The Simple Life

O Lord, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: "Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit. Can man make for himself gods? Such are not gods!" "Therefore, behold, I will make them know, this once I will make them know my power and my might, and they shall know that my name is the Lord." Jeremiah  16:19-21  (ESV)   We can see God as God now, or we will see and acknowledge Him as God later. If we do that now, we can live with no regrets. If we do that later, we will have only regrets.   We can, for now, believe whatever we want, and our belief will affect our lives, our decisions, and our eventual outcome, but it will not affect the overall results.   God is already the victor. He has already won the battle, and He is awaiting the celebration with all who have chosen to be part of the winning struggle. https://www.podbean.com/re...

Therefore thus says the Lord: "If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them." Jeremiah 15:19 (ESV)   God is love, so God gives us choice, real choice. Real choice comes with real consequences; otherwise, it is a "fake" choice. God knows what choices we will make, so He has already adjusted to our decisions.   The fact is, if we make the right choices, we will be restored to the way it was meant to be. If we make wrong choices, we have no hope, for God is just and loving, and justice will prevail in the shroud of love.   We often struggle to understand God's attributes because there is no human way to grasp them. Since we make ourselves the ones who are all-knowing, we make it impossible for God to have characteristics we do not have, cannot understand, or that limit our status.   The facts are that when w...

You have rejected me, declares the Lord; you keep going backward, so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you— I am weary of relenting. Jeremiah 15:6 (ESV)   There is a limit to the opportunities God gives to an individual, a family, and a nation. Our lives are finite, and our abilities are limited. The idea of God being weary of relenting is often hard to reconcile with what we think we know of God. Since we need to use finite words to describe the infinite, we often struggle with both the word usage and meaning.   God has foreknowledge; before the world was created, He knew what choices man would make and the consequences of those choices. The fact that He still wearies from seeing many choose wrong means He has never gotten used to the idea, which is a good thing. Knowing what someone will do and preparing for such action does not mean one is "good" with the action.   God has given us real choice because He really loves, and real choice will always ha...

Because of the wicked things Manasseh son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem, I will make my people an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. "Who will feel sorry for you, Jerusalem? Who will weep for you? Who will even bother to ask how you are?” Jeremiah 15:4-5 (NLT)   Because of the wicked things Manasseh did, he and his followers will face consequences. This is a simple truth of accountability. Throughout the Scriptures, we are told that those who know the truth will be held accountable for what they know and/or what they should know.   Luke 23:48 tells us this: "But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required."   I need to be someone who seeks the truth, knows the truth, and lives according to the truth, and when it matters, all will be well  Because of the ...

"I will send four kinds of destroyers against them," says the LORD. "I will send the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, the vultures to devour, and the wild animals to finish up what is left.” Jeremiah 15:3 (NLT)   We rightfully enjoy focusing on God's mercy and grace. In this, we often forget that God will hold people accountable to the truths of His Word. We do not want to think about God punishing the disobedient. We want to believe that He will always extend another opportunity for mercy and grace.   For love to have any value, it must include choice. Nothing created without choice can love, and if choice is a key component of love, the consequences of our choices must be real.   There will be a day of judgment for all humans, and God alone will be the judge. He understands our hearts, motives, and actions, and we will be held accountable. This is not a scary thing unless we are not aligned with His will. God is a loving father who desires to extend mercy and ...

And if they say to you, 'But where can we go?' tell them, 'This is what the LORD says: "Those who are destined for death, to death; those who are destined for war, to war; those who are destined for famine, to famine; those who are destined for captivity, to captivity.'” Jeremiah 15:2 (NLT)   I want to focus our thoughts on the most powerful phrase, "This is what the Lord says." Regardless of what I think, feel, or wish, what God says will happen, and I will either be aligned with God or I will wish that I was.   This is both humbling and empowering. It is humbling in the fact that my thoughts and feelings and community could be harmful unless they are aligned with God's will. It is empowering to think of what could and does happen when I, my thoughts, feelings, and community are aligned with God's will.   There are times when those in authority, parents, for example, must demand obedience because of their position. This occurs when those in subor...

