Jeremiah 29
Ah, I knew one of these days I’d come to Jeremiah 29. It contains one of my favorite verses (which we’ll get to in a moment). I figured I would simply write about that verse when I came to this chapter, but something else caught my attention that has thrown the whole deal into a new light for me.
Jeremiah 2
I was so struck by this passage in today’s chapter: “‘My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. Is Israel a servant, a slave by birth? Why then has he become plunder?… Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me,’ declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.” (vs 13-14, 19)
Isaiah 64
You can finish that sentence, right? God helps those who help themselves. But where did we ever get that idea? Certainly not from Isaiah 64. Here, he says quite the opposite: “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.” (vs 4)
Isaiah 4
It bothers me when people who say they have read the Bible claim that the God revealed there encourages slavery or polygamy or racism or abuse against women. Whenever I hear that, I think that the person either hasn’t really read the Bible, has only read selected passages, or has not read with an eye toward putting the whole picture together.
Proverbs 30
In recent times, there have been few television news programs you could watch without regularly hearing something about the rich and the poor, about extreme wealth and extreme poverty. Of course, folks on both sides of the issue tend to throw those words around without much definition, although we make a habit of talking about them in very clear-cut, black-and-white terms.
Proverbs 1
In this, the first chapter of Proverbs, we find one of what must be hundreds of statements about greed in the Bible: “If a bird sees a trap being set, it knows to stay away. But these people set an ambush for themselves; they are trying to get themselves killed. Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money; it robs them of life.” (vs 17-19)
Psalm 138
Have you ever felt it? That moment when it seems like nothing else in the world matters except God, and at that moment, you would go anywhere and do anything—no matter the cost—if He called you to it? What happens to those moments? They come suddenly and go just as quickly, as the world and all its glittering promises come flooding back in.
Psalm 112
Here is one of the paradoxes of the Christian life: When we fear God, we won’t be afraid of anything. When we don’t fear God, we will be afraid of everything. Of course, as mentioned in yesterday’s blog, “fearing” God doesn’t have anything to do with being terrified of Him. It means to respect Him, to stand in awe of Him, to understand that He is over all and above all.
Psalm 23
Well, what do you say about the most famous chapter in the Bible? Both you and I have read it or heard it read probably hundreds of times. It’s certainly been recited at nearly every funeral I’ve ever been to. I suppose that’s because it is a psalm of utter confidence and contentment. David knows that his God will take care of him. Period.
Take a look at how the first verse reads in a number of different translations:
The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. (NLT)
The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. (CEB)
You, Lord, are my shepherd. I will never be in need. (CEV)
God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing. (MSG)
The Lord is my shepherd. I am never in need. (GW)
Psalm 11
I imagine there have been many eras throughout history when it looked like the world was on the edge of collapse and disaster… only to have peace arrive and quiet things down once again. So, this era may be no different, but when I watch the news or read the newspaper, it’s easy to believe that the world is hurtling ever closer to a total, chaotic meltdown. And when Earth’s final events begin to take place, the Bible says that God’s friends will be in the crosshairs.
Psalm 5
A friend of mine recently posted a video on Facebook about the potential collapse of the American economic system (and, presumably, the eventual collapse of the global economic system as well). The video talked about how, once the dollar collapses, food and energy prices will skyrocket—leading to starvation, desperation, riots, looting, and violence. The creator of the video hypothesized that, at that point, martial law will be attempted but will fail, as the soldiers will realize that they need to protect their own families from the growing masses of angry, out-of-control people.
Esther 2
Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous. —Albert Einstein
I recently saw that quote on a church’s outdoor marquee, and I must say that I agree. In fact, I don’t even believe in coincidences anymore. I think all the details of our lives—even the nitty gritty ones—are being woven and spun by God into this grand tapestry. I don’t think He leaves anything to chance. Does He leave things to choice? Yes. But to chance? No. At least I don’t think so.
Nehemiah 6
I was recently engaged in a conversation about whether God really answers our prayers. A question had come up regarding the passage where Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (Mk 11:23-24) and we were discussing the merits of "name it and claim it" theology.
Ezra 8
Have you ever given much thought to God’s reputation? I guess if you asked ten different people what they thought of God, you would probably get ten different answers. But the fact that there are so many atheists in the world might suggest that, with some, God’s reputation isn’t a very good one. Many would rather believe that there is no God as opposed to believing in the kind of God they’ve been introduced to by some Christians. Makes me think of that bumper sticker I see from time to time: Please, Lord, save me from your followers!
Ezra 7
Seven chapters into his book, Ezra finally arrives on-scene, and the first thing he does is conduct a massive undertaking. It’s a huge task, including making a great journey across a large desert, transporting sacred items and gold and silver for the temple, and appointing judges to rule over the land. With such a monumental list of responsibilities at hand, Ezra was definitely going to need a lot of strength.
Ezra 5
In the previous chapter of Ezra, we learned that there was some fierce opposition to the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. It continued in this chapter: "At that time Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates went to them and asked, 'Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and to finish it?' They also asked, 'What are the names of those who are constructing this building?' But the eye of their God was watching over the elders of the Jews, and they were not stopped until a report could go to Darius and his written reply be received." (vs 3-5)
