Rant

“In what way have I sinned against you, or against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison?"

Oops. Jeremiah's 'problem' was that his words came true while the other prophets' words didn't. “Where then are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’?" The kings of Judah listened to the good words, the easy-listening prophets. 'The Chaldeans will go away.' 'There will be peace.' But none of it happened.

Jeremiah spoke the words of God, though. Not his own. And when they came true, the people all got mad at Jeremiah, instead of God. Well, what good would it have to done to blame God. He had already told them why these things were happening. The people refused to turn to Him, and repent. Acknowledging God at this point would have been an admission of guilt.
So, instead, they went after God's messenger. As if he could have made these things happen. It didn't change anything. God was still angry. The Chaldean's were still coming. But now they had to feed Jeremiah, on top of everyone else in the Palace.
I think people in the world do the same thing. They get angry, and blame Christians. When we live the "Normal Christian Life," (not like the average Christian, but the way God described a Normal Christian,) people are offended. Why is that? Because our lifestyle, our message, condemns them. Our soberness condemns their drunkeness. Our chastity condemns their 'dating' practices. Our faithfulness condemns their lack of commitment. And on and on and on.
This is the essence of Lifestyle Evangelism as I understand it. My lifestyle will show them what they are missing. Yeah, but until I open my mouth like Jeremiah, the people won't know that God made that difference they see. They will believe the difference is due to upbringing, social status, personality. Anything but God in my life.

And why would they do that? Acknowledging God would require a change on their part. Either accept or reject. As it is, most people I know just ignore Him. Its easier for them that way. Ignore God and blame the Christians.

Sorry, I'm done ranting now.

Grass Roots

When they had heard all the words, they turned in fear one to another and said to Baruch, “We will surely report all these words to the king.

The people got it right. Well, the officials did, at any rate. The Lord commanded Jeremiah to write down everything he had prophesied so far, and have it read to the people. Maybe, just maybe, hearing all the curses at once might shock them into obedience.
It had a limited effect. I don't know what the people thought, but the officials were scared. They took it on up to their king, to try and change his mind. But they already had a good idea of his reaction: go and hide.
Sure enough, the king ignored the words of warning, and ordered Jeremiah and Baruch arrested. (But the Lord hid them, so they were safe.)

Now, here is a new-ish thought. What if the people had fasted and repented? What if the officials had led their own little groups, families, offices, whatever they had, in a time of repentence? How would things have turned out? Personally, I believe the king would have been deposed by God is some fashion, but Judah and Jerusalem would have been saved. At least for a while.
Some things have to start at a grass-roots level and grow up rather than starting at the top in a trickle down effect. We all know holiness cannot be legislated. Its been tried and failed. Holiness has to start in the individual, not the legislature.
We may have a Christian president right now, but that does not make us a Christian nation. We, the people, each need to respond to the word of the Lord.

Obedience of the Rechabites

The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have observed the command of their father which he commanded them.

Rechab commanded his sons to not drink wine, live in houses, or plant vineyards. I wonder why. I wonder what circumstances brought this about. Oh well, the answer is bound to be somewhere.

There are a couple of other things I notice here. One is their faithfulness to the word of their father. "He's just this guy, you know." Yet down through the ages, they obeyed. I don't regret not having a vineyard, or wine, but I think I would miss my house. Sleeping in a tent would get old fast, I think. Yet it sounds like they all obeyed.

Two, the father gave a command. So many fathers are absent from their families this day. Here we see one of the reasons we need them. Sure, mothers can give commands to the families, but when there are two parents they can support each other. And many parents today are very lax. I'm pretty relaxed, but I don't think I'll give my kids as much 'freedom' as I see others doing. They need to know there are boundaries, and where those boundaries are located. Then they will grow up confident and obedient, hard-working ethical people. People who know there are rules in this world that need to be followed rather than bent. Not all rules are meant to be broken. I'm not sure any of them are.

Third, this command brought a blessing on the family. They were immortalized in the Bible for their obedience. They were used as an object lesson to the nation of Judah. Thats pretty high praise in my opinion. And the last verse in the chapter gives God's blessing. This family line will never die out. Wow.

Obedience only comes in response to a command. We cannot obey where there are no rules.

Things I Don't Know

‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

I'm tired. I'm tired of reading the Bible and seeing the same thing over and over. I'm tired of reading and only knowing what I've been taught before. Where is the life? That dynamic element I used to know?

