Jeremiah 12:1 – “Lord, you have always been fair whenever I have complained to you.  However, I would like to speak with you about the disposition of justice.   Why are wicked people successful?   Why do all dishonest people have such easy lives?”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, several realities of life flooded my mind.  It is easy to fall into the pit of despair when we struggle and look around at those who are making no attempt to do right, have ease, and prosper.

That involves a shift in focus from God to self.   Even Jeremiah fell prey to that trap. (Jeremiah 12:1).   My paraphrase: “Hey God, what’s up with this? People are pursuing selfishness, living wickedly, and all is rosy. I am serving you, and there is no end to my problems. WHY?”

God answered him in (v. 5): “Son, you are focused wrong. If this (foot soldiers, little foxes, minor issues) is defeating you, how will you face the big stuff?”   The answer was: “Focus on God, not man. Do not Compare and Despair!”

In Jeremiah 17:7-10, we have the same phraseology as Psalm 1.   Those who focus on God and live faithfully, obedient lives anchored in God and His truth, flourish.   No matter what is happening around them and even to them, INSIDE they are strong, confident, and provided for.   God is IN them, living THROUGH them, and His life produces the fruit of life!

Paul addressed that in 2 Thessalonians 3:10-15.    In (vv. 10 & 13), we have declarations we can make standalone, but they are inseparable in context.   Never reward laziness, and do not let the pervasiveness of entitled, lazy living around you cause you to grow weary of doing what is right.   Remember Psalm 1, Psalm 23, Psalm 91, and Jeremiah 17.

Hold the reality of Galatians 6:9 near as a reminder that the devil cannot win unless we quit.  God will not let go, especially if we do not let go.  Focus is the key! That is why Paul frequently encouraged and commanded to fill the consciousness with God!   What we fill our hearts and minds with defines who we become. Do not Compare and Despair!

Have a fantastic day and you resist the temptation to Compare and Despair!

Jeremiah 9:7 – “Therefore the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “I will now purify them in the fires of affliction and test them.  The wickedness of my dear people has left me no choice.  What else can I do?”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, the prophet Jeremiah (the Weeping Prophet) stirred me once again.   He had a broken heart because he loved his people, and he felt God’s broken heart.

Jeremiah was chosen and purposed by God before he was conceived.  Think about that.  That destroys the modern idea that the baby is not a person in early pregnancy.  God does not call and purpose non-person blobs; He calls people. (Jeremiah 1:5).

In Jeremiah 1:9, we discover the power and purpose of God’s touch.  We focus on the anointing as a feeling, but it is an enablement that empowers and emboldens us to perform God’s purposes.  The anointing, like grace, is a divine enablement.  It gives power to purpose and is the pathway to the performance of God’s purpose and the fulfillment of our call.  Jeremiah was sent in the Spirit before he even existed in the flesh.  That is our destiny!

The people of Jeremiah’s day pushed God to the limit with their selfish sinfulness (Jeremiah 9:7).    God said, “The wickedness of My dear people has left Me no choice.”   How frightening to push God to the limit of His long-suffering patience and mercy.

In Jeremiah 10:23-24, the plea is for mercy, but it is a unique plea.   It was not a plea to not be judged or disciplined, but to be disciplined with limitations so as to leave hope of restoration.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:14-21, we have an extensive list of things that will enhance our Christian walk, not only enabling us to continue but also opening the door for others to come in.

• Admonish the undisciplined.
• Comfort the discouraged.
• Help (render assistance) to the weak.
• Exhibit patience toward everyone. 
• Resist revenge but replace it with compassion for others.
• Always rejoice (overflow with joy).
• Constantly pray.
• Manifest and vocalize Gratitude (Thanksgiving).
• Follow the Holy Spirit. 
• Embrace the Prophetic. Persevere.
• Avoid evil practices. (Shun the very appearance of evil.)

