Qualifications for Mercy

{Jeremiah 44}

It’s a scary thing to have God set His face against you. More than scary… It’s absolutely frightening.

Utter destruction, utter desolation was to be their just reward. Not a cheery prospect.

Yet one small glimmer of hope was still offered.

To those who escaped the sword and returned to Judah would be extended mercy. 

Mercy again? Yes… My God delights to show mercy. There are qualifications though.

“Shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”*

My mind instantly jumps to Revelation. It’s a similar expression.

“Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”**

Two simple things. In essence they sum up the entire plan of salvation. They are an indicator of our spiritual vitality.

When final destruction imperils the world, I want to be found eligible for mercy.

* Exodus 20:6

** Revelation 14:12

Broken Promises

{Jeremiah 42 & 43}

A handful remains­. The destitute, the impoverished, the rejected.

They are pleading for guidance, asking Jeremiah to beseech God on their behalf.

They chorus in unison, “Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God.” 

My mind instantly goes back to a previous group of people. Wanderers in a wilderness. It’s a familiar line.

“All that the LORD hath spoken we will do.” 

Another futile promise quickly broken. Good intentions. Yet even the best of intentions have no power in themselves. Only the strength of Christ behind them can give power to fulfill.

Jeremiah conveys God’s instruction merely to be immediately reproached as construing the words of the Lord. Their promise, only 10 days old, is broken, and they will reap the consequences of disobedience.

Their foolish choice is hard to breeze-over. Yet when I pause to ponder, I realize that I have often been just as foolish.

I beg for God’s guidance and tell Him I will follow whatever He says, yet when His revealed will differs from my perceived ideas, I sometimes struggle to accept. It all boils down to my commitment though. The best of intentions will fail, but if I avail myself of His power, I have no option of failure.

More Victory

{Jeremiah 41}

I struggle to find a lesson within this chapter of bloodshed and warfare. It is rather gruesome.

But then I get to thinking… 

What if I fought the figures of sin in my life as viciously as Ishmael fought the supporters of Gedaliah? 

What if I was not satisfied until every one of my sinful enemies was vanquished and buried beneath the ground? 

What if I didn’t consider defeat as an option?

I don’t know. My Commander has been teaching me battle tactics, but I think I need to step up the intensity. 

More blood. More sweat. More prayer. More tears. 

And all this for more victory.

Among Few

{Jeremiah 40}

The choice was offered to the prophet. 

Would he prefer to remain with the poorest of the poor that even the king of Babylon spurned? Or would he decide to accompany the captain to Babylon where he would be generously cared for?

Jeremiah chose the path of privation, of hardship, of adversity. Why?

Because status and wealth on earth has no effect upon God’s estimate of your value. The orphan child or penniless widow are held in equal esteem with the kings of nations. Nay, perhaps more. Because the hearts of poverty are often receptive hearts. 

And so Jeremiah remains among the few. Because here he knows his hearers will be more open-minded.

Never despise the poor, the few. It may just be where God is calling you.

Mercy Twice-Over

{Jeremiah 39}

After almost two years of seige, Jerusalem fell into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, proving that the countless prophecies of Jeremiah could not be ignored. Although Zedekiah had listened to the counsel of the Lord, he had neglected to follow His commands. Now he was to pay the consequences—bitter consequences.

Yet in the midst of terrible slaughter and captivity, God still shows mercy. Still…

My mind is baffled by such unquenchable Love. My heart is drawn by His compassion. This is the God I adore.

Mercy twice-over. 

A simple act of kindness by a foreign eunuch. 

Ebedmelech, a Jewish stranger, is rewarded with life—life temporal and life eternal—because he placed his trust in Him. God takes notice of the littlest acts of love.

A life of resolute obedience to the voice of God.

Jeremiah, the Hebrew seer, who has been insulted and despised for the cause of God, receives incredible favor from a heathen king. Liberty and safety was granted him. Imagine being told that whatever you say, the captain has been commanded to obey. God never forgets His servants.

