JEREMIAH 14:1 - 16:15
THE KING IS DEAD: King Josiah is dead, and now Jeremiah's troubles have really started! Josiah's first son was deposed by Egypt, and now evil brother Jehoikim is in charge. Jeremiah was not allowed to pray for Judah because prayer delays judgment. And now, just like the nation drinking from "broken cisterns" instead of satisfying their thirst with the Lord, everything has dried up and there is drought in the land. When he finally prays, (14:19-22) he eloquently pleaded with God: if You won't save us for our own sake, then save us for Your sake! When someone strikes one of us, God takes it personally. Why not now? When Jeremiah finds out that God won't budge in His judgment, he prayed for himself.
WHEN MY FAITH IS WEAK BECAUSE OF PROLONGED OPPOSITION: When God doesn't answer prayer with what we want, it feels like He doesn't even hear us. Will He prove false? Am I believing a myth? (15:19-21) God's tender answer: "YOU repent and I will restore you." Everything around you will collapse, but GOD won't. He will prove sufficient and stable and strong. God is reliable. BUT.... you have to separate "the precious from the vile". You dig out what is precious and meditate on that, and just leave the MAD, SAD OR BAD thoughts where they lay. AND STICK TO YOUR CALLING. God's promises concerning you are still in effect.
FORBIDDEN: The ban on marriage could be one of two things: (1) God was sparing him greater pain because of the threats of war, famine, disease, and his family members would suffer. (2) His marital state illustrates Judah, God's "virgin daughter" with no hope of marrying God. He was also forbidden to mourn the loss of Judah or to feast with them either. He had only God now. He wasn't to encumber himself with anything or anyone. It is all ripe for judgment.
RESPONSE: When I feel persecuted or victimized, I know my husband will always hold me and speak softly to me. I can run to him for comfort and encouragement. Jeremiah didn't have kind words, soft touches, and a place to "let down". It was God or nothing. He had to pursue his calling with an all-or-nothing attitude. It must have felt like pressing to the goal with the whole opposing football team hanging from your ankles!
1 THESSALONIANS 2:10 - 3:13
(2:10) Consistency. What we say is how we live. We don't just "believe" the Gospel, but are committed to obedience. Because we are consistent (we "walk the walk, and don't just talk the talk"), people know what to expect from us and can trust us. We can be counted on to do or say the right thing.
(2:11-12) Encouraging, comforting, urging. A good parent never gives up on his children. God has called us to "His kingdom and glory". We need to be people who will urge everyone forward in that calling. Whatever it takes, we will sacrifice to help them. What is that "worthy walk" ? It is a life that appropriately manifests what God is doing on the inside in producing "His kingdom and glory" in us. So we are positive, as opposed to negative, people - letting others know that they can do this!
(2:13) Submission to the Word of God. This means that we don't just read it, but we think about it, we think about the implications, we think about how it will manifest in our lives. Because it is, indeed, the Word of God, then it is the final authority. It is our "bottom line". When the Bible says that it "works" in us who "believe", it means that the Word of God is able to manifest itself in our lives because it has power and the ability to achieve results. We don't apply the Word of God like paint on the outside. We put it in us, and it changes us to reflect what we are reading! (Like a "funky" mirror - James 1:22-25).
(2:14-16) Endurance. The transforming power of the Gospel manifests itself under pressure and persecution. This is when our faith really has an impact. This persecution and pressure was a real threat; and notice where it came from! It doesn't come from out-and-out heathens, but from so-called "good" people, religious leaders, the defenders of the status quo, in this case, the Jews. (Here we have the Word of God telling us that they "killed the Lord Jesus, their own prophets, and persecuted Paul, pleased not God, opposed the Gospel, forbid preaching to the Gentiles, fill up the measure of their sins." And as we know from history, the Jews finally managed to martyr all the original 12 apostles except for two: Judas and John.) But these circumstances did not change the message, or stop the preaching of the Gospel! We must hold to our faith in God and endure no matter that the world throws at us. God was about to destroy His enemies, Jerusalem, and the Temple. He would no longer inhabit a city or a building, but His dwelling-place would be with His elect: those by faith in Jesus Christ. But in order to impact others for Jesus that they would be saved, our lives must manifest "God in us". We can be unshakeable in crisis because God is in us.
