Hello, my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
This day after Thanksgiving is often called “Black Friday” and you probably know that is because in the recent past, in America at least, this is one of the busiest retail shopping days of the year with many stores moving well into the profitable ‘black’ by offering deep discounts on everything from electronics to clothing to Christmas gifts.
Did you know “Black Friday” is also a day of deep remorse and depression for many people as they leave the euphoria of Thanksgiving and return to the loneliness or emptiness of their discouraged life? In view of that, I have good news for us today!
Come with me again back to Jerusalem in about the year 627bc. In the closing years of King Josiah’s reign and the saber rattling of Egypt and Babylon as violent regional neighbors of Israel, God was raising up a new prophet to be the voice of God to the Jewish people and their kings. His name? Jeremiah! Listen to these words and ask yourself this question: Is it possible the words God spoke to Jeremiah might be words God is speaking over you and me?
Jeremiah wrote this “The word of the LORD came to me, saying: ‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’ I said, ‘alas Sovereign LORD, I do not know how to speak; I am too young.’ But the LORD said to me, ‘Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you, and I will rescue you.’ declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 1:4-8) My friends, I repeat my question to all of us: ‘Is it possible the words God spoke to Jeremiah might be words God is speaking over you and me’, today?
This is one of the most powerful verses in the Bible and declares several very important things about God and our human race:
1. God is eternal; God is Creator of EVERY human life. There are no ‘accident’ human beings! (Psalm 139:1-4)
2.God KNOWs each human being while He is developing them INSIDE their mother’s womb and God is developing each person according to a unique design God has for that person! (Ps. 139:13-15)
3. God has a purpose in His mind for every person. For Josiah, that was to be a revolutionary king who led the people of Jerusalem and Judah in repentance and received a great outpouring of God’s blessing upon them for many years. For Jeremiah, it was to be a spokesman for God, communicating vitally important messages from God to His people at a very strategic time in history. Consider Ps. 139:16.
Death in the womb, regardless of the cause or reason, is a tragedy since this unique, magnificent creation of God never has the chance to live their God design or accomplish their God purpose. May I urge us all to take a moment, right now and thank God for the powerful God truths that apply to EACH of us, that we find reflected in Jeremiah 1:4-8?
In the past few days, we’ve seen how King Josiah’s wonderful 31-year reign ended with Josiah’s death in a battle he didn’t need to fight. In fact, Pharaoh Necho had sent a warning to King Josiah to stay away, but Josiah disregarded the warning, and it cost him his life! (2 Chronicles 35:20-25) Because 2 Chronicles 35:25 tells us Jeremiah composed ‘laments‘ for the people to join with him in mourning the death of King Josiah, I conclude Jeremiah was, at least for a short while, God’s prophet spokesman to King Josiah, as the prophet Isaiah had been God’s spokesman to Kings Ahaz, Hezekiah and Manasseh. I don’t know for sure, but I wonder if this is one of the pieces of wise God given counsel Jeremiah gave to Josiah and later Josiah’s sons who followed Josiah on the throne of Judah? “This is what the LORD says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient path, ask where the good way is and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Jeremiah 6:16)
That is one of the most powerful God wisdom verses I have found in the Bible. I’ve memorized it and I urge you to do the same. Here are some questions to help us consider the power potential in this one verse:
* Have you and I learned the value of looking back, especially into our family heritage, regardless of how ugly or pretty our family past is?
* Have we learned to ask the right questions of our ancestors so we can gain wisdom from their life experiences? It is our heritage, and it wants to teach us!
* Have the leaders of our nations learned to look back and learn from those who occupied those leadership positions in the past? Do those leaders have advisors who challenge them often to learn from the past?
* When you or I or a leader face important choices is it our practice to DO what Jeremiah advises us to do in this verse or do we have a prideful spirit in us which somehow convinces us we won’t duplicate the mistakes of our past heritage, nor do we need to learn from our past heritage? Here’s just one of many Proverb statements about this: “The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.” (Prov. 12:15)
Sadly, it appears neither Josiah nor the kings which followed him had much respect for God’s prophet Jeremiah or the clear, strong messages from God which Jeremiah brought to them. As a result, their lives ended in disaster! Let’s not make the same mistake. It’s Black Friday. Let’s make this one of the best days of our 2024 by embracing Jeremiah 1:4-8 and 6:16 and let’s invite the Holy Spirit of God to weave those powerful truths deeply into the DNA of our lives. It will make a big difference; I promise you that my friends.
Here’s a great worship song to help us decide…will we embrace these Jeremiah truths or not?
Today’s Scripture: Jeremiah 1:4-8; 6:16.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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