Mercy twice-over. Two men rewarded for faithfulness. 

One God who always works all things together for good to them that love Him. Always…

God Always Has Friends

{Jeremiah 38}

They were completely false charges, and the king knew it. But he was too weak in character to resist the princes. So he feigned agreement with them, and gave the prophet into their hands for them to do whatever they pleased.

Jeremiah was thrown into a dark, damp, smelly, miry cistern. Not a pleasant place for any individual, much less God’s prophet.

The faithful prophet patiently and unswervingly clung to his God whom he knew would not fail him. Whatever God deemed fit for him to endure, Jeremiah would endure it with joy. But God had other plans.

In the court of kind Zedekiah was an Ethiopian eunuch. This man was a friend of God. And God laid upon his heart to petition on behalf of His prophet. Request granted, Ebedmelech proceeded to arrange for Jeremiah’s rescue. Ropes would be necessary to extract him from the cistern, but the raw ropes would not hurt his friend. No, with a tender heart the eunuch provided old soft rags for Jeremiah to use in order to bring him up with comfort.

God always has friends.

Regardless of your status, your age, your ethnicity, God wants you to be His friend. He wants to use you to bless the lives of others. And kindness given is always repaid in greater measures.

Will you be a friend of God?

False Accusations

{Jeremiah 37}

I turn page after page reading the fascinating accounts of undaunted individuals of the reformation; I trace the lives of countless faithful missionaries giving their all, even their lives, for the advancement of the gospel; I examine the servants of God through the ages, and I determine that the whole history of God’s messengers wears an almost unbroken line of sacrifice, of hardship, of false accusations, of misunderstandings. 

Jeremiah is no exception.

The devil is no ignorant bystander. He has had over six thousand years of practice to refine his tactics. He twists the minds of men into believing truth is error and error is truth, and most of them don’t even realize what has happened.

Yet when false accusations are shouted in our faces, we have a choice to make. And it all depends on the habits we have previous cultivated in our lives. If we have fostered the meekness, grace and humility of our Savior in little trials, they will also be manifest in the most difficult times.

It all depends on our surrender now.

Of Rolls and Rulers

{Jeremiah 36}

Yet another chance, another token of mercy, another gift of grace, another opportunity for forgivenness. How many times can God show His longsuffering? I am filled with awe and amazement at such a God. Humanly, I know I couldn’t bear with such blunt defiance of laws and love. But He delights to show mercy…

It was a roll this time, a scroll containing all that God had declared to Jeremiah, yet another strategy to try to arouse the little bit of piety that might be residing in some hearts. When the king heard, he was driven into satanic fury, cutting the roll into pieces and throwing it into the fire.

But there were a few who were still seeking, a few whose hearts were still open. They pled with the king not to burn the scroll, but his heart was so hardened that he would not listen to them. His life was a sad tale of continued disregard of God’s law.

In fact, the king was not content to just destroy the roll; he determined to destroy Baruch and Jeremiah too. And suddenly we see the hand of God saying, “Here, but no further.” I love this phrase…

“But the Lord hid them.”

And no action of the king could quench the flame kindled in the hearts of these men. They wrote yet another scroll; this one was even deeper and more complete than the last. The enemy can never prevail.

--

This is not just a story from ages past. It is going to happen again, soon. Yes, we will have persecution, but the hand of God will be there saying, “Here, but no further.” Nothing the devil can do will quench our fire.

Nothing.

Warped Priorities

{Jeremiah 35}

“You shall drink no wine…”

Just a mortal command. Yet the whole extended family for generations would not violate it. 

Discussion over. No variance.

Then there was the divine command. And it seemed the entire nation reveled in its violation.

Why the dichotomy? Why, I ask myself, could the mortal command be so exonerated and the divine command so disregarded and trampled on the ground?

Is it because their sense of priorities had been warped? 

Because their senses had been dulled to that which was most important?

Ouch. 

