False Gods

Readings for today: Jeremiah 51, Psalm 137

The human race is haunted by the primordial memory of a relationship with God. It’s coded into our DNA. It’s like a hole in our souls. We simply cannot deny it nor can we dismiss it or ignore it. It’s arguably what makes Homo Sapiens unique among all other animal species. And it’s why we crave transcendence. It’s why we engage in worship. It’s why we feel the way we do when we see a beautiful sunrise or breathe the air on the summit of a mountain or feel the power as we swim in the depths of the ocean. There is a sense of awe and wonder embedded deep within all of our hearts. This is why we are so adept at making our own gods. We have a desperate need to connect with the divine. We make them out of wood, stone, and precious metals. We give them all kinds of names. We associate them with all sorts of activities. Some of them are very human-like. Others are quite other-worldly. Some of them even represent a combination of species. All of them represent power and control to us on some level which is why we seek to appease them. But they are false. They are not real. They carry no weight. They have no authority. They are empty and lifeless which is why God, the True God, hates them so very much.

As Christians, we worship the True God. How do I know? I know because He has revealed Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ. He actually entered human history and became one of us. His suffering and death is a matter of historical record as is His resurrection. The tomb was empty and hundreds of eye-witnesses saw Him face to face. They touched Him. They ate with Him. They spoke with Him. In Christ, God made Himself known. No other religion can make this kind of claim. No other god or goddess has revealed him/herself in this way. This is what sets us apart. It’s what gives us confidence that when we pray and when we obey and when we place our faith in God, we are not just engaging in wishful thinking. Our hopes are not blind. Our faith is not just a wild guess. We believe in the One True and Living God who created all things, redeemed all things, and one day will make all things new. I love how Jeremiah describes it in today’s reading…

“By his power he made earth. His wisdom gave shape to the world. He crafted the cosmos. He thunders and rain pours down. He sends the clouds soaring. He embellishes the storm with lightnings, launches the wind from his warehouse. Stick-god worshipers look mighty foolish! god-makers embarrassed by their handmade gods! Their gods are frauds, dead sticks— deadwood gods, tasteless jokes. They’re nothing but stale smoke. When the smoke clears, they’re gone. But the Portion-of-Jacob is the real thing; he put the whole universe together, With special attention to Israel. His name? God-of-the-Angel-Armies!” (Jeremiah‬ ‭51‬:‭15‬-‭19‬ ‭MSG‬‬)

Why does our God hate false gods so much? It’s because they are frauds. They are nothing but smoke and hot air. They offer nothing because they have no power or authority. Those who place their trust in false gods end up bitterly disappointed. They end up wounded and in pain. They receive no strength to overcome their challenges, no wisdom to help address the complex issues life often throws our way, and no power to help us endure any suffering. They are left alone and it’s not good for human beings to be alone! I think of a conversation I had with one of my kids several years ago. She had a friend who was suffering from all kinds of mental, emotional, and physical health issues. She had no one to talk to. No support from her family. No friends to speak of besides my daughter. No trust in her teachers at school. She felt very much alone. Not only that but she had placed her faith in false gods. Spirit animals who were not real and so had no spiritual resources to draw on to help her make it through. I encouraged my daughter to share Christ with her. To help her connect with a God who is real and alive and active in our world. A God who loved her with an everlasting love and who promised to be there for her no matter what challenges she might be going through. A God who is with us in good times and bad. A God who is faithful to walk us through every dark valley. This is why what we believe matters, friends! If we are counting on false gods to get us through life, we will be let down. We will live lives of fear and anxiety and quiet desperation. But if we place our faith in the true God, we will never be forsaken.

Readings for tomorrow: None

The Miracle of God’s Chosen People

Readings for today: Jeremiah 49-50

History is littered with the ruins of empires. Civilizations come and go. Kings rise and fall. Even the most powerful like Rome or Egypt or China or the Ottoman Empire eventually succumb to Father Time. He truly is undefeated with one notable, miraculous exception. For thousands of years, God has preserved a people for Himself. For centuries, God has protected His people, guided His people, and prevented their annihilation. Has there ever been a group more oppressed than the Jewish people? Has there ever been a group more targeted by more pagan empires than the people of God? Egypt tried to wipe them out. Assyria, Babylon, and eventually the Persian Empire tried to bring an end to the Jewish people. Those empires gave way to the pogroms of Europe, the Crusades and Inquisition of the Roman Catholic Church, and eventually the Final Solution in Germany. Even in our time, there has been a marked rise in anti-semitism. Synagogues have been attacked. Jewish homes and businesses targeted. It is happening in America as well as across Europe and, of course, the Middle East. Many of the nations surrounding modern-day Israel still make her complete destruction the cornerstone of their foreign policy though, thankfully, there are signs that may be changing.

The reading from Jeremiah for today seems to highlight this reality. Jeremiah lists the number of nations who will rise and fall while Israel endures. Ammon. Edom. Damascus. Kedar. Elam. Even Babylon herself! The names may not mean much to us but these were the tribal and even global powers of their day. All of them thrown on the trash heap of history by God Himself. All of them consigned to the dustbin of history by the Lord. Their gods have been forgotten. Their cities lay in ruins. Their glory forgotten. Meanwhile, Israel endures. Though she has been consistently oppressed and persecuted. Though she has been beaten down and chased from seemingly every nation on earth. Though she has had to endure so much, she remains. She is still here. She still finds ways to not just survive but even to thrive. Surely, one can see the hand of the Lord in this?

