I have been reading Jeremiah recently. Sometimes it's almost scary how applicable the Bible is to now-life. I just wanted to share a few of my thoughts.
At the end of chapter five, it says "'A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?'"
This is so true in America – people would rather be told lies that make things easier, would rather have a watered-down, mixed-up version of Christianity that men make up by their own authority, than live the real gospel. But in the end, only the gospel is really real. None of that other stuff will do a whit for you.
In chapter six, vs. 10 says "To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it."
This is talking about Jews, you know. Not about foreign peoples who've never heard of God and don't know anything about him. This is God's people, who are offended by his words! Worse, this is true for God's people nowadays. How many people find pleasure in reading their Bible? They close their ears to what they don't want to hear. They say they want to hear God's direction for their life, maybe they even pray about it a little, maybe even read their Bible a few times a week to see if God will answer them, but their ears are closed. They don't want God's direction for their life – that is clearly written in the Bible – they want God's endorsement of what they want to do.
Vs. 13 says "'From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. "Peace, peace," they say, when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush.'"
Notice the word loathsome; somehow I don't think God endorses this.
Then in Jeremiah 8:8 it says "'"How can you say, 'We are wise, for we have the law of the Lord,' when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handle it falsely?"'"
"It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name.
"But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?' You place defiled food on my altar.
'But you ask, how have we defiled you?'… When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the Lord Almighty.'
Giving God anything less than his due is not enough for him. Living anything less than the life we are meant to live, is not enough for you. It will do nothing for you to live a half-life; believe me, you will be bored and miserable. Step out into real Christianity. Actually listen when you read your Bible. Give God the honor due him. That is something that is no less than real.
At the end of chapter five, it says "'A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?'"
This is so true in America – people would rather be told lies that make things easier, would rather have a watered-down, mixed-up version of Christianity that men make up by their own authority, than live the real gospel. But in the end, only the gospel is really real. None of that other stuff will do a whit for you.
In chapter six, vs. 10 says "To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it."
This is talking about Jews, you know. Not about foreign peoples who've never heard of God and don't know anything about him. This is God's people, who are offended by his words! Worse, this is true for God's people nowadays. How many people find pleasure in reading their Bible? They close their ears to what they don't want to hear. They say they want to hear God's direction for their life, maybe they even pray about it a little, maybe even read their Bible a few times a week to see if God will answer them, but their ears are closed. They don't want God's direction for their life – that is clearly written in the Bible – they want God's endorsement of what they want to do.
Vs. 13 says "'From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. "Peace, peace," they say, when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush.'"
Notice the word loathsome; somehow I don't think God endorses this.
Then in Jeremiah 8:8 it says "'"How can you say, 'We are wise, for we have the law of the Lord,' when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handle it falsely?"'"
There are so many weak churches in America; church leaders who preach sermons that say "Peace, peace," who think they are doing pretty good because they "have the law of the Lord", but their eyes are closed to actually see what is in that law. People who can recite Bible verses but don't even know what they mean. Worse is people who know that they are lax and that they should and could read their Bible more often, actually read it, put some effort into maintaining their relationship with God, but aren't really bothered by the fact that they don't. Or maybe, because it's Sunday, they will read their Bible. They'll share with their friends the spiritual knowledge they've gained. But then they count themselves wise, for they "have the law of the Lord", and they've done their spiritual act for the week. Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all. Do they imagine that this kind of worship is what God wants?? God does not want people to worship him because it's on their to-do list. He wants to me to worship him because he is so worthy, not because I feel the need to make myself feel a little better and nominally spend some time with him. It is scarily easy to sing a worship song without realizing it – to get distracted by something on the other side of the room, but the words and the tune keep coming out of your mouth, though you aren't actively meaning the words.
In the last book of the Old Testament, in the first chapter, God says, '"A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the Lord Almighty."It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name.
"But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?' You place defiled food on my altar.
'But you ask, how have we defiled you?'… When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the Lord Almighty.'
Giving God anything less than his due is not enough for him. Living anything less than the life we are meant to live, is not enough for you. It will do nothing for you to live a half-life; believe me, you will be bored and miserable. Step out into real Christianity. Actually listen when you read your Bible. Give God the honor due him. That is something that is no less than real.
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