Devotional Thoughts for Today
Jeremiah 14:22
Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are you not he, O LORD our God? We set our hope on you, for you do all these things.
One of the easiest ways to test the authenticity of gold jewelry is to burn it. Using a lighter, you can gently hold a small flame under your piece of jewelry. If your jewelry burns black, it is fake or at least partially so; but if your jewelry does not turn black but burns brightly, congratulations—it’s real, pure gold.
In our passage today, the Israelites are currently in drought and famine as a result of their idolatry and disobedience to God. They are hungry, thirsty, and tired. And now, they are optionless. At this point, Jeremiah cries out on behalf of the people, “Are there any… false gods of the nations that can bring rain?” In the greatest time of need for the Israelites, their false gods did not show up.
Since most of us don’t experience physical drought and famine today, we are probably unfamiliar with truly feeling hungry, thirsty, and tired. We’ve gone after other idols—such as ministry achievements, career, relationships, etc. and being successful with such endeavors. Yet we’ve been left feeling empty. It’s during these times where we begin to ask, What can help me? What can make me whole? At the end of our passage, Jeremiah proclaims, “Are you not he, O Lord our God? We set our hope on you, for you do all these things.” We see here that in a time of drought and dire need, when all other options are exhausted, God is the only one who can provide. Many things in our lives can seem to give us life. It could be as “good” and harmless as our ministry activities, or as “bad” and frowned upon as a publicly toxic relationship. However, let’s ask ourselves, If I were to be stripped bare and have nothing else in life, would _________ give me life? Jesus tells us that only He is the way to life (John 14:6; 11:25).
In personal seasons of drought, we may feel like only our faith is being shaken and tested. However, what if God is not only testing our faith, but also putting our idols under a flame to prove that only He is true and like pure gold?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us not to run away from seasons of drought but to see what You are doing through them. Thank You that You are the one who will provide for us through the best and worst seasons of life. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Ezekiel 29
Lunch Break Study
Read 1 Peter 1:3-9: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Questions to Consider
- What does Peter say that we (as believers) have been born again to?
- How does this impact how we face persecution, and similarly, suffering?
- This is an important passage in the OT where God reveals Himself in a direct way. Is there anything new that you have learned about who God is, biblically?
Notes
- We have been born again to an inheritance, a destiny, a future that is imperishable and waiting for us in heaven.
- First, we can be grieved or grieve over persecution and suffering, not ignore it. However, we can recognize that persecution and suffering is being used to refine our faith, which is more precious than gold or anything we can earn in this world. We can also be greatly encouraged knowing that our perseverance is resulting in praise and glory and honor with Christ when He returns. Our perseverance and steps of faith are eternally meaningful.
- Personal reflection.
Evening Reflection
Is there anything in your life that you feel like it can make you more whole than God can? Let’s not delay but bring that to the Lord and ask Him to realign our perspective.
In my teenage years, I had a habit of saying “I hate” this or that. “I hate mayonnaise.” “Ugh, I hate this song.” Even if it only irked me a little bit, I would express that I hated it in front of others. Seeing this, my mom told me something in passing that stuck with me. She told that there was never really a good enough reason to say “I hate…” out loud. Her words made me re-assess how I speak. Even if I did hate something, I could choose to stay silent or say something more thoughtful and constructive, instead.
In a 2015 Ted Talk called “A Simple Way to Break a Bad Habit,” psychiatrist Judson Brewer talks about the relationship between mindfulness and habit. Research shows that a habit is formed when a specific behavior makes us feel good and so our brains remember it. A habit, such as snacking or smoking, is reinforced when our brains realize we are feeling bad, so we use the behavior to feel good again. Think about the way we flip open our laptops as soon as we get home or eat junk food when we’re stressed. It isn’t surprising that research supports that we aren’t very mindful or aware of what we do, better yet, why we do them.
Last November, I ran a half-marathon for the first (and probably last) time in my life. For training, I ran at least three times a week for about two months; so by the time the race came around, I felt confident enough—even excited. I’m an idealist at heart, so although my practice runs were never fun, I thought the actual race would be exhilarating. After running the 13.2 miles, I can safely say that long-distance runs are physically strenuous every time you do them.
