August 9
11“Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’ 12But they will reply, ‘It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.’” (Jeremiah 18:11, 12)
Happy Monday Friends. I worked all weekend so I was unable to get in my daily reading, but today I spent the afternoon getting caught up on Jeremiah, a book of true inspiration and joy.
If you are reading along in the Old Testament, you will know that the last statement is completely false. Jeremiah is a book of doom and gloom as the Prophet Jeremiah writes of all God’s frustration and rage at the Israelites and Judaens. In six chapters, I think I only found a few inspirational verses in Chapter 17, such as 17:10 which states:
10“I the Lord search the heart
and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.”
Jeremiah is very observant of the culture around him and the way the Hebrew nation was living was angering God.
I look at the evils of our current generation: the absolute disregard to human life; the absence of modesty; the support of chaos over order, of the criminal over the cop; championing for narcissistic, destructive politicians; the constant pursuit of absurd amounts of wealth; idolatry for political leaders, celebrities, and athletes; and, of course, the growing amount of agnostics and “nons.” If God had run out of patience for His chosen people back in Jeremiah’s time because they worshiped other gods and chose not to keep the Sabbath sacred, surely, surely, God has grown tired of this wicked and wayward generation. I fully understand and welcome God’s judgement on this perverse world. Let God search the hearts and mind of every person today, and give to them according to their deeds.
If the thought of God’s rage does not make you tremble, you are very mistaken. God has given us 2,000 years to make the right choice to follow His Son’s commands for us to love God and love People. God has sent plagues and fires to destroy His people and His enemies in the past and He will do it again. Perhaps He is doing it now.
This debut solo project from Alexander Pappas, of Hillsong Young and Free, fits my current mood and has a fresh, energetic sound and vibe.
If you need something a little more uplifting, check out Ms. Z’s beautiful post on Goodness Gravy Boats called “Are You Negative or Positive?” She is the “ying” to my “yang.”
Reading plan: 1 Thessalonians 5: 12-28
Deeper reading plan: Jeremiah 17, 18
Common Sense Reborn 