Then the LORD said to me, "Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for these people, I wouldn't help them. Away with them! Get them out of my sight!” Jeremiah 15:1 (NLT)   There is great love between Godly leaders of nations and their people, yet the people will always be held personally accountable for their actions. Communities are important and have a vital role in shaping the thoughts and ideas that drive their members. The leadership of these communities will be held accountable for their actions and how their actions affected their communities.   We are told that those who actually follow God will be few. They are the ones who have chosen the narrow gate, road, and lifestyle. Those who follow God are unique or holy, and will always stand out in the community.   Believers are indeed part of the body of Christ, the community of believers. Yet, there will come a day when we stand before God without that community support and be held accountable for ourselves ...

But the Lord said to me, "These prophets are prophesying a lie in My name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, worthless divination, the deceit of their own minds." Jeremiah 14:14 (HCSB)   The Ten Commandments tell us not to use the Lord's name in vain. We have, for good reason, considered that using the Lord's name as an expletive or disrespectfully in conversation falls into this category.   Often, we hear leaders or church members talk of "God's" will revealed to them, thereby justifying their actions. If someone came to me and told me that God has told them something, I am in no position to counter what God has said. The trouble may be that God did not say that, and that this individual is using the name of God to avoid accountability questions from someone walking with God.   Using God's name in vain, no matter how it is done, will always be evil. https://www.podbean.com/relat...

This is what the Lord says concerning these people: Truly they love to wander; they never rest their feet. So the Lord does not accept them. Now He will remember their guilt and punish their sins. Then the Lord said to me, "Do not pray for the well-being of these people. If they fast, I will not hear their cry of despair. If they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. Rather, I will finish them off by sword, famine, and plague." Jeremiah  14:10-12  (HCSB)   Those who wish to find fulfillment apart from God may get the chance to try and fail. Once again, there is no hope for those who wander from God. Once again, Jeremiah is told not to pray for such wanderers, because there is no way fix this self-induced problem. Prayer in this case would be a waste of Jeremiah's time.   Many in the modern church want to believe that God never reaches a point where man has no way to return, but it is evident here that this is the case. It's not for me to sa...

Say this to them: This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Every jar should be filled with wine. Then they will respond to you, 'Don't we know that every jar should be filled with wine?' And you will say to them: This is what the Lord says: I am about to fill all who live in this land — the kings who reign for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets and all the residents of Jerusalem — with drunkenness. I will smash them against each other, fathers and sons alike" — this is the Lord's declaration. "I will allow no mercy, pity, or compassion to keep Me from destroying them." Jeremiah  13:12-14  (HCSB)   This is an interesting use of "wine." God basically tells the people to cast off restraint, indulge in "wine," and see the results. Alcohol has a way of taking over one's thinking, allowing a person to let their "inhibitions" be displayed. When reality no longer checks our inhibitions, disaster awaits.   Often...

If they will diligently learn the ways of My people — to swear by My name, 'As Yahweh lives,' just as they taught My people to swear by Baal — they will be built up among My people. However, if they will not obey, then I will uproot and destroy that nation." This is the Lord's declaration. Jeremiah  12:16-17  (HCSB)   There are principles and methods. Methods are used to teach principles and will change with age, experience, culture, and so on. The principles never change. Effective teachers understand this and never "adjust" the principle, while always challenging the method.   The principle in this passage is clear. A nation that has, for whatever reason, abandoned God will wish it had not. However, God wants to communicate this principle; it is up to Him, and whether or not we listen will be irrelevant to the fact that abandonment equals disaster.   God does not change. His Word does not change. People change, and Satan loves to take advantage of our abili...