Does this mean Israel is perfect? Absolutely not. Jeremiah and the rest of the prophets catalog her sins. What was true for ancient Israel holds true for modern day Israel as well. She continues to perpetuate the sins of her past in many ways. In many ways, she looks just like the ungodly nations around her. She acts just like the ungodly nations around her. The same is true for the church as well. Those of us who’ve been “grafted in” as part of the people of God as the Apostle Paul puts it in Romans 11. We too look far too much like the world. We’ve adopted the ways and means of the world to try and accomplish Kingdom ends and it never seems to work out well. Quite the opposite, in fact. Thankfully, God is faithful in the face of our unfaithfulness. God is loyal in the face of our betrayal. God is good in the face of our evil. God is righteous in the face our unrighteousness. He preserves and protects us even from ourselves. Though we are “lost sheep” and our “shepherds lead us astray.” Though we “wander aimless through the hills and lose track of home.” Though we “can’t remember where we came from and everyone tries to take advantage of us.” Though we “abandoned our True Pasture and the hope of our ancestors”, God will never let us go. He is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep. He will make us lie down in green pastures. He will lead us beside still waters. He will restore our souls if we but turn to Him.

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 51, Psalm 137

God’s Personal Attention

Readings for today: Jeremiah 45-48

Sometimes I wonder why God is interested in my life. Of all the billions of people who live or who have lived on this earth, why in the world would God take time for me? I’m not all that important. I’m not all that significant. My life is pretty mundane as a general rule. I get up. Brush my teeth. Take a shower. Go to work. Come home. Eat dinner. Spend time with my family. Watch a show or read a good book. God has a cosmos to run. He has a universe to rule. He’s got nations to raise up and take down. Why would He take an interest in me?

Then I read this Word today for Baruch in Jeremiah 45. In the middle of one of the major prophetic books of the Bible which details the future empires and nations, God takes time out to address Baruch. Jeremiah’s scribe. His secretary. A man who barely makes a blip on the radar screen. We don’t know much about Baruch other than he was devoted to Jeremiah. He served as his scribe. His disciple. His faithful friend. He sticks with Jeremiah through thick and thin. Through all the ups and downs. He must have loved Jeremiah very much to share in his sufferings. According to Josephus, an ancient Jewish historian, Baruch was a member of the Jewish aristocracy. A chamberlain in King Zedekiah’s court. He was clearly a courageous man as he often acted as Jeremiah’s messenger and mouthpiece. He risked all kinds of danger to make known the Word of God. And God recognized his efforts.

“These are the words of God, the God of Israel, to you, Baruch. You say, ‘These are bad times for me! It’s one thing after another. God is piling on the pain. I’m worn out and there’s no end in sight.’ “But God says, ‘Look around. What I’ve built I’m about to wreck, and what I’ve planted I’m about to rip up. And I’m doing it everywhere—all over the whole earth! So forget about making any big plans for yourself. Things are going to get worse before they get better. But don’t worry. I’ll keep you alive through the whole business.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭45‬:‭2‬-‭5‬ ‭MSG‬‬) Baruch clearly went through times of depression. Times of deep discouragement. I am sure he despaired as he looked around at what was happening to his country. But God was faithful. He let Baruch know how and why these things would come to pass but also promised to preserve his life. No matter where Baruch went, God would be with him. He would protect him and provide for him. He would be blessed. (By the way, Baruch literally means “blessed” in Hebrew.)

What about you? How are you feeling as you survey the landscape of our nation today? What emotions rise up in your heart as you watch the news or scroll through social media? How have the issues of the past few years impacted you? Have you found yourself - like Baruch - crying out to God saying, “These are bad times for me! It’s one thing after another. God is piling on the pain. I’m worn out and there’s no end in sight.” I know my own feelings of despair as I consider the mountain of gospel work that must be done in my church family, in my community, in our nation, and around the world. It is daunting to say the least! I believe God is breaking down what He has built and plucking up what He has planted in order to draw the world to Himself. In the midst of all that is happening, do I trust God to be faithful? To protect and preserve my life for as long as He wills? Do I trust God to be with me as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death? Do I see myself as blessed? Am I willing to put the work in to be a blessing even if that means confronting the powers and principalities of our own world just as Baruch confronted the powers and principalities in his?

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 49-50

Fear vs. Faith

Readings for today: Jeremiah 41-44

As a pastor, one of the real challenges I face is to help people make decisions based on faith rather than fear. Fear is a powerful emotion that is difficult to resist. It warps how we think. It makes what might otherwise seem irrational rational on some level. It activates the adrenal glands in our body, creating a physical response of fight or flight that often drives us to make rash decisions. It elicits strong emotions like anger, frustration, deep heartache, and pain. When we allow fear into our lives, it almost always results in suffering on some level. The suffering could be relational, emotional, spiritual, or physical. Fear is the root of so much evil in the world which is why we must resist it at all costs and instead, choose to walk by faith.

