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Personal Responsibility Within Our Communities

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 ...
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Using God's name in vain, no matter how it is done, will always be evil.

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...
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God Knows When

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...
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Agents of Distraction

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...
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Principles and Methods

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...
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Satan does not care how he destroys us.

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...
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I Know How It Will End

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...
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