Those questions hit a little too close to home. I’ve been pondering them already and making changes. I can’t afford to have my priorities warped and my senses dulled to that which is eternally important. No, for to do so would to be to pronounce my own sentence. And it would not be a sentence in my favor…

Our adversary likes to take subtle measures with our culture. And unconsciously our priorities shift to what might still appear harmless, yet isn’t where we should have our primary focus. It’s a sobering thought. 

“Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” {1 Corinthians 10:12}

Retracted Liberty

{Jeremiah 34}

From all appearances, they seemed to be following the counsel of the Lord. However, it was not long before they had reversed all their virtuous actions.

They set free. But then made captives.

Thankfully, my Master is not anything akin to the fickle Israelites. 

My God only gives freedom; He never takes it away. 

Only by our own actions can we retract the liberties He has granted us.

We Call It Sacrifice?

{Jeremiah 33}

“…and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord…”

I rest back into my chair and mull over this phrase.

We call a lot of things sacrifice. Giving a miserly amount for missions. Setting down a good book to go help our parents with a project. Speaking to someone who’s feeling lonely when we would rather be conversing with friends. Spending a day helping at the homeless shelter. Adhering to healthy lifestyle principles just because we know it’s good for us. Putting aside our selfish nature for the benefit of others.

We call this sacrifice. And I rebel.

Because if Christ truly has our hearts, the above is not sacrifice; it’s joy. Pure joy.

When the wellspring of Christ’s joy is in our hearts, to give is to gain; to obey is our pleasure; to share is our song. 

It’s an all-consuming pursuit of happiness of the eternal variety.

And praise? For the Israelites it was embodied in a physical offering, yet there is also the verbal aspect.

We often pride ourselves, thinking we declare our praise and adoration quite often.

We praise God when we call on Him and He shows us great and mighty things. We praise God for healing. We praise God for the big things in our lives. And to us, it seems no sacrifice. The blessings are so obvious.


But what about the things we take for granted? Or perhaps the things that don’t appear to be blessings?

Little things.

Like a minute of sun piercing through the clouds. Like a plethora of Bibles sitting on our shelf. Like instructive criticism from a caring mother. Like golden tamarack trees dotting the hillsides. Like a toothbrush. Like giving to sustain and educate a girl across the world. Like the gift of learning. Even like trials and temptations, suffering and pain, heartache and tears.

Yes, all these are worthy of our gratitude and praise. Through the eyes of the Infinite we can view even the thorniest valley as a gift from the Giver. And we mustn’t forget to pour out our hearts in thanks to the Giver Himself…

With all that He has done for us, praise is no sacrifice; to give is pure joy.

Filled with Gratitude

Another year has passed into unalterable history. My heart is filled beyond over-flowing with gratitude. My God has been so gracious to me this year.

I think back on lessons He has taught me and opportunities I have had… They are all blessings. 

I see His fingerprints everywhere along my path. 

My thankfulness encompasses two consecutive days. Special days. Days to especially express gratitude from the depths of my heart. Not that I don't thank Him every day of the year. I do.

But I've had special time to ponder my thanks over the past couple days. I cannot but praise Him. 

For so many things…

My spiritual experience has gone deeper this year than ever before. I have been pushed and encouraged  by friends and my fire has been kindled brighter by the coals from His fire. You know who you are… Thank you from the bottom of my heart. 

I have learned so many lessons: That adversity is my greatest blessing, every life matters, brokenness brings transformation, war takes every last drop of blood I have. Yet He has enraptured my heart.

I have also been blessed with so many opportunities this year that I never could have dreamed of on my own. God always out-gives. Always…

I'm counting my blessings, yet they are innumerable.

Thank you, Father… I know You will prove Yourself faithful yet again this coming year.

Undeserved Grace

{Jeremiah 32}

Disobedient. Idolatrous. Defiant. Back-slidden. An abomination.

They didn’t deserve grace.

God had promised “to give everyone according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” And now His hand of judgment was raised.

Yet after listing all their sins and the punishments which were to be meted out, the tenor of His words change.

