Following the Path of the Prophets

A few thoughts on the story of Jeremiah, who, like Isaiah, recognizes the sovereignty of God in our birth and in our life.

Jeremiah 1:4-5
Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations."

Life is from God. Abortion is the ultimate act of rebellion against God.

Our lives are meant to be used to bring glory to God. Far too many Christians stay on the sidelines of ministry because they don't feel adequate to do what God has set them aside to do. Jeremiah did not feel up to the calling God gave him. And he wasn't. Nor are you, but when God calls us to something, He provides the power and then protects us as we serve Him.

John 15:16
"You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you."

We have been given the Word of God and the power of God is in His Word. It created, and it sustains every single thing we know of.

Psalm 33:6,9
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

Hebrews 1:3
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

God's Word is what we need. And fellow Christian, if you think it is only your pastor who can be God's instrument, you are wrong. The power is not in him; it is in God's Word.

Isaiah 55:11
So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

God's Word is effective. It will accomplish what God desires it accomplish. So, share God's Word. Speak it out. Share it on social media. Pray it. Live it out.

We are all called to be God's servants. If you are a Christian, He chose you before the foundation of the earth, to do so. He appointed you to bear fruit.

Get busy.

How to Get God to Look Upon You

Isaiah 66:2 "For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being," declares the LORD. "But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word."

Are you humble? Careful when you answer that. To confess yourself as humble, is to not be.

Are you contrite of Spirit? Does your own sin drive to you despair?

Do you tremble at His word? Or do you simply hear it and let it pass you by? Do you even read it? Do you stand in awe when it is preached on Sunday? When you read it does it cut into your own heart and cause you to see the depths of your own depravity in light of its revelation of God's Holiness?

If we want God to look upon us, then we must go humbly before Him, broken and in tears over our sins, and then tremble before Him as we listen to His Word. But to listen to God's Word is more than simply hearing it; it is letting it do the work on and in our hearts that shows we have been raised to new life.

This is when God looks down upon us and sees the heart that truly wants Jesus.

His Word is not just something to feel good about. it is the very bread we need to live upon.

Church, let us return to a reverence for God and His Word. Then God will look upon us.

What is Love?

What is love? For the Christian, this is a question that must be answered. If a Christian wants to live the abundant life that Jesus wants us to have, then it is important that we have assurance of salvation. We are instructed in scripture to seek assurance. 2 Corinthians 13:5 says that we are to, “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?”

How do we test this? Our feelings are not an accurate test. I can feel that something is true, even though it is not. Think back on the many times you let your feelings lead you to worry or anxiety over something, only to find out that it never occurred. Not that sometimes our feelings cannot be useful, certainly intuition can be helpful in making some judgments, but in our humanity, we are imperfect beings. We often misjudge things and many times we let our feelings lead us astray. But God has not left us to wander aimlessly; He has provided us with His Word. Listen to John from the Bible in 1 John 4:7-8, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

There it is. One test of our salvation is this. “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” You don’t even know God if love isn’t a part of who you are. Clearly then, if love is a result of our salvation, then what is love? Again, God has provided the answer.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

That is a very clear description of what love is, how love behaves.

Patient.

Kind.

Rejoices in truth.

Bears all things.

Hopes in all things.

Endures all things.

We also see what love is not and what it doesn’t do.

Jealous.

A Bragger.

Arrogant.

Unbecoming.

Provoked.

Doesn’t even take into account a wrong suffered.

Doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness.

How are you doing with all that? Me? Not all that well. And based on your Facebook pages, I’m not seeing many people doing all that much better.

Thankfully the Bible says this about God.

Psalm 86:15
But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth.

Lamentations 3:22-23
The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

But we must not mistake God’s longsuffering nature to allow us to live without regard for His commands.

Romans 2:4
 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

I fall short of the love I am called to be living out. Most if not all of us do. But Let us encourage each other to start this very day, to be a people who love. A people whose love mirrors that of the love of God. Imagine a world where all of us who claim the name of Christ, loved each other in the way that Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

This morning you were given a new day. How will you use it? How will you love? The choice is yours.