I don't need great and mighty things. I just want to hear from God again. I feel like I'm in a dry and barren place in my life. Maybe God is testing me for some greater work to come in my life. Maybe its my fault, that I don't spend enough time with Him.

I know life is hard, and it is busy. But I want it to be sweet again. What does this verse say? "Call to Me, and I will answer you." God, I'm calling. I want to hear Your voice again.

The Fear of God

38 “They shall be My people, and I will be their God;
39 and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them.
40 “I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me.
~Jeremiah 32~

Wow. I like that last line. "I will put the fear of Me in their hearts." Of course, I've heard people say that before, putting the fear of God in them. Parents to children, police to criminials, political leaders to enemies. I also knew that we were to fear God.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction." We all know that. And we know that the heart is wicked and deceitful. So, how do we get around this problem? God gives us a new heart. One of flesh, and not of stone.

The Law was perfect in every way, except one. It relied upon us, ahem, me, to follow it. And I cannot. I have a sinful nature that desires to do things I don't want to do. How do I stop? I ask God for deliverance. Forgiveness from sins, and deliverance from sin. This is how I am changed. And how the blessings of God flow into my life.

Jesus Christ saved me from my body of sin. I am a child of the covenant because of God's efforts on my behalf. He made the covenant, He offers the blessings, He gives me the strength to follow in His steps, and He gives me a heart that desires to follow. He put the fear of Himself in me so that I would want to be like Him.

God is good, all the time.

Directing my mind

“Set up for yourself roadmarks,
Place for yourself guideposts;
Direct your mind to the highway,
The way by which you went.
Return, O virgin of Israel,
Return to these your cities.
~Jeremiah 31.21~

I have a lot of problems doing devotions every day. Thats partly why I blog. Its an easy way for my to interact with what I have read for the day.
This whole chapter is rich, thats why I've spent several days in it so far, and hope to spend even more time here. This particular verse made me think of spending time with God. He has promised to bring them home, back to Israel and to Jerusalem. In preparation for such a journey, He tells them to mark out their path. Roadmarks, guideposts. I think more along the lines of Highway Signs and Landmarks. "You are here." "You are on this road, going there."
This is the particular line that caught my mind though, "Direct your mind to the highway." Direct my mind, hmmm.
I need to choose the things I think about. I know that certain thoughts come unbidden, and I just need to dismiss them. But that is only half the problem. Knowing where not to go.
I also need to 'direct' my thoughts to the place they should go. Think about God. Think about heaven. Think about the Passion. Think about my family. These are the truly important things in life, and as I think about these things, I will be transformed.
"Transformed by the renewing of my mind," and "Taking captive every thought." This is the highway that will return me to the City of God.

The Heart of a Father

18 “I have surely heard Ephraim grieving,
‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised,
Like an untrained calf;
Bring me back that I may be restored,
For You are the Lord my God.
19 ‘For after I turned back, I repented;
And after I was instructed, I smote on my thigh;
I was ashamed and also humiliated
Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
20 “Is Ephraim My dear son?
Is he a delightful child?
Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him,
I certainly still remember him;
Therefore My heart yearns for him;
I will surely have mercy on him,” declares the Lord.

I have a son named Ryan. He is a real deight. I love him so much, even when I yell at him. The other night, he didn't eat supper. He didn't out and out refuse, he just goofed off and didn't eat. When I gave up and tried to send him to bed he cried, "I'm starving." So I yelled at him to start eating. He sat at the table for about 2 hours, and ate 6 green beans and one bite of pork chop. And he went to bed hungry and crying at 9:30.
I went in to pray with him, and I'm so glad I did. He wrapped his little arms around me, and cried. But there were no complaints of hunger or thirst. He just wanted a little comfort. We said our prayers together, and he was ready to go to sleep. I felt so much better.
The Father here speaks of the nation of Judah. "I remember him. My heart yearns for him. I will have mercy." Okay, now I'm beginning to understand the heart of God a little bit more. With that understanding comes a bit more trust. How can God forgive me the things I have done? Well, He is a father, and His heart yearns for me.

Militant Christianity versus militant Islam

IHT: Nicholas D. Kristof: Militant Christianity versus militant Islam
This was interesting to read. I thought it was about nominal Christians somewhere slaughtering Muslims because of racial differences. It was not. Did you knot that the conclusion to the Left Behind series, "Glorious Appearing," is actually a tract teaching religious intolerance?
Really! At least he said that we won't be crashing airplanes into buildings after reading this. Thats good to know.
Here's another question he brings up: "Could devout fundamentalists really enjoy paradise as their friends, relatives and neighbors were heaved into hell?" Well, yes. I think that the presence of God will eclipse the absence of others. Its also the reason we are 'evangelical.' We don't want them to go to hell. So we tell them about Jesus and salvation, and we pray for them, and invite them to church. We but them and make pests out of ourselves, all in the hope that they won't be 'heaved into hell' for all eternity.
Tracts on intolerance, or encouragement to evangelism? I guess it depends on your world-view to begin with.