“I will bring them back again. I will cause them to dwell safely. They shall be my people. I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way to know me forever. I will make an everlasting covenant with them. I will not turn away from them. I will put my fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from me. I will rejoice over them. I will plant them in this land with my whole heart and my whole soul.”*

I will. I will. I will.

Why is God so willing to do all these things for an ungrateful, contemptible nation?

I find only one answer.

Love.

Love always wins. Consequences may come, but Love will always prevail.

True, the nation of Israel didn’t deserve grace, but neither did we…

Remember No More

{Jeremiah 31}

“And their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”*

A quote from Hebrews with direct correlation to Jeremiah 31. Paul mentions this verse twice within two chapters.

no. more.

Let that sink in for a moment.

In the Greek it’s a double negative, in the sense that it’s strengthening the force of denial. 

Not at all. By any means. Ever. From this moment on.

He cannot even bring it to mind. It’s gone forever…

And yes, there’s a myriad of other details in this chapter that justifiably could be mentioned, but I think these three words say it all. Because when God forgives and makes you clean, the truth of absolute pardon can change your life forever.

He remembers no more. Your sinful past is obliterated. 

And He means it.

*{Hebrews 8:12}

Healed Wounds

{Jeremiah 30}

God had inflicted a serious wound. Not out of anger, but out of love. 

Yet because of their ugly injury, all so-called friends of the nation had fled. 

Not one offered medicines of healing. Not one pled for their cause. Israel was an outcast.

Yet that was exactly what Israel needed.

For in the pain and loneliness of feeling utterly forsaken and mortally wounded, they finally sensed their need. 

The concept shared with me by friends seems to jump out at me from the page.

Only when we are broken can we be blessed and transformed.

The Administer of punishment now promised to bind up the very wounds He had inflicted. To heal their bruises. To restore health and that, more abundant than before.

The yokes of bondage were broken. 

The nation that had held them captive so long set them free.

Blessings of fruitfulness and multiplied families were given.

Laughter was again heard within the homes of Jerusalem.

Yes, their wounds were healed by the Giver’s hand. Unfortunately the lessons God sought to teach them didn’t remain fresh in their memory, yet only because they forgot Him again in their prosperity.

--

My vision is expanded. I see new possibilities, thanks to friends who were willing to share. Our experience doesn’t have to follow their example of repeated failure. My brokenness can be my restoration, my transformation. My wound, the cause of healing. My sorrow, my joy.

Through brokenness I can find blessing and in the blessing, forever restoration.

Found!

{Jeremiah 29}

After seemingly endless declarations of His people’s heartless rejection, it’s a breath of fresh air.

A herald of restoration. A token of forgiveness.

My face breaks into a smile. 

“Ye shall… find Me.”

There is always a tenor of jubilation when something, or someone is found.

But to find Him? There is no greater joy…

We may discover Him through a variety of means, yet only by earnest seeking can He truly be found.

So seek, and you will find…

He promises.

Yokes of Love

{Jeremiah 26-28}

Sometimes God has to take radical measures. 

Sometimes our hearts are too stubborn to be sensitized and softened by gentler means. 

Sometimes it takes a yoke of iron…

He pleads. He intreats. He promises.

Yet sometimes words just fly past our shoulders. 

I think the concept of being yoked has become distorted. We tend to see the negative connotations when that is only part of the definition.

In reality though, a yoke is merely an instrument used to harmonize the work of two into one. To find surpassing strength of two combined rather than one alone. To give greater power, greater synergy and accomplish greater results.

It may be that we break the wooden yoke, yet God just gently replaces it with an iron one. Not in a tyrannical display, but in love alone. The yoke has a purpose in our training.

And isn’t that truly what I desire? To be so yoked with Christ that my every act is in harmony with Him? To find His surpassing strength and the results that accompany it?

Seventy Years

{Jeremiah 25}

Seventy. Perfection’s number plus a zero.

Yes, even this banishment evidenced greater love on the part of their Savior. 

Nothing He does is without purpose.