Tragically, the people of Israel continue to walk in fear. After the assassination of the Babylonian governor, the people come to Jeremiah to ask how they should respond. Should they stay in the land or should they flee to Egypt? Jeremiah seeks the Lord and the Lord graciously responds. “This is the Message from God, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your prayer. He says, ‘If you are ready to stick it out in this land, I will build you up and not drag you down, I will plant you and not pull you up like a weed. I feel deep compassion on account of the doom I have visited on you. You don’t have to fear the king of Babylon. Your fears are for nothing. I’m on your side, ready to save and deliver you from anything he might do. I’ll pour mercy on you. What’s more, he will show you mercy! He’ll let you come back to your very own land.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭42‬:‭9‬-‭12‬ ‭MSG‬‬) The message is clear. Choose faith over fear. Trust the Lord rather than your own feelings. Look to God and not to Egypt for protection. Sadly, the people’s hearts are too hard. They cannot hear the Word of the Lord. They reject His counsel and they flee to Egypt with the hope of escaping the coming judgment. Judgment will follow them, however, and the very thing they fear most - death - will come to pass.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen this happen over the course of my pastoral career. People come to me from all walks of life, dealing with all kinds of issues, trying to avoid all kinds of consequences for their decisions. The message I have for them is the same message Jeremiah had for the people of Israel. Place your trust in God. Hold fast to His Word. Walk in integrity before Him. Refuse to give into your fear. Resist the temptation to take the path of least resistance. I wish I could I say I had more success than Jeremiah. Sadly, I do not. Most walk away and give into their fears and the very thing they were hoping to avoid - divorce, addiction, the breakdown of their family, loss of their job, etc. - comes to pass. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death.” Choose the way of Jesus. It’s the only way that leads to abundant life.

Readings for tomorrow: Obadiah, Psalms 82-83

Believing the Lie

Readings for today: Jeremiah 38-40, Psalms 74, 79

As a pastor, I meet with a lot of people. Most of the time, it’s to catch up or get to know each other better. However, a significant portion of my time is spent with people in crisis. The problem could be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. It could involve a spouse, a parent, or a child. It might be job-related. It could be about broken relationships. Whatever the issue - and they are legion - what I have found is that if I drill down far enough, I eventually get to a lie they have believed. A falsehood that has framed their thinking. And a huge part of my counseling approach is to help them identify the lies they believe and exchange them for the truth of the gospel. After all, it is the truth that sets us free according to Christ. And the sad reality is far too many believers make bad decisions based on lies they’ve been fed or told themselves for so many years.

The same was true for Zedekiah. He believed the lie that he could withstand the might of Babylon. he believed the walls of Jerusalem could never be breached because God was her protector. He believed in the false prophets he surrounded himself with and often persecuted true prophets like Jeremiah. The consequences of his decision to believe the lies are horrific. His own sons are captured, paraded in front of him, and then executed. His officials and nobles are killed before him as well. Every single person he knows and loves loses their life as a result of the choices he made along the way. These are the last images he will ever see because Nebuchadnezzar blinds him and hauls him off to Babylon in chains. Imagine how different things could have been if he had just listened to Jeremiah? Imagine how much pain and suffering he could have avoided had he listened to God and surrendered peacefully? Imagine how much bloodshed would have been avoided if he had placed his trust in the truth of God’s Word?

Now imagine these same dynamics are in play in your life. What lies do you believe? About your spouse? Your child? Your parents? Your co-workers? Your friends? What falsehoods have you allowed to take root in your heart that cause you to devalue yourself and others? How have you been deceived into thinking God doesn’t care or doesn’t hear your prayers? Friends, don’t believe the lies! Immerse yourself in Scripture and cling to the promises God offers us in His Son Jesus Christ. Discern what is true and noble and good and righteous and fill your mind with these things. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you God’s perspective on your life and lives of those around you. As you cling to the truth, you will find yourself being set free.

Readings for tomorrow: None

Amazing Grace

Readings for today: Jeremiah 33-37

God’s grace is truly amazing. No matter how bad things get. No matter how far we fall. No matter how fast we run. God is always quick to forgive. Quick to relent of the judgment our sin rightfully deserves. Zedekiah is another in a long line of evil kings. Kings who reject the will of God. Kings who worship idols. Kings who seek their own glory and power instead of humbly serving God. Judgment is coming. Jeremiah has been sent to proclaim the impending doom. The sins of Israel are many and have piled up over the years, creating a mess God intends to use Babylon to clean up. It’s going to be ugly. It’s going to be tragic. It’s going to be painful. Many will suffer. Many will die. All they hold dear will be destroyed as God’s justice rolls down on the earth. 

But even now at the eleventh hour, there is hope. God’s mercy makes one last appearance. God commands Jeremiah to speak a word of grace to the nation. To speak words of life instead of death. “Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.’ “But now take another look. I’m going to give this city a thorough renovation, working a true healing inside and out. I’m going to show them life whole, life brimming with blessings. I’ll restore everything that was lost to Judah and Jerusalem. I’ll build everything back as good as new. I’ll scrub them clean from the dirt they’ve done against me. I’ll forgive everything they’ve done wrong, forgive all their rebellions. And Jerusalem will be a center of joy and praise and glory for all the countries on earth. They’ll get reports on all the good I’m doing for her. They’ll be in awe of the blessings I am pouring on her.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭33‬:‭3‬, ‭6‬-‭9‬ ‭MSG‬‬) Yes, they cannot escape God’s judgment. Yes, they cannot escape the exile to come. But this is not the final word. God will not allow His eternal covenant to be broken.

