Author: admin

It ought to bring us enormous comfort to know that despite our inexcusable waywardness, God always remembers the tenderness of our earlier walk with Him. Though our hearts may have grown cold toward Him, He continues to remember when we were fervent in our devotion. While we may forget where we have come from, God never forgets what our walk with Him once was and could be again.

God’s people had wandered far from their earlier commitment to God. Whereas they had once placed their trust in their God; now they were hoping in deliverance from people. Whereas they once had repented of their sins, now they claimed they had not transgressed. Whereas their worship was once vibrant and sincere, now it was dead and infrequent. To observe God’s people at this time would have been disheartening to even the most seasoned prophet. But God remembered.

God is continually working to restore His people into the vibrant walk with Him they once had. God never loses hope. He never compromises His standards for His people. He knows what could be. So He continually works to bring us to that place. We may be distracted, but God remains forever focused.

We tend to forget that God spoke these words to a timid teenager! To anyone who knew Jeremiah at that time, the last thing they would have thought of was a fortified city! Jeremiah looked more like a trembling leaf or a tender flower. Yet God was preparing him to be a fortress of righteousness.

This humble youth would oppose kings and princes. The most powerful people in the nation would consider him their enemy. Yet for decade after decade, enemies would come and go but Jeremiah would remain as an outspoken testimony to God’s word. Though people desperately wanted to silence the meddlesome prophet, Jeremiah would remain steadfast in delivering God’s unwavering word.

God has ways of transforming even the most gentle and kind servant into a stronghold of godliness and truth. Is that what He has made you to become? Do people know they can depend upon you to remain unwavering in your convictions and loyalty to God? Do people see you firmly resisting every assault of wickedness? Do the enemies of God know what they can expect from you?

What manner of fortress for God are you?

Desperate times call for dramatic actions. Jeremiah would never be allowed the luxury of living a typical teenager’s life. That was because he did not live in ordinary times.

Had Jeremiah lived in a different time, he might have had the pleasure of pronouncing God’s blessing upon the people. But this was not one of those times. The nation had drifted far from God. It was in no condition to receive words of commendation. Rather, dark storm clouds of judgment were brewing. God’s words were harsh and difficult to deliver. Jeremiah knew that the most powerful people in the land would hate what he had to say. He must have known that the ministry to which God had called him would make him the most unpopular person in the land. His divine calling would invite scorn. It was a difficult calling indeed.

That is why God told His youthful spokesperson to prepare himself. God exhorted Jeremiah not to be dismayed. God knew that discouragement would be plentiful. Yet that was the task to which God was calling His new prophet.

Don’t be deceived into assuming that God would never ask you to do something that is difficult or painful. We need look no further than Jeremiah to see that God may call us to extremely challenging assignments. God’s call may push us to the limit of our endurance. That is why we also ought to prepare ourselves. And, it is why we must determine that we will not allow people to intimidate or discourage us. Our calling hinges on God, not people’s response.

Few things in the ancient world were any more terrifying than enemy armies encamped at the gates and walls of your city. To set a throne at someone’s gate meant you were not merely passing through. Rather, you had come to stay. You intended a total occupation. There would be no reprieve. When Judah’s enemies came against them, the destruction they wrought would be thorough.

What was perhaps most terrifying was not merely that Judah’s dreaded enemies had come against them, but that God was the One who had summoned them. Typically the people of Judah would cry out to God for deliverance when their enemies invaded the land. But who could they call out to if their own God was the One who had brought their calamity upon them? When your God is allied with your enemy, what hope do you have?

The people of Judah had taken God for granted. They assumed He was available at their beck and call. They thought they could ignore God until they had a need of Him. They believed that no matter how irreverently they behaved, God would always forgive them and come to their aid. They were about to learn the devastating truth that you cannot take God for granted. If you do, a time will come when calamity strikes, and God is found with your enemy, rather than with you.

When God speaks to us a second time, it certainly behooves us to pay attention! God spoke to Jeremiah not only once, but a second time. Clearly God was extremely serious about what He was declaring.

At times we fail to heed God’s first word, so we are in no position to respond to a second one! Not so with Jeremiah. He accepted God’s first message and so a second one soon followed. You have no need of a second divine message if you have failed to receive the first one!

What God said was devastating. Judgment was coming. And it was going to be severe. Every inhabitant of Judah would experience the impact of God’s word. No one was exempt. God’s retribution would as widespread as it was thorough.

