I saw last night on a "social media" post, something from a FB friend. We've met, but mostly he's a mentor of a friend of ours, who is a former pastor at one of our former churches in another state. He's pastoring in a a very tough field, New Orleans. Very tough, so he proclaims the Lord where that is most needed. Anyway, he posted something to the effect that unless and until we believers are TOTALLY sold out to the Lord, we can never sell Him to others. Reminds one of the warnings in Revelation about the lukewarm church, something that is all too visible in our world.
I've been a bit "down" lately. OK, more than a bit. Natural tendency, perhaps, amplified by various situations and the sight of the world around me. Not quite depression, and probably not despondency, but "down". I'm no different than most of us. All of us want warm sunshine, good health, financial security, the close presence of family and friends, good times, good thoughts, good experiences, all of that. It's understandable, and probably not wicked. But it's not a likely situation for most of us, at least not all the time for all of our lives.
We live in a rather "down-scale" area. Not the slums, but one of those designated places where the chances of poverty are notably greater than for the nation as a whole. Some of that has come about from the hollowing-out of American industry, something we've been through several times and which is also all too evident from the empty factories within walking distance of where I sit. Some of that, and its related, has come from bad conduct and lifestyles. People who spend their time, funds, and attention in strong drink, various "recreational pharmaceuticals", the weekend "drunk driving Olympics", sexual misconduct, and general bad conduct, probably won't end up as billionaires or noted authors, successful inventors or businessmen, or leaders in the church or the local government or the PTA. Poor as the area is, there are three bars within easy walking distance, and a carryout beer store a block away. All of which seem to be thriving. Whether or not that has to do with the grass and weed covered lots where houses once stood, three of such on our block and several more on the next one down, and the closed church (Catholic) two blocks away, I leave to your imagination.
Hopelessness and lack of direction will do that. Seeking satisfaction in the things of this life and the fulfillment of whims and lusts will do that. And do. And have.
I can't believe that our calling is to stand off to the side and issue "tut tut" and "tsk tsk". Or to enable bad behavior, somethings I see all too often, both.
So, in the early morning nearly awake moments, two songs of the day, and I love them both.
"Come To Jesus". Best answer, right? Better have some kleenex handy as you hear the words.
and , "Blessings". Yes, sometimes it is the troubles in this life that draw us closer to Him. When we are emptied of all, there is room for Him. Sometimes, it takes that. Often, in fact. Too often, we seek Him only, ONLY, when all alternatives have failed.
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Today, we begin the prophetic book of Jeremiah. He was another of those who the Lord called, and gave a tough assignment to. Happens.
Jeremiah 1
1The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
2To whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
3It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
4Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
5Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
6Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
7But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
8Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.
9Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
10See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
11Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.
12Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.
13And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north.
14Then the Lord said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.
15For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the Lord; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah.
16And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
17Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them.
18For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.
19And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.
Jeremiah 2
1Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
3Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord.
4Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel:
5Thus saith the Lord, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?
6Neither said they, Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?
7And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.
8The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
9Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the Lord, and with your children's children will I plead.
10For pass over the isles of Kittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing.
11Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.
12Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord.
13For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
14Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled?
15The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.
16Also the children of Memphis and Tahpanhes have broken the crown of thy head.
17Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, when he led thee by the way?
18And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?
19Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.
20For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.
21Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?
22For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God.
23How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;
24A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.
25Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.
26As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets,
27Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.
28But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.
29Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the Lord.
30In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
31O generation, see ye the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?
32Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
33Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways.
34Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these.
35Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.
36Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
37Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head: for the Lord hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.
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Parts of this remind me of the New Testament book of James.
Proverbs 27
1Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
2Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
3A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both.
4Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?
5Open rebuke is better than secret love.
6Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
7The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
8As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.
9Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.
10Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.
11My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.
12A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.
13Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.
14He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.
15A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.
16Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.
17Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
18Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.
19As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.
20Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
21As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.
22Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
23Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.
24For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?
25The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.
26The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.
27And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.
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Now, Paul's second pastoral letter to Timothy. They didn't have seminaries in those days, learning just how to pastor was taught by example and through communications such as this. Still worth your attention.
2nd Timothy 1
1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
2To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day;
4Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;
5When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
6Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.
7For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
8Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
9Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
10But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
11Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
12For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
13Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
14That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.
15This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.
16The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain:
17But, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me.
18The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well.
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