Thought for February 7, 2024

• 1839: Henry Clay says, "I'd rather be right than President" 
• 1856: Tasmanian Parliament passes first law providing for elections by secret ballot
• 1974: "Blazing Saddles" premiers
• 2018: A DNA study in "Nature Magazine" says that all citrus fruit can be traced to the foothills of the Himalayas
• Born: Thomas More, John Deere, Charles Dickens, Garth Brooks, Chris Rock, Ashton Kutcher
• Died: Harvey Firestone, Anne Lindbergh, Billy Casper, Albert Finney, Frank Robinson

Thought:

Yesterday I was reading Jeremiah 1:9-10 and thinking about what needed to be plucked from my life and what seeds needed planting and building needed to be done to become useful as a spokesman for the Lord. Today, I am looking at 1:16 where the Lord tells Jeremiah about the sins of Judah that have caused Him to creat a boiling pot in the north. In verses 11-15, God gives Jeremiah a vision of what is to come. Anathoth, Jeremiah's home town, was the center for growing almond trees. Almond trees were among the first to bloom, so God is saying He is watching [El Roi from the story of Hagar--the God who watches/sees] as the word goes out from Jeremiah. The second vision is the boiling pot--Babylon about to be poured out toward the south and Jerusalem. 

Then in verse 16, God tells Jeremiah the problem--wickedness causes discipline and destruction. And look at the things that God calls wicked. 

• They have forsaken God.
• They have sacrificed to other gods.
• They have worshipped the works of their own hands. 

As I think about this today, I want to look at myself and our nation. God repeatedly promises that He will never fail or forsake us. God does not change or move, so when the relationship weakens, gets shaky, it is not God who has changed or moved, it is me. Am I walking with and toward God, or away from Him? Am I walking in His light or trying to walk in my own light which is really darkness? Have I forsaken Jesus? Decided to do it my way, consider Him an advisor that I can listen to or reject. When I was practicing law, a client would come seeking advice about a situation. I would give the best advice I had and the client could either accept or reject it. Same with your doctor--you ask him how to handle a problem and he tells you--lose weight, exercise more---and you can accept or reject. I would tell my clients if they rejected my advice it was o'k because when things got really messed up, they would have to pay me or another lawyer a lot more to clean up the problem. I find that true with the Lord--I forsake Him and the results are a lot worst than if I had just done what He said to do in the first place. 

Have I sacrificed to other gods this week? I gave a lot of time to television shows which don't bring me closer to the Lord. I saw a lot of sports that don't improve me in any way. I spent resources on things that really don't matter or contribute to me being more like Jesus. 

What about worshipping other gods? Athletes, performers, seeking power or position. The god of acceptance by others, being liked by others. The god of comfort and ease. 

Maybe these words were not just written for the people of Judah in 620 BC--maybe they were written for me and our nation today. 

Blessings

Larry