I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart. (Jeremiah 24:7 NIV)
Passages like these bring up the doubt and fear in my heart. Does God really love all people? Does he really allow all people to have a chance to know and follow him. Or does he turn hearts toward him or away?
He says his love is evidenced most in the Cross which was for all people the whole world. That he loved us while we were sinners. Is that love for all or only those who will come to know him?
God I want to understand your love better. Please show me your heart of love and who you love.
Amen
Friday, November 30, 2012
Hope for Israel: a savior to come The Lord
"The days are coming," declares the Lord,
"when I will raise up for 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 Righteous Savior. (Jeremiah 23:5, 6 NIV)
The depth of Judah and Jerusalem's sin is a strong manifestation of the true sinfulness in all of our hearts. They are all running after the desires of their hearts. The kings on David's throne are corrupt and leading people astray. The leaders, prophets and priests are all leading people into sin and injustice.. And God is bringing his punishments and wrath.
Yet there is hope. There will be a remnant of Judah. And there will be a righteous king for Israel. There Jesus Christ our Lord the King of righteousness our savior is revealed.
Thank you Lord for your saving grace. Keep us in your paths.
Amen
"when I will raise up for 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 Righteous Savior. (Jeremiah 23:5, 6 NIV)
The depth of Judah and Jerusalem's sin is a strong manifestation of the true sinfulness in all of our hearts. They are all running after the desires of their hearts. The kings on David's throne are corrupt and leading people astray. The leaders, prophets and priests are all leading people into sin and injustice.. And God is bringing his punishments and wrath.
Yet there is hope. There will be a remnant of Judah. And there will be a righteous king for Israel. There Jesus Christ our Lord the King of righteousness our savior is revealed.
Thank you Lord for your saving grace. Keep us in your paths.
Amen
Thursday, November 29, 2012
At the potters hand
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: "Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message." So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, "Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?" declares the Lord. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
(Jeremiah 18:1-10 NIV)
God is the potter. We are the clay. God is at work shaping us. Like in Romans God created all people for a purpose. Some for common purposes and some for glorious eternal purposes. For those who follow God we are choosing to let our lives be molded in his hands.
Like Israel Gods people sometimes God needs to reform and reshape us. We become twisted from Gods intent. But what we mean for evil God uses for God.
I love that lesson from Genesis and the story of Joseph
His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. "We are your slaves," they said. But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. (Genesis 50:18-21 NIV)
Our circumstances and life are bigger than we can imagine. Somehow God is at work as our sovereign Lord working things in his plans for his good purposes in his great love for us.
Being molded is not always what I want. I pray that I would humble myself. I pray that you would use me as you choose for your glory and purposes.
Amen
(Jeremiah 18:1-10 NIV)
God is the potter. We are the clay. God is at work shaping us. Like in Romans God created all people for a purpose. Some for common purposes and some for glorious eternal purposes. For those who follow God we are choosing to let our lives be molded in his hands.
Like Israel Gods people sometimes God needs to reform and reshape us. We become twisted from Gods intent. But what we mean for evil God uses for God.
I love that lesson from Genesis and the story of Joseph
His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. "We are your slaves," they said. But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. (Genesis 50:18-21 NIV)
Our circumstances and life are bigger than we can imagine. Somehow God is at work as our sovereign Lord working things in his plans for his good purposes in his great love for us.
Being molded is not always what I want. I pray that I would humble myself. I pray that you would use me as you choose for your glory and purposes.
Amen
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
The Sabbath: of great importance to God
This is what the Lord said to me: "Go and stand at the Gate of the People, through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem. Say to them, 'Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem who come through these gates. This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors. Yet they did not listen or pay attention; they were stiff-necked and would not listen or respond to discipline. But if you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy by not doing any work on it, then kings who sit on David's throne will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever. People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. But if you do not obey me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.'"
(Jeremiah 17:19-27 NIV)
Knowing what is to come as described in Nehemiah, we can know that the gates of Jerusalem are burned. The sabbath day is very important to God. He desperately asks his people in Judah and Jerusalem to honor the sabbath. It is so important to God that he promises abundance or destruction of Jerusalem on their obedience to the sabbath. God is willing to allow and even more bring about the destruction of the city of God his glory and even the temple. God must hold our faithfulness of great value if he is willing to sacrifice his city and his temple for us.
Yet the sabbath is more of a memory than a reality even to Christians. In my home church the sabbath is rarely talked about. In my time in college in InterVarsity the sabbath was not mentioned. I would regularly do most of my homework on Sunday. Sure I would go to church in the morning. And that is about all I would give God on his holy day of rest to remember him. I know the New Testament says we are no longer required to follow sabbaths or feasts. But the point is sabbath is not an obligation but a gift from God for our good. It is a day of rest and a day to remember God. A day to stop and see the bigger picture.
Yet we are so driven in America and Japan and other places that we just work, work, work until vacation and then back to the grinding stone. Yes we should be productive and hard working. Being a farmer was perhaps harder than our lives. But it is so healthy and vital I think to take rest and sabbath.
