Unforsaken

Jeremiah 51:1-53; Psalm 99; Proverbs 26:17

 

In today’s divorce-happy United States, many husbands, wives and children have been abandoned. Left behind. Forsaken. A lot of the hurt, pain and anger that flow so strongly through our culture’s emotions are the result of a nationwide experience of abandonment. America’s men and women have proved that, given the right to abandon one another, men and women will turn away from those they claimed to have loved. Sometimes husbands abandon their wives because their wives have cheated on them. Sometimes wives will seek a divorce when a husband’s been abusive, either to them or to their children. Sometimes divorce comes because of a legitimate offense, a serious offense.

 

But sometimes not. Couples might split because one of them wanted a younger spouse. Or because one spouse feels “held back” by being tied to a spouse or children. Sometimes there’s no particular reason for the split besides feelings: “I’m not in love anymore.” Divorce is no longer based on guilt. Divorce is no longer based on offenses. Divorce is now grounded, far too often, in a spouse’s pursuit of happiness and the belief that we have the right to break our marriage covenants in order to pursue happiness for ourselves.

 

God isn’t like us. Thank goodness!

 

For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken by their God, the LORD Almighty, though their land is full of guilt before the Holy One of Israel. – Jeremiah 51:5

 

Our God is a faithful God, even to those who have offended Him, sinned against Him, been unfaithful to Him, abused His covenant and His name. God does not quickly forsake His people—even when they are guilty. This does not mean that He will always allow sins to go unpunished; He proved that on the cross when Jesus, His Son, died for our sins. And He has promised that when Jesus comes again He will send the unrighteous away from Him forever to face the penalty for their sins in everlasting torment. And each person has a limited time to turn from his own guilt, sin and shame to trust in God, because each of us will die at the end of our allotted years. So God’s patience and faithfulness are great, but His patience will not last forever. Still, God’s faithful love for His people is far beyond our imaginations. We are so quick to abandon those who hurt or offend us, but God does not quickly forsake His people. We have a window of hope when we see that our God has not forsaken us, despite our guilt. He calls us today to turn back to Him with all our hearts, souls, minds, strength. Join me in turning again to our God, whose arms are still open to save us from our sin.

 

Father, thank you for giving us so much opportunity to repent, to turn away from the guilt of our sins and stop hurting people and disobeying You. Give us the ability to stop offending You. Thank You for sending Jesus to be righteous, to die for our sins, to give us His righteousness, and to make us righteous, too. May many people call on Your name today!

 

Do Unto Others.

Jeremiah 49:23-50:46; Psalms 97 & 98; Proverbs 26:13-16

 

Don’t we often wish that we could take Jesus’ famous statement, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” and turn it around? When people do hurtful things to us, we want to do hurtful things to them. What keeps us from it is that we’ve also been taught not to repay anyone evil for evil.

 

But in the message God gave Jeremiah, we find this statement that seems to oppose all we’ve been taught:

 

Shout against her on every side! She surrenders, her towers fall, her walls are torn down. Since this is the vengeance of the LORD, take vengeance on her; do to her as she has done to others. – Jeremiah 50:15

 

How do we reconcile this with our calling to repay evil with good and blessing (1 Peter 3:9)?

 

By noting that Jeremiah was talking about our Lord’s vengeance. Other people may have participated in the vengeance (this vengeance was against Babylon). But it was not their vengeance; it was the Lord’s. And the Scriptures are nowhere shy of reminding us that our God is a great King and a Judge, and that He takes vengeance—righteous vengeance—on those who have filled the world with wickedness. Romans 12:19 and Hebrews 10:30 both remind believers who are supposed to repay evil with blessing that this does not mean that evildoers will escape justice, citing Deuteronomy 32:35: “ ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.”

 

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, because even if you can’t repay evil with evil, God one day will bring His vengeance on the wicked with perfect justice and righteousness.

 

Father, make me righteous. Help me honor you and treat other people with all the dignity, grace, love, mercy, patience and kindness that I myself desire.

 

Hear the Word of the Lord!

