The Simple Life

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