Month: August 2019

In Jeremiah 26 the LORD tells Jeremiah to go to the Temple and prophesy to the people that He is going to destroy Jerusalem and all of Judah.  The purpose was that the people might repent, and the LORD would withdraw His promise of destruction.  When Jeremiah went to the Temple and prophesied as the LORD instructed, the priests and the people wanted to kill him.  The king and his counselors came to hear the prophesy and afterwards, he wanted to kill Jeremiah as well, but some of the elders reminded everyone that previous prophets had made such prophecies against Jerusalem and the previous kings did not kill them.  After a great deal of discussion and debate, which included one of those who sided with Jeremiah being hunted down in Egypt and brought back to be executed, Jeremiah’s life was spared.

In Jeremiah 27 Jeremiah tells King Zedekiah and the kings of the surrounding nations the LORD has given them into the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and they will all serve under his yoke.  Those who will not turn themselves in will die of pestilence, famine or by the sword.  Once again, the message is one of utter despair, yet within it in is the promise that several of the largest items from the Temple, which were not taken by Nebuchadnezzar when he carried off the rest of the items from the Temple treasury, which would be carried off soon, would one day be returned to the Temple in Jerusalem.  Despair is never complete, for the people of the LORD, and His mercy and grace are available to those who will turn and receive it.

In Jeremiah 28 the prophet Hananiah prophesied the opposite of what Jeremiah had prophesied.  He told the people that within two years the LORD would return all the items to the Temple which had been carried off to Babylon.  He also took the wooden yoke Jeremiah had used as an illustration and broke it.  Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah and He told Hananiah that he had broken a yoke of wood, but in its place would be a yoke of iron.  He also told Hananiah that for prophesying falsely he would die within the year.  Seven months later he died.

As we return to Matthew 3, we are introduced to John the Baptist.  John was a prophet who dressed and acted much like the prophet Elijah.  He baptized people in the Jordan River as a sign of their repentance and preparation for the coming of the Messiah.  John called the religious leaders who came a “brood of vipers.”  This kind of engagement with the religious leaders would become a common practice of Jesus during His ministry on the earth.  As John was baptizing folks, Jesus came to be baptized by him.  John protested that he needed to be baptized by Jesus, not the other way around.  But Jesus insisted it be done, so John baptized Him.  As Jesus came up out of the water, the sky opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus as a dove.  God the Father spoke from heaven, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.”  That empowerment and confirmation initiated Jesus earthly ministry.  As we seek to follow Jesus, we are called to be baptized as a response of obedience to Him, and to wait on and then live in the power of the Holy Spirit.

In Jeremiah 23 the LORD speaks against the evil shepherds who have led the people of Judah astray.  He tells them He will raise up new shepherds and a new king, a righteous king, who He calls a Righteous Branch.  This is most likely a prophesy of Jesus’ coming.  He goes on to condemn the false prophets at length.  He calls them adulterers, because they led the people away from the LORD, who is their true husband, to the false gods of the nations, and Baal especially.  The length of the condemnation of the false prophets shows us how great their sin was before the LORD.

In Jeremiah 24, the LORD shows Jeremiah a vision of two baskets of figs, one good, and one bad.  The bad figs were so bad no one could eat them.  The LORD explained to Jeremiah the basket of good figs represented the people of Judah who were carried off into exile by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.  He would look on them with favor, and would bring them back to the land eventually. The basket of bad figs represented King Zedekiah and those who were left behind in Judah.  Once again, the LORD says they will be destroyed by sword, famine, and pestilence.

In Jeremiah 25 Jeremiah tells us he has been prophesying against the people of Judah for 23 years, but that no one has listened.  As a result, the people will be carried off to Babylon for 70 years, and after 70 years they will return.  At that time, the LORD would destroy Babylon for her evil.  The remainder of the chapter tells of the LORD commanding the nations that Jeremiah had spoken against to drink the cup of His wrath, which would mean destruction for them.  The list of nations and cities that would be destroyed was long, because each had deserted the LORD or led His people astray.