Focusing on God, realizing God’s call and destiny for our lives, as well as the Promise and Hope of Eternity, transforms our grief into motivation for service.  Where is our hope?  It is God!  As we see God’s call, purpose, and eternal plan, our focus shifts from us to Him, and we are transformed and begin to live! Living is a witness to the lost.  Morbidity is an expression to the world that our God is no more capable than a human.

We were called and purposed even before we existed.  How can we not pursue His purposes with all our strength?

Lamentations 2:14 – “Your prophets saw visions for you that were worthless whitewash.  They failed to expose your sin so as to restore your fortunes.   They saw oracles for you that were worthless lies.”

Today, and for several years, I have heard (prophets) give words, dreams, and visions that are described in Lamentations 2:14 – “Worthless Whitewash.”  They had no redemptive value but seemed motivated by personal preference.  They moved no one from wickedness.  That has troubled my heart and made me cautious in voicing what I believe I hear in the Spirit.

In the early chapters of Ezekiel, he uses the word “wind” in an interesting way.   In Ezekiel 2:2 – “As He spoke to me, a wind came INTO me and stood me on my feet, and I heard the one speaking to me.”  Two things leaped out at me: the wind coming INTO  him was the Holy Spirit, and the hearing was the result of that anointing. It was a channel of communication from heaven opened by the infilling of the wind (Holy Spirit).

In Ezekiel 3:12, the wind (Holy Spirit) lifted him up and caused him to hear.    In (v 14), the wind (Holy Spirit moved him to act.  In that anointing, he heard a neglected commandment.

Ezekiel 2:16-22 is largely ignored or misapplied today.  It is still valid because it is redemptive.   We have no justification to fail to warn of sin in the lives we have an influence.   They will either receive and repent or reject and resist.  They may even become estranged from us by choice.   We are to give the word by the Spirit’s anointing in love and for redemptive purposes, not judgment.

We need the infilling and empowering of the Holy Spirit.  We have a mission. We need the Holy Spirit to enable us to live in purity and fulfill our purpose.

A final thing I saw was the power of perseverance.   Victory comes to those who persevere.   If we quit, we lose, even if we quit two steps from the finish line. Hebrews 6:15 is fascinating and challenging. “And so, by persevering, Abraham inherited the promise.”   Hebrews 5:8: “Although He (Jesus) was a son, he learned obedience through the things He suffered.” He persevered.  He is the picture and example of Ultimate Perseverance.

If we are filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit, become saturated with the Living Word of God, and persevere, we will overcome and live victoriously NOW!  We will be salt and light.   Light to draw, salt to preserve.

We have this anchor – God’s Oath (Promise) and the assurance that God not only does not but cannot lie!   Our confidence in God’s Integrity provides the ability and determination to persevere to the end!

LORD, help us to be valuable, not worthless whitewash!

Jeremiah 50:6 – “My people have become lost sheep; Their shepherds have led them astray.  They have made them turn aside on the mountains; They have gone along from mountain to hill and have forgotten their resting place.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, angels and shepherds kept drawing my focus.  The Great Shepherd is Jesus.  Studying the life of a natural shepherd is revelatory.    Jeremiah 50:6 speaks of Israel as shepherdless (lost sheep) who wander aimlessly in the mountains, going from one mountain to another.   The symbolism there is staggering.

Lost or purposeless was their condition.  No defined vision. No leader to guide, guard, warn, and train them.  The mountains can represent kingdoms, governmental or religious structures (organizations).  They go from place to place, searching but not finding.   Remember what Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, know Me, and follow Me.”   We cannot follow a vision that is not God-inspired in us and purposed for us.  Chasing the latest fad will not satisfy.

Titus 2:11-13 reveals a ministry of Grace we sometimes overlook.  Grace “trains” us.   First, it puts that inner unction in us to reject godless ways and worldly desires.   Second, it trains us to pursue control of self, our emotions, our ambitions, and our dreams.  It inspires us to pursue lives of uprightness and godliness “in the present age.”

