Good morning to all on this Sunday morning. Waine and I are in Thomaston, Georgia and are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Big Mac and Brooks on Tuesday and then our trek to Orlando for the 3rd birthday of Kai!! Lots to look forward to this week!!! The heat wave continues in Georgia at times reaching triple digits; the Debt Ceiling debates also continue. You would think that the people elected and paid to make good decisions for the country could stop this childish behavior. Teenagers can balance their check books and their budgets. All these Federal folk cannot. Things that make you go --huh?!!!! Well I am going to pray for our country and pray that these leaders GROW UP, ask for forgiveness and then move on. Maybe they should read the book of Jeremiah!
I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah 8 verses 1-22, "At that time, declares the LORD, the bones of the kings and officials of Judah, the bones of the priests and prophets, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem will be removed from their graves. They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens, which they have loved and served and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped. They will not be gathered up or buried, but will be like dung lying on the ground. Wherever I banish them, all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life, declares the LORD Almighty. Say to them, ‘This is what the LORD says: When people fall down, do they not get up? When someone turns away, do they not return? Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return. I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. None of them repent of their wickedness, saying, “What have I done?” Each pursues their own course like a horse charging into battle. Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the LORD. How can you say, “We are wise, for we have the law of the LORD,” when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what kind of wisdom do they have? Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. Peace, peace, they say, when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when they are punished, says the LORD. I will take away their harvest, declares the LORD. There will be no grapes on the vine. There will be no figs on the tree, and their leaves will wither. What I have given them will be taken from them. Why are we sitting here? Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities and perish there! For the LORD our God has doomed us to perish and given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against him. We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of healing but there is only terror. The snorting of the enemy’s horses is heard from Dan; at the neighing of their stallions the whole land trembles. They have come to devour the land and everything in it, the city and all who live there. See, I will send venomous snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they will bite you, declares the LORD. You who are my Comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me. Listen to the cry of my people from a land far away: Is the LORD not in Zion? Is her King no longer there? Why have they aroused my anger with their images, with their worthless foreign idols? The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved? Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips Me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing or the wound of my people?" May the Lord add a rich blessing to the reading and hearing of his Word, amen and amen.
For nine (9) chapters now we have heard the Words of the Lord pleading with these dumb Israelites to turn away from their wicked ways of worshipping false gods and worship Him, the one and only true God. He is again admonishing these folk and letting them know that Death is a certainty and that these consequences extend beyond the grave. That these idols and false gods that they worship cannot protect them from death and the grave; they cannot protect them from the isolation that will be theirs in eternity because they will be separated from God dueto the choices they made while living. He pleads with them through Jeremiah to turn from their wickedness and be in communion with Him. He even tells them that their 'natural' instincts tell them to communion with Him much like birds know how to fly and gather to flee a storm and yet these chosen people continue to ignore their heritage and their obligation to worship the One, True and Living God.
Yes it is the obligation of the created to worship the Creator. That was why we were made. It is no accident that we are here. We were lovingly made to be in communion with God in the Garden. Sin has not only excluded us from the Garden but it has marred our vision of what our true purpose is. We would rather put our belief in people, morality, the moon and the stars as opposed to the Creator of all that is Good. How silly is that? People have a need to believe in something outside of themselves and yet cannot humble themselves to repent of their sins and then believe in the Greatest Something outside of themselves. That is the Balm of Gilead--Jesus the Christ who can heal the sin-sick soul, hallelujah!
This world is sick--it is all around us and yet Christians are not putting the soothing Balm of Gilead on the wounds of the sick around us. It is time for us to show a world desperate for solutions to their troubles and show them Jesus. Amy Weinhouse died yesterday. If she hadn't given her life to Christ before her death its too late for her to experience this peace in eternity. Her eternity started sometime yesterday. Everyone knew she was troubled; all the comments from celebrities wished her "peace" but truthfully there is still no peace for her if she died without repentence. Instead of glorifying drugs and wanton excess perhaps someone should have loved her enough to tell her the truth; that the worship of false idols neither gets you peace here on earth or peace in eternity.
It is not too late for others. Let us be the Balm of Gilead for this sin-sick world. Let us be the physicians to heal the wounds of the people so that God can be glorified and His purpose fulfilled. He wants more of us to be in the Garden with Him. Now may the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.
Stephanie
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