For me on staff with InterVarsity taking a sabbath has been crucial. But I have recently been willing to modify and move my sabbath in order to accomplish more. Again I am trusting in myself and not God. It is complicated because I work doing ministry for a living. I mean the priests continued to serve in the temple on sabbaths so what does sabbath look like for me and pastors and college ministers?
God I pray for your guidance and discernment in my life and in your church. Please teach me to honor your sabbath. I thank you for the gift sabbath because i know it is for my good.
Amen
(Jeremiah 17:19-27 NIV)
Knowing what is to come as described in Nehemiah, we can know that the gates of Jerusalem are burned. The sabbath day is very important to God. He desperately asks his people in Judah and Jerusalem to honor the sabbath. It is so important to God that he promises abundance or destruction of Jerusalem on their obedience to the sabbath. God is willing to allow and even more bring about the destruction of the city of God his glory and even the temple. God must hold our faithfulness of great value if he is willing to sacrifice his city and his temple for us.
Yet the sabbath is more of a memory than a reality even to Christians. In my home church the sabbath is rarely talked about. In my time in college in InterVarsity the sabbath was not mentioned. I would regularly do most of my homework on Sunday. Sure I would go to church in the morning. And that is about all I would give God on his holy day of rest to remember him. I know the New Testament says we are no longer required to follow sabbaths or feasts. But the point is sabbath is not an obligation but a gift from God for our good. It is a day of rest and a day to remember God. A day to stop and see the bigger picture.
Yet we are so driven in America and Japan and other places that we just work, work, work until vacation and then back to the grinding stone. Yes we should be productive and hard working. Being a farmer was perhaps harder than our lives. But it is so healthy and vital I think to take rest and sabbath.
For me on staff with InterVarsity taking a sabbath has been crucial. But I have recently been willing to modify and move my sabbath in order to accomplish more. Again I am trusting in myself and not God. It is complicated because I work doing ministry for a living. I mean the priests continued to serve in the temple on sabbaths so what does sabbath look like for me and pastors and college ministers?
God I pray for your guidance and discernment in my life and in your church. Please teach me to honor your sabbath. I thank you for the gift sabbath because i know it is for my good.
Amen
Trust in The Lord alone not man
This is what the Lord says:
"Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the Lord. That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives. "But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him. They 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." The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it? "I the Lord search the heart
and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve." Lord, you are the hope of Israel;
all who forsake you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust
because they have forsaken the Lord,
the spring of living water.
(Jeremiah 17:5-10, 13 NIV)
I am not quite sure what it means toe trust in man. Maybe it means to trust in our own abilities as people or as organizations. Sometimes I get caught up in Gods work but try to do it without being truly dependent and inviting God to be at work. I trust in giving more time, my own skills, our structures or plans. But I spend little time praying. When things go wrong I try to do more or do things better. But sometimes God has to humble me and remind me that he is our only hope. That I can't save a single person. In Christ is salvation. Bible study and evangelism are only effective if they meet Christ.
So I hold to the truth: God you are our only hope. Through Christ alone is salvation.
And in you alone I want to trust God. In my own heart and life and in my ministry I want us to put our hope in God alone.
My heart is deceitful especially in regards to relationships so please God examine my heart and help me to listen to you and trust you.
Amen
"Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the Lord. That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
in a salt land where no one lives. "But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him. They 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." The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it? "I the Lord search the heart
and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve." Lord, you are the hope of Israel;
all who forsake you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust
because they have forsaken the Lord,
the spring of living water.
(Jeremiah 17:5-10, 13 NIV)
I am not quite sure what it means toe trust in man. Maybe it means to trust in our own abilities as people or as organizations. Sometimes I get caught up in Gods work but try to do it without being truly dependent and inviting God to be at work. I trust in giving more time, my own skills, our structures or plans. But I spend little time praying. When things go wrong I try to do more or do things better. But sometimes God has to humble me and remind me that he is our only hope. That I can't save a single person. In Christ is salvation. Bible study and evangelism are only effective if they meet Christ.
So I hold to the truth: God you are our only hope. Through Christ alone is salvation.
And in you alone I want to trust God. In my own heart and life and in my ministry I want us to put our hope in God alone.
My heart is deceitful especially in regards to relationships so please God examine my heart and help me to listen to you and trust you.
Amen
Monday, November 26, 2012
Leadership of Jeremiah in a ministry without fruit
God calls Jeremiah and instructs him to speak against his people: and so Jeremiah speaks:
Hear and pay attention,
do not be arrogant,
for the Lord has spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God
before he brings the darkness,
before your feet stumble
on the darkening hills.
You hope for light,
but he will turn it to utter darkness
and change it to deep gloom. If you do not listen,
I will weep in secret
because of your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly,
overflowing with tears,
because the Lord's flock will be taken captive. And if you ask yourself,
"Why has this happened to me?"—
it is because of your many sins
that your skirts have been torn off
and your body mistreated.
(Jeremiah 13:15-17, 22 NIV)
What a hard calling: to speak against your own people. To point out their sin. But also to promise destruction of his people and even being turned over to other wicked nations.
