Thought for October 21, 2024

•  1512: Martin Luther joins the faculty of the University of Wittenberg
• 1520: Magellan is the first European to sail in the Pacific Ocean
• 1797: Old Ironsides launched in Boston
• 1805: Lord Nelson victorious at the Battle of Trafalgar
• 1824: Portland cement patented
• 1854: Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses sent to the Crimean War
• 1959: Guggenheim Museum opens in NYC
• 1964: Movie "My Fair Lady" premiers
• 1975: Carlton Fisk hits 12th inning home run in the World Series
• Born: Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Alfred Nobel, Dizzy Gillespie, Whitey Ford, Steve Cropper, Judith Sheindlin [Judge Judy], Benjamin Netanyahu, Kim Kardashian, Carrie Fisher, Kane Brown, Mark Thrailkill [Best son]
• Died: Horatio Nelson, Jack Kerouac, John Scopes, Jim Garrison [DA, Kennedy assassination], George McGovern, Bud Adams, Ben Bradlee

Thought:

Continuing in Jeremiah this morning, looking at chapter 32. In the 10th year of Zedekiah's reign, the Lord speaks to Jeremiah. Notice that Jerusalem is under siege by the Babylonian army. Zedekiah's reign of 11 years ended in 597 BC with the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah had been placed in prison for telling the people the truth--God was giving the city to the Babylonians because of the  sin of the city. Think about that and how it might apply today. Everyone claims to have their own "truth." We don't want to hear the real truth that comes from the Lord. So what happens when someone tells the real truth--harassed, called bigoted, racist, fanatical, ignored, laughed at. Things just don't change. The Pharisees thought they could silence the truth by killing the Truth. It doesn't work.

Then Jeremiah hears again from the Lord and is told to buy a piece of land in Anathoth. Verses 6-15. There was a great ceremony and many witnesses to this purchase. Think about what is going on here. The city is about to fall to a foreign power, yet God tells Jeremiah to buy land. Would you purchase land on the Russian/Ukraine border or in the Gaza strip? But God uses this for a message--a day will come when houses and vineyards will be bought and sold in Judah again--the conquest of Babylon is a temporary event in God's eternal plan. 

That background is important because twice in verses 17-27 we read "Nothing is too difficult for God." The Babylonians have already taken captives [Daniel] in 605 BC. And the city will be completely leveled in 586 BC. But here we remember the message from chapter 29--God knows the plans He has for you, plans for good and a future and hope [29:11]. So, while it seems impossible for God to restore Judah after this devastation and defeat, He promises to do so and nothing is too difficult for God. 

So what do I get from this story that can strengthen me today. I look around at our nation, at the world, at the culture and wonder how will my grandchildren and children survive and prosper? Nothing is too difficult for God. Some struggle with illness and disease. Nothing is too difficult for God. Some have relationships that are broken and we don't know how to restore them. Nothing is too difficult with God. Some of us have children struggling with issues and we can't see a solution. Nothing is impossible with God.  We used to sing a chorus on Sunday night at church that reminds me of the truth--"Only believe, only believe, all things are possible,  only believe." Without faith it is impossible to please God.

As Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story--32:37-39--God will gather His flock from captivity; God will bring them back to the land He promised; they will dwell in safety there; they will be His people, and He will be their God; they will reverence God for their own good and for the good of their children. God knows the plans He has, plans for good, for a future and for hope. And nothing is to difficult for our God.

Blessings

Larry