today's meditation (Jer.37) Asking for God's Help and Advice

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Jeremiah 37:1-21) Now Zedekiah the son of Josiah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had made king in the land of Judah, reigned as king in place of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. 2 But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

3 Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and the priest Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Please pray to the Lord our God in our behalf.” 4 Now Jeremiah was still coming and going among the people, for they had not yet put him in prison. 5 Meanwhile, Pharaoh’s army had set out from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who had been besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

6 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 7 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘This is what you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you, is going to return to its own land of Egypt. 8 Then the Chaldeans will return and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire.”’ 9 This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will certainly go away from us,” for they will not go. 10 For even if you had defeated the entire army of Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men left among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.’”

11 Now it happened when the army of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, 12 that Jeremiah left Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to take possession of some property there among the people. 13 While he was at the Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there; and he arrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans!” 14 But Jeremiah said, “A lie! I am not deserting to the Chaldeans”; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15 Then the officials were angry at Jeremiah and they beat him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for they had made it into the prison. 16 For Jeremiah had come into the dungeon, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days.

17 Now King Zedekiah sent men and took him out; and in his palace the king secretly asked him and said, “Is there a word from the Lord?” And Jeremiah said, “There is!” Then he said, “You will be handed over to the king of Babylon!” 18 Moreover, Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “In what way have I sinned against you, or your servants, or this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 And where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’? 20 But now, please listen, my lord the king; please let my plea come before you and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, so that I will not die there.” 21 Then King Zedekiah gave a command, and they placed Jeremiah in custody in the courtyard of the guardhouse, and gave him a loaf of bread daily from the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Notice the king asked Jeremiah to pray on their behalf, meanwhile, they had made allies with Egypt and continued to count on them to help instead of God.  Let us not fool ourselves!  Just because we ask God for guidance and help, doesn't mean that God will - if and when - we ignore God and do things our own way.  

People even do that with each other.  We can ask for help or advice, and when we hear what others have to say, we don't always take the help or the advice.  It's usually because the answer is not appealing, or it requires a change, or it is too much work, or it is too inconvenient... But we have to know that God's help and advice will always be right, it will always work, and it will always be worth it!  

today's meditation (Jer.28) Having a Closer Relationship With God

(Dear Lord Jesus, guide me and give me insight as I read and study Your word, and let it be the meditation of my heart...)

(Jeremiah 28:1-17) Now in the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, Hananiah the prophet the son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me at the house of the Lord in the sight of the priests and all the people, saying, 2 “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two years I am going to bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took from this place and brought to Babylon. 4 I am also going to bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”

5 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the sight of the priests and in the sight of all the people who were standing at the house of the Lord, 6 and Jeremiah the prophet said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord fulfill your words which you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the Lord’s house and all the exiles, from Babylon to this place. 7 Yet hear now this word which I am going to speak so that you and all the people can hear it! 8 The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times also prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms regarding war, disaster, and plague. 9 As for the prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the Lord has truly sent.”

10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. 11 Hananiah spoke in the sight of all the people, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Even so within two full years I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’” Then Jeremiah the prophet went his way.

12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 13 “Go and speak to Hananiah, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You have broken the yokes of wood, but in their place you have made yokes of iron.” 14 For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him. And I have also given him the animals of the field.”’” 15 Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen now, Hananiah: the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. 16 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, I am going to remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to die, because you spoke falsely against the Lord.’”

17 So Hananiah the prophet died in the same year, in the seventh month.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

I have a friend who proclaims that it's okay for everyone to believe and do as they want and that there isn't any punishment.  According to her, everyone is going to heaven.  And even though she doesn't call herself a Christian, she sure has very strong opinions as to what Christianity should and shouldn't be.  While she herself embraces the need to show "compassion" and "love", she also adheres to the notion that dwelling on sin is a bad thing which keeps one from seeing the "divine".  She is right in a sense, but her solution is to ignore sin, and deem certain sins NOT sin.  Anyone who boldly "speaks for God" and twists what He says, doesn't have any understanding of God's power who He is.

From birth, our sin nature comes with a physical and spiritual death, which separates us from God.  The only way to have a relationship with the Lord is to humbly seek the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ.  Once a Christian, we have eternal security, and freedom from sin and shame!  No matter what we do or don't do, we cannot lose our salvation, but our unconfessed sin will impede our relationship and prayers to the Lord.  

We are to keep confessing sin - which is like an apology to God - because our sin is an offense against Him.  If we say we love our parents, but we keep stepping on their toes or slapping their face without apology or desire to change, we will still always be their child, but they won't be very pleased with us.  If we truly love God, our desire would be to get to know Him better and listen to what He actually says.  The better we know the Bible and God's truths, and the more obedient we are while asking for God's strength and guidance, the closer our relationship will be with the Lord!