August 31
21Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return;
renew our days as of old
22unless you have utterly rejected us
and are angry with us beyond measure. (Lamentations 5:21, 22)
Well, there you have it, from the Prophet Jeremiah. His final words to the world, pondering if God had “utterly rejected” the Israelites, and if God was “angry with (them) beyond measure.” It is an easy question to reflect on our current generations: has our narcissistic/distracted/cancel/“nons” culture pushed God to the point where we have garnered God’s rejection and anger? There have been much worse times in our human history, but as far as the 21st century goes, the last fews years saw us barreling toward disaster that continues to this day. The lawlessness in some cities is disturbing. The obsession we have with social media is disgusting. And the distractions we need to break free of continue to tighten their grip. So ask yourself: have we angered God to the point He’s had enough? And if we have, what does that mean for us?
Well, hopefully, it means that it’s finally time for Jesus to come back and end all this nonsense once and for all. I am ready, are you? Assuming Christ does not come back in the next few weeks, here’s what we have to look forward to for the month of September in our CSR reading and devotional.
September is going to bring a refreshing blast of wisdom and activity. Hopefully we see temperatures start dropping and giving way to cooler weather, because our fitness challenge will get us out of the house six days a week. I’m excited about our reading plans and the word I am able to share with y’all.
Reading Plan: We will finish Paul’s last two letters. The Book of Titus, a letter to the head of the first Christian church at Crete. Just like in his letters to the Pastor Timothy, Paul writes a letter of encouragement to Pastor Titus. Paul’s last book, Philemon, is a short letter to a brother in Christ about the forgiveness of his former slave.
We’ll spend most of the month looking at the Book of Hebrews, a fantastic letter written by an unknown author to the Hebrew people. Hebrews is one of my favorite books of the New Testament, and hopefully I’ll be able to translate that love to you.
Deeper Reading Plan: This month we will read my favorite book of the Old Testament, Ezekiel, which has some of the most vivid imagery in the Bible. We’ll end the month with the Book of Daniel.
Fitness: Welcome to the start of a 100-day body weight challenge. 5 exercises to do everyday (except Sundays). Each day we will increase the reps by 1. This month will be easy, October and November will be a challenge. We will also be running six days a week.
Reading plan: Reflect
Deeper reading plan: Lamentations 5
Common Sense Reborn 