by David Brenneman
Think on these two passages...Jeremiah 23:23-24, Jeremiah 48:10a.
"Cursed be the one who does the Lord's work negilgently," 48:10a NASB.
"Am I a God who is near," declares the Lord,
"And not a God far off?" Can a man hide himself in hiding places so that I do not see him?" declares the Lord.
"Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?" declares the Lord. 23:23-24 NASB
Today's verse of the day on www.biblegateway.com : 1 Peter 5:8-9 "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world."
It's been something for me to consider when it turns out that in both my Biblegateway reading plan for the year and now in my Life Principles Daily Bible, I'm in Jeremiah twice a day...to stop and consider some of the things that were causing the Lord Jesus to be upset with Judah and Israel.
One key thing that stands out is the fact that they had created gods in their lives and that they didn't care to really hear what the Lord Jesus had to say on it. What brought this kind of thinking about? In all likelyhood laziness concerning obedience to the things of God getting passed on from generation to generation. They were not on the alert concerning the devil. Satan moved in and they welcomed him without even knowing it was him. That's what deception is and does.
People don't go to a magic show to honestly see magic. They go to be deceived in such a way that they can't figure out how it was done and to find joy in it.
I was thinking on these places in Jeremiah and something hit me about when Jesus made a whip and drove people out of the Temple for selling things there. Crying out that they made it a robber's den. Think deeper on this. What had Jesus also said about the love of money? Those running the Temple had come up with a way to allow a god to stand in the same place as what was supposed to be God's place. It reads that zeal for His House consumed Him. He raged at their embracing of idolatry whether or not they called it that is irrelevant. Jesus is God and God said you should have no other gods before Him.
I read on these things and also others...such as keeping the Sabbath. In Jeremiah we read of how much this angered the Lord Jesus that they would violate the Sabbath. A chief reason they were being exiled and Jerusalem burned was their not keeping it.
We read in Colossians what's said there in Chapter 3 verse 17 (NASB) "Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father." Further down: "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord and not for people, knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive teh reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. For the one who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality." Verses 23-25 (NASB).
Are you half-heartedly doing what you do for God?
Are you putting other things in place of God?
Are you being obedient with all your being?
Are you deceiving yourself in what you've allowed into your life? People have been doing it for centuries.
What does it say? "Love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, mind, soul and spirit." "Love your neighbor as yourself". "Be holy as I am holy".
What do you take away from all this? Is laziness allowed? Are you allowing yourself "wiggle room" to disobey God's Word? In Jeremiah there's little doubt of the sins of Judah, Israel and others. Jesus spells it out in detail. What if your life's choices were spelled out to you by Jesus...how would you handle it?
It's an eye-opener of a day in the Bible for sure.
I see posts all the time where people rage on things that have no Godly use to edify or lift up someone. Nowhere in the Bible does it contain an 'out' to tear down someone. Some of my worst times in my life in elementary school were in giving in to peer pressure to get into 'cut down' sessions with others. To this day I wonder how much damage I caused others.
When you go about your day today...think about your why's. Create some why's. Don't be satisfied that you can think you can coast through life. The work that Jesus is doing in the lives of Believers is to keep on changing them to be more like Himself. The work that's done is to show those still in the darkness of this world of sin the light of Christ so that maybe they too may be saved.
It's never a good thing when we accept as normal what God explicitly says should never be.
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