Jeremiah 48:1-49:22; Psalms 95 & 96; Proverbs 26:9-12

 

Great Expectations

Jeremiah 44:24-47:7; Psalm 94; Proverbs 26:6-8

 

We have such high expectations for ourselves. And if they aren’t met, we often accuse others of not caring for us adequately. We even try to suggest that God is falling short if His grace doesn’t meet our wishes. Jeremiah’s scribe Baruch heard a message from God about that very thing:

 

The LORD said, "Say this to him: `This is what the LORD says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the land. Should you then seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the LORD, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.' " – Jeremiah 45:4-5

 

Can you imagine hearing that from God? Essentially, “Stop complaining. You’re alive. That should be enough for you.”

 

Is life enough for you? Do you praise God simply for letting you live?

 

Father, may we recognize Your blessings to us and praise You for Your goodness. May we not accuse You of falling short in Your blessings simply because You do not give us all we would like to have.

 

Hear from God with me today. Let's read.

Jeremiah 42:1-44:23; Psalms 92 and 93; Proverbs 26:3-5

 

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Press Onward to Heaven.

The message covered Philippians 3:12-17, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. Paul recognized that despite his encouragement to set aside every fleshly achievement and be fully found in Christ, even he was not quite there yet. Life is so much better with Jesus, but there’s still so much more to come. How do we live now, with better but not yet perfect lives? Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

 

Spend some time listening to God today:

Jeremiah 39-41; Psalms 90 & 91; Proverbs 26:1-2.

 

Inviting Destruction

Jeremiah 37-38; Psalm 89:38-52; Proverbs 25:28

 

Please remember to listen to Jesus today, either by reading from the passages above or by following your own reading plan.

 

For today’s thought I’m turning to our verse from Proverbs:

 

Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control. – Proverbs 25:28

 

A city whose walls are broken down is inviting destruction. So is a man who lacks self-control. Don’t invite destruction. Grow in self-control by the grace of God.

 

Whose Command Makes You Jump?

To read: Jeremiah 35-36; Psalm 89:14-37; Proverbs 25:25-27

 

I have a confession to make. Yesterday I failed to complete a school assignment—at least, the important part of it.

 

The assignment was to spend some time telling another person about Jesus and then to report on the encounter. I turned in a report. The problem was that I had nothing to report. In the past several weeks, I had not witnessed to anyone that I could think of.

 

I found myself praying yesterday that Jesus would lead me into a witnessing encounter. Why? So that I could complete my assignment. Yes, I wanted also to see someone come to know Him. But my most urgent motivation was my assignment, not Jesus’ glory and someone’s salvation.

 

It made me think.

 

How often do I work harder to obey men (teachers, bosses, parents, supervisors) than I work to obey God? How often am I more worried about the consequences of not obeying men than about the consequences of not obeying God? Do I really care more about what God wants than what men want? Sometimes the way I act wouldn’t make you think so.

 

And then I read Jeremiah this morning. In chapter 35, God commands Jeremiah to invite the Recabite family to a place that will hold the whole clan, and then to serve them wine. Jeremiah does so, and what happens when he places wine before them is that they refuse it. Why? Because their ancestor commanded his descendants not to drink wine. A man commanded, and they stayed faithful.

 

And then God said to Jeremiah:

This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, `Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?' declares the LORD. `Jonadab son of Recab ordered his sons not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather's command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me. Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, "Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your fathers." But you have not paid attention or listened to me. The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.'

 

“Therefore, this is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: `Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.' ” – Jeremiah 35:13-17

 

So whose command makes you jump? Man’s? Or God’s?

 

Father, forgive me for the times when I respond better to men than I do to you. And lead to me to honor Your words with my obedience. Enable me. Empower me. Make my heart thirst to hear and obey You.