Bible Study-Jeremiah 31

Jeremiah 31.14

“I will fill the soul of the priests with abundance,
And My people will be satisfied with My goodness,” declares the Lord.

That sounds wonderful. More so than a land flowing with milk and honey. When our priests, preachers, pastors and teachers are filled like this, it overflows into the hearts of the congregation, into the lives of the people.
These people need to lead from the front, and not herding from behind. Its true that you cannot lift another higher than you are yourself. So, I cannot lead my family to places I have not been myself.
There was a skit I watched once. Two girls came out with empty baskets in their hands and stood on the platform. One was too eager/too much in a hurry to wait on the Lord and rushed out to give the congregation imagianary donoughts. The other knelt down, put her basket aside, and prayed. "I have nothing to give these people until you fill my basket. Please bless me and be with me today so that I can minister to Your people. Amen." When she stood up, her basket was filled with donoughts, which she promptly gave away to those sitting on her side of the church. These were much happier people than those who got the imaginary donoughts. The skit effectively made its point.
Before the people can be satisfied with the Lord's goodness, the hearts of His leaders must be filled with His abundance.

Happy Thoughts

Thus says the Lord,
“The people who survived the sword
Found grace in the wilderness--
Israel, when it went to find its rest.”
3 The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying,
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.
4 “Again I will build you and you will be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
Again you will take up your tambourines,
And go forth to the dances of the merrymakers.
5 “Again you will plant vineyards
On the hills of Samaria;
The planters will plant
And will enjoy them.
Jerermiah 31.2-5
I have been struggling with my knowing my place in God's plan. Actually, does He still have a plan for my life? I went to Bible College to be a pastor, and it didn't seem to work out. Now I have four years of education in a field that doesn't help a whole lot in most job sectors. Although it does help in the rest of life. I've become a wonderful Sunday School/small group teacher.
Except, I'm not teaching anymore. I taught for five years in Wyoming, then did the Sunday evening sermons for several months in South Dakota, followed by Saturday morning devotionals for a men's group. Now I am in California, where there are so many people, I am not needed. And I feel useless. I'm not doing anything in the church. For a while, I did the lessons for my mom's class in Wyoming, and sent her my answers to help her with her class. Now, nothing.
And it affects the way I feel about myself. I want to teach. Woe! for I am a teacher with no class!
When I started the computer this morning, I asked God to talk to me from todays reading in Jeremiah 31. I hadn't read it, but figured since all scripture is inspired, He could use even this one to enoourage me, which is what I needed. And it really helped. I plan on staying in this chapter for a little while. It is full of little pieces of love that make me feel better. He still loves me. He will build me up again. Even after all I've been through, He still sees me as His virgin. I will dance again (even if my wife laughs when I do). And I will plant, again. That means to me, I will teach again.
Maybe even be a pastor someday.

Bible Study--Jer. 30

Jeremiah 30 "In the latter days you will understand this." I sure hope so. I've read this before, and been through college teaching me about what the Bible teaches. But still some things get me.
God says He has done these things to Israel & Judah, to restore them. The principle here must be that there is a difference between punishment for correction, and 'devouring'. Her enemies devoured her, so God devoured them in return. But God set everything in motion in the first place. He called foreign nations to Israel. Did they overstep their bounds? Did they show to much glee in the violence they brought?
In the latter days I will understand this. Maybe it will help me to be a better father to my own children, too.

Normal Christian Life

What is a normal Christian life? Certainly not what I see in America. Maybe by the time I die, I will be normal.

Street Justice

West Bank street justice leaves alleged informer dead
After reading this news article, I had one question. Which is worse? Being a paid informant, or molesting your own daughters. Mohammed Rafiq Abdel Razek was in the hospital after being stabbed by a relative for molesting his young daughters. I can understand that. I would be really upset with anyone I knew was molesting their kids. But the news article was centered on the informant side of things here. "He was a snitch for Israel! Oh yeah, he was also an incestuous rapist, feeding on the defenseless in his own family." It seems almost like an addendum.
So, which were the Palestinians really mad about? I know what the American press thought was the worse of two evils.