Yet because of the great knowledge He had given them, which they had spurned, their punishment must be in proportion.

What He longed for most was for this experience to act as a purging fire to purify them from all that has previously separated His adopted children from their Father’s side. For them to emerge from captivity rejoicing not only in physical freedom, but spiritual freedom in Him. 

He desired perfection for His people more than anything else…

And the same is true for us today.

There is nothing that God desires more than for us, as His representatives, to become perfect through His strength.

And it doesn’t have to take seventy years…

Naughty Figs

{Jeremiah 24}

I remember first reading this passage as a young girl and finding the wording highly amusing. Naughty figs? I guess I had just always correlated the word “naughty” with the word “children.” I laugh now at my naivete. I was subsequently enlightened to the fact that the old English definition was “bad” and so my vocabulary expanded. Nevertheless, that phrase from Jeremiah was indelibly fixed in my memory.

Yet looking at this passage again with a broader understanding and closer examination, I find in two baskets of figs something of deeper significance.

A basket of rancid figs. A basket of ripe figs.

Symbolic representations of the people of Israel. Those taken into captivity and those left behind.

And I begin to ponder the fact that the good figs are representative of those in captivity. 

It seems strange. For wouldn’t the captives be represented by the bad figs?

Yet perhaps freedom is not appreciated without captivity. 

Perhaps captivity was but a means to awaken them from their spiritual slumber. 

Perhaps blessings could not be appreciated without the experience of captivity and the jubilation of release.

Despite the temporary benefits of captivity however, God’s people were not destined to remain slaves. Freedom was theirs, if they would but claim it.

My unfocused gaze is directed out my window as I contemplate my own life. Am I still in captivity?

I have to admit the realization is altogether possible. Yet the experience of being a captive has taught me many lessons. 

It has allowed me to relate to other captives. 

It has taught me the value of freedom. 

It has taught me lessons of warfare. 

It has shown me Love in a way otherwise impossible.

And so I am in gratitude for captivity. Yet I am in greater gratitude for freedom, although it might not be fully mine yet.

For after the horrors of captivity, freedom is truly sweet…

False Dreams

{Jeremiah 23}

The priests and prophets of Jeremiah’s day were blatantly defiant. 

Their complete disregard for the word of the Lord was blasphemous, their counterfeit prophesy a direct slander to His name.

“I have dreamed,” they would said, but their words were full of deceit. They claimed to have received revelations from the Source of wisdom, yet in reality their dreams were fabricated by the originator of lies.

I stop to ponder… Do I have false dreams? 

Dreams that I am contriving on my own? 

Dreams that are not surrendered to the Dream Fulfiller?

Dreams that are actually thought traps?

I pray not and once again quietly surrender all into His hands. 

Personal interpretation of God’s will is absolutely dangerous. 

For how can a finite mind think to understand the mind of the Infinite? 

I want His dreams to be my dreams…

Youthful Choices

{Jeremiah 22}

A sad situation this. 

Powerful king made completely powerless.

Yet I find most disturbing the cause…

It was choices made early. In years of youth. Choices to disobey.

And when in prosperity the king is warned, there is no guarantee that he will listen.

He has refused to obey from youth.

That is downright scary.

So I continue to beg my Father to give the youth of today the strength to choose right. 

To choose to obey. 

To choose Him.

Stay or Surrender

{Jeremiah 21}

Death or life. Polar opposites. Obvious choice, right…?

You would think so.

“I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.”*

Surrender and you will live. Stay and you will die.

Why then do so many die?

Because they choose to remain within the familiar and comfortable. 

The city, though it be their undug grave, is all they’ve ever known… 

It holds a certain amount of security. 

To surrender to an unknown army, and unknown future is downright frightening. 

It is directly disregarding everything that has been ingrained in them since birth.

And so they stay…

Yet only in surrender is there life.

Then why do we shy away from surrender, from risking all we’ve ever known, from leaving the familiar and embracing uncertainty with the eye of faith?

Why are we content to remain within the comfort of our walls, forgetting that to stay means death?