"Watch for this: The time is coming’—God’s Decree—‘when I will keep the promise I made to the families of Israel and Judah. When that time comes, I will make a fresh and true shoot sprout from the David-Tree. He will run this country honestly and fairly. He will set things right. That’s when Judah will be secure and Jerusalem live in safety. The motto for the city will be, “God Has Set Things Right for Us.” God has made it clear that there will always be a descendant of David ruling the people of Israel and that there will always be Levitical priests on hand to offer burnt offerings, present grain offerings, and carry on the sacrificial worship in my honor.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭33‬:‭14‬-‭18‬ ‭MSG‬‬)

Friends, Jesus is the righteous Branch God has caused to spring up out of the waste and desolation that is left of Israel. God sends His Messiah to executive justice and righteousness in the land once more. God sends His Messiah to save His people and secure His city. Jesus is the greater David. The righteous King who now sits on His throne. Jesus is our great High Priest constantly making intercession for us before the Ancient of Days. Jesus is God’s answer to all that has gone wrong in this world and Jesus is God’s solution to the perpetual problem of human sin.

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 38-40, Psalms 74, 79

The Faithfulness of God

Readings for today: Jeremiah 29-32

God’s anger lasts but a moment but His favor for a lifetime. God abounds in steadfast love and faithfulness even as He is committed to holding the guilty accountable. Though His judgment extends to the third and fourth generations, His grace far exceeds it, extending to a thousand generations. This is who God is. This is who God has revealed Himself to be. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He always stays true to Himself.

The people of Israel learned this lesson. They refused to turn from their sin and they were judged. God exiled them to Babylon. They became a strange people living in a strange land, weeping as they sang the songs of Zion. They were uprooted from the Promised Land. They lost their Holy Temple. Their entire way of life was destroyed. Their covenant with God seemingly irretrievably broken. So what now? “Build houses and make yourselves at home. Plant gardens and eat what grows. Marry and have children. Encourage your children to marry and have children. Thrive in the country where I have sent you. Make yourselves at home there and work for her welfare. Pray for her well-being. Your well-being is intrinsically tied up to her well-being. Most of all, trust Me. I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out. I will bring you back home. I will not abandon you. I will take care of you. I will you give you the future you hope for. So call on Me and I will listen. Look for Me and I will make Myself known. I won’t disappoint you. I won’t let you down if you get serious about finding Me and want it more than anything else.” (Adapted from Jeremiah 29:5-14 MSG)

Do we have the faith to believe these words are as much for us as they were for the people of God in Jeremiah’s day? Do we trust God enough to let go of our ego, let go of our need for control, let go of our need for power and let Him direct our paths? Do we have the courage to live the quiet life? Go about our daily business? Build homes? Plant gardens? Marry and have children? Bless our town? Pray for our community’s leaders? Let God work out His plan in His way according to His timing? This is the essence of faith. It’s living our lives with complete trust in God’s sovereign plan and, more importantly, God’s unchangeable character. God is trustworthy. God is true. God is dependable. God is loyal. God is faithful. God is good. Because of all these things and more, we have nothing to fear. Because of all these things and more, we can cast all our anxieties on Him. Because of all these things and more, we don’t have to push so hard or hold on so tight. God is in control. God knows what He’s doing. God has a plan. He will bring it to pass. He has not abandoned you. He has plans to take care of you. He will give you the future you hope for if you surrender to Him.

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 33-37

Saved

Readings for today: Jeremiah 25-28

What does it mean to be saved? Salvation is multi-faceted to be sure but at a baseline level, it means we are saved from something. So what are we saved from? What doom awaited us apart from Christ? What judgment had we earned? What punishment did we deserve? What fate did we escape through Christ’s atoning sacrifice? The reality is I don’t ponder these questions near enough. My sinful baseline understanding of myself is that I’m a pretty good guy who makes poor decisions every now and again. The reality is far worse. Apart from Christ, I am a slave to sin. I love myself more than I do those around me. I prefer myself to anyone else. I will seek to satisfy myself before I stretch out a hand to help others. My entire life is oriented around my own wants, needs, and desires.

This is the human condition and it’s why we find ourselves in the mess we’re in. It’s why some people starve in our world while others feast. It’s why some people barely survive each day while others store up great wealth for the future. It’s why some people live under monstrous oppression while others are free. It’s why power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. It’s why vast inequalities exist and we can’t muster up the political and social will to make a change. It’s why violent people take what they want by force. Force of will. Force of arms. Force of strength. Force of emotional manipulation. This was as true in Jeremiah’s day as it is for us and listen again to the righteous response of God.

“God roars like a lion from high heaven; thunder rolls out from his holy dwelling— Ear-splitting bellows against his people, shouting hurrahs like workers in harvest. The noise reverberates all over the earth; everyone everywhere hears it. God makes his case against the godless nations. He’s about to put the human race on trial. For the wicked the verdict is clear-cut: death by the sword.’” God’s Decree. “Prepare for the worst! Doomsday! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation. A huge storm is about to rage all across planet Earth. Laid end to end, those killed in God’s judgment that day will stretch from one end of the earth to the other. No tears will be shed and no burials conducted. The bodies will be left where they fall, like so much horse dung fertilizing the fields. Wail, shepherds! Cry out for help! Grovel in the dirt, you masters of flocks! Time’s up—you’re slated for the slaughterhouse, like a choice ram with its throat cut. There’s no way out for the rulers, no escape for those shepherds. Hear that? Rulers crying for help, shepherds of the flock wailing! God is about to ravage their fine pastures. The peaceful sheepfolds will be silent with death, silenced by God’s deadly anger. God will come out into the open like a lion leaping from its cover, And the country will be torn to pieces, ripped and ravaged by his anger.” (‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭25‬:‭30‬-‭38‬ ‭MSG‬‬)

