Posts
timewithgod.blog-city.com — February 2007
Jeremiah 1 and our calling from God
Yes, we each have one
God knows us, created us, and has a plan for our lives. Each of us is in a unique position to serve Him, and it is a position of His making. Just as God said to Jeremiah, He plans for each of us: "Before I made you in your mother's womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work."
I firmly believe that even the most evil person on this earth was created by God for a divine purpose. Unfortunately, due to our sin nature, we all disappoint God in some way and steer away from that divine purpose as we decide to take the reins of our lives back from Him.
It's also a very scary thing to turn over complete control of our lives to Him, we think. For He tends to move us beyond our comfort zone and out into the world where He wants to use us.
My sidebar described that process: "There is no royal road to becoming a worker for God. The only way is to let God in His mighty providence lift the life by a great tide, or break it from its moorings in some storm, and in one way or another get the life out to sea in reckless abandon to God. When once God's purpose is begun, He seems to put His hand upon the life and uproot and detach it in every way, and there is darkness and mystery and very often kicking. We can be impertinent to God's providence the moment we choose; there is no punishment, we have simply chosen NOT to be workers for God in that particular situation.... The value to God of one man or woman right out in supreme sanctification is incalculable. The value of a life can only be estimated by its spiritual relationship to God ... The greatest service we can render to God is to fulfill our spiritual destiny." (Oswald Chambers)
From the start, even Jeremiah tried excuses: "But Lord God, I don't know how to speak. I am only a boy." But God promised that none of that would matter. I can make my same excuses, but God will simply answer, "So what? Don't you believe that I know what I'm doing?" And all we can answer is, "Yes, Lord."
Father, thanks for reminding me that I don't know the future but You do. Thanks for helping me see that when I'm tempted to bypass an opportunity to serve You, You will not lead me where You cannot help me. Thanks for being my strength.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
I firmly believe that even the most evil person on this earth was created by God for a divine purpose. Unfortunately, due to our sin nature, we all disappoint God in some way and steer away from that divine purpose as we decide to take the reins of our lives back from Him.
It's also a very scary thing to turn over complete control of our lives to Him, we think. For He tends to move us beyond our comfort zone and out into the world where He wants to use us.
My sidebar described that process: "There is no royal road to becoming a worker for God. The only way is to let God in His mighty providence lift the life by a great tide, or break it from its moorings in some storm, and in one way or another get the life out to sea in reckless abandon to God. When once God's purpose is begun, He seems to put His hand upon the life and uproot and detach it in every way, and there is darkness and mystery and very often kicking. We can be impertinent to God's providence the moment we choose; there is no punishment, we have simply chosen NOT to be workers for God in that particular situation.... The value to God of one man or woman right out in supreme sanctification is incalculable. The value of a life can only be estimated by its spiritual relationship to God ... The greatest service we can render to God is to fulfill our spiritual destiny." (Oswald Chambers)
From the start, even Jeremiah tried excuses: "But Lord God, I don't know how to speak. I am only a boy." But God promised that none of that would matter. I can make my same excuses, but God will simply answer, "So what? Don't you believe that I know what I'm doing?" And all we can answer is, "Yes, Lord."
Father, thanks for reminding me that I don't know the future but You do. Thanks for helping me see that when I'm tempted to bypass an opportunity to serve You, You will not lead me where You cannot help me. Thanks for being my strength.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Jeremiah 2 Agreeing with God that we've sinned
very important
Through Jeremiah, God told Israel what He didn't like about their behavior: They were one faithful to Him and loved Him and followed Him. They were set apart to Him. After all He'd done for them, bringing them into such a fertile land, they'd turned away from Him and that turning away had made them useless to Him. Their sin had made the land unclean. They knew His teachings but they didn't know Him.
They'd turned away from the Spring of Living Water and created broken wells for themselves. Where this spiritual stream had overflowed them with life, now their broken wells struggled to capture and hold what little they could spiritually.
No one had done this to them. They'd brought it upon themselves. And now, God was going to punish them for it. He said, "Think about it and understand that it is a terrible evil to turn away from the Lord Your God. It is wrong NOT to fear Me." God could see the stain of their guilt, yet they still pled with Him, saying they weren't guilty!
They'd become obsessed with sinning, saying, "It's no use! I love those other gods and I must chase them!" God said that they chased after their sins like a donkey or camel in mating season. God added, "You do all these things, but you say, 'I am innocent. God is not angry with me!' But I will judge you guilty of lying because you say, 'I have not sinned.' "
My commentary had a quote by Kyle Yates that said in part, "The honeymoon is over...God's heart is crushed with grief and disappointment. Israel now is living in open sin.....She has ceased to love Yahweh." I think what hit me the most was God saying that they knew the teachings but didn't know Him.