 

Devotions. A Daily Habit

Jeremiah 33-34; Psalm 89:1-13; Proverbs 25:23-24

 

If there’s anyone who was relying on my blog/journal to help sustain your own daily devotions, I apologize for my lack of consistency. I wasn’t perfectly consistent before, but now that I’m a pastor I feel like time is constantly slipping right through my fingers, and I barely have time for my own personal time with God before I’m trying to either care for my family’s needs or get out the door to help Swanton Alliance Church hear from God. I praise God that He’s allowed me to stay pretty consistent in having time with Him—I’m praying more than ever before (and would love it if you would pray for me and for this community!).

 

But I want to take a moment to encourage those of you who regularly/sometimes/once-in-a-blue-moon read my thoughts: Stay in touch with Jesus. Every day, if you can. As often as possible.

 

And I’m going to make a commitment to you, a commitment that I pray that Jesus will strengthen me to fulfill. Each day, whether I have time to comment on the Scriptures or not, I will try to email and blog a set of Scriptures to you. Just as a reminder that you need to be in touch with Jesus yourself. Just as a suggestion of which Scriptures you might want to read, if you don’t have your own devotional plan. Just as a confession that it is more important for you to read the Holy Spirit’s thoughts than for you to read my thoughts about His thoughts.

 

You need daily time with Him, whether I encourage you along the way or not. I pray that He gives me the strength and time both to be more consistent in pointing others to His Word and in writing my impressions—but what matters is that we listen directly to Him and obey.

 

Grace and peace are ours through Jesus Christ alone! Listen to Him!

 

The Coming King

Jeremiah 22:1-23:20; Psalm 83; Proverbs 25:11-14

 

We’ve moved beyond kingdoms and empires, right? We’re the United States of America. We’re a democracy. We don’t need a king. We rule ourselves. We elect our own leaders, and we have them step down from their positions of leadership, too. It’s served us pretty well, hasn’t it?

 

No. It hasn’t. We in the United States of America are not ruling ourselves much better than an evil dictator would. The difference is this: under an evil dictator, only he gets to do all the evil he wants; under a democracy, all of us cast off the laws that would keep us from having things our own way and we’re all free to sin. We may keep one another in check to some extent—there are things an evil dictator can do that no single individual in the USA can get away with—but our combined sinfulness, pride, leudness, perversion and lack of concern for each other is surely an indication that our form of government does not create a righteous environment.

 

We’re still looking for a government like that.

 

“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.”

 

When you read the Bible and see the word “lord” in all capital letters like that, you are reading a place where the Hebrew text is not just mentioning God’s title and calling him “lord,” “master,” or “ruler.” You are reading a place where the name of God is written in the Hebrew language: “YHWH,” or “Yahweh.”

 

So what does the God of Israel, Yahweh, promise here? He promises a wise, just and righteous King from the line of David. What will this king’s name be? King Yahweh, whom we now know as King Jesus, our Righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30).

 

Father, send our King to us. May we live under His good, wise and righteous rule forever!

 

Guest Missionary Speaker in Swanton: Brenda Kurtz.

The message covered Matthew 14:13-21, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. It was called, “Send Them Away,” and Brenda challenged us not to be willing to send a single person away from Jesus, who can turn our insignificant efforts into significant and abundant life. Note: Past messages can be accessed through the resources page.

 

Creatures' Creator vs. Creatures' Creations

Jeremiah 10-11; Psalm 78:56-72; Proverbs 24:28-29

 

We love our stuff. We love the things we come up, the things we build with our hands. We work hard to earn money, then run around to spend what we’ve earned with our hard work, with our intense focus and with the efforts of our minds and hands on the latest gadgets, on the latest comforts, on the best of foods, on cars and homes. We love the things we make.

 

In America, we don’t call those things “gods”.

 

But we are so devoted to them that we act like they are gods. The latest medication promises to give us the sleep we need—or to keep us awake as long as we want. The latest iPhone apps promise to give us access to our bank accounts, our music, the internet and videos. Our GPS units promise to get us from A to B, and our cars promise to get us there quickly. Our shoes promise to help us run faster and jump higher, our clothes promise us the admiration of everyone, and our toothpaste promises a smile so bright that it shines. And for the blessings of all these things we ourselves have made, we run ourselves into the ground—often forgetting God our Creator in the process. How can we tell that we’re making gods out of these things? We love our creations so much and want them so badly that we will often go into debt to receive the blessings of the least-needed gadgets, all the while neglecting to serve God and give Him even a tiny percentage of the income He’s blessed us with.