In my Introductory Greek class, we learned the Greek alphabet during the first week of school. I remember quickly memorizing all 24 letters and then moving on to homework that was actually due. When exam time came along, our T.A. told us to make sure we knew the Greek alphabet, and I happily checked it off the list of things I didn’t need to study because I already knew them. We got our exams and, lo and behold, the last question wrote, “Spell out the entire Greek alphabet.” To no one’s surprise, I could not answer the question and lost out on ten very much needed extra credit points. I left the exam recalling my T.A.’s words and wondering why I just didn’t spend five extra minutes brushing up on the alphabet…
The other day I was at a playground with my five-year old twins. They had just received some bubbles as a goodbye present from their preschool teacher and were eager to take these puppies out for a ride. As they started blowing bubbles, a crowd of children began to gather around them hoping to pop some bubbles. (For the life of me, I don’t understand why children have this rabid love for bubbles.) Anyway, one of these kids was a girl who was probably about three years old and, not being satisfied with merely popping bubbles, she wanted to be the bubble maker—so she tried to take the bubble wand from my daughter’s hand. Now, this is where parenting gets kind of awkward, because my daughter Abbie is just looking at this girl like, “Back up, I’m bigger than you. You can’t have my bubbles, and if my dad weren’t right there, I’d hammer you.” Meanwhile, this other girl is kind of throwing a fit, and her dad seemed to not really know how to handle her when she gets this way. So I suggest, “Abbie, maybe you can let that little girl have a turn. Let her blow bubbles two times.” I kid you not, Abbie looks at me like I sold her to a band of gypsies or something; I could tell she was thinking something like, “Dad, I thought I was your daughter! Why are you being so nice to her?” For whatever reason my kindness to this other girl, felt like meanness to my daughter.
Our church family lost a dear sister a couple of weeks ago. Massiel was 26 years old and had been coming to Remnant for several years before I got here. To my understanding, she had eaten a sandwich which contained a nut she was allergic to. While in the ambulance, she went into cardiac arrest and lost oxygen to her brain for several minutes. For over a week, Massiel was in a coma, until doctors determined her brain had sustained too much damage to sustain life. And so with family and loved ones by her side, support was withdrawn, and we said goodbye to our sister until that joyous day when we will meet her again in our Father’s house.
I generally don’t believe in the idea of “victimless crimes.” Wikipedia defines victimless crime as “an illegal act that typically either directly involves only the perpetrator, or occurs between consenting adults; because it is consensual in nature, there is arguably no true victim.” Examples typically include drug abuse, gambling, and prostitution. Yet, anyone who’s had a loved one involved in a drug, gambling, or sex addiction can tell you how damaging they are for the individuals directly involved. We also know that the further you go up the “food chains” of these crime syndicates, we start talking about truly sinister actions like human trafficking and murder.
I think I count as a relatively big sports fan. Unfortunately, my favorite team (da Bears) have been an absolute dumpster fire for the past five seasons. Since the 2012 season, we’re now on our fourth head coach (meaning, we’ve fired three in six years!). Now, while I generally hate seeing people lose their jobs, I knew it was time for the last two to go. In sports, you realize a coach has “lost the team” when the players stop playing hard or give effort: In football, players will miss tackles or won’t get up quickly after getting blocked; in basketball, defenders will get beat off the dribble or give up uncontested layups and jumpers; in baseball, base runners won’t run out ground balls, etc. In other words, the players just go through the motions of competing without actually putting their hearts into it.
When it comes to evangelism, there tends to be two approaches. One is the direct method, where you just ask anyone, “Do you know Jesus?” In its most extreme form, you’ll see street preachers telling passersby that they are doomed to an eternity of torture in hell. Perhaps in reaction to the aggression and negative perception of the stereotypical street preacher, the other method of “friendship evangelism” has gotten more and more popular and is how most Christians choose to “evangelize” today. Perhaps you’re familiar with this method; you basically try your best to be the most loving, most patient, most honest person on the planet (i.e. you try to be like Jesus), then you wait and pray for that eventual day when your friend will ask you why you’re so “different” from everybody else. Of course, your answer will be “Jesus,” which will open the door to a wonderful conversation about faith and the Gospel.