Good morning to all on this Sunday morning!! Waine and I are in Hawkinsville this weekend and the weather is beautiful. The highs are in the mid-80's with very little humidity so Waine has enjoyed lots of good golf. It has been a wonderful week in which God in His goodness continues to bless Waine and I. Our lesson for this week was to "let go" of the future and focus on today. What I have learned is that if I do the best I can today it literally sets me up for success tomorrow. I know for us "Baby-Boomers" this is a scary thought--What? No planning for our future success??--Truly as I learn the truth that tomorrow is not promised to us, I strive to make the best of today. As I practice this I am actually happier!
I am continuing my journey with Jeremiah 26 verses 1-15, "Early in the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the Lord: “This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s house and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the Lord. Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word. Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from their evil ways. Then I will relent and not inflict on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done. Say to them, This is what the Lord says: "If you do not listen to Me and follow My law, which I have set before you, and if you do not listen to the words of My servants the prophets, whom I have sent to you again and again (though you have not listened ), then I will make this house like Shiloh and this city a curse among all the nations of the earth." The priests, the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the Lord. But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the Lord had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and said, “You must die! Why do you prophesy in the Lord’s name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted?” And all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord. When the officials of Judah heard about these things, they went up from the royal palace to the house of the Lord and took their places at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and all the people, “This man should be sentenced to death because he has prophesied against this city. You have heard it with your own ears!” Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and all the people: “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the things you have heard. Now reform your ways and your actions and obey the Lord your God. Then the Lord will relent and not bring the disaster He has pronounced against you. As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right. Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing. Amen! May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.
What struck me when I read this passage was that Jeremiah didn't question God as to this assignment. Jeremiah had to know what kind of people he was dealing with. For 25 chapters we have learned of the disobedience to the Word and words of God these Jews exhibited. We have read about their idol worship; their exhortations in their own plans; their propensity to take matters into their own hands and their frank disobedience to the teachings of God as conveyed by Jeremiah. Now God sends Jeremiah into the temple to preach a gospel that predicts the fall of Jerusalem unless the Jews turn from idol worship and turn back to God. The significance of the city of Shiloh is that this was where the Ark of the Covenant was housed until it was taken by the Philistines. Shiloh means "place of peace" and is the city in which God housed His Tabernacle until the Jews there forsook God to worship idols. God then gave the Ark of the Covenant to the tribe of Judah and now He threatens to do the same to the temple at Jerusalem, should these Jews of the tribe of Judah continue in their disobedience to Him. These Jews are aware of the events of Shiloh as is Jeremiah. Jeremiah is also fully aware that voicing these words of prophesy may endanger him and cost him his life but obeys God anyway. Jeremiah is not concerned for his future because he KNOWS the One who holds not only his future but the future of all mankind as he knew it. He was INTIMATELY aware of the power of God over man and had learned to be obedient. Not so much out of fear but from love.
To know God to the point of OBEDIENCE is truly a blessing and the journey that I am on. To know Him so intimately that obedience is not a chore or a second thought. Obedience becomes like breathing; it is what I seek. When you become caught up in this type of obedience then the "winds and waves" of this life cannot buffet you. Its like Peter in the boat when he walked on water to be with Jesus. As Peter kept his eyes, and thus faith, riveted on Christ, Peter was invincible to the world. Peter walked on water. He defied the rules of nature and became "Christ like", until, until, until he took his eyes off Jesus.
The Price and Reward of Obedience is to be Christ like. To know Him and His Words will protect you and the world from the great DECEIVER! This is what our mission should be. Everything else is the "small stuff" that continue to distract us from the abundance that Christ offers us through a relationship with God through Him. There is a price to obedience; that price is death to yourself and your way of thinking and trusting in JUST the literal truth of the Bible. Today be child like as God commands and submit to His commandment that you love God with all your heart, soul and mind and that you love your neighbor as yourself. Give as Christ commands and love those who may not love God or you in return. Amen and hallelujah. Let go of the small stuff.
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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