Why do we cling to the chains which hold us fast when the gift of freedom is dangling above our heads?

Because in the familiar is a sense of security.

But that’s just the devil’s lie to keep you in bondage until you rest in the grave.

Risk yourself by pushing open the city walls and surrendering.

For only in surrender is there life…

*{Jeremiah 21:8}

Burning Fire

{Jeremiah 20}

You can’t really blame Jeremiah. His life was one of hardship and constant derision.

I’m sure I would get tired of it too.

He had endured enough. Now he just wanted God to take care of all those who continually opposed him. 

All feelings of compassion had been drained from his heart. No message. No mercy. 

So he determines not to speak for God. But he cannot be silent…

The words of Omnipotence sear his heart like a burning fire.

And it is then that I realize…

Even in the midst of the fiercest trial or persecution, when it feels as though God is a distance fixture, He is yet within…

Burning away the dross of our carnal hearts.

And with fire comes pain. 

There is no ignorance of the blaze within. 

It sears. It hurts. It purges.

And it breaks our silence. 

When we are most vulnerable and weak, He can cleanse the deepest and reach our hearts best. 

And in the end, our scars will be trophies. The fire a prize. The pain our treasure…

Broken Pieces {Beautiful Vessel - Part II}

{Jeremiah 19}

Shards. Shattered fragments. Broken pieces.

The Israelites had made a mess of themselves, no doubt about that. And God was ready to cast them onto the ground like a potter’s bottle to be broken beyond repair. 

It seems utterly heartless. 

How could a God of love execute such fearsome justice?

Yet I realize they were hardened. The material of their hearts was as brittle clay, unfit to be molded. 

He had no other choice.

But the beautiful thing is, although the shards of our sin are utterly shattered, He doesn’t reuse those pieces. He starts afresh with new material.

And the outcome is more beautiful than anything our finite minds could even desire. Yet still He is not satisfied.

Yes, you’ll be used for hard labor and go through harrowing experiences, but He has a special place on His glass shelf embedded with amathysts and diamonds just for you…

And He cannot be truly satisfied until you are there—His beautiful vessel.

The Potter's Hands {Beautiful Vessel - Part I}

{Jeremiah 18}

Hands caked with evidences of pottery sculpting. Clay lining all the creases. 

Gentle fingers guiding a softened adobe-colored lump. 

His brow slightly furrowed in concentration. Eyes intent on the subject of expertise. 

Deft hands working for the perfect outcome.

A sigh escapes pursed lips. Defect detected. 

Doubtless it wasn’t the Potter’s fault. He is the Master.

No… the clay itself is flawed. Its original composition is altered. 

Carefully the Potter removes the deformed lump from the wheel and with His hands remedies the formula and places the reshaped clay again upon the wheel. Silence induced by concentration again ensues.

Finally, after hours of perfecting, a beautiful vessel begins to take shape. Perfect in symmetry, exquisite in appearance, practical in service and sturdy in character, this vessel is no ordinary work of art. Into each creation He pours equal effort, nevertheless they are all unique, individual and stunning in composition.

I may attempt to make myself beautiful, yet without the correct formula, I can never succeed. 

Only when I am pliable in the Potter’s hands, can any true beauty emerge.

And who would desire to be in another’s hands? His are the gentlest earth has ever known.

They are the Potter’s hands…

He is Everything… (And INFC pictures)

If there is something that has rebounded into my consciousness time after time during the past week, it is this…

God is everything.

From wakening me renewed hours before dawn day after day…
To stretching cuisine further than we deemed possible…
To the dozens of willing hands and cheerful hearts who volunteered to lighten our burden every meal…
To hearts touched and lives convicted (including my own)…
To miracles everywhere I turned…

Yes, He yet again proved Himself capable of doing above and beyond my wildest dreams. Sustaining when I deserved to be exhausted, giving when I didn't deserve to receive, encouraging when I felt drained, and so much more…

And I am reminded once again that He is everything to me.

