August 16 - Jeremiah 32-34

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Jeremiah 32-34. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan. 

How do you feel when you are able to do something nice for someone else? I would imagine, unless you have ice in your veins, that you feel pretty good. Maybe that good feeling comes after cleaning the leaves for an elderly neighbor in the fall. Maybe that good feeling comes when volunteering at the food pantry in your community. Maybe that good feeling comes when you serve with others at a place like Matthew 25 Ministries in Cincinnati. Maybe that good feeling comes when you get your loved ones that specific gift they have desired. It thrilled me last Christmas to watch Crystal open her Kitchen Aid mixer when she thought it was completely out of the budget! Doing good, making someone’s day, often leaves us with a happy feeling.

This is because we have been created in the image of God. What makes us happy is what makes Him happy. God reminded us today in our reading blessing us makes Him happy. God says … “I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me. I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land.” (Jeremiah 32:40-41 NLT) God wanted to do good for Israel. In doing good He confessed it would bring them joy.

However, His blessings were based on a covenant that God created with them. It is important to not that a covenant is not a contract. A covenant is much more than a contract. A contract says if one of the parties does not keep up their end of the deal then both can easily walk away. But a covenant while creating an agreement is much more binding. A covenant does not look out for your own interest, but for others. A covenant requires unconditional promises to be made. A covenant relationship is based on steadfast love. A covenant views the commitment as permanent. A covenant requires confrontation and forgiveness when wrongs are committed. A covenant requires the exact opposite commitment of a contract.

I am thankful for God’s covenant with us. I am thankful, that if I keep my end of the covenant, I do not have to suffer the confrontation that is necessary. I am thankful that blessing me in whatever God chooses is what makes Him happy. 

August 15 - Jeremiah 30-31

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Jeremiah 30-31. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan. 

Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art

In our chronological study of the Bible we are just now experiencing the crushing blow Babylon is bringing against Jerusalem. Throughout God has told Judah through prophets that His judgment would be harsh and some would be taken away from the homeland. This promise is exactly what we experienced two days ago. We also learned yesterday that God was going to yoke up with us in a partnership and what a blessing that is. Today God gives us hope again, and this hope is comforting.

                                                

In Jeremiah 31:10-11 God says this … “Listen to this message from the LORD, you nations of the world; proclaim it in distant coastlands: the LORD, who scattered his people, will gather them and watch over them as a shepherd does his flock. For the LORD has redeemed Israel from those too strong for them.” (NLT) Now this is talking about God’s care for Israel. But remember, as a Christian you have been redeemed by God. Your sins have been paid for. Christ has become your ransom. He now stands before God as our mediator. And as Israel was redeemed and protected as a shepherd protects his flock, we the redeemed can find comfort in our great shepherd.  

We have talked about love and grace a lot. I do that because I think grace is something hard for us to grasp. We struggle to forget where others have wronged us, even if we have forgiven them. God forgets our transgression because of Christ. We struggle to understand how God could forgive us because we know all the wrongs we have committed. Grace is hard to fathom. While we might understand it on a cognitive level, we struggle to get it on a heart level. Because grace is so powerful and freeing, we will continue to explore it as the chance presents itself. 

August 14 - Jeremiah 26-29

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Jeremiah 26-29. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan. 

Photo Credit: Jeanette's Ozpix

Ok, so you have to admit the imagery of Jeremiah is pretty awesome. Jeremiah is like a modern day preacher, pulling out all sort of props and doing cool visual illustrations. I have tried a few of these myself; pulling rocks out of bag to represent the burdens we carry, having people place stones with sins on them before a cross, lighting felt on fire, and a few other little gimmicks. However, I have never gone to the extremes that Jeremiah went to. I did not live my life with an ox’s yoke around my neck. Could you just imagine the Hollywood cartoonary that would illustrate this story? Jeremiah trudging around Jerusalem, slouched over, sweat is glistening across his brow, as he carried this yoke on his shoulders?

Then could you imagine the epic scene in the Temple where Hananiah (This must be a different Hananiah than was taken into captivity with Daniel) pronounces God’s deliverance from the oppression of Babylon? Could you imagine how Hananiah would have gone about destroying the yoke around Jeremiah’s neck? I think this sort of imagery is what I love about the Bible.

The Bible is the greatest romance novel ever written. It tells an awesome story of how God has relentlessly perused a relationship with you and me. But it is also an action adventure story. How many battle scenes have we seen play out through the words on the pages? In the midst of that it is also a drama. Today’s story highlights that aspect of it as well.

On a side note, have you put a yoke around your neck that you are trudging through life with? Is it weighing you down? Is it holding you back? Do you need to let go? Here’s the cool thing, while it was not time for God to remove the yoke of oppression of the Babylonians, in Jesus, God wants to remove any yoke you may be carrying now. Really he may not completely remove it, but he will join with you and help you carry your yoke. That is what a yoke was designed for. It lightened the load, spread it out over two animals or more, to help pull whatever it was they were pulling. Here is an awesome promise from Jesus … “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV)

August 13 – Jeremiah 23-25

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Jeremiah 23-25. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan. 

