Jeremiah 19 - 6.8.23
Scripture
Jeremiah 19:15 NLT
“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will bring disaster upon this city and its surrounding towns as I promised, because you have stubbornly refused to listen to me.’”
Observation
The people of Judah and Jerusalem have aroused God’s anger. They have not learned from the mistakes of the generations before them. Instead, they carried on with their ancestors’ wickedness. And if anything , they even became worse than their ancestors! They continued to build pagan shrines and worship pagan gods. They even sacrificed their own children to them! So God gives a message to Jeremiah to relay to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. God is about to unleash His fury upon them for their wickedness. It’s about to get dark…REALLY dark!
“‘For I will upset the careful plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will allow the people to be slaughtered by invading armies, and I will leave their dead bodies as food for the vultures and wild animals. I will reduce Jerusalem to ruins, making it a monument to their stupidity. All who pass by will be astonished and will gasp at the destruction they see there. I will see to it that your enemies lay siege to the city until all the food is gone. Then those trapped inside will eat their own sons and daughters and friends. They will be driven to utter despair.’”-Jeremiah 19:7-9
Application
Don’t make God angry. You wouldn’t like to see Him when He’s angry.
Everyone knows that I’m a comic book nerd. And one comic book story I like is the Incredible Hulk. He’s basically the comic book version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. On one hand, you have Dr. Bruce Banner. He is an intellectual, who is small in frame, and quite frankly, a bit of a nerd. But if you make him angry, he transforms into a HUGE, powerful, unstoppable green monster! The funny thing is Dr. Banner does everything he can to suppress that monster. He does everything he can to “keep the peace”. His famous quote is “Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.”
I tell you all this because in a way, God can be like this in our lives. (Now hear me out on this). You see, like Banner, God wants to do everything He can to “keep the peace” with us. He gave us His Commandments as a guideline to live by. He is SUPER patient, merciful, and forgiving towards us. He even sent His only son, Jesus to help us with our sinfulness. What more can God do?! Yes, God is loving and He is gracious. But, God is also holy and righteous. And if He gave us all these things to help us get out of our own sinful ways, but we still refuse to follow and obey them, what else is God supposed to do? Will He still be righteous and holy if He still allows this sinfulness to continue? 🤔 That is what the people of Judah and Jerusalem are about to experience here in this passage. And that is a warning to us if we continue down that same sinful path. We will have to pay the consequences. We will experience the anger and wrath of God. And I don’t know about you, but why would I want to make the God of the universe, the One who literally has the world in the palm of His hands angry?
“But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord”-Joshua 24:15b
Prayer
Father God, You are holy and righteous. Thank You for Your patience, grace, mercy, and love towards me each day. I pray that I never take that for granted. I pray that my actions never arouse Your anger Lord. And when I do mess up, may I immediately turn to You and ask Your forgiveness, and turn away from my sinfulness. I pray my life is pleasing to You and makes You proud. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 🙏🏽
-Moses Gaddi
Hebrews 1 - 6.7.23
Scripture
Hebrews 1:10-12 NIV
He also says, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end."
Observation
God created the earth and the heavens, but as the above Scripture states, they will all pass away. They are created things and even angels are created beings, but not the Lord. We must worship our Creator and put our hope in Him alone. Since Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory (Hebrews 1:3), He is the final word. While all things pass away, and change, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)
Application
Put our hope and trust in Jesus Christ alone.
Our Triune God is the only One who will never fail us, so we must put our hope and trust in Him alone. If we put our faith, hope and trust in money, our job, our health, our looks, our home, our vacations, our cars, our status/title, our circumstances, our friendships, our kids, our spouses, and even ourselves, we will always be disappointed; however, the Lord will never disappoint us, leave us or abandon us, for He remains the same.
A practical thing that I do to make sure my hope is in the right place is by praying and fasting. Something I fast often is social media to get rid of all the noise. Scriptures say that “Jesus OFTEN withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” (Luke 5:16) If Jesus had to withdraw to lonely places often, how much more should I (we) as an imperfect human being(s), withdraw to be with the Lord?
Prayer
Dear Lord, there are so many things in life competing for my attention and I get overwhelmed by it all! Help me to make it a point to physically and mentally withdraw to lonely places so that I could plug into You alone. I continually need to be filled with Your strength and Holy Spirit to pour out to the people you have called me to serve at my work, my home and my church. Amen.
-Michelle Gaddi
Jeremiah 17 - 6.6.23
Scripture
Jeremiah 17:1
“Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool,
inscribed with a flint point,
on the tablets of their hearts
and on the horns of their altars.”
Observation
Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, I am no longer condemned and there is no record of my sin! And like I have been forgiven, I must learn to forgive.
Application
Did you know that in many states, if someone commits a felony they are barred from voting for the rest of their life? I have never understood this life-long consequence that doesn’t line up with my idea of justice (appropriate punishment – with a hope of rehabilitation afterward).
Reading Jeremiah this morning, I am so thankful that because of Jesus’ sacrifice, I am no longer separated from God because of my sin. My sins are not held against me – they aren’t on my record.
I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Of course, this does not mean we are free to do whatever we want or that we don’t have consequences – there are always consequences for our actions. But if we ask for forgiveness, God forgives us and wipes the slate clean. We are forgiven and we can start fresh without the weight of guilt or shame. When God runs our record, it is empty!
While I have internalized this promise enough that I want to apply it to our justice system, I struggle to apply it to others in my daily life. I move on, but I can’t quite seem to forget. I find myself being like the man in the Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor (Matthew 18:21-35), begging for forgiveness and then not truly offering it to others. But God clearly directs us throughout the Bible to forgive:
Mark 11:25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Matthew 6:14-15 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Prayer
Jesus, thank you for your sacrifice and for your promise that my sins are washed away. Please forgive me for my spirit of unforgiveness. I need your help to learn to love and forgive like you do. Nudge me, remind me in those times when unforgiveness is rising up in me that I have been forgiven and, with your help, I can forgive too.
- Debbie Dunn