I have notes from Jeremiah to share today.

Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!”

Jeremiah 7:4 (NIV)

The repetition here is reminiscent of magic sayings and incantations. The false prophets at the time said that no one would attack them because they were protected by the temple of the Lord. It reminds me that our faith doesn’t come from objects or places of worship but from God. If we place our faith in anything but God, then it will fail us. 

But am I the one they are provoking? declares the Lord. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame?

Jeremiah 7:19 (NIV)

“How can a loving God send people to hell?!” people exclaim. This is the irony of sin. God isn’t harmed by our sin. It’s true that God hates sin and hates what it does to us. That even Jesus wept over Jerusalem and the impact of evil in the world. However, does sin harm God? Not all it. It’s like unforgiveness and bitterness that only hurts the one who is bitter and unforgiving. In contrast, the object of bitterness and unforgiveness suffers naught. Sadly, some people refuse to follow the Lord and then have no one to blame but themselves for what will happen when they die.

But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.

Jeremiah 7:24 (NIV) 

It’s incredible and sad that the Israelites, when they were in slavery, forced to live life on someone else’s terms, were freed and then became more corrupt with the freedom that God gave them. I know that this still goes on, and we are still human beings who, when we get out of challenging situations, decide to take it easy and go our own way instead of honoring God and remembering that the deliverance was just a tiny part of the more significant role that he has in our lives.

While the Bible tells us to not look back on former days, “the good old days,” this doesn’t mean we’re not to look back on what God has done in our lives. In fact, if I don’t look back on what God has done in my life. Where he has brought me to where I am today. I am no different than those Israelites who, having been given freedom, turn away from God so quickly. I need to remember what God has done in my life and, more importantly, what He has done and is doing through me in other people’s lives. Perhaps most of all, I need to remember who God is.

How can you say, “We are wise, for we have the law of the Lord,” when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? (emphasis added)

Jeremiah 8:8 (NIV)

More than 500 years after Jeremiah wrote this verse, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and teachers of the law thought the same thing.

You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

John 5:39-40 (NIV)

Knowing what the Bible says and doing what it says are two different things. We can memorize the Bible but if we don’t have a love for God and for people in our hearts, memorizing the Bible means nothing.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy the rest of this fantastic day the Lord has made. 

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