Category: Thoughts and Meditations

“As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire in the fire pot, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fire pot.” – Jeremiah 36:23

Not everyone will appreciate it when you share God’s Word with them. The king certainly didn’t appreciate what Jeremiah had to say on God’s behalf! That’s OK. Share God’s Word anyway.

As followers of Jesus, we’re commanded (COMMANDED!) to share the good news of Jesus Christ. It isn’t optional. It isn’t simply someone else’s responsibility. It’s our responsibility. We’re also commanded to teach other Christians to obey what Jesus commanded. Sometimes that’s even less appreciated! There are absolutely no guarantees of a joyful embrace of what we share from Scripture. That’s OK! Our responsibility is simply to obey our Lord, not to please other people. We certainly need to share well, accurately, and with loving respect for the person we’re sharing with. None of that will guarantee the popularity of our message. It certainly didn’t guarantee it for Jesus! And that’s OK.

When we share God’s Word in the best way we know how, we have been faithful. We have pleased God and brought Him glory. We are messengers and our task is to deliver the message well. That’s our responsibility. That’s it! What people do with that message is between them and God. How they respond to us as messengers is their responsibility (and they will one day give account for that). If they reject God’s Word, they aren’t rejecting us, they’re rejecting God.

Commit to be a faithful, loving, devoted messenger. Share Good News with unbelievers. Teach believers to obey Christ’s commands. Expect opposition and rejection. Find your joy and strength in pleasing God rather than pleasing other people. #FollowJesus

“In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” – Jeremiah 33:15

Jesus is the righteous branch. He is the descendant of King David Who reigns over the world with justice and righteousness! God made this promise through Jeremiah just as the kingdom of Israel is about to fail. When things looked the darkest, God promised that a new king was coming. While earthly kings would always fail and fall short of God’s commands and expectations, King Jesus was going to be different. And He is!

After His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus went up to heaven where He rules over the universe. He holds all of the universe together by His will and He remains without sin and perfect in His righteousness. While the world continues to suffer from injustice, unrighteousness, sin, and death, these things won’t last forever! There is a day coming in which King Jesus will return to rule visibly over the earth. When He does, all evil and unrighteousness will be swept away. Creation, which has been damaged and scarred by the Fall into sin, will be totally renewed. Nothing will be cursed by sin anymore. Everything will be as it was designed by God to be. It will be glorious!!!

When that day comes, everyone will recognize that Jesus is the true King of the Universe. However, only those who submit to King Jesus before that day comes will enjoy that glorious eternal future in His Kingdom! Embrace the branch of David today! Believe in Him and let His sacrifice on the cross cleanse you from your sins. Pray for forgiveness and let His death and resurrection set you free from the power of death over your life. Declare Jesus to be the Lord of your life and be welcomed into His eternal kingdom of justice and righteousness! #FollowJesus

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah” – Jeremiah 31:31

In the heart of a book full of bad news delivered by God to His profoundly sinful people is this promise of the best news imaginable! God was going to end the cycle of human sin and divine punishment Himself. Despite the repeated failures of mankind, God wasn’t going to destroy His people. Instead, He was going to make an entirely new covenant between Himself and His people. This new covenant wouldn’t be based on rules and laws because people always break rules and laws. Instead, God promised a covenant in which He graciously transforms sinful human hearts through a personal relationship with Him.

This is the covenant Jesus proclaimed at the Last Supper, when He said that the cup represented His blood that was about to be shed to establish the new covenant. The new covenant offers forgiveness for our sins not because God ignores them, but because God’s Son paid the penalty for them. Though He was eternally God the Son, Jesus entered our world to live the perfectly sinless life of submission to God’s will that we fail to live. Then Jesus voluntarily died on the cross as an innocent sacrifice to atone for our sins and He rose from the dead, His sacrifice accepted.