Grace gives us access to God and enables us to resist and receive.   Hebrews 1:3 tells us that Jesus is the very essence and representation of God.    We say, “Of course He is; He is the Son of God.”   But He was also a man, one of us. Also, He lives “in” us; therefore, the Jesus in us, manifested by and through us, causes us to be reflectors of the essence and representation of God.   What God do people see when they encounter us?

The shepherd, through God’s grace, helps us to learn the principles of life that enable us to be true reflectors of God.   We have Jesus in our hearts and the Holy Spirit to empower us, but we have more. We have access to something few tap into.    Hebrews 1:14 reveals that powerful benefit of angelic ministry.  Read the declaration concerning angels: “Are they not ALL ministering spirits sent out to serve those who inherit salvation?”   Who inherits salvation?  Those who are born again. Are we born again?

We dare not develop an unhealthy or unbiblical view of angels, but we should tap into their purpose.  They are designed and assigned to help us!  Their purpose is to encourage, strengthen, protect, and guide.

That speaks to me of the immensity of God’s love and the extent of His concern for us.   How can we be discouraged or succumb to selfishness even in our emotions, knowing our shepherd is guiding and our Father is providing?  

Listen to that inner voice; you will be surprised at the level of guidance God has been providing.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 – “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, ³² not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. ³³ “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart, I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ³⁴ They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, the thoughts of rejection and restoration occupied my consciousness.

God is long-suffering beyond anything humans can fathom, but God’s patience and mercy have limits.   Israel tested the limits of God’s patience.   In Jeremiah, He issued a divorce decree nullifying their covenant promises.  Think of that: the nation chosen to house and carry the SEED (Messiah) had pushed God to the limit.

We tend to think that we will somehow escape or be excused in our rebellion and rejection of His purposes and character.  Remember, God has no favorites.  He is eternally Just, Pure, and Holy.  Do we really want to risk pushing God too far?  Is our pleasure and selfishness that valuable to us?

In Jeremiah, God’s unconditional love illuminated their world and ours.   In Jeremiah 31:31-34, He announced the New Covenant!   Without this covenant, no one would have salvation.   That is why understanding Covenant is so vital.   It unlocks the door to revelation and releases the power to enter the Kingdom and live the Kingdom life!

In Jeremiah 32:17-25, the prophet prayed Solomon’s temple prayer.  We refer to it in 2 Chronicles 7:14.    In verses 26-35, God answers his prayer as He did for Solomon and for all who pray this prayer of acknowledgment and petition.

In Jeremiah 33:2-3, we have an invitation to prayer and relationship.

• I Am the LORD!
• The Invitation CALL – Pray, Ask, Petition, Inquire, Search, and Seek.
• PROMISE – I Will Answer and go beyond by Revelation Knowledge.

WHY?   Do we dare ask that?   Why are we invited into God’s Throne Room? What are we promised: answers and revelation? The New Covenant (Redemption and Restoration).

The invitation and provision are never about us!   It is always to equip and enable us to bring the message of Hope to others.   How much of a moving compulsion is that in our lives?   As much as it is valuable to us personally!

What we believe about God, Eternal Judgment, Eternal Life (now & then), and the power of an indwelt life determines the value of salvation and compulsion to share and warn others; it is the extent to which we are driven to share.    Can we live unaffected lives of silence?

Jesus said to the Pharisee, “The one who is forgiven little loves little, and the one forgiven much loves much.”  The key is our awareness of our forgiveness!  Our consciousness of our condition before!  Let the redeemed say so!  We possess nothing more powerful and impactful than our own experience and testimony.   The Key:  A changed life changes lives!

How real is Jesus, and how destructive is sin to us?   Who do we say He is? Who do we live, He is?  (How we live testifies to who He really is to us).  

I want to be said of me and to be able to say of myself as Paul said, “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith! Finally, the crown of righteousness is reserved for me…”   The words I long to hear here and there are, “Well Done!”   I have no greater thought or desire than seeing a crowd of people I influenced for God rejoicing before the Throne in Heaven!

Lord, help us to value Your sacrifice and our forgiveness so much that we are compelled and propelled into action!