(2:17-3:10) The heart of God. Paul called these people his "glory and joy". They were important to him and dear to his heart. He was "torn away from" them - reluctant to leave them behind. The "heart of God" is a "fatherly or motherly" heart. To have this kind of concern for people, will bring us into conflict with Satan and bring "tribulations". Life gets difficult. When we see people struggling like that, we must "strengthen, comfort and encourage" when at all possible. That's the heart of God. The greatest accomplishments of our lives will be the people that we have influenced for the Kingdom of God. Our greatest joy and "comfort" is in seeing others stand in their faith.
(3:11-13) Prayer: The most powerful way to use our influence is with prayer - is that too obvious? It should be to us, but most of the time we forget or just don't take the time. But look how prayer works: first of all, we want the will of God and so we submit ourselves to His plan and schedule, asking God what He wants. There are things we really desire, but our "bottom line" is to desire the will of God. Then second we must pray that our love would increase. Our love should overflow from our Infinite Source inside. We want to grow in our ability to love others. Third, pray for hearts to be "stablished .. .unblameable". That we would have higher standards than those who don't love God. That we would have no regrets because of what we "could have" or "should have" done because of the love of God.
RESPONSE: Paul can sure pack a lot into a few short verses! I must admit that I usually just read right over stuff without really seeing it. That's not how we should read a personal letter like this one. Paul congratulated them on the fact that they got saved and didn't revert back to their heathen behavior when he left and the pressure began. They pressed on to know God and were growing, even under terrible opposition. Their actions were heroic. They were making a reputation for themselves and were impacting the whole world! When Paul was there, he was accused
of "turning the world upside down" (Acts 17:6) and now it seems that the Thessalonians were carrying on his tradition!!! Which leads me to this question: Are we turning anyone's world upside down? If our influence isn't strong enough to get a reaction, maybe we need to look at how to make an impact: consistency, being a person who encourages, comforts and urges forward, being submitted to the Word of God, endurance in crises, having God's heart for people, and praying. PSALM 80:1-19
"TURN US": Cause us to repent, to turn away from our substitutes and turn toward God. Unless God draws us to Himself, we will be castaways. "Cause Thy face to shine" means for God to have mercy on us and act to bring us to Himself. We are obstinate and will self-destruct if God doesn't intervene. So we ask Him to "visit us" to restore life and purpose to us. And in turn, (v.18-19) we will be obedient and never allow our circumstances to drive us from God again.
PROVERBS 25:1-5
THE HEART OF A KING: The glory of God consists of making a mystery of things; and the king's glory is to figure them out. The king's heart is impossible to predict - and he can change his mind without preamble. (So don't flatter yourself if the king favors you today.) Wicked men are the dross and scum of any nation. Reform the court and you reform the nation.
RESPONSE: "Our enemies laugh among themselves." When we behave shamefully, our enemies mock us. Being vulnerable to that kind of attack is pure misery. It can even get physical, as noted in v. 12-13. God didn't save us, only to let us languish in failure. And so, we promise to "be good", if He will just bring us back to Himself again. Until we learn that we truly can't help ourselves, try harder, fight longer, or whatever we think will help - - - until we learn those things, we are destined to fail. It is only in KNOWING GOD and believing what He has said, that we can find our way out of our mess. If we think it doesn't take all that, then we are naive about our true condition. WE NEED GOD. And we must re-orient our lives around Him at the center - forming new habits of sanctification - meditating on the Word, giving thanks to God IN EVERYTHING, rejoicing because God is in control, serving wherever the Spirit takes us. This is the formula for being happy.
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