There is only one way to escape this fate. Place your faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ. On the cross, Jesus suffered the doom we deserved. Jesus atoned for the sins of the world. Jesus took the judgment of God on Himself. He poured out His life. Suffered in our place. Died so that we may live. Let your soul rest in the shadow of the cross. Let your heart rest knowing your Savior stands over you still. Let your mind rest in the sure and certain knowledge that Jesus’ death was sufficient to cover all your sin. Past. Present. Future. Rest and rejoice in all Christ has done for you and won for you today.

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 29-32

False Prophets

Readings for today: Jeremiah 21-24

One of the things that makes my job more difficult is the popularity of so many false prophets in our world today. The internet is replete with them. Social media amplifies their voices to unprecedented heights. Their platforms are enormous and cut across all kinds of different demographics. I spend a lot of time sitting down with people I know and love and serve helping them discern whether or not the message they’ve heard from this prophet or that preacher or that person claiming to hear from God is actually true or not. Tragically, most of it is nonsense. I think of all the predictions from so-called “prophets” post-election promising God would overturn the results. I think of all the language of “winds shifting”, “earth shaking”, “movements rising”, etc. and yet none of it ever seems to come to pass. Of course, a lot of it is just general enough to keep the person from ever being held accountable. Too many Christians have ignored the clear teaching of Scripture (Deuteronomy 18:21-22) that if a prophet claims to speak for God and what they say doesn’t come to pass, they are to be rejected and never given any kind of influence ever again.

False prophets are nothing new, of course. Jeremiah had to deal with them in his own day. In fact, most of chapter 23 is a fiery sermon against such people. Jeremiah doesn’t hold back in his harsh critique as he delivers God’s judgment upon them. It’s worth reading again. “You prophets who do nothing but dream— go ahead and tell your silly dreams. But you prophets who have a message from me— tell it truly and faithfully. What does straw have in common with wheat? Nothing else is like God’s Decree. Isn’t my Message like fire?” God’s Decree. “Isn’t it like a sledgehammer busting a rock? I’ve had it with the ‘prophets’ who get all their sermons secondhand from each other. Yes, I’ve had it with them. They make up stuff and then pretend it’s a real sermon. Oh yes, I’ve had it with the prophets who preach the lies they dream up, spreading them all over the country, ruining the lives of my people with their cheap and reckless lies. I never sent these prophets, never authorized a single one of them. They do nothing for this people—nothing!” God’s Decree. “And anyone, including prophets and priests, who asks, ‘What’s God got to say about all this, what’s troubling him?’ tell him, ‘You, you’re the trouble, and I’m getting rid of you.’” God’s Decree. “And if anyone, including prophets and priests, goes around saying glibly ‘God’s Message! God’s Message!’ I’ll punish him and his family. Instead of claiming to know what God says, ask questions of one another, such as ‘How do we understand God in this?’ But don’t go around pretending to know it all, saying ‘God told me this. . . God told me that.. . . ’ I don’t want to hear it anymore. Only the person I authorize speaks for me. Otherwise, my Message gets twisted, the Message of the living God-of-the-Angel-Armies. You can ask the prophets, ‘How did God answer you? What did he tell you?’ But don’t pretend that you know all the answers yourselves and talk like you know it all. I’m telling you: Quit the ‘God told me this. . . God told me that. . . ’ kind of talk.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭23‬:‭28‬-‭38‬ ‭MSG‬‬)

Perhaps you’ve found yourself under the influence of a potential false prophet. Perhaps a friend or family member has sent you a link of someone they listen to regularly. Pay close attention. Too many pastors and preachers have merged the gospel with partisan politics. Too many pastors and preachers claim divine authority despite the number of ways they divide and damage the Body of Christ. Too many pastors and preachers refuse to humbly admit where they have made mistakes or gotten off track. Too many pastors and preachers practice revisionist history in an attempt to make themselves look good. Too many pastors and preachers glibly string together all sorts of “prophetic sounding” language from the Bible in order to make themselves seem more credible. It takes a lot of prayer and wisdom and a relentless commitment to testing everything according to the truth of Scripture to discern in our day and age.

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 25-28

Life with God

Readings for today: Jeremiah 17-20

Life with God can be a roller coaster. It’s not always unicorns and rainbows and bubbles and sunshine. It’s not always a mountaintop spiritual experience. It’s not always positive and encouraging. Sometimes it’s painful and hard. Sometimes confusing and complex. Sometimes depressingly difficult. That’s what I love most about Jeremiah. He doesn’t hold back at all with God. He’s honest and transparent. He’s unafraid to come before God as he is, warts and all. Listen especially to his words from Jeremiah‬ ‭20‬:‭7‬-‭18‬ ‭(MSG‬‬)…

“You pushed me into this, God, and I let you do it. You were too much for me. And now I’m a public joke. They all poke fun at me. Every time I open my mouth I’m shouting, “Murder!” or “Rape!” And all I get for my God-warnings are insults and contempt…” Jeremiah has been whipped and beaten and imprisoned for preaching God’s Word to His people. He has been abused and mistreated and oppressed. It’s not fair. It’s not just. It’s not okay. And Jeremiah lays the blame at God’s feet.

