[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (JAC), a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]
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“Then
the LORD said to me, ‘The prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. I have
neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying
to you a false vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own
minds.’”
Jeremiah
14:14. That's not hard to remember! It's about false prophets, false teachers.
There have been such people always, and continue to thrive. They proclaim what
people want to hear. Or they proclaim what will tickle people's ears. Let's be
discerning!
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“Then
the LORD said to me, ‘Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My
heart would not be with this people; send them away from My presence and let
them go!’”
What
a ministry Jeremiah was called to be in! Even God himself was dismayed with His
people, yet Jeremiah was called to preach to them! No fruits, no converts, no
repentance in his hearers. What a misery it had been to this man of God!
Definitely,
I don't want such a life. I want to see a lot of fruits in my ministry,
converts, and transformed lives. Yet
Jeremiah was called to such a life of barrenness; the people were so stubborn.
In fact, God, even told him not to pray for them. And Jeremiah was weeping for
His people. While most people will shake off the dust from their boots and
flee!
BTW,
what a God we have! The chapter ended with words of hope, repentance, and
restoration, v19-21. If there's occupation, job, service, work, that never
fails, that will surely yield fruit, it's the ministry of the Gospel. We may
not see the fruits with our eyes, or even in our lifetime, but God produces the
fruits in a due time, and heaven records and rewards for that!
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"You
shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this
place."
Is
it good for a man to be alone? Hmm! Jeremiah was told to be alone. As we see in
v4, it was because God was about to bring diseases upon the land. 'Twas mercy
of God to stop him from getting married.
Sometimes
we look at others and covet what they have— anything. And we wonder why the
Lord would withhold from us. They are sinners like us. In fact, they are a worse
sinner because they haven't even believed in Jesus. Yet they have cars,
apartments, are millionaires, have a brain that clears any exams. Maybe God is
withholding us from something we don't know.
Somebody
studied about those who won a big lottery and concluded that they became poorer
than before they started. Recently in the news, we have heard about the guy who
won 5 Crore rupees from Kaun Banega Crorepati 5 edition, Sushil Kumar, now
bankrupt!
We
never know even what's good for ourselves, but we know we can trust God, and
God works everything good for us (Romans 8:28)
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"The
sin of Judah is written down with an iron stylus; With a diamond point it is
engraved upon the tablet of their heart And on the horns of their altars."
Their
sins are not written by pencil to be removed easily by an eraser. Not even by
an ink pen on paper. It's an iron pen with a diamond point, the hardest thing.
It's a thing of permanence! And written on the heart. Not on paper or stone
that you can throw away easily.
God
wrote with His finger on the tablet of stone. God will write them in their
heart again. Yet, God still removed sins, blotted them away! We cannot remove
our own sins nor of the sins of others.
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“Then
the word of the LORD came to me saying, ‘Can I not, O house of Israel, deal
with you as this potter does?’ declares the LORD. ‘Behold, like the clay in the
potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.’”
Why
are most Christians of our times not influential, powerful, and lively? (Few
are BTW, cheers). I would contend that it's because we have a high view of man
and a low view of God. This passage says how small we are and how big God is.
He is the Potter, and we are the clay. A potter does anything he likes with the
clay.
We
even sing that song, "Have Thine Own Way, Lord!" But we never lived
like that! We want our way. We demand our way. We protest for our way. We even
try to boycott God. We grumble and complain. We show with our attitude, facial
expressions, words, actions. Definitely, we look like a dog's tail that refuses
to be straight.
God
is the Potter. This fact will never change.
Whether we like it, hate it, protest it, submit to it, love it, He will
always be the Potter. But, He is the
Good Potter. He does everything in love. And especially for believers, every
twist and turn, every mixing and molding, every wetting and drying, every
soaking and sunshine, everything is working out for our own good! (Romans 8:38)
What a comfort!!!
Who
would we want to have as our Potter than this God???!!!
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"I
will make them eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters,
and they will eat one another's flesh in the siege and in the distress with
which their enemies and those who seek their life will distress them."
Many
preachers want to be known as intellectuals. They want to be accepted by the
world. They try to make God more loving, more caring, more nice, and look nicer
than what's written in the Bible. But can they? Can they improve God? They are
doing, like, as Derek Thomas quips, trying to improve the painting of the Mona
Lisa by keeping a mustache. π they did modify it but didn't improve it, rather
horrible it has become.
For
example, Jewish Rabbi, Kushner said that God is good but he isn't that powerful
to prevent bad things happening to people. Plain stupidity that is! That's
heresy! Consider Jeremiah 19:9. Is eating your own baby good? Unthinkable! But
who let this happen. God! Why? That's another topic to think through. But in
short, because of disobedience. It's a punishment. They shall be invaded,
looted, will have nothing to eat, will starve, and will eat their weak children
to survive.
Even
this coronavirus, nobody wants to say that God sends this to teach us to depend
on Him. But people love to be pantheists,
talking about how we have wrong against nature, and how nature is claiming its
right. Instead of blessing (speaking well of) God, they did bless (speaking well
of) nature. But the Bible tells us to bless (speak well) the Lord God! God's in
control. Actually, He was the one who cursed the ground in Eden Garden. And so,
the implication is that God is the solution. Call upon Him, and He will answer!
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"But
if I say, "I will not remember Him Or speak anymore in His name,"
Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am
weary of holding it in, And I cannot endure it."
Every
faithful pastor knows what Jeremiah is saying. It's the word of God, the burden
that God laid upon a pastor's heart, the love of God that compels him to wake
up and proclaim His words again and again!
Apostle
Paul said, "Woe is me if I don't preach the gospel."