In this case God was going to use Judah’s enemy to punish her. Many generations earlier, God had promised that when His people obeyed Him, He would grant them victory over their enemies. But when God’s people rejected Him, then their enemies would defeat them. Now God’s people were about to experience how reliable God’s word was!

Today there are many enemies that surround our nation. We ought to be alert that God may choose to use one of them to bring His judgment upon us.

God is infinitely patient and gracious. But a time will come when He will no longer delay His judgment on sin. The wonder is not that God punishes wickedness, but that He allows evil to go unchastised for so long. Yet be certain of this: a day will come when God says “Enough!”

God asked Jeremiah to look upon an almond tree. That plant was always the first sign of spring. When you saw an almond tree in bloom, you knew winter was over and a new season had come. Seeing the almond tree in bloom alerted the prophet that God was now going to act upon His word. God’s patience had run its course. The period of grace was at an end. Judgment was now commencing.

There may be times when we wonder why God does not act more vigorously against evil. We may question why the wicked continue to prosper even as they exploit the innocent. But a time is approaching when God’s patience is finished and He chooses to act. There are already signs in our day that the day of God’s judgment is drawing near. Can you see them?

Leaders walk a delicate line to maintain profit-making while simultaneously caring for their people. Too many businesspeople know far more about their product and services than they do about their employees or clientele. Profit may be what keeps a company viable, but if pursuing gain necessitates neglecting the people, something is wrong. Moreover, there are lots of worthy causes to attract attention and vie for company resources, but Christ did not die for the trees or the whales or baby seals. He did not give his life to clean up the environment or to make the world greener. He suffered and died to redeem lost humanity. The only things that are eternal in this world are people. Throughout Jesus’ ministry, people took precedence in every circumstance, often at the cost of ‘success.’ If the living Lord resides in us, and if Christ is our model, then people will be our priority too.

It can be tempting to fall back on routines and policy manuals when addressing new situations. If the system worked last time, why change it? Three times David inquired of the Lord as to whether or not he should engage the enemy soldiers in battle. Three times God gave him the green light and assured him the victory (1 Samuel 23:1-4; 30:8, 2 Samuel 5:19). But the fourth time David asked for direction, the Lord advised a new tactic – to wait and watch for a sign before taking on the foe (2 Samuel 5:23). David could have taken victory for granted and employed the same battle strategy that had worked previously. But he would have been tragically mistaken. Had he presumed to know God’s plan, many men would have needlessly died and he could have lost a strategic battle. The key to victory is not the method or attempting to replicate past successes; it is a relationship with God. God knows exactly what is needed for every situation. Assuming to know God’s heart and mind in a matter promotes methodology and weakens our relationship with him. But seeking the Lord in every circumstance acknowledges our dependence and guarantees the victory. Spiritual leaders cannot afford to be presumptive. They must rely on the Lord.

It happens in your marriage, in your job, in your family, in your church, and in your relationship with God – settling into the status quo, being content with inertia. Businesses that stagnate soon find themselves surpassed by their competitors. Perhaps they have fallen behind in technology, and now they must either change and catch up, or disband. In today’s world staying the same means falling behind. Leaders who do not grow become stumbling blocks to the growth of those they lead and their organization becomes outdated. Organizations will rarely grow beyond its leader. Although God’s nature remains constant, he is always in motion. He is perpetually at work seeking to redeem a lost world. Never settle for mediocrity in your spiritual life, lest you miss what God is doing around you and he passes you over in his kingdom work. A dynamic, growing relationship with God will not only benefit you personally, but it will also help you lead your people to go deeper with him.

Most of our life occurs in ordinary times. Occasionally, spectacular events, grand visions or unusual challenges come along but, for the most part, we are engaged in the mundane tasks of daily managing the tasks at hand. Such days require unbroken commitment and steadfast faith in God. They are times when character matters, because there may be pressure to compromise your integrity in order to attain your goals. Temptations to take short-cuts, to modify reports, or put a positive spin on negative results will come, but know that people are watching you. God wants you to shine as brightly before him in the ordinary days as you do in the extraordinary moments. Learning to stay faithful in the mundane helps prepare us for the next exceptional event God will unveil. Those climactic occasions reveal character that was built in commonplace circumstances. Walking honorably through life glorifies the Lord as much as running well in the race.