At the same time, Jeremiah knows he cannot quit. He cannot help himself. If he tries to walk away from his calling, he will regret it. The pressure builds deep in his gut. There’s a burning in his bones. He simply cannot turn a blind eye to all the sin and injustice he sees on display. “But if I say, “Forget it! No more God-Messages from me!” The words are fire in my belly, a burning in my bones. I’m worn out trying to hold it in. I can’t do it any longer! Then I hear whispering behind my back: “There goes old ‘Danger-Everywhere.’ Shut him up! Report him!” Old friends watch, hoping I’ll fall flat on my face: “One misstep and we’ll have him. We’ll get rid of him for good!”

Throughout his struggles, his faith in God endures. His trust in God never seems to waver. Despite the ups and downs, Jeremiah continues to place his hope in the God who fights at his side. He knows God isn’t sending him into these battles alone. “But God, a most fierce warrior, is at my side. Those who are after me will be sent sprawling— Slapstick buffoons falling all over themselves, a spectacle of humiliation no one will ever forget. Oh, God-of-the-Angel-Armies, no one fools you. You see through everyone, everything. I want to see you pay them back for what they’ve done. I rest my case with you. Sing to God! All praise to God! He saves the weak from the grip of the wicked.”

It’s been my experience that faith and doubt often go together. Deep trust and hard questions can co-exist. Praise and pain are part and parcel of the Christian life. As much as Jeremiah looks to God and praises Him amidst all the challenges he faces, he also wishes with all his heart that he didn’t have to go through these trials. “Curse the day I was born! The day my mother bore me— a curse on it, I say! And curse the man who delivered the news to my father: “You’ve got a new baby—a boy baby!” (How happy it made him.) Let that birth notice be blacked out, deleted from the records, And the man who brought it haunted to his death with the bad news he brought. He should have killed me before I was born, with that womb as my tomb, My mother pregnant for the rest of her life with a baby dead in her womb. Why, oh why, did I ever leave that womb? Life’s been nothing but trouble and tears, and what’s coming is more of the same.”

‭‭I hope today’s reading is as encouraging for you as it is for me. There are so many pressures, particularly in the American church today, to pretend like everything’s okay. We have a hard time expressing our deepest, most heartbreaking emotions or asking our most difficult questions. Somewhere along the way, we convinced ourselves that sharing these things somehow reflected a lack of faith when, in fact, the opposite is true. Life with God is not always up and to the right. It’s not always positive. Not every prayer gets answered in the way we want. Not every act of obedience will result in praise from those around us or material blessings in this world. This is probably one of the biggest lessons I learn from my brothers and sisters who practice their faith in the developing world. Their lives are full of immense hardship and suffering and persecution and yet, they cling to God. May we have the courage to do the same.

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 21-24

God’s People

Readings for today: Jeremiah 13-16

“Just as shorts clothe and protect, so I kept the whole family of Israel under my care”—God’s Decree— “so that everyone could see they were my people, a people I could show off to the world and be proud of. But they refused to do a thing I said.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭13‬:‭8‬-‭11‬ ‭MSG‬‬)

It’s a weird scene. God tells Jeremiah to buy a loincloth. Wear it. Bury it. Dig it up. All in an effort to illustrate for His relationship with Israel. I don’t know about you but I feel for these prophets. They are often called to do the strangest of things. I often wonder what their friends and family thought of them. I wonder what kind of ridicule and abuse they suffered. How isolated and alone they must have felt. I think of John the Baptist who was described as the “lone voice crying in the wilderness.” It had to be such a hard life. At the same time, I love the message God sends through Jeremiah. The picture of God clinging to us like an undergarment. Clinging to us in the most intimate of places. Clinging to us and never letting go. Why would God do such a thing? Especially when His people harden their hearts and refuse to listen?

God has a plan for your life. How many times have you heard that message? It’s true! From the beginning, God has made His plan clear. Humanity’s purpose is to fill the earth with the glory of God. Fill the earth with the image of God. Fill the earth with the praise of God. This is why God made us in the first place. This is the condition Adam and Eve were born into in the Garden of Eden. This is what all of us will one day experience when heaven comes to earth. No matter what we do or where we go or how much we sin, God’s plan never changes. He never relents from His purposes. He never stops working to bring about His will in our lives. Though we may resist Him. Though we may run from Him. Though we may rebel against Him. God refuses to let go. His grip remains tight. His love steadfast and true.

I think of when my children were younger. How I would scoop them up in my arms at times and try to hold them close. Sometimes they would arch their backs and try to wiggle from my grasp. Sometimes they would fight me and try to push me away. But in the end they always laid their head down on my shoulder and snuggled in close. I think of the teenagers I live with and how upset they get at times. They yell. They cry. They say hurtful things. One of the things I’ve learned is not to fight them but simply hold out my arms. Wait for their emotions to calm down and give them a big hug. Then we talk things out. I think God is like that.

