Jeremiah speaks of God’s
judgment - “I’m bringing disaster and widespread destruction ...”
(Jeremiah 4:6). This message comes to us as a word of warning, a plea to
the people to return to the Lord and find His mercy - “So put on
sackcloth, mourn and cry because the Lord’s burning anger hasn’t turned
away from us” (Jeremiah 4:8). This is the call to repentance. We read of
God’s burning anger, and we wonder,”Is there still the hope of God’s
blessing?” God is speaking of His judgment - “Nation of Israel, I’m
going to bring a nation from far away to attack you,declares the Lord, I
won’t destroy all of you” (Jeremiah 5:15,18). God’s Word concerning
the threat of judgment is a call to the people to honour Him as God:
“Pay attention to My warning, Jerusalem, or I will turn away from you. I
will make your land desolate ...” (Jeremiah 6:8). The ministry of
Jeremiah differs from the ministry of the false prophets. They say,
“Everything is alright!” He says, “It’s not alright! (Jeremiah 6:14).
Jeremiah calls upon the people to make a new beginning with God - “Stand
at the crossroads and look. Ask which paths are the old reliable paths.
Ask which way leads to blessings. Live that way, and find a resting
place for yourselves” (Jeremiah 6:16).
We read about Elijah in his high-points of strength - the triumph over the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:36-39) - and his low-points of weakness - he is ready to give up: “I’ve had enough now, Lord” (1 Kings 19:4). How did Elijah get into such a mess? He forgot this: “The Lord’s power was on Elijah” (1 Kings 18:46). In all life’s ups and downs, we must hold on to this: The Lord has sent His Spirit of power to live in us (2 Timothy 1:7). How are we to live in the power of the Spirit? We need to feed on the Word of God and drink in the Word of God (1 Kings 17:4). We need to pray that the Lord will send His showers of blessing (1 Kings 17:14). We are to live our life “according to the Word of the Lord” (1 Kings 17:16). For our life of faith to be strong in the Lord, we need to listen attentively to the preaching of God’s Word (1 Kings 17:24).
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