Father, You're talking about believers here -- churchgoers. They've heard the teachings but have never listened. It hasn't been firmly planted in their hearts. They've accepted a system, but have never really known You and they cannot see their sin for what it is. Father, I hate myself when I sin. But I do agree with You that it is sin. I won't even try to proclaim my innocence. I agree with You, and I just ask You to wash me clean again. Forgive me, and keep me close to You.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
They'd turned away from the Spring of Living Water and created broken wells for themselves. Where this spiritual stream had overflowed them with life, now their broken wells struggled to capture and hold what little they could spiritually.
No one had done this to them. They'd brought it upon themselves. And now, God was going to punish them for it. He said, "Think about it and understand that it is a terrible evil to turn away from the Lord Your God. It is wrong NOT to fear Me." God could see the stain of their guilt, yet they still pled with Him, saying they weren't guilty!
They'd become obsessed with sinning, saying, "It's no use! I love those other gods and I must chase them!" God said that they chased after their sins like a donkey or camel in mating season. God added, "You do all these things, but you say, 'I am innocent. God is not angry with me!' But I will judge you guilty of lying because you say, 'I have not sinned.' "
My commentary had a quote by Kyle Yates that said in part, "The honeymoon is over...God's heart is crushed with grief and disappointment. Israel now is living in open sin.....She has ceased to love Yahweh." I think what hit me the most was God saying that they knew the teachings but didn't know Him.
Father, You're talking about believers here -- churchgoers. They've heard the teachings but have never listened. It hasn't been firmly planted in their hearts. They've accepted a system, but have never really known You and they cannot see their sin for what it is. Father, I hate myself when I sin. But I do agree with You that it is sin. I won't even try to proclaim my innocence. I agree with You, and I just ask You to wash me clean again. Forgive me, and keep me close to You.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Jeremiah 3-4 God's answer to the cause of global warming?
It's the SIN, stupid
The other day, I was searching Myspace.com for entries made by kids in our youth group. One in particular troubled me, because "religious preference" listed "Christian" yet the references to sex before marriage and drug and alcohol use were blatant. I was reminded of that as I read this.
God is speaking to Judah about being two-faced -- about crying to Him for help at a time when they'd acted like prostitutes. He could tell they were only pretending to be sorry for their sins. Although Mosaic law said a husband couldn't return to his divorced wife after she'd married another man, God was still giving unfaithful Israel a chance to return. Such love! He continues to cry out, "Come back to Me, you unfaithful children, and I will forgive you for being unfaithful."
Three words summed up both their condition and their solution: "Decide to obey." They'd decided they wouldn't obey, and it led them to the brink of disaster. Yet all they have to do is to decide to obey to be spiritually healed. God continues: "My people are foolish. They do not know Me. They are stupid children; they don't understand. They are skillful at doing evil, but they don't know how to do good."
Jeremiah couldn't reconcile God's former promises of peace with His present threats of judgment, my commentary says. It mentions that he was making the mistake of doubting in the darkness what he knew in the light. "Christians [should] believe our beliefs and doubt our doubts rather than doubting our beliefs and believing our doubts." When sin clouds our judgment, we are apt to make judgments like this about God. And we can be terribly erroneous in our thinking and fail to see God in the middle of everything.
For instance, the huge global warming report came out this last week, and half the world takes it as gospel. But it clearly says here that it isn't man's burning of fossil fuels that had caused this, but instead it's our sin and our running away from God that has "cursed the land". We have far to go to be able to see the real damage that we're causing to the planet -- damage caused directly by our sin.
Father, help us not to be blinded by our sin and fail to see the effect it has on everything. Thank You for calling us back to Yourself. Help me not to doubt my beliefs and believe my doubts, for that is from Satan.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
God is speaking to Judah about being two-faced -- about crying to Him for help at a time when they'd acted like prostitutes. He could tell they were only pretending to be sorry for their sins. Although Mosaic law said a husband couldn't return to his divorced wife after she'd married another man, God was still giving unfaithful Israel a chance to return. Such love! He continues to cry out, "Come back to Me, you unfaithful children, and I will forgive you for being unfaithful."
Three words summed up both their condition and their solution: "Decide to obey." They'd decided they wouldn't obey, and it led them to the brink of disaster. Yet all they have to do is to decide to obey to be spiritually healed. God continues: "My people are foolish. They do not know Me. They are stupid children; they don't understand. They are skillful at doing evil, but they don't know how to do good."
Jeremiah couldn't reconcile God's former promises of peace with His present threats of judgment, my commentary says. It mentions that he was making the mistake of doubting in the darkness what he knew in the light. "Christians [should] believe our beliefs and doubt our doubts rather than doubting our beliefs and believing our doubts." When sin clouds our judgment, we are apt to make judgments like this about God. And we can be terribly erroneous in our thinking and fail to see God in the middle of everything.
