A few things that stood out from today's readings:
15 And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie.16 Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, because you have uttered rebellion against the Lord.’”
This makes me think about a quote that was discussed in Sunday School yesterday:
The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”
―When we are not following the will and the plan of God, and yet we are professing that we are Christian, we are leading people astray. Hananiah was doing his own thing and NOT what the Lord wanted him to be doing. There are always consequences for disobedience and Hananiah paid with his life.
5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream,[a] 9 for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the Lord.
These are the words to the exiles but are just as they were true for them, they are applicable to us living as exiles in this society that is more grey than black and white. We are to put down roots buy planting, literally and figuratively, seeds of produce and of relationships with others. We should multiply and bring up our children in the Lord. Pray for our fallen world. We should know God's truth so that we are not swayed by false prophets and fake news.
11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare[b] and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
We can take comfort in knowing that God has a plan for us. He hears us and when we seek Him we will find Him.
Why do you cry out over your hurt?
Your pain is incurable.
Because your guilt is great,
because your sins are flagrant,
I have done these things to you.
16 Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured,
and all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity;
those who plunder you shall be plundered,
and all who prey on you I will make a prey.
17 For I will restore health to you,
and your wounds I will heal,
declares the Lord,
Our sins are obvious and offensive and our guilt is heavy. It can make us feel like the pain of sin is unending. But one day, the Lord will heal all our wounds and turn all of our hardship around. He is greater than all our sin.
From the NT:
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
We are needy people. What a comfort to know that Jesus can supply all our needs. We know God keeps his promises and hearing “Truly, truly, I say to you" throughout the NT readings is a great reminder that we can have confidence in God.
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage: Jeremiah 31-33, John 7:1-52
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