That is Jeremiah's calling and ministry. There is no promise from God that his people would repent. There is no promise that anyone would respond to Jeremiah. So Jeremiah is called to this fruitless ministry. And yet he is being faithful to do exactly what God called him to do. That sounds like a hard job and a hard ministry to trust God in.
God thank you for my calling in leadership. I pray that you would use me as you choose. I thank you for the joy and fruit you bring through my ministry. But I pray I would trust and have my identity in you and your calling, not in success. I also pray I would not be satisfied with things less than you call me too.
God I want to serve you, glorify you, bring your kingdom and help people to know and follow you. Please guide me and my ministry with InterVarsity at CU.
Amen
Hear and pay attention,
do not be arrogant,
for the Lord has spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God
before he brings the darkness,
before your feet stumble
on the darkening hills.
You hope for light,
but he will turn it to utter darkness
and change it to deep gloom. If you do not listen,
I will weep in secret
because of your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly,
overflowing with tears,
because the Lord's flock will be taken captive. And if you ask yourself,
"Why has this happened to me?"—
it is because of your many sins
that your skirts have been torn off
and your body mistreated.
(Jeremiah 13:15-17, 22 NIV)
What a hard calling: to speak against your own people. To point out their sin. But also to promise destruction of his people and even being turned over to other wicked nations.
That is Jeremiah's calling and ministry. There is no promise from God that his people would repent. There is no promise that anyone would respond to Jeremiah. So Jeremiah is called to this fruitless ministry. And yet he is being faithful to do exactly what God called him to do. That sounds like a hard job and a hard ministry to trust God in.
God thank you for my calling in leadership. I pray that you would use me as you choose. I thank you for the joy and fruit you bring through my ministry. But I pray I would trust and have my identity in you and your calling, not in success. I also pray I would not be satisfied with things less than you call me too.
God I want to serve you, glorify you, bring your kingdom and help people to know and follow you. Please guide me and my ministry with InterVarsity at CU.
Amen
Why does God allow evil and wicked people to live and hurt others?
You are always righteous, Lord,
when I bring a case before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all the faithless live at ease? You have planted them, and they have taken root;
they grow and bear fruit.
You are always on their lips
but far from their hearts.
God replies to Jeremiah
Your relatives, members of your own family—
even they have betrayed you;
they have raised a loud cry against you.
Do not trust them,
though they speak well of you.
"I will forsake my house,
abandon my inheritance;
I will give the one I love
into the hands of her enemies. (Jeremiah 12:1, 2, 6, 7 NIV)
It almost seems like God points back and says why do the wicked live, look around Jeremiah and tell me why you and your relatives and your people are wicked. I have loved them, I have been their God, I have given them this land, I have walked with them, I gave you my law. God cries out I love Israel my people, but they have rejected me and turned to evil. And so though my heart breaks I must reject them.
God so loves his people that he restrains from bringing his wrath on the wicked. He sends them warnings and rebuke and prophets to try to help them turn from sin. But in the end they would not turn and became worse so finally he brings destruction. I don't understand how their is justice in that God. How can you love both the leader and the oppressed in Israel and yet allow the leader to lead the common people and poor into sin. God how can you allow the leader to sin against the people and bring poverty and hunger and war to them?
God says I love my people. I love the leaders. I love the common people and the poor who are powerless.
God you and your plans do not make sense to me. But I believe you love me. And I believe you love others even if sometimes I doubt it. But often I focus on the material worldly blessings that some have instead of the eternal hoe that God offers to all people.
God I ask that you show me the greatness and breadth of you love. If you would please reveal how you can love all people and allow wickedness and allow people to not know you.
Amen
when I bring a case before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all the faithless live at ease? You have planted them, and they have taken root;
they grow and bear fruit.
You are always on their lips
but far from their hearts.
God replies to Jeremiah
Your relatives, members of your own family—
even they have betrayed you;
they have raised a loud cry against you.
Do not trust them,
though they speak well of you.
"I will forsake my house,
abandon my inheritance;
I will give the one I love
into the hands of her enemies. (Jeremiah 12:1, 2, 6, 7 NIV)
It almost seems like God points back and says why do the wicked live, look around Jeremiah and tell me why you and your relatives and your people are wicked. I have loved them, I have been their God, I have given them this land, I have walked with them, I gave you my law. God cries out I love Israel my people, but they have rejected me and turned to evil. And so though my heart breaks I must reject them.
God so loves his people that he restrains from bringing his wrath on the wicked. He sends them warnings and rebuke and prophets to try to help them turn from sin. But in the end they would not turn and became worse so finally he brings destruction. I don't understand how their is justice in that God. How can you love both the leader and the oppressed in Israel and yet allow the leader to lead the common people and poor into sin. God how can you allow the leader to sin against the people and bring poverty and hunger and war to them?
God says I love my people. I love the leaders. I love the common people and the poor who are powerless.
God you and your plans do not make sense to me. But I believe you love me. And I believe you love others even if sometimes I doubt it. But often I focus on the material worldly blessings that some have instead of the eternal hoe that God offers to all people.
God I ask that you show me the greatness and breadth of you love. If you would please reveal how you can love all people and allow wickedness and allow people to not know you.
Amen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)