For instance, the huge global warming report came out this last week, and half the world takes it as gospel. But it clearly says here that it isn't man's burning of fossil fuels that had caused this, but instead it's our sin and our running away from God that has "cursed the land". We have far to go to be able to see the real damage that we're causing to the planet -- damage caused directly by our sin.
Father, help us not to be blinded by our sin and fail to see the effect it has on everything. Thank You for calling us back to Yourself. Help me not to doubt my beliefs and believe my doubts, for that is from Satan.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Jeremiah 5 -- Eyes that see and ears that hear
The importance of being more like God
God describes to a "T" what the people of Judah have done to make Him so mad. Almost like the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, He challenges Jeremiah to find one person who is righteous. No one is being honest. No one is searching for truth. They use religious phrases, but their mouths never connect to their hearts.
What's really bad is that as He pushed and prodded to bring them back to Himself, instead of returning, they became even more stubborn.
Thinking it was only the poor and uneducated who felt that way, Jeremiah then looked to the leaders, but found that even they had joined together to break away from God.
It was the repeated wanderings that were proving the hardness of their hearts. It wasn't just a one-time thing. Even trying to react to them with love, meeting all their needs, didn't work.
When He heard them saying, "Come on, let's do it! God won't do anything," He became furious, because they were in effect lying about His moral character.
God was also amazed by the fact that He'd given them both evidence of His displeasure with them and the means to understand how unhappy He was with them, yet still they did not get it. They had lost all fear of God, meaning they no longer even respected Him. They couldn't connect their sin with the lack of rain and failed crops they'd experienced.
The people were so self-absorbed that the prophets were only concerned with giving the people what they wanted to hear, and the priests cared nothing about God's power. My commentary said that God marveled at the obtuseness of His foolish people -- The sea obeys Him, but they do not!
Yet I cannot be shocked at all of this, Father, because I've watched it happen in my own life. I fall into patterns of sin, knowing full well that I am wrong and You are right, but stupidly doing it anyway. My heart can somehow become stubborn and selfish and desire my own way, despite the fact that I know it's not good for me. It's almost as if Satan implants not a "sin" gene, but instead a "stupid" gene.
Father, help me to be wise in You. Remind me to connect the dots to enable myself to see the effects my sin will have on myself and others before I do them, then change my desire to sin into desire to worship You. Remove Satan's blindfolds and give me eyes that see and ears that do hear. I love You and want to be more like You and less like me.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
What's really bad is that as He pushed and prodded to bring them back to Himself, instead of returning, they became even more stubborn.
Thinking it was only the poor and uneducated who felt that way, Jeremiah then looked to the leaders, but found that even they had joined together to break away from God.
It was the repeated wanderings that were proving the hardness of their hearts. It wasn't just a one-time thing. Even trying to react to them with love, meeting all their needs, didn't work.
When He heard them saying, "Come on, let's do it! God won't do anything," He became furious, because they were in effect lying about His moral character.
God was also amazed by the fact that He'd given them both evidence of His displeasure with them and the means to understand how unhappy He was with them, yet still they did not get it. They had lost all fear of God, meaning they no longer even respected Him. They couldn't connect their sin with the lack of rain and failed crops they'd experienced.
The people were so self-absorbed that the prophets were only concerned with giving the people what they wanted to hear, and the priests cared nothing about God's power. My commentary said that God marveled at the obtuseness of His foolish people -- The sea obeys Him, but they do not!
Yet I cannot be shocked at all of this, Father, because I've watched it happen in my own life. I fall into patterns of sin, knowing full well that I am wrong and You are right, but stupidly doing it anyway. My heart can somehow become stubborn and selfish and desire my own way, despite the fact that I know it's not good for me. It's almost as if Satan implants not a "sin" gene, but instead a "stupid" gene.
Father, help me to be wise in You. Remind me to connect the dots to enable myself to see the effects my sin will have on myself and others before I do them, then change my desire to sin into desire to worship You. Remove Satan's blindfolds and give me eyes that see and ears that do hear. I love You and want to be more like You and less like me.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Jeremiah 6 -- What God sees in sinful men
His refining fire is needed to remove it
We are so used to hearing how God has a plan for our lives that has existed since before the earth was made. This chapter seems to show me that, for those who have chosen not to walk with Him, He has equally spent His time making plans to pay them back for their hardheartedness. The people of Judah have so completely determined not to walk with the Lord at this point that He now shares with Jeremiah in minute detail what will occur. Yet even in His anger, with events about to unfold, we can hear His love crying out in verse 8: "Listen to this warning, Jerusalem, or I will turn my back on You and make your land an empty desert where no one can live."
What had they done? "The people of Israel have closed ears, so they cannot hear My warnings. They don't like the word of the Lord; they don't want to listen to it!" God even described how commonplace sin had become in their hearts: "They don't even know how to blush about their sins!"