As we return to Matthew 2, we read the record of Jesus’ birth.  Matthew’s record doesn’t include the actual moment of Jesus’ birth as Luke’s does.  Matthew tells us of the wise men or kings who came from the east to worship the new king of Israel.  They had been made aware of it because a new star had appeared and shown them the way to the land.  When they arrived in Jerusalem, they went to the king’s palace, which was an obvious place to look for the new king.  But Jesus wasn’t there.  The actual King, Herod, was confused and alarmed at the prospect of a new king.  He called in the priests to offer an explanation.  They told the wise men the Messiah or king would be born in Bethlehem.  They went and found Jesus and worshiped Him.  Afterwards, they returned home by another way, because the LORD warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.  When Herod realized he had been tricked, he sent soldiers to kill all the male children in the area who were two years old and younger.  This was based on the time of the natal star.  Jesus was no longer in Bethlehem when the soldiers arrived, because Joseph had been warned in a dream to go to Egypt to escape the attack.  They remained as refugees in Egypt until Herod died.  When they returned, and found that one of Herod’s sons was in power, they returned to Nazareth in Galilee.  Matthew points out this fulfilled another prophecy about the Messiah.  God’s hand of providence is seen throughout this account, although the slaughter of the innocents shows us while the LORD is in charge, He isn’t always in control, because of His willingness to let human beings act on our own wills and purpose.

Jeremiah 20 records one of the lowest times in Jeremiah’s life.  First, one of the priests, Pashhur, had Jeremiah beaten and put in stocks for his prophecies.  Passhur and the false prophets didn’t want to hear what Jeremiah had to say, but after he was released, Jeremiah prophesied directly against Passhur and told him he and his descendants would go down as exiles into Babylon.  There Passhur and all his descendants would die.  Then Jeremiah turned on the LORD.  He cried out telling the LORD He had deceived him.  The course of Jeremiah’s life was too much for him.  He didn’t want to prophesy against his own people, yet he could not stop for it was like a fire in his bones.  After telling the LORD he would have been better off if he had never been born, if his father had killed him while he was still in his mother’s womb, Jeremiah eventually comes around and praises the LORD and asks Him for vindication.

In Jeremiah 21 Jeremiah prophesies against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.  He tells them the LORD is going to stand against them, that the siege of the Babylonians will not be their worst concern: The LORD Himself stands against them.  The LORD tells the people they will die by pestilence, famine, and sword.  The only ones who will survive will be those who turn themselves over to the Babylonians.  They will be carried off into exile.  The end of the chapter reminds the people once again the LORD is doing this, because they have turned against Him.  It is not He who has turned against them.

In Jeremiah 22 the LORD tells the kings to practice justice as Josiah did, but then goes on to say that not one of Josiah’s “sons” (his descendants) will do as Josiah did.  They will not act justly.  They will not remember that it was well with him, because he acted justly.  Each of them will come either to an untimely end or to exile, because they continue to practice godlessness.  While all this took place, and while the message is utterly negative, it reminds us we are called to live in righteousness.  We have the power to do that through the Holy Spirit, so we must not follow the pattern of our culture and do whatever we please.  We must follow the LORD, and carry out His will in Jesus’ name.

As we return to the Gospel of Matthew for the third time, let’s continue to “hide” this word in our hearts (as we read in Psalm 119) that we might not sin against the LORD, and that we might live in victory over sin in Jesus’ name.  As you will recall, Matthew starts with the genealogy of Jesus.  Both Matthew and Luke start with genealogies.  Matthew’s begins with Abraham, who was the father of the Jews or Israelites.  That’s because Matthew wrote from a Jewish background.  Luke, being a Gentile, traced Jesus’ lineage all the way back to Adam, the first human being.  After the genealogy, Matthew tells us how the birth of Jesus came about.  He tells us after Mary and Joseph were betrothed, but before they “came together,” Mary was found to be “with child,” or pregnant.  That was cause for Mary to be stoned to death, because the reasonable assumption would have been that Mary had been sexually unfaithful.  Joseph considered divorcing her privately, rather than making it a public matter, but as he considered it, an angel of the LORD appeared to him in a dream and told Joseph the Holy Spirit was the “father.”  Joseph accepted the dream as the truth, and took Mary as his wife, but they didn’t consummate the marriage until after Jesus’ was born.  When we read this account, it might not hit us how incredible it is, because we have read it so many times before.  But this was a once in history occurrence: the Son of the living God was coming to earth, and He was doing it through the vehicle of being born as a human being!  As we let that sink in, we see how great God’s love was and is for us, that He would become one of us to satisfy His justice (through Jesus’ death on the cross), and offer us the opportunity to become His children!

