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There is a price we pay for disobedience.

How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave. She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies. Lamentations 1:1-2 (ESV)   "Against the protests of her faithful prophets Jerusalem had courted alliance with her heathen neighbours only to be cruelly deserted in her hour of need. It is the old story of friendship with the world, keenly accentuated in the life of Israel because this favoured people had already seen glimpses of a rich, rare privilege, the friendship of heaven. This is the irony of the situation; it is the tragic irony of all Hebrew history." ( W. F. Adeney, M. A. )   There is a price we pay for disobedience. All people will be accountable, and sometimes they run out of time. The time for repe...
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Enjoy the company of those whom you love today.

How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow has she become, she who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave. She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks; among all her lovers she has none to comfort her; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they have become her enemies. Lamentations 1:1-2 (ESV)   Going from a full city to an empty one can be scary. Silver Birch Ranch often has several hundred people on our grounds. In the summer, the kitchen cooks three meals a day, often for 400 plus people. The sights and sounds of people are everywhere, and the campers' excitement is electrifying.   Then, one day late summer, most everyone goes home. The Nicolet Bible Institute students have finished their summer practicum, the campers need to start school, and the summer volunteers and Summer Staff are either returning to school or their careers.   As one then walks the grounds of Sil...
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We need to live with our true treasure in mind.

Why do you boast of your valleys, O faithless daughter, who trusted in her treasures, saying, 'Who will come against me?' Behold, I will bring terror upon you, declares the Lord God of hosts, from all who are around you, and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him, with none to gather the fugitives. "But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites," declares the Lord. Jeremiah 49:4-6 (ESV)   Trusting in treasure, whatever the treasure is, is foolish. Perhaps we treasure money, fame, fortune, homes, fortresses, or family. Where our treasure is, our heart is. It is easy to begin to focus on our money, fame, fortune, homes, fortresses, family, and more. When we do so, God becomes an afterthought. He becomes the "neglected one," rather than the cherished one.   The Scriptures are clear that the real treasures in life are treasures that will go with us to eternity. Those treasures are found in our relationships with God, family, and frie...
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A fool?

"Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed." Jeremiah 48:10 (ESV)   "That a curse should be hurled at the head of the traitor who does "the work of the Lord deceitfully" surprises no one. But to find a curse aimed at the merely negligent worker makes us pause, and think, and ask ourselves questions. The persons here referred to are amongst those who are doing "the work of the Lord."—They profess and call themselves Christians." (Biblical Illustrator)   Negligence is evil. When we neglect the gifts we were given, the opportunities we have, or the time with which we have been entrusted, we will have regrets. We are never promised more than one opportunity, and the wise understand this and remain diligent, knowing that both their time and opportunities are limited.   The farmer who tore down barns and built bigger ones so his future could be full of "himself" was cal...
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The Only Option

The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: "Behold, I am bringing punishment upon Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt and her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Afterward Egypt shall be inhabited as in the days of old," declares the Lord. Jeremiah 46:25-26 (ESV)   There is a theme in Jeremiah concerning those who place their trust in anything or anyone other than God. The theme is simple: our trust in anything or anyone other than God will be to our demise. It is not God who will destroy us; it is we who will destroy us, for our faith/trust has been misplaced.   All of us trust something. We trust our judgment, feelings, friends, family, or charismatic people. In time, we realize that our misplaced trust is costly, we eliminate the many false gods we have trusted, and begin to trust in the one and only true God. Unfortu...
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It’s foolish for anyone to ignore God.

The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations. About Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: "Prepare buckler and shield, and advance for battle! Harness the horses; mount, O horsemen! Take your stations with your helmets, polish your spears, put on your armor! Why have I seen it? They are dismayed and have turned backward. Their warriors are beaten down and have fled in haste; they look not back— terror on every side!" declares the Lord. "The swift cannot flee away, nor the warrior escape; in the north by the river Euphrates they have stumbled and fallen." Jeremiah 46:1-6 (ESV)   There is no recourse against God. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all life, and by the word of His mouth, His enemies fall. Man's strength is equal to God's weaknesses...
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Positioning

"And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, I am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the Lord. But I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go." Jeremiah 45:5 (ESV)   "Baruch, the companion of Jeremiah, to whom these words were addressed, was a young man of learning, who had probably formed large expectations of distinction, which were sadly disappointed by the calamities which befell his country. The prophet checks his aspirations in the strong language of our text: "Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not." It is the selfish seeking of the great things of this world and the eager pursuits of them, as if they were of supreme importance, which is censured by the prophet." (Biblical Illustrator)   It is a common error to think that our greatness is wrapped up in our position in life when, in reality, it is wrapped up in our position in Christ. When we seek greatness for ourselv...
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