Thought for October 10, 2024

•  1780: Great Hurricane kills 20,000-30,000 in the Caribbean.
• 1845: Naval School [US Naval Academy] opens in Annapolis
• 1886: First dinner jacket worn to a ball in Tuxedo NY--the Tuxedo begins
• 1954: Ho Chi Minh enters Hanoi following French withdrawal
• 1961: "The Bob Newhart Show" debuts
• 1973: Spiro Agnew resigns
• 2018: Hurricane Michael [category 4] makes landfall at Mexico Beach Florida
• Born: Henry Cavendish [discovered hydrogen], Giuseppe Verdi, Helen Hayes, Thelonius Monk, Bruce Devlin, John Prine, Nora Roberts, Tanya Tucker, Brett Farve, Lee Steers
• Died: Abel Tasman, William Seward, Adolphus Busch, Charlotte Cooper [first female Olympic champion], Orson Welles, Yul Brynner, Christopher Reeve, Alex Karras, Emma Moody [wife of Dwight Moody], Edith Piaf

Thought:

Yes, I am still in Jeremiah 1, reading 9-10. Earlier this week, we noted that God had planned for Jeremiah and had given him an assignment to the nations. Look at 1:10. God has put His words into the mouth of Jeremiah and appointed him to: pluck, break, destroy, build and plant. The first thing I notice is that the Lord touched Jeremiah's mouth---it is God's word that will do the work, Jeremiah is the proclaimer. Same with us---we proclaim and God does the work. Reminds me of Acts where the people were fasting and living together in unity and the Lord was adding daily those that were saved [Acts 2:47]. What was Jeremiah to do with the words God gave Him?

• Pluck. The symbol of Babylon was the eagle. And some think this speaks to the ultimate fall of Babylon or the insanity of Nebuchadnezzar. It might be that God's word strips away everyting and reveals what's underneath. Sharper than a two-edged sword. 
• Break down: Sometimes we say people have to get to the absolute bottom before they are willing to look up. God's word breaks down barriers and breaks all of the worldly stuff--unimportant, of no eternal value.
• Destroy. Like Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10--God's word destroys speculations and every thing raised up against the knowledge of God. All of these three things have spiritual significance but also reflect the coming judgment on the people--the nations resources would be taken by the Babylonians, the walls of the city and the Temple would be destroyed. The best and brightest would be taken away into captivity where pressures would be used to conform them to Babylonian theology and culture [Daniel].
• Build. But Jeremiah was also building. He would tell of the time when the people would be freed from captivity and Jerusalem rebuilt.  God's anger only lasts for a little while, but His lovingkindness endures forever. 
• Plant. The day would come when the land would produce again, the drought and pillaging over. God had promised a future and a plan for His people and He will keep all those promises. 

These verses makes me examine myself and ask, what are the habits and attitudes that need plucking from my life? What are the strongholds that I have created and have not placed under the Lordship of Christ? Where have I resisted God's efforts to build a new creature in me? What seeds of the Lord need watering and cultivating so that I grow into the likeness of the Great Planter? Lord show us our sin, forgive us and make all things new. 

Blessings

Larry