Once more, His love pours out in warning: "Stand where the roads cross and look. Ask where the old way is, where the good way is and walk on it. If you do, you will find rest for yourselves."
And where once God had planned for the nation of Israel to be watched and admired by the whole world, He now will use them as an example to the whole world of what sin can do to our relationship with Him: "So listen, all you nations, and pay attention, you witnesses. Watch what I will do to the people of Judah .... I am going to bring disaster of [them] because of the evil they plan. They have not listened to My messages and have rejected My teachings." God also repeats what He said to King Saul so many years before -- that obedience is better than sacrifice.
God had likened them to rejected silver (dross) that can't be purified, and my commentary amplified on that: "Perhaps some day we may see clearly how unattractive, how loathsome, how useless sinful men are in the sight of a Holy God. How we need to look objectively at ourselves to see the miserable emptiness that is so clearly visible to God! There is not point in keeping refuse silver. It has no worth. Can it be that God has already marked off as valueless many who consider themselves useful?"
Father, I know that even as You look at me, You see unattractiveness caused by my sin. You see miserable emptiness clearly. They are dark spots in my soul that You wish to drive out with Your refining fire. Please remove these sin-impurities from my life and help me to more clearly reflect the image of Your Son.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
What had they done? "The people of Israel have closed ears, so they cannot hear My warnings. They don't like the word of the Lord; they don't want to listen to it!" God even described how commonplace sin had become in their hearts: "They don't even know how to blush about their sins!"
Once more, His love pours out in warning: "Stand where the roads cross and look. Ask where the old way is, where the good way is and walk on it. If you do, you will find rest for yourselves."
And where once God had planned for the nation of Israel to be watched and admired by the whole world, He now will use them as an example to the whole world of what sin can do to our relationship with Him: "So listen, all you nations, and pay attention, you witnesses. Watch what I will do to the people of Judah .... I am going to bring disaster of [them] because of the evil they plan. They have not listened to My messages and have rejected My teachings." God also repeats what He said to King Saul so many years before -- that obedience is better than sacrifice.
God had likened them to rejected silver (dross) that can't be purified, and my commentary amplified on that: "Perhaps some day we may see clearly how unattractive, how loathsome, how useless sinful men are in the sight of a Holy God. How we need to look objectively at ourselves to see the miserable emptiness that is so clearly visible to God! There is not point in keeping refuse silver. It has no worth. Can it be that God has already marked off as valueless many who consider themselves useful?"
Father, I know that even as You look at me, You see unattractiveness caused by my sin. You see miserable emptiness clearly. They are dark spots in my soul that You wish to drive out with Your refining fire. Please remove these sin-impurities from my life and help me to more clearly reflect the image of Your Son.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Jeremiah 7 -- The Danger of Putting Our Lives in Reverse
It leads to besetting sins and God will push us away from Himself
What a powerful, powerful word from God. I stand humbled by it. Through Jeremiah, God was telling the people of Judah and us: "If you [continue to sin], do you think you can come before Me and stand in this place where I have chosen to be worshiped? Do you think you can say, 'We are safe!' when you do all these hateful things? .... I have been watching you, says the Lord ... You did not listen to Me ... You did not answer [Me].... I will push you away from Me ... [You] are only hurting [yourselves] and bringing shame upon [yourselves].... OBEY ME, and I will be your God and you will be My people. Do all that I command so that good things will happen to you. But your ancestors did not listen or pay attention to Me. They were stubborn and did whatever their evil hearts wanted. They went backward, not forward....These people do nothing when I correct them."
The sidebar in my Bible, from The Pursuit Of Holiness by Jerry Bridges, explains how this happens in our lives, and what it takes to undo the damage:
"Habits are thought and emotions patterns engraved in our minds .... As unbelievers, we formerly gave ourselves to developing habits of unholiness ... Every time we sinned -- every time we lusted, coveted, hated, cheated, or lied -- we were developing habits of ever increasing wickedness. These repeated acts of unrighteousness became habits that made us, in fact, slaves to sin...
"Breaking sinful habits must be done in cooperation with the Holy Spirit and in dependence upon Him .... Habits are developed and reinforced by frequent repetition ... The more we sin the more we are inclined to sin. But the converse is also true. The more we say no to sin, the more we are inclined to do so.
"Therefore, in dependence on the Holy Spirit, we must systematically work at acquiring the habit of saying no to the sins that so easily entangle us. We all know what these sins are and the sins to which we are particularly vulnerable. We begin by concentrating on saying no to these. Then God will lead us to work on other sins which we may not even be aware of at this time. The more we succeed in saying no to our sinful desires, the easier it becomes to say no.