Jeremiah 17 is divided in three parts. In part one, the LORD tells Judah she will be judged and judged severely.  He tells her He will never forget her punishment.  She will be sent among peoples she doesn’t know.  In part two, Jeremiah prays to the LORD for protection and deliverance, and in part three, the LORD tells the people He will restore them.  So, which is it?  Eternal separation from the LORD or restoration?  Yes.  It is what the people choose.  The LORD gives us the opportunity to trust Him and be saved, or to turn away from Him and be punished.  We start in sin, and we will remain that way unless we turn to the LORD and accept His grace and mercy.

In Jeremiah 18 the LORD sends Jeremiah to watch a potter.  As the potter creates a pot on the wheel, something happens and he reshapes it into something else.  The LORD compares Himself to that potter.  He notes He has the right to make a nation anything He wants.  He tells Jeremiah if He intends good for a nation, but it turns to evil, He will destroy it, but if He intends to destroy a nation and it returns to good, He will save it.  Jeremiah then cries out to the LORD, because the king and people of Judah are determined to destroy him.  Jeremiah asks the LORD how it is that he who has done good is to be repaid with evil, and he asks the LORD to protect Him.

In Jeremiah 19 the LORD tells Jeremiah to take a potter’s flask and take it before the leaders and people of Judah and Jerusalem and proclaim that as such a flask is broken and cannot be repaired, so will they be.  He tells them the valley will be called the valley of Slaughter, because the people will be slaughtered by their enemies, and during the time of siege they will eat one another and their children.  The picture is horrendous, and demonstrates the LORD’s judgment for the people’s turning away from Him to all the gods of the people of Canaan.  The LORD will not be second in our lives.  He will only accept first place.  That was true in Jeremiah’s day, and it is true today.  The main difference in our day, is the LORD doesn’t tend to use other nations to judge us.  He waits for the judgment day to judge us Himself.  We can certainly experience the judgment of our actions in this life, yet through Jesus, He has shown us His patience and love for us, which tempers His wrath and judgment.

As we return to John 21, the conclusion of John’s Gospel, we read of the poignant reinstatement of Peter by Jesus.  As Peter and a handful of other disciples have spent the night fishing, catching nothing, Jesus appears on the shore.  He calls out, “Children, have you caught any fish?”  When they tell Him they haven’t, Jesus tells them to throw the nets in the water on the other side of the boat.  Suddenly their nets are full!  John tells Peter, “It’s the LORD.”  Peter, recognizing the truth, puts on his clothes, jumps in the water and swims to shore.  Jesus already has breakfast cooking for the crew.  After breakfast, Jesus takes Peter aside and asks him three times whether he loves Him?  Each time Peter tells Jesus he does love Him.  The third time, Jesus asked, Peter was grieved.  We don’t know for certain, but it certainly seems as if the three questions relate to the three denials.  Jesus gave Peter the opportunity to affirm his love for Jesus once for each time he denied knowing Him.  When the episode nears an end, Jesus tells Peter he will die affirming His faith in Jesus as LORD.  Imagine the comfort that must have been to Peter, yet, being human Peter wanted to know what was going to happen to John.  Jesus didn’t tell Peter.  He said, “What is it to you if I want Him to stay until I return?  Follow me.” Jesus didn’t say John wouldn’t die.  He asked Peter, “What is that to you?  Peter’s only business, as our only business, is to put Jesus first.  As we do that, whatever happens to others will be cause for us to pray or to celebrate.  We pray when others have need, and we celebrate when others are blessed or praised.  That isn’t natural, but in the supernatural realm of Jesus’ family we help those in need, and we celebrate the victories of our brothers and sisters.

In Jeremiah 14 we read again of the LORD’s plan to judge and punish the people of Israel and Judah.  The LORD once again tells Jeremiah not to pray for them, because He will not answer the prayer.  We have a new group introduced in this chapter: the false prophets.  They tell the king and the people that no sword or famine will come to them.  The LORD tells Jeremiah the sword and famine will come to each of the false prophets, and the ones to whom they prophesy.  In any age, false prophets always seek to offer the positive future that is not going to come, or the doom and gloom that will not.  As the Scriptures teach so clearly, the way to know whether a prophet is false or true is whether what they say is going to happen does. If their prophecies don’t come true, then they are false prophets.

In Jeremiah 15 the LORD reiterates His coming punishment on Judah, and tells us it is because of the sin of King Manasseh.  Jeremiah complains to the LORD that he has done nothing wrong, but tells the people what the LORD has told him to say.  Yet, the people curse him and want to kill him.  The LORD promises no harm shall come to him, but He will protect him.