Yes, everything…

--

Here's a brief glimpse into a week full of smiling faces and willing hands…

Scrumptious peanut butter carob fudge!

30+ batches of waffle batter!

Dedicated to the Harnish's :)

Those oven gloves were absolutely irresistible!

You have to watch out for Uncle Jeff… ;)

Carob delicacies

The excellent potato washers

And potato stabbers… (they developed interesting techniques!)

Gravy in the making

Helping to uniquely decorate the stage :)

Boxing lasagna for Sabbath lunch

Try the Reins

{Jeremiah 17}

A contrasting passage.

Deserts and rivers. Salt plains and lush foliage. Blessings and curses. 

And who or what deserves this comparison? Humanity.

It’s a distinction… 

Between those who trust in man and those who trust in God.

Between those who make flesh their strength and those who make the Lord their hope.

Between those who depart from the Lord and those who seek His face continually.

Yes, this is the basis of the contrast made previously.

As the One who searches and knows the depths of every heart gently tugs on the reins, He watches to see whether we will quickly turn in response to His guidance, whether we will hesitate or whether we will refuse in outright defiance. 

It is His divine measure which we all must encounter. A standard that our eternal salvation rests upon.

He is trying my reins. What will be my response?

What will be yours?

Cause Them to Know

{Jeremiah 16}

Horrible things. Absolutely horrible.

Degrading. Defiling. Desecrating. Defaming. And ultimately, destroying…
They have sinned big-time. And they deserve their punishment.

But even though God declares that He shall first doubly recompense their evil, He promises to show mercy still…

Echoes from history mostly forgotten by Jews of their current society reverberate in the words uttered.
He will yet again cause them to know… To know His hand. His might. His name.

His hand… yes, the hands scarred forever. Engraved with my name, your name… A perpetual reminder of His grace, His sacrifice, His love.

His might… Strength Himself employed to break our chains, to make us free…

His name… a character so perfect that sin cannot remain in its presence. Yet He delights to call us by His name.* He rejoices to cover us with His spotless robe and call us to perfection.

Those three elements are the secret to breaking bonds of sin.
Forgiveness and cleansing are not the work of lifetimes, but moments…

Yes, scars take time to heal…
But chains take only moments to break if we will but realize His intense love and plead for His rescue.

Examine His hand. Claim His might. Receive His name.

He will cause you to know… Him.

*{2 Chronicles 7:14; Isaiah 43:7}

Plea for Pardon

{Jeremiah 14, 15}

Omnipotence seems settled in His verdict. Jeremiah equally decided in his.
A potential field for verbal conflict.

Dialog ensues.

God: “The entire nation of Judah is suffering from [spiritual] famine.”

Jeremiah: “On behalf of Your character, show Yourself to be faithful and mighty to save.”

God: “Don’t pray for the good of this people.”

Jeremiah: “The prophets proclaim there is no peril of famine or sword.”

God: “They speak only lies; for truly the sword and famine are prevalent throughout this nation.”

Jeremiah: “Have you completely rejected Judah? Is there no hope for us? For Your name’s sake, do not break your covenant with us. We will wait on You.”

God: “Even if Moses and Samuel were standing before me, I still could not show favor towards these people. Because they have forsaken Me for other gods, I will forsake them to the results of their choices.”

A moment of silence transpires. The atmosphere is tense. The entire universe holds its breath.

God: “Nevertheless, I will be gracious with the remnant and cause thy enemies to flee.

Nevertheless…
I love that word!
Not compromise. No… But rather an indicator that Love is greater.

And Love can never disregard a plea for pardon from a sincere petitioner.

Ashes

{Jeremiah 13}

“More soap?”

“Here.”

“Good. Now the brush.”

“Here.”

“Don’t you have a stiffer one?”

“We have already rubbed him raw and he’s just a black as ever.”

“Then I’ll wash him more, that’s all.”*

---

The words from a favorite Christian classic enter my ears, yet don’t stop there.
They enter my heart…

To us it seems so obvious. Of course you can’t wash off an Ethiopian’s rich skin tone.
It’s enough to be irritated about. Don’t they realize their efforts are futile?