Every biblical covenant was sealed with blood and God sealed the new covenant with the blood of His Son. God’s perfect justice was fulfilled by the sacrifice of Jesus. God’s perfect love and grace are poured out on everyone who trusts in Jesus. Through faith in Jesus, His righteousness is credited to us. We are forgiven our sins, made new in Christ, adopted by God as His beloved children, and become citizens of Heaven. This is the new covenant of grace! It’s a covenant of grace because we can do nothing to earn or deserve this exalted status. It’s given entirely through the work and will of God the Father through Jesus the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The covenant of grace is yours if you’ve trusted in Jesus. If Jesus is your Lord, then rejoice in this new covenant that raises you from spiritual death to life! If Jesus isn’t your Lord, make Him your Lord right now! Believe in Jesus, the Son of God, Who died and rose from the dead so your sins could be forgiven. Repent of your sins and your rebellion and turn your heart to God through faith and obedience to Jesus. #FollowJesus

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” – Jeremiah 29:13

Jeremiah made this promise specifically to the exiles of Israel living in Babylon who thought they no longer had access to God. However, it expresses a deep, unchanging truth about God. Though He may seem distant, He never is. Though He may seem hidden and impossible to find, He isn’t. Though He may seem deaf and uncaring toward your pleas, nothing could be further from the truth. These feelings are illusions caused by our own patterns of behavior.

We clutter our lives with things that make it hard for us to see God and feel His presence. We stuff our schedules with busyness, pursuing a dozen earthly priorities with greater energy than we pursue God. Or we invite sin to take up residence in our hearts, minds, and lives, separating us from our God Who is holy, holy, holy. These things make it difficult to see, feel, and know God. Nonetheless, God is always right there, wherever and whenever you earnestly seek Him.

God will patiently wait for you to decide that you want Him more than you want those other things. Once you do, He’s always right there (and He always has been). If you haven’t yet found God, make that the fervent desire of your heart. Make that the priority of your life. Renounce any sin that’s at work in your life. Trust, or renew your trust, in Jesus as your Lord. Clear your daily calendar to make space for prayer and to read and meditate on Scripture. Prioritize gathering with other Christians weekly to worship God and live life together.

Seriously desire to know God, to know Him better, and to experience Him more fully. Make this the focus of your life and you WILL find Him through Jesus. #FollowJesus

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
– Jeremiah 17:7-8

To truly trust in the Lord is to be rooted in the source of all life and nourishment. To trust in God is to fully ground your life and identity in His person, His power, His presence, and His provision. It’s about building your life on obedience to God, worship of God, growth in God, and the experience of God in you through faith in Jesus Christ. Trusting in God goes beyond being faithful in attendance at church or serving well in ministry. Trusting in God is about choosing to build your life and your sense of being on the foundation of God and His love for you through Jesus Christ rather than on the foundation of career, money, relationship, family, or self. Those can all be good things, but they aren’t guaranteed to last forever. God will last forever and so will His steadfast, loyal, loving faithfulness toward you.

Hard times are inevitable in life. The dry season will come. Droughts will come. Storms will come. Illnesses. Accidents. Injustices. Disasters. Bankruptcies. Deaths. Failures. Betrayals. When you fully trust in God, you don’t need to fear these things. They may well happen and they will certainly be painful, but you will endure in the love of God. You will persevere in the strength of God. You will flourish and bear fruit in the presence of God. Why? Because you know that your worth is found in God, your purpose is found in God, and your strength to endure and obey comes from God. He will provide!

So, have you trusted in God? Really trusted in Him, not just liked Him? Is He the source of your identity or is that something else in your life? Is He the source of your security or is that something else in your life? Is He the source of your joy and peace or is that something else in your life? Is He where you find your sense of meaning and purpose or is it found somewhere else? If you haven’t already, spend time in prayer today to commit your life completely into the hands of God. Claim the promise of these verses for your life and commit to trust in God through radical obedience to Jesus Christ. #FollowJesus