“I didn’t think I could do
it. But I found out I could. It’s not as hard as you think. You just have to
have a willing heart.”
Today ask yourself: What
condition is my heart in? Israel was in bad shape during Jeremiah's time. They fooled themselves thinking all was right with God - even in their disobedience. They were not fooling God (and neither do we).
The Message - Jeremiah 17
1-2 “Judah’s sin is engraved with
a steel chisel, A steel chisel with a diamond point— engraved on their
granite hearts, engraved on the stone corners of their altars. The evidence against them is plain to see:sex-and-religion
altars and sacred sex shrines Anywhere there’s a grove of trees, anywhere
there’s an available hill.
GOD’s Message: 3-4 “I’ll use your mountains as roadside
stands for giving away everything you have. All your ‘things’ will serve as
reparations for your sins
all over the country. You’ll lose your gift of land,The inheritance I gave you.
I’ll make you slaves of your enemies in a far-off
and strange land. My anger is hot and blazing and fierce, and no one will put
it out.” 5-6 “Cursed is the strong one who depends
on mere humans, Who thinks he can make it on muscle alone and sets GOD aside as
dead weight. He’s like a tumbleweed on the prairie, out of touch with the good
earth. He lives rootless and aimless in a land where nothing
grows.
7-8 “But
blessed is the man who trusts me, GOD, the woman who sticks with GOD. They’re
like trees replanted in Eden, putting down roots near the rivers—Never a worry
through the hottest of summers, never dropping
a leaf, Serene and calm through droughts, bearing fresh fruit every season.
9-10 “The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can
figure out. But I, GOD, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the
heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are,
not as they pretend to be.”
11 Like a cowbird that cheats by laying its eggs in
another bird’s nest. Is the person who gets rich by cheating. When the eggs
hatch, the deceit is exposed. What a fool he’ll look like then! 12-13 From
early on your Sanctuary was set high, a throne of glory, exalted! O GOD, you’re
the hope of Israel. All who leave you end up as fools, Deserters with nothing
to show for their lives, who walk off
from GOD, fountain of living waters—and wind up dead! 14-18 GOD, pick up the pieces. Put me back
together again. You are my praise!
Listen to how they talk about me: “So where’s this
‘Word of GOD’? We’d like to see something happen!” But it wasn’t my idea to
call for Doomsday. I never wanted
trouble. You know what I’ve said. It’s all out in the open before you. Don’t
add to my troubles. Give me some relief! Let those who harass me be harassed,
not me. Let them be disgraced, not me.
Bring down upon them the day of doom. Lower the boom. Boom!
In Jerusalem it was business as usual, but God not pleased. He gives the cure how to
remain connected to Him in verses 7-8. Jeremiah was depressed, and his heart went back and forth with being God's messenger. How is your heart today?
Is it sick, strong and steady, or swings back and forth?
Be wise today and always - don't give up instead get right with God.
