em>
~ Listen to today\u2019s Scripture with <\/em>The ESV Bible<\/em><\/span> ~<\/p>\n
\u201cI know, O Lord , that a man\u2019s life is not his own;
it is not for man to direct his steps.
Correct me, Lord , but only with justice-
not in your anger,
lest you reduce me to nothing.\u201d<\/em>
I like that Jeremiah says in this prayer, \u201cCorrect me, Lord\u201d. He knows there is correction to be made in his life \u2013 even a prophet of God knew his need of correction! This is a nice example of humility to say the least.\u00a0 How often do you pray to God \u201ccorrect me\u201d?\u00a0 Why might this be a good prayer?\u00a0 Do you need God to correct you?\u00a0 Will you allow God to direct your steps?<\/span><\/p>\n