The Simple Life

Then Jeremiah said to them: "Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. And I will bring them together into the midst of this city. I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and strong arm, in anger and in fury and in great wrath.'" Jeremiah 21:3-5 (ESV)   There is no weapon of war, no strategy, and no armed force that can prevail against God. If God says that He, Himself, will fight the fight, and His comments are directed at me, I have no hope.   Experiencing the mercy of God and living in the grace of God is easy and very "doable." To choose a life that ignores Him, His ways, and His purposes dooms us to certain and irrevocable disaster. For now, the choice is ours. https://www.podbean.com/relate365

If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. Jeremiah 18:7-10 (ESV)   We need to live in a way that embraces the personal responsibility we have been given. It is our responsibility to walk with God. It is our responsibility to know Him and to listen to Him. When we do not do that, we will pay the price of being distanced from Him.   God knows what choices we will make, and our choices do not limit His choices. He has already arranged the victory, and our choices will allow us to participate with Him in the celebration as active participants, or to be the "onlookers" ...

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: "Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words." So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Jeremiah 18:1-4 (ESV)   Man, as pottery, is a powerful illustration of reality. God made us for a purpose. He, being the potter, has the prerogative to make us into whatever He desires. Our shape, purpose, and eventual placement are His decisions, not ours.   We can look at the other pieces of pottery and wonder why we are not like them. We could wish we had a different function, and even claim the potter should have done otherwise, but in reality, the potter did, with His clay, as He wished.   The vessel should serve joyfully the purpose for which it was intended.   https://www.podbean.com/relate365

Thus says the Lord: Take care for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction. Jeremiah  17:21-23  (ESV)   Relationships are important. In fact, they are important enough to rearrange your life around them. Our relationship with God is something we need to prioritize. Our relationships with our spouse, children, friends, and coworkers should be a priority. We cannot have relationships with media, money, or things, so we should not allow them to steal us away from those with whom we do have relationships.   Somehow, we have "developed" into a nation of strangers, and we like it that way. We do not know God, even though we have ample opportunity to do ...

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? "I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds." Like the partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch, so is he who gets riches but not by justice; in the midst of his days they will leave him, and at his end he will be a fool. A glorious throne set on high from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water. Jeremiah 17:9-13 (ESV)   We like to believe what we want to believe, and we believe that what we believe is what actually is, when it is often a lie. Lying to others may be detestable to us, but lying to ourselves, for some reason, we find totally acceptable.   We need to be in God's Word to have a way to chec...

Thus says the Lord: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17:5-8 (ESV)   Our flesh fails, while God never fails. Our strength gives way, whereas God's strength is constant. Our view is limited, our dreams are dependent, our planning is often futile, and our resources are limited. God's view is unlimited; He cannot dream, for He is the cause of all that will happen, and He is the only one who can actually plan for the future, for He knows the future.   Tru...