"In the same manner we can develop positive habits of holiness ... thinking thoughts that are pure, true, and good .... habits of prayer and meditating on the Scriptures. But these habits will only be developed through frequent repetition."
Father, the only repetition the people of Jeremiah's time knew was their constant offering of sacrifices without any remorse or repentance, and that was not what You desired of them or us. Help me to work on areas where I'm "in reverse" in my life and turn them around. Give me the strength through Your Holy Spirit to say no and to say it every time so that I can break free of sins that so easily entangle me. Help me to develop other positive habits of holiness that You want me to develop. Give me opportunities to repeat them often. Remind me that sacrifice without commitment is worthless.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
The sidebar in my Bible, from The Pursuit Of Holiness by Jerry Bridges, explains how this happens in our lives, and what it takes to undo the damage:
"Habits are thought and emotions patterns engraved in our minds .... As unbelievers, we formerly gave ourselves to developing habits of unholiness ... Every time we sinned -- every time we lusted, coveted, hated, cheated, or lied -- we were developing habits of ever increasing wickedness. These repeated acts of unrighteousness became habits that made us, in fact, slaves to sin...
"Breaking sinful habits must be done in cooperation with the Holy Spirit and in dependence upon Him .... Habits are developed and reinforced by frequent repetition ... The more we sin the more we are inclined to sin. But the converse is also true. The more we say no to sin, the more we are inclined to do so.
"Therefore, in dependence on the Holy Spirit, we must systematically work at acquiring the habit of saying no to the sins that so easily entangle us. We all know what these sins are and the sins to which we are particularly vulnerable. We begin by concentrating on saying no to these. Then God will lead us to work on other sins which we may not even be aware of at this time. The more we succeed in saying no to our sinful desires, the easier it becomes to say no.
"In the same manner we can develop positive habits of holiness ... thinking thoughts that are pure, true, and good .... habits of prayer and meditating on the Scriptures. But these habits will only be developed through frequent repetition."
Father, the only repetition the people of Jeremiah's time knew was their constant offering of sacrifices without any remorse or repentance, and that was not what You desired of them or us. Help me to work on areas where I'm "in reverse" in my life and turn them around. Give me the strength through Your Holy Spirit to say no and to say it every time so that I can break free of sins that so easily entangle me. Help me to develop other positive habits of holiness that You want me to develop. Give me opportunities to repeat them often. Remind me that sacrifice without commitment is worthless.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Jeremiah 8 & 9 -- Not giving up on the tough ones
God didn't let Jeremiah quit
God doesn't mince words when He talks about what His people have done to deserve exile:
"They believe their own lies and refuse to turn around and come back....They do not feel sorry for their wicked ways, saying, 'What HAVE I DONE?' .... My people don't know what the Lord wants them to do....I will take away what I gave them....They go from one evil thing to another. They do not know who I am ....They have become tired from sinning .... I will test the people of Judah as a person tests metal in a fire. I have NO other choice, because My people have sinned."
His people, who He loved and brought out of bondage in Egypt and into the Promised Land, thought so little of Him that they threw away everything He'd given them and all of His teachings.
Jeremiah hits one of his lowest moments in Chapter 9. My commentary says, "In his hour of vexation he imagines he would like to break away from people who do not deserve anything of him. How sweet to be relieved of all responsibility and all irritations! He was literally sick of watching the empty, godless formal substitute for religion. All his days he prayed, loved, preached, and warned, only to find the sort of unresponsiveness that seared his soul."
In a way, I know how he feels. When a crop of kids come along who don't care and don't want to know God, it's hard to deal with the responsibility of trying to reveal Him to them, and being relieved of that responsibility sounds so wonderful, after years of tears for them. Watching hearts that believe their own lies, that are tired of sinning, and yet refuse to know Him saddens me and wears my soul down. I end up wanting nothing to do with them. Yet Jeremiah still has many chapters to go. God keeps him on the job, and he's a better man than I for that, I know.
The arrogance of those who simply don't care, who thumb their noses at God, who play at "church", has its root in the sin of pride, and verses 23-24 of chapter 9 are wise words: "The wise must not brag about their wisdom. The strong must not brag about their strength. The rich must not brag about their money. But if someone wants to brag, let him brag that he understands and know ME. Let him brag that I am the Lord, and that I am kind and fair, and that I do things that are right on earth. This kind of bragging pleases Me."
Father, I used to be a lot like Your people You described here. I too had turned my back on You and believed my own lies. I bragged about my own supposed wisdom. I'm so glad You never let go and that You never gave up on me. Help me not to give up on the hardhearted kids who need to know You. Soften their hearts and seek after them so that they can find You and come to know You. I don't want them to go through what I went through -- to lose all those years in which they could be learning all about You and Your love for them.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
"They believe their own lies and refuse to turn around and come back....They do not feel sorry for their wicked ways, saying, 'What HAVE I DONE?' .... My people don't know what the Lord wants them to do....I will take away what I gave them....They go from one evil thing to another. They do not know who I am ....They have become tired from sinning .... I will test the people of Judah as a person tests metal in a fire. I have NO other choice, because My people have sinned."