If you have raced with runners and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in a peaceful land, what will you do in the thickets of the Jordan? Jeremiah 12:5 (HCSB)   Some are worn out in the ordinary of life so that when the extraordinary occurs, they have little to no strength with which to face it. The struggles in life are real. The winds of change, sadness, and stress are often blowing and can quickly reach tornado-like levels.   Standing ground in the face of tremendous winds is not the goal; forward progress is. God alone can tame the wild winds; walking in His wake allows us to maintain steady progress, regardless of the external pressures. If you become weary in the ordinary, you will never have the strength to maintain, much less excel, when the exceptional happens.   Satan does not care how he destroys us. He is patient, not wanting any to succeed. Our goal must be proximity to our God and Father, for there is no chance for the Ev...

Therefore, here is what the Lord says concerning the people of Anathoth who want to take your life. They warn, "You must not prophesy in the name of Yahweh, or you will certainly die at our hand." Jeremiah 11:21 (HCSB)   "There is the story of a conversation between the burgomaster in Hamburg and holy Dr. Ducken when he first began to preach. The burgomaster said to him, "Do you see that little finger, sir? While I can move that little finger, I will put the Baptists down." Mr. Ducken said, "With all respect to your little finger, Mr. Burgomaster, I would ask you another question. Do you see that arm?" "No, I do not see it." "Just so," said Mr. Ducken, "but I do; and while that great arm moves, you cannot put us down, and if it comes to a conflict between your little finger and that great arm, I know how it will end." It was my great joy to see the burgomaster sitting in the chapel at Hamburg, among the audience that list...

"As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not raise up a cry or a prayer on their behalf, for I will not be listening when they call out to Me at the time of their disaster." Jeremiah 11:14 (HCSB)   "It is futile to pray for those who have deliberately cast off the covenant of Jehovah and made a covenant with His adversary. Prayer cannot save, nothing can save, the impenitent; and there is a state of mind, in which one's own prayer is turned into sin; the state of mind in which a man prays, merely to appease God, and escape the fire, but without a thought of forsaking sin, without the faintest aspiration after holiness. There is a degree of guilt upon which sentence is already passed, which is "unto death," and for which prayer is interdicted alike by the prophet of the new and of the old covenant." ( C. J. Ball, M. A. )   We cannot substitute obedience with prayer. We need to be intimate with God and obedient to Him, and then our communication wit...

"As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not raise up a cry or a prayer on their behalf, for I will not be listening when they call out to Me at the time of their disaster." Jeremiah 11:14 (HCSB)   If someone said "Do not pray for these people" in today's churches, they would be cast out as a heretic. As I read these words, I am surprised that my response is one of "hesitation" in wanting to believe what I just read.   Yet, it makes perfect sense in that those who choose to ignore God have no hope, and even the prayers of God's people are wasted since these people are ignoring the only answer to their problem.   Often, prayer is not the answer; obedience is.   Sometimes we elevate our own importance by thinking that our prayers would supersede God's plans, and that prayer is some superpower we possess.   https://www.podbean.com/relate365

“For I strongly warned your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt until today, warning them time and time again, 'Obey My voice.' Yet they would not obey or pay attention; each one followed the stubbornness of his evil heart. So I brought on them all the curses of this covenant, because they had not done what I commanded them to do." The Lord said to me, "A conspiracy has been discovered among the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem. They have returned to the sins of their ancestors who refused to obey My words and have followed other gods to worship them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah broke My covenant I made with their ancestors." Jeremiah 11:7-10 (HCSB)   God asks me to obey Him. I can do that. It would be tough if He asked me to be perfect before He extended His mercy and grace. I am thankful He did not ask me to do something I could not do, or that is even overly difficult to do. He just asks me to obey Him. https://www....