Photo Credit: Dexell1827

While extremely grateful, I realized today I have always somewhere felt bad for the pilgrims. I am grateful that they came and settled here in the new world. But when we hear the stories of how hard life was for them especially during the first few winters, my heart breaks for them. And the genesis of it all was to escape religious persecution; all so they could worship God the way they believed they should. After today’s readings, I am beginning to wonder if I should feel so bad for them. Let me explain.

In our reading today we find a discussion between God and Jeremiah. God is telling Jeremiah what He is going to do to the faithful in Judah and Jerusalem. He does so through a picture of good and rotten figs. Here is what God said of the good figs … “The good figs represent the exiles I sent from Judah to the land of the Babylonians. I will watch over and care for them, and I will bring them back here again. I will build them up and not tear them down. I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them hearts that recognize me as the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.” (Jeremiah 24:5-7 NLT) God basically said he was taking His people, the good people, those who loved Him and was moving them out to protect them.

The amazing thing to me was he was moving them to a pagan land where they could truly worship God as they choose. We know some of these as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah from Daniel 1. These men glorified God in amazing ways as we see with the fiery furnace and Daniel in the den of lions. The words God spoke to and through Jeremiah He fulfilled in those stories, plus many more.

Should we feel bad for Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah? No! They were under the care of God in the land of Babylon. The good figs were protected and cared for. The bad figs, those that remained in Jerusalem, they are the ones our hearts should break for. They were the ones to feel the wrath of God. What about in your own life? Do you have people whom God would consider a bad fruit, simply because they have not accepted a life changing relationship with Jesus? Does your heart break for them?

Maybe I am simply finding perspective. No longer will my heart break for the pilgrims. Maybe their trails here were God using them to do something new and bigger in His grand scheme. God sending the faithful off to Babylon was His protection. Where my heart should break is for people who do not love and know God. 

August 11 – Jeremiah 18-22

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Jeremiah 18-22. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art

I am often amazed with stories of Christians willing to stand against culture and even laws to preach and teach about Jesus. We are astounded by men like C.Y. Kim who has gone to prison over and over again for preaching Jesus in his native Southeast Asia. We honor men like Jim Elliot who gave his life to reach tribal people of Ecuador. We marvel at men like Dr. Livingston who gave his whole life to share Jesus with people in remote corners of Africa. We are able to feel this way because we can comfortably watch from the sidelines in our safe American churches.

Jeremiah faced his own form of persecution. He preached the message God gave him. God sent Jeremiah out with an object lesson where he broke a pot indicating what God would do to Judah, especially Jerusalem. He spoke words outside the Temple of God, and when the priest in charge of the Temple heard Jeremiah speak, he arrested him. Now Jeremiah only spent one night in jail, but he was still arrested for speaking the message that God had given him. Trouble for Jeremiah is only beginning.

Let me ask you, are you willing to possibly become more uncomfortable for Jesus? We admire people around the globe who stand up for Christ. But what if your faith, what if you relationship with Jesus called for you to do the same? The more I watch our world, the more I am convinced that I may just see some sort of real persecution for my faith in Christ. The struggle I have in my own mind is the question of whether I will be strong enough and willing to sacrifice for my God and savior. I used to say I hope that day would never come, but as time goes on I am beginning to prepare and accept that it will come. Maybe for me that is a good indication that I would be willing to stand up for God. Where are you at in your own heart? 

August 9 – Jeremiah 7-9

Below are my thoughts from the daily Bible reading of the West Side Church of Christ. Today’s reading comes from Jeremiah 7-9. Before reading I invite you to pray and asked God to speak to you as you read his word. Also above in the tabs is a link to the Bible reading plan.

Photo Credit: Microsoft Clip Art

One of the things I absolutely about the Bible are the clear points it makes. There are times that the Bible can be confusing, but those typically are on things that are not life or death. The Bible is very clear that sin separates us from God and that God loves us so much Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins. Today in our reading we found some very clear and common sense questions from God given through Jeremiah. “When people fall down, don’t they get up again? When they discover they’re on the wrong road, don’t they turn back? Then why do these people stay on their self-destructive path? Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back?” (Jeremiah 8:4-5 NLT) This is common sense questions God is asking of His people. There is no confusion that can be found in these words.

So let me ask you the same questions. When you realize you are on the wrong road, why do you not turn back? When you realize that you have wronged someone, why do you not apologize? When you realize you have hurt someone why do you not make amends? When you realize you have not served enough, why do you not step up your game and serve more? When you realize you have let someone down, why do you not fix what you missed and then go even further? When you realized you have sinned against God, why do you not repent and confess before God your sins?

I think our world would be a little better if we did the harder thing and picked ourselves up after we fall, turning back from the destructive path we have found ourselves on.