In Jeremiah 16 after more pronouncements of judgement, the LORD promises after the people are repaid double for their sins, He will bring them back.  He will restore them.  The last word with the LORD is always mercy.  Thankfully, the LORD’s rejection of His people is not permanent.

As we turn to John 20, we read about the most amazing miracle in history: Jesus’ resurrection!  Mary Magdalene was the first to go to the tomb and find it empty.  She didn’t realize the implication, that Jesus had risen, but ran back and told the apostles.  Peter and John ran to the tomb, and while John arrived first, it was Peter who entered the tomb first.  They saw the empty tomb, and the grave cloths that had been wrapped around Jesus, with the head cloth in a separate place.  That was enough for John.  He believed, but both went back to their hiding place.  Mary returned and saw two angels in the tomb.  They told her Jesus was alive.  Then Mary turned and there stood Jesus, but she didn’t recognize Him.  She thought Jesus was the gardener or grounds keeper, so she asked where he had placed the body.  Jesus spoke one word, “Mary,” and she recognized Jesus.  Jesus told her to go back and tell His brothers He was alive.  She did, but no one believed it.  Then that evening, Jesus appeared among them.  They were amazed.  We’re told He breathed on them and they received the Holy Spirit.  Thomas wasn’t at the meeting, so when the others told him about it, he didn’t believe them.  Then eight days later, Jesus appeared again, this time Thomas was there.  Although Thomas had said he would need to put his hands in the nail prints in Jesus’ hands, and feel the hole in His side to believe Jesus was alive, when he saw Jesus, he bowed in worship.  Jesus offered a powerful statement for all of us.  He said, “Thomas have you believed because you have seen?  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed.  That is us, or more properly “That is we.”  We haven’t seen Jesus, yet we believe.  John closes out the chapter by telling us Jesus did many more signs and wonders, but if they were all written down the world wouldn’t contain all the books.  Then he told us, “These were written that you might believe Jesus is the Christ or Messiah, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life in His name.  That is the key: Believing in Jesus!

In Jeremiah 11 the LORD brings up the history of Israel and Judah.  It isn’t a pretty picture, as He reminds them they have been disobedient ever since the days He delivered them from slavery in Egypt.  The history of God’s people is a history of broken promises, and going after other gods.  The LORD reminded them it had lasted right up to the current day.  Jeremiah interjects he is not going to intercede on their behalf, so we have a dark picture painted for the peoples’ future.  They knew it was going to be like this, if they failed to keep the LORD’s covenant, and yet they pursued their own selfish ways anyway.  The LORD also promises Jeremiah He will protect him from the men of Anathoth.

In Jeremiah 12 the conversation goes back and forth between Jeremiah and the LORD.  Jeremiah complains to the LORD at first, because of his situation, but the LORD responds the situation will get worse, before it gets better.  This is a reality not many of us want to hear. Jeremiah was being faithful to the LORD, yet the result of that faithfulness was an extremely difficult life.  In theory, at least, if Jeremiah had run away from his calling, his life would have been easier.  But as we shall see, when we come to the Book of the prophet, Jonah, running away from the LORD can have its own problems!  In the end, all we can do is honor the LORD and trust that whatever comes, we will be rewarded at the appropriate time, because the LORD always rewards obedience.

In Jeremiah 13 the LORD tells Jeremiah to buy a linen loincloth, to wear it a few days, and then to take it to the Euphrates river and put it in the cleft of a rock.  After some time, He tells Jeremiah to go back and get it. When he finds it, the loincloth is ruined, and good for nothing.  The LORD tells Jeremiah this is what will happen to Judah, because of her failure to listen to Him.  As the chapter continues, the LORD threatens to send the people into exile for their ongoing rejection of His lordship in their lives.  The thing we must understand about the LORD’s threats: they are the same as promises, so when we don’t respond to them, what He promises will come true.

As we return to John 19, we read the record of Jesus’ being beaten by Pilate and then brought out to the crowd where Pilate intended to release Him.  But the crowd would have none of that.  They cried for His crucifixion, and the religious leaders told Pilate the Jewish law required Jesus’ death, because He had proclaimed Himself a king.  This frightened Pilate even more.  He went back to talk with Jesus one more time and after that conversation tried to release Jesus, but the people told him if he did that he was no friend of Caesar.  That was all it took for Pilate to condemn Jesus.  Pilate could not afford to be spoken of in any way but as a friend of Caesar.  While Jesus was hanging on the cross, He made sure Mary would have a home with John.  According to John, Jesus’ last words were, “It is finished.”  The statement did not mean, “It is finally over.  I won’t have to suffer any more.”  It meant, “What I have come to do is accomplished or complete.” At that moment, noone but Jesus saw it that way.  But on Sunday morning, when Jesus rose and the tomb was empty, it would be far easier for everyone to recognize what Jesus had offered as His final words were true!