For the shepherds are stupid and do not inquire of the Lord; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered. Jeremiah 10:21 (ESV Strong's)   The word "stupid" is used a few times in the book of Jeremiah. It is not a word used to compliment, and it is not used lightly. Those who do not inquire of the Lord when the Lord is there, available, and willing to be inquired of, are, well, "stupid."   The original word has to do with being consumed by fire or being consumed by "eating." This brings new meaning to the phrase "What's eating you?" The answer in this case would be the following: "My ignorance of God."   It is not difficult to inquire of the Lord. Much of what He would say is already given to us in the Scriptures, so to inquire, we need to read and heed. We are often in a position where we are inquiring of the world, its systems, those who surround us, and with whom we agree.   To ignore God and be influen...

There is none like you, O Lord; you are great, and your name is great in might. Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you. They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood! Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith; their clothing is violet and purple; they are all the work of skilled men. But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation. Jeremiah 10:6-10 (ESV)   If you are disappointed with God, you do not know Him. If you are angry with God, you do not know Him. If you are disobedient to God, you do not know Him.   The key to a meaningful life is knowing God, and if you know Him, you love Him.  https://www.podbean.com/relate365

Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says the Lord: "Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them, for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman." Jeremiah 10:1-3 (ESV)   The way of a nation may not be the way of God, and a wise person knows the difference. We can hear the national pundits, but we should listen to the Scriptures. We can abide by the laws of our land while realizing that the governing bodies are not supreme. We can respectfully disagree when the laws of the land oppose the laws of God.   The great danger begins to erupt when the lines of authority are blurred. These lines are clearly drawn by those who know God and His Word and habitually use it as a measuring stick for all information.   The Supreme Court has never really been supreme.  God is supreme.   https:/...

Thus says the Lord: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord." Jeremiah 9:23-24 (ESV)   We spend money trying to become wise, strong, and prosperous, yet the most essential things in life do not correlate with that. We like to "boast" of what we have become because of what we possess, even though the Scriptures clearly teach that our life is not measured by the things we possess.   Somewhere along life's journey, we have been duped into thinking that education, strength, and riches are the measuring sticks of life, when they are not.   Those who live as they were created are those who know, understand, and delight in God, for that is what we were made to do. The rich an...

They bend their tongue like a bow; falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, declares the Lord. Let everyone beware of his neighbor, and put no trust in any brother, for every brother is a deceiver, and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer. Everyone deceives his neighbor, and no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves committing iniquity. Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit, they refuse to know me, declares the Lord. Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: "Behold, I will refine them and test them, for what else can I do, because of my people?" Jeremiah 9:3-7 (ESV)   There is great danger in a society built on lies. Lying is the native language of Satan, and those who become accustomed to deceit have no hope. One day, everybody will stand before God and give an account for their lives. For some, this will be the first time they d...

"How can you say, 'We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us'? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes has made it into a lie.” Jeremiah 8:8 (ESV)   "The tendency to the lukewarmness of spiritual life is in us all. Take a bar of iron out of the furnace on a winter day, and lay it down in the air, and there is nothing more wanted. Leave it there, and very soon the white heat will change into livid dullness, and then there will come a scale over it, and in a short time it will be as cold as the frosty atmosphere around it. And so there is always a refrigerating process acting upon us which needs to be counteracted by continual contact with the fiery furnace of spiritual warmth, or else we are cooled down to the degree of cold around us." (Biblical Illustrator)   Twisting the Word of God to say what we want it to say destroys people. Those who listen to self-centered, self-proclaiming teachers https://www.podbean.com/relate365

"You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord: When men fall, do they not rise again? If one turns away, does he not return? Why then has this people turned away in perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit; they refuse to return. I have paid attention and listened, but they have not spoken rightly; no man relents of his evil, saying, 'What have I done?' Everyone turns to his own course, like a horse plunging headlong into battle. Even the stork in the heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow, and crane keep the time of their coming, but my people know not the rules of the Lord.’” Jeremiah 8:4-7 (ESV)   These people did not turn from God because they were under pressure to reject Him. They were not turning from God because God was withdrawing from them. They were rejecting God due to neglect, due to their own choices.   In our sinful world, tragedy will always abound, but woe to the one whose tragedy is self-inflicted, for they have no one to blame and no on...