Yet, do we?

Do we realize the utter impossibility of transforming our lives (or anyone's for that matter) into the image of Christ through our own endeavors?

Completely. Hopeless.

But I have news for you…
He has soap and brush infinitely more powerful than anything the two attempting to wash the Ethiopian possessed.

“… for He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap.”**

Yes, soap made from ashes. And a fire to turn dross into ashes.

Ashes.

Only when our dross is burst to ashes can we be instruments in the cleansing process.
And if my ashes can be someone’s salvation, then Lord, let me be burned…

Regardless of the pain.



* {Pilgrim’s Progress}
** {Malachi 3:2}

Running With Horses

{Jeremiah 12}

It is a question of endurance. Of strength. Of ability.
An unequivocal test of competence.

For if running with footmen over gentle terrain engenders fatigue,  
How can you expect to keep up with horses through tempestuous rivers?

If we tire in this life of peace and prosperity, there is serious concern for the future.
Now is when we are to train alongside the footmen and learn to tire not…

For soon we shall be contending with horses in the swelling of Jordan,
facing hardships we never dreamed existed.

Then it will be evidenced whether we were faithful in our training.

Endurance and strength are not built in a day.
Learn to run with footmen today so that you may run with horses tomorrow…

He Gives Again. . .

{Jeremiah 11}

It was no light matter. They had persisted in their course of wickedness.
The mercy of God had given. The justice of God must also give.

Consequences always follow disobedience.
Sometimes the results are unrecognized until distant future, yet always they exist.

There is nothing that pains God more than having to chastise His treasures.

Cursed though they were, hope and forgiveness were still extended from the Giver’s hand.
He would not give up on them until the last ray of melting mercy disappeared below the horizon of grace.
Until the last nail was driven into His palms. Until the last shout of “Crucify” faded into silent history.

And then, it would only be the people as a whole.
Individuals will ever move His heart to give again…

and again, and again…

Gone Before

{Jeremiah 10}

Our steps always end up going the wrong direction, no matter how hard we try…
Because “the way of man is not in himself.”*

Our only security is to follow the footsteps of Him who has gone before.

Embedded for centuries they stand unsullied, undamaged. They are engraved on a path strewn with rocks, sprinkled with blood and hedged about by thorns. Yet to the one who will closely examine the narrow track, they are there—ready to feel the tread of yet another soldier plant their feet firmly in their impress.

They will endure forever—a testimony to the One who has gone before…

*{Jeremiah 10:23}

His Glory; Our Song

{Jeremiah 9}

Heart-melting…
Thorough testing…
Lessons in true wisdom…
The hidden gift of adversity…

Yes, these are His means for shaping soldiers. True soldiers.
And it is when we are smelted in His crucible that we learn our human wisdom is futile.

“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom… but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me…” {Jeremiah 9:23, 24}

When we know Him, all apparent hardships become fodder for glory’s blaze.

His glory is our song.

False Security

{Jeremiah 8}

“Peace, peace,” they cry, “when there is no peace.” {Jeremiah 8:11}

The perceived security of being God’s chosen people is crumbling silently beneath their feet.
They have put their trust in the wrong places.

Horses and human wisdom will ultimately fail. Only One is safe to trust; only One will never let us down.

Throw off the false security of being a professed “Christian” and grasp the never-failing hand of the One who never fails…

Humanity may fail us. Heaven will not.

The Test of Discipleship

{Jeremiah 7}
 
“Obedience is the test of discipleship. It is the keeping of the commandments of God that proves the sincerity of our professions of love.”* 

 
The people were commanded to obey, yet not in a dictator-like way. The call to obedience was but an earnest plea to do what would be in their best interest.

“Yet they hearkened not…”

Discipleship is shown through obedience.
Keeping His commandments proves our love.
Transformation of character evidences our genuine commitment.

A true disciple will obey.
No questions. No delays.



*{Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 146}