If you are a Christian, you are part of God’s people. You have been given His name. You were created for His praise and glory. You are not insignificant. You are not worthless. You are not hopeless. You are not lost. You are not alone. You are not on your own. God is with you. He clings to you even now. He is as close as a loincloth around your waist. Engaged in the most intimate spaces of your life. Stop running. Stop resisting. Stop fighting. Turn and embrace the One who loves you more than you can ever know. Cling to God even as He clings to you.

Readings for tomorrow: None

Eternal Security

Readings for today: Jeremiah 9-12

I grew up with a deep sense of insecurity. I always felt like I had something to prove. Always felt like I needed to impress others. I cared a lot about what others thought. An unkind word would send me into an emotional tailspin for days. Sure, I covered well. I developed an instinct for self-preservation. I guarded my heart and let no one in. I overcompensated by chasing achievement. I drove myself hard. I refused to ever quit. Though I was never the smartest, I graduated high school with honors. Though I was never the most athletic, I lettered in two sports and made the all-state team in lacrosse. Though I was not excited about Boy Scouts, I achieved the rank of Eagle. Though I wasn’t sure what I believed, I was a leader in my youth group at church, sang solos in the church choir, and even played the lead (Jesus) in a production of Godspell. By the time I got to college, I was tired. Tired of having to keep up appearances. Tired of having to pretend every single day. Tired of having to project a perfect image to the world. Furthermore, I had no close friends. No community to speak of. My family was an hour away. I felt very much alone. The results were not good. The house of cards I had built came crashing down around me. I began drinking heavily. Skipping class. Failing out of school. That’s when I met Jesus. He overwhelmed all my defenses. He penetrated to the depths of my heart. And He let me know I was deeply and dearly loved. Loved for who I was not who I pretended to be. Loved fully and completely and unconditionally. To say it was life-changing would be an understatement.

I love this verse from our reading today…“Don’t let the wise brag of their wisdom. Don’t let heroes brag of their exploits. Don’t let the rich brag of their riches. If you brag, brag of this and this only: That you understand and know me. I’m God, and I act in loyal love. I do what’s right and set things right and fair, and delight in those who do the same things. These are my trademarks.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭9‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭MSG‬‬‬)‬ It describes the old Doug and the new Doug so well. I used to be the guy who would boast in his wisdom. Boast in his strength. Boast in his success. But I knew deep down I was just covering for my insecurity. After meeting Jesus, I learned to boast only in Him. He became my security. He became my wisdom. He became my strength. Serving Him became my success. Learning to practice steadfast love and justice and righteousness in the earth became the goal of my life. After almost thirty years, I can say with confidence that my life is richer and more full that I could ever have imagined. I am wiser and stronger than I’ve ever been. I’ve experienced far more success than I ever deserved or could have achieved on my own. All because of Jesus.

It’s so tempting to boast in the things of this world. To get caught up trying to keep up with those around us. Compare ourselves to other people’s highlight reels on social media. Cover for our insecurities by chasing temporal wisdom, riches, success, or power. It’s so easy to spend our lives trying to find something…anything…to boast in. To base our self-esteem on our own abilities and accomplishments. But God wants so much more for us. God has so much more for us. If we will simply turn to Him and let Him in, He will do more than we can ever ask or imagine.

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 13-16

An Emotional God

Readings for today: Jeremiah 5-8

“I drown in grief. I’m heartsick. Oh, listen! Please listen! It’s the cry of my dear people reverberating through the country. Is God no longer in Zion? Has the King gone away? Can you tell me why they flaunt their plaything-gods, their silly, imported no-gods before me? The crops are in, the summer is over, but for us nothing’s changed. We’re still waiting to be rescued. For my dear broken people, I’m heartbroken. I weep, seized by grief. Are there no healing ointments in Gilead? Isn’t there a doctor in the house? So why can’t something be done to heal and save my dear, dear people?” (Jeremiah‬ ‭8‬:‭18‬-‭22‬ ‭MSG‬‬)

This passage from the end of Jeremiah 8 is one of the most poignant in all of Scripture and it bleeds into the beginning of chapter 9. Most English translations put these words in Jeremiah’s mouth. Primarily because of how uncomfortable we are with God experiencing deep, heartbreaking grief. As Western Christians we are heavily influenced by Greek Platonic thought whether we realize it or not. We tend to believe God is fundamentally distant. Fundamentally different. Fundamentally beyond all human experience, including emotions. We believe He is untouchable. Unmovable. Unchangeable. We associate emotions with feelings of change. Instability. Unpredictability. And these things cannot be true of God...right? 

But what if we were willing to embrace a different understanding of emotions? A deeper understanding? Again, it is without question that God experiences emotions. Love. Anger. Frustration. Joy. We read about them over and over again and they are not simply anthropomorphisms. (A way for God to express Himself in human terms we can understand. Ex. “The arm of the Lord...”) What if our understanding of God could be expanded to include the full range of emotions? What if us having emotions is part of being made in God’s image? What if our “emotionalism”, which breeds the feelings of instability and unpredictability, is actually a result of sin and brokenness? What if God, because He remains untouched by sin, is able to experience all emotions without being driven by them? 