Jeremiah 8 and 9 run together with two common themes: a condemnation of Judah by the LORD, and mourning for the loss by Jeremiah.  Remember, the original versions of the Scriptures had no chapter or verse markings.  As we read Jeremiah 8 and 9, the entirety is filled with the LORD’s words of condemnation for a people who had turned away from Him, and chased after false gods.  As a result, the LORD promised to scatter them. In the midst of this, Jeremiah cries out in mourning for his people.  We see this often among the prophets.  They know the LORD’s judgment is right, but they want their people to repent, to turn away from their wickedness and back to the LORD.  Isn’t that what each of us wants for those we love?  We often know the sin of those we love, and we would do anything to get them to turn or return to the LORD, but all we can do is stand and watch, and cry out to the LORD for His love, mercy, and truth to bring them back.  We can also live our lives in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit so they will experience the truth and love of God through us.

Jeremiah 10 states something so obvious, yet it is a lesson human beings learn so slowly, if at all: idols made with human hands cannot save us.  When we think of someone cutting down a tree, carving an idol, then decorating it with silver and gold, or paint and worshiping it we laugh.  But when we laugh, we must also look in the mirror.  How many times have we worshiped our money, or our homes, or cars, or other material goods?  How often have we worshiped position, or status, or a sports team, or a performing artist or actor?  The LORD would laugh, if it didn’t make Him weep, when He sees us who He created worshiping created things.  In Jeremiah’s day, the people’s abandonment of the LORD led to their literal destruction.  In our day, when we abandon the LORD, we might seem fine, but no one can ever be fine who ignores the life, love, truth, and grace of our LORD and Creator!

As we return to John 18, we return to John’s account of Jesus’ arrest, and trial by the Jewish leaders, and then Pilate.  As we reread the account, what strikes me is how calm Jesus remained throughout the entire encounter.  In the Garden of Gethsemane, when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, Jesus was calm and they were all kinds of agitated.  They were afraid of Jesus, as we see when Jesus said, “I am He.”  They all fell backward to the ground.  The very name of Jesus was a fearsome thing to them.  After arresting and binding Jesus, they took Him to be examined by the chief priests.  Jesus answered the priests’ questions in a way that offended those standing near Jesus, so they struck Him.  Jesus didn’t strike back, or call angels to His aid.  He simply asked why they had responded in a such a way when He had done nothing wrong?  After being taken to Pilate, Jesus again remained calm as Pilate became more and more agitated.  If Pilate had been a true leader, he would have set Jesus free, because he found nothing wrong with Jesus. Jesus had committed no offense worthy of imprisonment, let alone crucifixion.  But Pilate wasn’t a true leader.  He was a “puppet” put in place by Rome to govern an unruly people, and to keep his “power,” he succumbed to the cries of the crowd to crucify Jesus.

As we review the events of the night, where do you think you would have been in the mix?  Would you have run away?  Would you have been Peter who followed behind Jesus only to deny you knew Him when your life was in danger?  Would you have been part of the crowd who cried out for Jesus’ crucifixion, because of some coercion from the religious leaders?  It’s always easier to look at a scene from the vantage point of hindsight and say, “I would have stood with Jesus,” but remember –no one did.  In His moment of greatest need, He stood alone.  He knew it would be that way.  He had come to die for all of us and each one of us.  He had to do that alone. Thank God Jesus didn’t run from His appointment with death, because that death has brought the opportunity for freedom from sin and death to us all!

Jeremiah 5 is one of the strongest pronouncements of judgment against Israel and Judah of any single chapter in the Bible.  The LORD tells us He could not find one faithful person in the entire nation.  He said it could be expected that the poor would not know how to follow the LORD, but the leaders were as guilty as they.  They turned against Him, and toward false gods.  They prostituted themselves at every opportunity.  The LORD promised the people of Israel He would destroy them by means of a powerful nation from the north.  The people of Judah would also be judged.  This chapter is so difficult to read, but as we read it we must always remember the LORD is perfect, and has every right to judge each and every one of us.  We must not just say, “Look how bad ‘those’ people were.”  I have learned one important truth when it comes to “those” people: We are all “those” people when it comes to being people who don’t deserve to have the LORD’s love and mercy.  Thankfully, even in the midst of this tirade against Israel and Judah we find words of hope, as the LORD promises not to destroy everyone.

