Jeremiah, Part 1

I have not had a post like this for a while. (The kind where I get serious and somewhat preachy.) But this is where I am at the moment and I thought I would type it out and share it with you. In fact, this will come in a few "parts" and at this point I don't know how many or how often. No matter what, I pray you are challenged to think and consider some self-application.

I recently decided to read through the book of Jeremiah. I started this probably two weeks ago and I am only through chapter six. This is not the type of "easy read" that some other books of the Bible can be, plus I want to sit and really think and be challenged by this book. So I am not sure how long it will take me to get through the entire book (there are 52 chapters).

In the first few chapters the LORD has come to Jeremiah and told him to proclaim His word, and these were not encouraging words either. Israel has at this point forsaken God. They are now worshipping the idols of other peoples.

Jeremiah 1:11-13 "But my people have exchanged their [my] Glory for worthless idols. Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror," declares the LORD. "My people have committed two sins: they have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water."

Jeremiah 1:19 "Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the LORD your God and have no awe of me." declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.

Jeremiah 2:27b "They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say. 'Come and save us!'"

That last verse really struck me as I considered how often I try to do life on my own and then when I face trouble (that I created) I call out to God and beg for His salvation and help.  I will admit, as I was reading the first few chapters and was seeing how Israel was being compared to a prostitute, I had a few moments of self-righteousness. "Well, I'm not that bad. I'm no prostitute!" But then I paused at this following verse...

Jeremiah 3:10b "...[she] did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense," declares the LORD.

That verse combined with 2:27b, really made me pause. How often do I turn my back toward God instead of my face and then when I come back to him for help do I only do it because it's "the right thing to do" rather than because my heart is desiring transformational change?

While reading through the LORD's frustration, anger and disappointment in the nation of Israel, there are moments of great love and hope. He still desires to have them change and come back to Him. He offers them salvation and cleansing. (4:14)

God's desire is that no one perish but that everyone come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Rather than allowing Israel to suffer and be in bondage (that will be mentioned in part 2), I believe He would have been overjoyed to have Israel realize their wickedness and repent. I also believe the same is true for us. He wants to see our faces rather than our backs and He wants us to come with our whole heart.

"Love God with ALL you heart and with ALL your soul and with ALL your mind." (Matthew 22:37, emphasis mine)

Pictures from the Easter season (a bit late)

On March 31, our church had it's annual Egg Hunt. Based on registrations we had about 900 children. That does not include all the adults that also attended. God is so good! The best part of the weekend for me was that our best friends surprised me and came out. They jumped right in and served and participated just like they knew what to do. It was a great time!

Here are a few pictures of the event:

 

Then of course we celebrated Easter Sunday. The boys were able to recycle and reuse clothes from previous years (and older brothers) so Emma is the only one we had to shop for this year. (The boys were happy not to have to go and try on clothes.) Emma however LOVED it. She chose 5-6 dresses to try on and then chose the one she liked the most. Though she still is telling me that she really liked another dress too.

Here they are looking sharp!