This brings us back to the passage cited above. God is expressing the deepest, most heartbreaking grief possible.  ”I drown in grief. I’m heartsick.” God is experiencing an incredible sense of loss. His people have betrayed Him. They have abandoned Him. They have turned around and blamed Him. “It’s the cry of my dear people reverberating through the country. Is God no longer in Zion? Has the King gone away?" They refuse to bow the knee. Refuse to repent and return to Him. Refuse to humble themselves before Him. Quite the opposite. They brazenly continue in sin. "Can you tell me why they flaunt their plaything-gods, their silly, imported no-gods before me?" This is a stiff-necked people. A foolish people. A rebellious people. They take their relationship with God for granted. They are entitled. They are spoiled. They assume God will come to their rescue despite their unwillingness to walk in His ways. "The crops are in, the summer is over, but for us nothing’s changed. We’re still waiting to be rescued."

The perspective shifts back to God at the beginning of chapter nine which we’ll read tomorrow. (Remember the chapter and verse divisions are somewhat arbitrary and appeared much later than the original text.) ““I wish my head were a well of water and my eyes fountains of tears So I could weep day and night for casualties among my dear, dear people. At times I wish I had a wilderness hut, a backwoods cabin, Where I could get away from my people and never see them again. They’re a faithless, feckless bunch, a congregation of degenerates.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭9‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭MSG‬‬) Again, one pictures deep, heavy sobs. God weeping a flood of tears. God experiencing unimaginable pain. Because He has freely joined Himself in an unbreakable covenant with His people, their wounds become His wounds. Their pain becomes His pain. Their heartbreak becomes His heartbreak. Things get so bad, God wishes He could leave. Abandon them to their fate. Leave the Temple in Jerusalem and return to the wilderness. To the time when He tabernacled with them on the Exodus journey. But the Tabernacle is gone. There is no lodging place in the desert God can run to. He is stuck. He is committed. He will endure. This is the great faithfulness of our God! It is costly. It is hard. It is painful. But it remains true. 

Really, God is being faithful to Himself here. Faithful to the promise He has made. To be our God, come hell or high water. This was the message He communicated through the covenant He first made with Abraham in Genesis 15 and sealed through the death and resurrection of His Beloved Son Jesus Christ. His steadfast love establishes the fundamental reality of our lives. The bedrock on which we can build our lives. Without fear. Without shame. Without worry that somehow, someway there will come a day when God will finally lose patience and abandon us. God will not leave us or forsake us for in doing so He would be unfaithful to Himself. Let this truth be your firm foundation today, friends!

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 9-12

The Grief of God

Readings for today: Jeremiah 1-4

Jeremiah is a hard book to read. Especially if one gets in touch with the pain present throughout. Not only Jeremiah’s pain as he watches his people and his nation struggle and suffer and eventually be destroyed, but God’s pain as well as His people betray Him by chasing after other gods. So intertwined is the pain of God with His prophet that it is often hard to know who’s speaking. For example, Jeremiah  4:19 says, “I’m doubled up with cramps in my belly— a poker burns in my gut. My insides are tearing me up, never a moment’s peace. The ram’s horn trumpet blast rings in my ears, the signal for all-out war.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭4‬:‭19‬ ‭MSG‬‬) Traditionally, these words have been ascribed to Jeremiah himself because we simply cannot fathom God saying such things. However, when one looks closely at the text, it is just as possible that God is speaking. I know this is probably a challenging thought but could it possible that we are so uncomfortable with the idea that God might feel pain that we automatically bracket this reading out of the text? 

We’re going to see this dynamic pop up over and over again throughout this book and it forces us to come to grips with how we see and understand God. Classically, the question goes to the “impassibility” of God. The idea that God doesn’t have “passions” or “pathos” which has to do with suffering. Some have interpreted this to mean God doesn’t have emotions but that’s clearly not true. God expresses a whole range of emotions all throughout the Scriptures. More specifically this idea has to do with the suffering of God. Can God suffer? Does such suffering suggest a change in God? Does it threaten the immutability of His nature and character? Historically, the answer has been “yes” which then forces us to find other explanations for what we read in texts like the one before us today. But what if God suffers? What if God chooses - in His freedom - to be the kind of God who moves towards suffering? Who embraces suffering? Who welcomes suffering without it changing who He is? Is this not the heart of the gospel? Is this not part of the mystery of the Incarnation? Eternal God choosing to take on human flesh? With all its weaknesses and struggles and hardships? Is this not the heart of the passion of our Christ? God suffering with us and for us even to the point of death?  

It seems to me that we lose nothing by embracing the pathos of God if we understand God has embraced such pathos according to His own will and good pleasure. Certainly, such suffering is not forced on God. It doesn’t take God by surprise. It doesn’t enact a change on God’s experience. God is beyond all these things. He truly is immutable or unchanging. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. There is no shadow or turning in Him. But at the same time, God has revealed Himself in a particular, one might even argue, peculiar kind of way. He is a God who embraces a broken creation. A God who covenants with a broken people. A God who is steadfast and faithful and loyal and true even in the face of evil. He is a God who likens His relationship with His people to a marriage and the faithlessness of His people to adultery. He frequently uses the language of betrayal and heartache and pain to express His dismay over the sinful choices His people make. No one forces God to remain faithful. No one makes God forgive. No outside force can drive God to do anything He Himself has not already chosen to do in complete freedom. Which makes passages like the one we read today and others like it throughout the book of Jeremiah so intriguing. 

What if God is in anguish over us? What if being in relationship with us breaks God’s heart? What if God’s choice to love us from before the foundations of the earth involved Him choosing unimaginable suffering? Would this change how you relate to Him? Change how you see Him? Change how you experience Him? Change how you love Him?  

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 5-8