Jeremiah 6 offers more of what we read in Jeremiah 5. The LORD goes back and forth between condemning Israel and Jerusalem.  One of the hardest things we read is that people of all ages will be caught up in the destruction: children, husbands and wives, the old and gray.  We could wonder: Why?  Why is the LORD not going to show mercy on anyone?  Then we read the answer: Because everyone has been caught up in the idolatry, in the practices of sin.  As a people, the nation of Israel deserves judgment, and likewise the nation of Judah.  While we are so individualistic as Americans, we find it difficult to hear of an entire nation being judged, why not only those who are guilty?  In these times, the times of the Old Covenant, there was far more of a sense of the LORD’s blessing or judgment being poured out on the whole, and not just on the few or the one.

In Jeremiah 7, the LORD tells Jeremiah to go to the Temple in Jerusalem and tell the people to repent or they will be destroyed.  He warns them they aren’t safe simply because they are in the Temple.  It was that logic that caused the Israelites to think they were safe at Shiloh, simply because the LORD “dwelt” there.  After the LORD tells Jeremiah to offer this reprieve, the remainder of the chapter tells us the people will not repent and they will be destroyed.  While we have a long way to go in the Book of Jeremiah, the book is history for us not prophecy–that is what was prophesied has long-since happened, so we know the LORD was not speaking empty words.  Israel was destroyed and Judah was carried off to exile.  The promises of the LORD are always true, whether they are for good or ill, which is why it is so vital for us to live in His truth and love, and not to presume on His mercy.

As we return to John 17, we return to what scholars call Jesus’ high priestly prayer. In it, He prays for His Heavenly Father to unite His followers as one, just as He and the Father are one.  He also prays for them to be protected and to keep them in the truth.  As we read this brief chapter, it is so evident how much Jesus loves us, and how concerned He is that we join Him and the Father along with the Holy Spirit in living in unity, love and truth.  Jesus reminds us in the last statement of the chapter, that God’s word is truth.  We live in a world that seems to think truth is what you want it to be.  Truth has been given, and the LORD’s truth is life for those who live in it.

Jeremiah 3 continues the LORD’s condemnation of Israel and Judah for their sin.  We find two images used for both Israel and Judah: the LORD calls them unfaithful wives, who have prostituted themselves before the other nations.  He also calls them unfaithful children. Both images are appropriate, because the LORD has attached Himself to His people as the “groom” in a marriage relationships, but also as a “Father” to His children.  Jesus also used this image of the Church as His bride, and He reminded us often that we are His Father’s children.  The sad truth is while our unfaithfulness might not seem as bad as that of Israel’s and Judah’s were in their time, any amount of unfaithfulness breaks the LORD’s heart, because He created us to be His holy bride, and His holy children.  While we often speak of the Lord’s love, grace, mercy, and faithfulness, and we ought to speak often of those qualities of the LORD, we must also remember He is righteous, just, and holy.  We can’t accept the “soft” qualities of the LORD, without also accepting the “hard” ones.  He is both loving and just, gracious and holy, merciful and righteous. The people in Jeremiah’s day experienced the full weight of the LORD’s judgment, because of their unfaithfulness.  We cannot expect Him to forget our sin, if we continue to sin brazenly and willfully as the people of Israel and Judah during Jeremiah’s time.  Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, but He also rose from the dead to show the power He has over sin and death.  That power is to be used by us to live holy, righteous and just lives to His glory, honor, and praise.

Jeremiah 4 offers a long, detailed message of the impending destruction of Judah.  Her sins are enumerated, Jeremiah weeps for her, but the LORD has had enough of her unfaithfulness, and He tells her the time is coming when the people will be wiped out.  As always, there is some hope as He promises that not everyone will be destroyed, but this is a foundational judgment coming against the whole people.  They will be driven into exile and their time for rebuilding will be in the distant future.  We are told the LORD will use an enemy from the north to destroy them, which tells us once again the LORD sometimes uses history itself to enforce His judgment.