"You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord: When men fall, do they not rise again? If one turns away, does he not return? Why then has this people turned away in perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit; they refuse to return. I have paid attention and listened, but they have not spoken rightly; no man relents of his evil, saying, 'What have I done?' Everyone turns to his own course, like a horse plunging headlong into battle. Even the stork in the heavens knows her times, and the turtledove, swallow, and crane keep the time of their coming, but my people know not the rules of the Lord.'" Jeremiah 8:4-7 (ESV)   Backsliding affects us as it arrests the progress of the soul, darkens its prospects, curtails its liberty, and destroys its usefulness. Backsliding affects others: it encourages the religious sceptic, staggers the anxious inquirer, and embarrasses the friends of truth. There is no counsel for the weary where there is no truth.   When each person doe...

"Jeremiah, say to the people, 'This is what the LORD says: "When people fall down, don't they get up again? When they discover they're on the wrong road, don't they turn back?"'" Jeremiah 8:4 (NLT)   This is what the Lord says.   "The tendency to the lukewarmness of spiritual life is in us all. Take a bar of iron out of the furnace on a winter day, and lay it down in the air, and there is nothing more wanted. Leave it there, and very soon the white heat will change into livid dullness, and then there will come a scale over it, and in a short time it will be as cold as the frosty atmosphere around it. And so there is always a refrigerating process acting upon us which needs to be counteracted by continual contact with the fiery furnace of spiritual warmth, or else we are cooled down to the degree of cold around us." ( A. Maclare ) https://www.podbean.com/relate365

"At that time, declares the Lord, the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be brought out of their tombs. And they shall be spread before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and served, which they have gone after, and which they have sought and worshiped. And they shall not be gathered or buried. They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. Death shall be preferred to life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family in all the places where I have driven them, declares the Lord of hosts." Jeremiah 8:1-3 (ESV)   When death is preferred to life, there is a problem. Those who wish to end their lives have missed the very point of life. When you understand God's plan, you struggle with the desire to be with God and the desire to live out the intended purposes of this life, but preferring one over the other...

"So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you. And you shall say to them, 'This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips.’" Jeremiah 7:27-28 (ESV)   Sometimes teachers are given challenging assignments. Often, we blame ourselves when our students do not learn. In reality, teachers seem to fail more than they succeed because students often go through the motions of learning while missing the lesson's point.   Jeremiah is being told of the stark reality that awaits him. You will teach, but your teaching will have no effect. You will teach and answer questions your students are not asking and talk about the future to those who have their heads exclusively in the moment.   As hard as it may be, teachers need to teach regardless of the response, for their faithfulness is to God, not to ...

"But this command I gave them: 'Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.' But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward." Jeremiah 7:23-24 (ESV)   A few verses earlier, Jeremiah was told not to pray for a people who would not listen to God. In this passage, once again, God reveals His expectations. We are to be people who know and listen to God if we want to live life as it was meant to be.   Not knowing God is a crisis. Knowing God and not listening to Him is a tragedy.   We cannot blame anyone else for our not knowing God. If we want to know Him, we need to spend time in His Word. Satan, the god of this world, has blinded our minds by immersing us in Godless thought and activities, and cultivating the "victim" mentality.   https://www.podbean.com/relat...

"As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you. Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven. And they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger. Is it I whom they provoke? declares the Lord. Is it not themselves, to their own shame?" Jeremiah  7:16-19  (ESV)   Beating my head on a rock and praying that I do not get a headache is a waste of time. Praying for something to be blessed that is obviously not of God is foolishness at best. God told Jeremiah not to waste his time praying for a people who are, in essence, beating their heads on a rock.   I would not be comfortable telling someone not to pray for someone, yet perhaps I need to reexamine the role of personal responsibility in answered prayer. htt...