His people, who He loved and brought out of bondage in Egypt and into the Promised Land, thought so little of Him that they threw away everything He'd given them and all of His teachings.
Jeremiah hits one of his lowest moments in Chapter 9. My commentary says, "In his hour of vexation he imagines he would like to break away from people who do not deserve anything of him. How sweet to be relieved of all responsibility and all irritations! He was literally sick of watching the empty, godless formal substitute for religion. All his days he prayed, loved, preached, and warned, only to find the sort of unresponsiveness that seared his soul."
In a way, I know how he feels. When a crop of kids come along who don't care and don't want to know God, it's hard to deal with the responsibility of trying to reveal Him to them, and being relieved of that responsibility sounds so wonderful, after years of tears for them. Watching hearts that believe their own lies, that are tired of sinning, and yet refuse to know Him saddens me and wears my soul down. I end up wanting nothing to do with them. Yet Jeremiah still has many chapters to go. God keeps him on the job, and he's a better man than I for that, I know.
The arrogance of those who simply don't care, who thumb their noses at God, who play at "church", has its root in the sin of pride, and verses 23-24 of chapter 9 are wise words: "The wise must not brag about their wisdom. The strong must not brag about their strength. The rich must not brag about their money. But if someone wants to brag, let him brag that he understands and know ME. Let him brag that I am the Lord, and that I am kind and fair, and that I do things that are right on earth. This kind of bragging pleases Me."
Father, I used to be a lot like Your people You described here. I too had turned my back on You and believed my own lies. I bragged about my own supposed wisdom. I'm so glad You never let go and that You never gave up on me. Help me not to give up on the hardhearted kids who need to know You. Soften their hearts and seek after them so that they can find You and come to know You. I don't want them to go through what I went through -- to lose all those years in which they could be learning all about You and Your love for them.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Jeremiah 10 and 11 Unutterable Unworthiness
We have to feel that to find true repentance
It's so incredible how many times Israel and Judah kept deserting God for lifeless idols and God has reached His limit here, it seems. He is about to send them into exile. He even tells Jeremiah for the third time not to dare pray for them! Over and over they've come back to the same sin -- idolatry.
My sidebar, from Oswald Chambers' My Utmost For His Highest, spoke to that in our own lives. We have the assurance that in Jesus, all our sins -- past, present, and future, have been forgiven for the penalty of sin, but we still have to suffer the consequences of that sin.
Chambers asks, "Have I ever come to a place in my experience where I can say -- 'I indeed ---- but He?' ... I indeed am at an end. I cannot do a thing: but He begins just there -- He does the thing no one else can ever do....When He comes, am I prepared for Him to drag into the light every wrong thing I have done? It is just there that He comes. Wherever I know that I am unclean, He will put His feet: Wherever I first think I am clean, He will withdraw them. Repentance doesn't bring a sense of sin, but a sense of unutterable unworthiness. When I repent, I realize that I am utterly helpless. I know all through me that I am not worthy even to bear His shoes. Have I repented like that? Or is there a lingering suggestion of standing up for myself? The reason God cannot come into my life [to clean it up] is because I am not through into repentance."
So, when we are like Israel -- when we continue to return to the same sin over and over, what does God think of us? I know that for Christians, when He looks at us, He is supposed to see Jesus, and He never had to repent. I think it's that unutterable unworthiness that is the key. Until we get to that point, we haven't truly repented. And if we try to instead stand on our own two feet before God, rather than saying, "I indeed am at an end. I cannot do a thing," then He has every right to not place His feet there in our lives at that moment. Like He did Israel, He can exile us from His presence, until we discover how far we've gone away from Him. Only then, when we feel that unutterable unworthiness will we be able to feel His cleansing upon us.
Father, I know I've struggled with pet sins, and I don't even like to call them that, because it makes them sound cute. Maybe besetting sins would be better. I'm so thankful that, only through Your strength I am able to experience victory, for I don't want to stand on my own merits. I just wish that it didn't take getting back to that unutterable unworthiness sometimes to find my way back. The good thing it does is to clarify for me that You are the high and holy God, and I am but a sinner in need of Your grace. That is certainly what I need to know and understand.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
My sidebar, from Oswald Chambers' My Utmost For His Highest, spoke to that in our own lives. We have the assurance that in Jesus, all our sins -- past, present, and future, have been forgiven for the penalty of sin, but we still have to suffer the consequences of that sin.