As we return to John 16, Jesus’ words are both hard and comforting.  The hard words are Jesus tells the apostles they will be hated by the world as the world hated Him.  He tells them He is “going away.”  Even in that moment, they didn’t realize that meant He was going to be crucified, but He also told them He would be coming back to them.  The comforting words, are Jesus’ words concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus tells the disciples again the Holy Spirit will come and it was better for them that He leave, so the Spirit could come.  I’m sure those words made little sense in that moment, and they were undoubtedly forgotten, during the time Jesus was dead and in the tomb.  But when the Holy Spirit came to them on the day of Pentecost, and they experienced His presence and power in their lives, the physical loss of Jesus, must have been overcome to a great degree, because they experienced it internally and spiritually.  We have never seen Jesus in the flesh, at least not to this point, but we can experience Him daily through the Holy Spirit.  If you didn’t read this chapter carefully, go back and read it again, so you can see the great and powerful promise of the Spirit coming to be with us in Jesus’ absence from us.

Today, we turn to the Book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah is often called the “weeping prophet,” because His ministry took place during the time when the southern kingdom of Judah was falling and fell.  Jeremiah’s message was so distressing that the kings to whom he prophesied often considered him a traitor.  The truth is the LORD had long before established how to determine whether a prophet was from Him: Everything the prophet says is true or will come true over time.  Jeremiah’s message included the downfall of Judah, and no one wanted to hear that.  It also promised restoration, but once again to have restoration, one has to fall, and no one wanted to hear that.  Jeremiah was often persecuted by those to whom He offered the LORD’s plan, but he also challenged the LORD for putting him in such a situation.  Thankfully, we’ll be continuing to read the Gospel of John and then Matthew as we read Jeremiah, so we’ll continue to experience the hope of the Gospel as we consider the primarily gloom and doom message of Jeremiah.

In Jeremiah 1, we’re told the tenure of Jeremiah’s term as the LORD’s prophet.  He would serve through the final several kings of Judah, before their exile.  We’re told Jeremiah was a priest, so He was already in the LORD’s service, but the LORD also told Jeremiah He had called him to be a prophet while he was still in his mother’s womb.  The Lord’s plans for Judah were sure, and they included being torn down and eventually built up.  The LORD also told Jeremiah He would use various nations to tear down other nations, and He would build up some of them. He also told Jeremiah why He was judging His people: They were unfaithful, and the major unfaithfulness was idolatry.  The LORD doesn’t tolerate any sin, but idolatry is a direct affront to the LORD as God.

Jeremiah 2 lays out the LORD’s complaint against His people, and tells them why they are being judged.  The list of reasons is long, and starts long before the current time.  The LORD goes all the way back to when the people were wondering in the wilderness and entered the Promised Land.  The main point is clear: You have exchanged me the one, true, and Glorious God for false gods, for idols.  The LORD points out that even the nations surrounding Israel and Judah didn’t exchange their idols for other gods, and they were dead images, but He is the one, true, and living God.  As the chapter progresses, it is obvious the people are guilty and the LORD is just in His judgment.  This will not be the only time in the long book of prophecy we read of the LORD’s reasons for judging and exiling His people.

As we return to John 15, Jesus uses the image of a vine and branches to tell us of how vital our connection to Him is as His followers.  Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. As long as we “abide” or “remain” in Him, we will bear fruit.  Jesus also speaks of His Heavenly Father as the “vinedresser.”  He points out the Father’s role is to “prune,” us so we will bear more fruit.  As with all types of pruning in the horticultural world, the gardener prunes good blooms that are too numerous, so some blooms will be the best.  He prunes the sick or diseased branches that won’t get better, and he prunes away the dead branches that are taking up space needed by the healthy branches.  As Jesus continued His discourse it became obvious abiding or remaining in Him meant obeying Him.  As we live in obedience to Jesus we bear fruit, more fruit, and much fruit. Jesus continued by pointing out the connection between our love for Jesus and our obedience to Him.  If we love Him, we obey Him.  Jesus also told us greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  While this might have seemed like a dramatic illustration to the apostles, in less than twenty-four hours, Jesus would lay down His life, not only for His friends, but for the world!  Jesus also pointed out it is in obeying Him that our joy is made complete.  He told the apostles, He would no longer call them servants, but friends.  He also told them if the world had hated Him–and it had!–it would also hate them. Thankfully, when we serve the LORD, and live in love and obedience to Him, the fruit we bear might offend some in the world, but it will please the one who really matters: Jesus!