 

When we pit our Creator against our creations, we demonstrate over and over again that we value and serve our creations more than Jesus Christ. But our creations will pass away. Jesus never will.

 

Everyone is senseless and without knowledge; every goldsmith is shamed by his idols. His images are a fraud; there is no breath in them. They are worthless, the objects of mockery; when their judgment comes, they will perish. He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these, for he is the Maker of all things, including Israel, the tribe of his inheritance—the LORD Almighty is his name. – Jeremiah 10:14-16

 

Our idols aren’t as blatant as what the Israelites were making. We don’t specifically craft images that we intend to bow to, to pray to, to worship as gods. But we end up serving them just as devotedly, working our lives away to gain the benefits they promise. We’re never satisfied with what our God provides, and so we enslaves ourselves in exchange for the benefits our creations will give us.

 

Father, forgive us. Teach us to be satisfied in You and in Your Son Jesus Christ, and to stop enslaving ourselves to our creations. You are our Creator, and You deserve all our service, our time, our devotion, our trust. You are faithful and good.

 

Leaders? … Hmmmmm

Jeremiah 4:19-6:15; Psalm 77; Proverbs 24:23-25

What are God’s leaders called to do? Let’s make a quiz out of this. It’ll be multiple choice. I hope it’s pretty easy, so here goes:

a) Figure out ways to get God’s blessings for people who don’t commit themselves to God.

b) Respond to people’s confessions that God isn’t really all that important in their lives with lighthearted understanding, or even approval.

c) Lead God’s people into sinning against God.

d) Follow and love God with all their hearts, and love God’s people enough to teach them to do the same.

I doubt that I even need to tell you what the correct answer is. Just in case you’re wondering, though, you should have chosen “d”. It’s such an obvious answer that we can’t imagine anyone missing it.

The problem is that it’s an easy answer on paper, but it may be a hard answer in real life. God’s appointed leaders sometimes are not committed to loving and following God with all their hearts, and certainly may not be committed to loving God’s people enough to teach them to love and follow Him.

That was the case in Jeremiah’s day. As he examined God’s people, he found that many of them were rebellious and refused to repent. Here’s what he said:

I thought, "These are only the poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the LORD, the requirements of their God. So I will go to the leaders and speak to them; surely they know the way of the LORD, the requirements of their God." But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds. – Jeremiah 5:4-5

Did you hear that? It wasn’t just the general population that had turned away from God; it was the leaders, too. It wasn’t just the people who hadn’t had the opportunity to study God’s Word; it was the people whose lives had been immersed in the Scriptures—in the words of God Himself! They were disobeying God and refusing to repent. The leaders!

Father, protect me and all Your other appointed leaders from having such callous hearts. Protect us from ever getting to the point where we feel that we have mastered our roles, mastered our studies, mastered our calling, mastered the Scriptures,…mastered You. May You be our King. May You be our God. May You be loved and feared by all those of us who claim to be Your people’s called and appointed leaders.

You Want Growth?

Jeremiah 2:31-4:18; Psalm 76; Proverbs 24:21-22

“I want to do better.”

I don’t know how often I hear those words, perhaps coming out of someone else’s lips, perhaps floating lazily around in my own brain as I fall yet again to a personal vice.

“I want to do better.”

What does that mean? Do you really want to do better? Or do you wish you wanted to do better, but the reality is that you’re comfortable with where you are? After all, if you wanted to do better, wouldn’t you work at it? When your mind suggested that you might want to refrain from eating that 20^th cookie, that you might want to actually get off the couch and wash some dishes, that it might be time to stop working long enough to go on a date with your spouse or go play with your kids—if you really wanted to do better, wouldn’t you do something different? You say you want to be different. You say you want to grow. But are you willing to do what it takes?

Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, circumcise your hearts… - Jeremiah 4:3b-4a

Growth requires repentance. It means hearing God’s message that your life is completely messed up, agreeing, and then taking action because you are propelled by God’s life- and strength-giving Word to act.

What kind of action are we to take? Are we to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps? No. Then what?

We must prepare our hearts for more of the LORD’s life-giving, behavior-changing Word. He begins by telling us, “Your hearts are hard and thorny.” We respond in repentance and work to soften our hearts and clear the thorns to receive and cultivate His seeds of righteousness. God tells us, “Your hearts are uncircumcised, uncommitted to me.” We respond by repenting of the fact that our hearts are not committed to Him and cutting away anything in our hearts that would hinder a relationship with God. He speaks. We hear and respond. We do not change ourselves; we simply take the step His Word has empowered us to take. And that step clears the way for His Word to plant seeds of growth in our hearts—seeds that can flourish.

Too often we say we want to change. And we blame our lack of change on God. We say that He hasn’t transformed us, all the while refusing the first step of transformation He has commanded. How dare we blame Him for our lack of transformation when we continue to keep our hearts hard, thorny, and uncircumcised even after He has spoken clearly!

Father, may we hear You. And may we not be hearers only. May we do what You say. And then listen again. And then do what You say. And then listen again. And then do what You say. And then listen again. As we go on hearing and obeying, may we see Your transforming work in our hearts, behaviors and speech—the transforming work we claim we want, but too often refuse to pursue in response to Your self-revealing call.

Weekly Sermons in Swanton: Serve Hard, Go Home, Serve Hard

The message covered Philippians 2:19-30, and it can be heard via streaming audio at http://www.swantonalliance.org. Paul chooses not to send Timothy, an excellent servant of Christ, to the Philippians. He sends Epaphroditus instead--and not because Epaphroditus was inferior in some way. Learn from these men what quality service looks like, not only out in the field but at home. Note: Past sermons can be accessed through the resources page.

Two Eternities-Dead and Alive

Christ is coming back. He’s already back from the dead. He’s alive, and He’s risen into heaven to sit at His Father’s right hand. But He’s coming back to earth again, this time to do away with the old heavens and earth and install a new heavens and a new earth. And the people who inhabit it will joyfully live with God forever.

 

“As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the LORD, “so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the LORD. – Isaiah 66:22-23

 

I’m looking forward to that day. But it won’t be so glorious for everyone.

 

“And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.” – Isaiah 66:24

 

An eternal death is coming for those who refuse to admit that God is King—for those who refuse to submit to Him and beg for His mercy and forgiveness, for those who refuse to obey His commands. The death of the wicked will one day be additional evidence that God is God, that He is King, that those who oppose Him will not seem forever in control.

 

Father, be glorified, whether by the living or the dead. May every person in the world demonstrate that You are God. And may as many as possible do so with eternal life.

 

Our Lonely Godly Walk

Isaiah 51-53; Psalm 69:19-36; Proverbs 24:7

 

Do you feel alone in your walk with Christ? Do you wish there were others nearby, walking faithfully at your side? Other visible people (I mean, obviously God’s there, and that should be comfort enough… But I’m talking about what we think in our weakness)?

 

The solution for loneliness is not having more people in the here and now. It’s looking to the future hope we have of going from one to many, from solitude to multitude.

 

Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many. – Isaiah 51:1-2

 

God reminds those who pursue righteousness and seek His face that Abraham was “but one” when God called him. Abraham was alone. Just he and his wife pursued God’s righteousness.

 

But being alone is worthwhile if it means leaving injustice, unfaithfulness and wickedness behind to pursue the LORD. Abraham did not need to have a cohort of human companions in order to courageously follow God. He needed God. And as Abraham followed God, the LORD “blessed him and made him many.”

 

Alone on earth for a time. With family in heaven for eternity.

 

Pursue righteousness. Seek the Lord Jesus Christ. Even alone.

 

Father, help me to be courageous about following you, even when I feel alone. And may my wife, my children, our family and relatives, our co-workers and neighbors, our friends and church family and the whole world come to follow You, too, as You pour out Your blessing.