Chambers asks, "Have I ever come to a place in my experience where I can say -- 'I indeed ---- but He?' ... I indeed am at an end. I cannot do a thing: but He begins just there -- He does the thing no one else can ever do....When He comes, am I prepared for Him to drag into the light every wrong thing I have done? It is just there that He comes. Wherever I know that I am unclean, He will put His feet: Wherever I first think I am clean, He will withdraw them. Repentance doesn't bring a sense of sin, but a sense of unutterable unworthiness. When I repent, I realize that I am utterly helpless. I know all through me that I am not worthy even to bear His shoes. Have I repented like that? Or is there a lingering suggestion of standing up for myself? The reason God cannot come into my life [to clean it up] is because I am not through into repentance."
So, when we are like Israel -- when we continue to return to the same sin over and over, what does God think of us? I know that for Christians, when He looks at us, He is supposed to see Jesus, and He never had to repent. I think it's that unutterable unworthiness that is the key. Until we get to that point, we haven't truly repented. And if we try to instead stand on our own two feet before God, rather than saying, "I indeed am at an end. I cannot do a thing," then He has every right to not place His feet there in our lives at that moment. Like He did Israel, He can exile us from His presence, until we discover how far we've gone away from Him. Only then, when we feel that unutterable unworthiness will we be able to feel His cleansing upon us.
Father, I know I've struggled with pet sins, and I don't even like to call them that, because it makes them sound cute. Maybe besetting sins would be better. I'm so thankful that, only through Your strength I am able to experience victory, for I don't want to stand on my own merits. I just wish that it didn't take getting back to that unutterable unworthiness sometimes to find my way back. The good thing it does is to clarify for me that You are the high and holy God, and I am but a sinner in need of Your grace. That is certainly what I need to know and understand.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Proverbs 12 & 13 Wow! God shows His Heart
He knows every thought I have
There are some great truths and some scary truths in these chapters. A great one: "Lord, when I bring my case to You, You are always right." If we can't honestly say that we believe that, then our picture of God is too small. No matter how we feel about a matter, God is always right in what He has decided about it. If we disagree, we are wrong. Period.
And a scary thought: "But You know my heart, Lord. You see me and test my thoughts about You." I may have to get that one framed and put in my study, for it is two-sided and serves to both draw me closer to Him and to humble me. For I do have good thoughts about God -- about how sovereign He is and how right He is regardless of what I may think. He is ever-loving and wants His absolute best for me. And He wants to use my life to glorify Himself. But He also knows all my thoughts .... even the ones that don't glorify Him -- the ones that are hateful, lustful, selfish, uncaring, and prideful. And He sees everything I do and hears everything I say. When I'm impatient with someone, when I am tempted to let my thoughts roam where they shouldn't go, when I feel so used up by others that I want to pull back and do only for myself, when I want to give up on someone or not take the time to nourish a relationship that You established for Your purposes, or when I care more about my glory than Yours.
What's the effect of letting that continue and grow in my life? With Israel, You said, "I have left Israel; I have left MY PEOPLE. I have given the people I love over to their enemies.
Even after hearts are almost hardened, You continue to try to restore: "These evil people refuse to listen to My warnings. They stubbornly do only what they want to do."
In Your tough love for us when we move away from You, You shut off Your spiritual illumination to help us realize just what we are doing to ourselves. Then, when we are at the end of our rope, and we dare to ask, "Why has this happened to me?", Your word is there and replies, "It happened because of Your many sins," for I must remember that first truth -- You are always right.
Amazingly, even our sinfulness is worked into what God is doing. "This is your part in My plans. Because you forgot me..." How sovereign is that!
And back to that second, scary thought, Your question at the end of chapter 13 haunts us: "How long will you continue being unclean?"
Father, thanks for knowing me so well -- better than 20 accountability partners combined. In a way, it's comforting to know that there is nothing I could hide from You, because I really am spared the worry of what You'll do if You find out about it. You know my strengths and my weaknesses, and in fact You know me better than I know myself. When I'm blindly headed into temptation, already You are setting up interventions to protect me, if I will only listen. Thank You for loving the unlovable, Father, for caring for a spiritual orphan and adopting him into Your family, and for unconditionally loving me enough to correct me when I stray.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
And a scary thought: "But You know my heart, Lord. You see me and test my thoughts about You." I may have to get that one framed and put in my study, for it is two-sided and serves to both draw me closer to Him and to humble me. For I do have good thoughts about God -- about how sovereign He is and how right He is regardless of what I may think. He is ever-loving and wants His absolute best for me. And He wants to use my life to glorify Himself. But He also knows all my thoughts .... even the ones that don't glorify Him -- the ones that are hateful, lustful, selfish, uncaring, and prideful. And He sees everything I do and hears everything I say. When I'm impatient with someone, when I am tempted to let my thoughts roam where they shouldn't go, when I feel so used up by others that I want to pull back and do only for myself, when I want to give up on someone or not take the time to nourish a relationship that You established for Your purposes, or when I care more about my glory than Yours.
What's the effect of letting that continue and grow in my life? With Israel, You said, "I have left Israel; I have left MY PEOPLE. I have given the people I love over to their enemies.
Even after hearts are almost hardened, You continue to try to restore: "These evil people refuse to listen to My warnings. They stubbornly do only what they want to do."
In Your tough love for us when we move away from You, You shut off Your spiritual illumination to help us realize just what we are doing to ourselves. Then, when we are at the end of our rope, and we dare to ask, "Why has this happened to me?", Your word is there and replies, "It happened because of Your many sins," for I must remember that first truth -- You are always right.
Amazingly, even our sinfulness is worked into what God is doing. "This is your part in My plans. Because you forgot me..." How sovereign is that!
And back to that second, scary thought, Your question at the end of chapter 13 haunts us: "How long will you continue being unclean?"
Father, thanks for knowing me so well -- better than 20 accountability partners combined. In a way, it's comforting to know that there is nothing I could hide from You, because I really am spared the worry of what You'll do if You find out about it. You know my strengths and my weaknesses, and in fact You know me better than I know myself. When I'm blindly headed into temptation, already You are setting up interventions to protect me, if I will only listen. Thank You for loving the unlovable, Father, for caring for a spiritual orphan and adopting him into Your family, and for unconditionally loving me enough to correct me when I stray.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Jeremiah 14 & 15 National, regional, or local repentance on a wide scale
We can't repent for others
Jeremiah tried to confess for the people and for his nation. He said, "We know that we suffer because of our sins. Lord, do something to help us for the good of Your name. We have left You many times; we have sinned against You .... Lord, we admit that we are wicked and that our ancestors did evil things. We have sinned against You. For Your sake, do not hate us. Do not take away the honor from Your glorious throne."
But as wonderful as it is for him to pray for his nation, like that, 1) He's the only one admitting it. That's not coming from the people. They sill continue in their sin. Yes, the fervent prayer of a righteous man does availeth much, but God is not calling for one person to recognize the nation's sin. He's calling for the nation to do it. 2) He's now told him four times not to pray for them!
I think it's just like when we are in need of rain from heaven. We remember what God's word says over and over about how sin causes Him to withhold rain. Then the 20% at most of the population of Hamlin might pray for rain in their churches and at home, but the fact remains that 80% are not even acknowledging God, much less praying for rain.
Wholehearted national, regional, or even local repentance is what God calls for. That 80% is what He desires to move to repentance. Here in these chapters, it was nearer to 100% who needed to do that. What will it take to wake up that other 80%, for them to acknowledge God and their sins against Him? Hopefully nothing as severe as what the people of Judah were facing here.
The 20% would have a hard time moving or persuading the 80%. Jeremiah knew what it would take: "No, it is You, Lord our God. You are our only hope, because You are the one who made all things."
Father, please soften the hardened hearts of those living here. Cause them to seek after You. Help them to understand that they do sin, as I do, but that they also must recognize their sin and call it what it is and ask for forgiveness as they change their hearts and lives. I know that I can't repent for anyone else. It's something only they can do. But I can intercede for them. Change our city, Father. Change our schools. No, it is You, Lord our God. You are our only hope.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
But as wonderful as it is for him to pray for his nation, like that, 1) He's the only one admitting it. That's not coming from the people. They sill continue in their sin. Yes, the fervent prayer of a righteous man does availeth much, but God is not calling for one person to recognize the nation's sin. He's calling for the nation to do it. 2) He's now told him four times not to pray for them!
I think it's just like when we are in need of rain from heaven. We remember what God's word says over and over about how sin causes Him to withhold rain. Then the 20% at most of the population of Hamlin might pray for rain in their churches and at home, but the fact remains that 80% are not even acknowledging God, much less praying for rain.
Wholehearted national, regional, or even local repentance is what God calls for. That 80% is what He desires to move to repentance. Here in these chapters, it was nearer to 100% who needed to do that. What will it take to wake up that other 80%, for them to acknowledge God and their sins against Him? Hopefully nothing as severe as what the people of Judah were facing here.
The 20% would have a hard time moving or persuading the 80%. Jeremiah knew what it would take: "No, it is You, Lord our God. You are our only hope, because You are the one who made all things."
Father, please soften the hardened hearts of those living here. Cause them to seek after You. Help them to understand that they do sin, as I do, but that they also must recognize their sin and call it what it is and ask for forgiveness as they change their hearts and lives. I know that I can't repent for anyone else. It's something only they can do. But I can intercede for them. Change our city, Father. Change our schools. No, it is You, Lord our God. You are our only hope.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
No comments:
Post a Comment